Chelsea teen dream was a bolt from the blue for Paul
Chelsea are hoping teenager Billy Gilmour will be back from injury by the end of next month.
The 18- year- old has been on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Fellow Scot, Paul Mcmillan, was just two months past his 17th birthday when he made his debut for the Blues in 1967.
He loved his time in English football, but his career stalled after one game and was ultimately scuppered by concerns over his health.
Paul was only 15 when his performances for Drumchapel Amateurs in Glasgow attracted the attention of scouts.
He recalled: “As well as having a trial with Chelsea, I was down at Liverpool for a month.
“They wanted to sign me, but I’d already decided that Chelsea was the club for me.
“Tommy Docherty was the manager and they had a number of players from Scotland. That made it easier for me to settle.
“I shared digs with John Boyle. He was three years older than me, and already in the first-team.
“I would describe myself as a robust midfield player and Tommy Docherty liked that.”
Paul had only been at Stamford Bridge for a year when he was called up to the first team for the fifth game of the season.
He said: “I remember being moved from the reserve training to the first-team.
“After training, people were shaking my hand and congratulating me.
“I was called up to the boardroom and Tommy Docherty said: ‘ You’re all right son. Do you feel like playing for the first team?’.
“I was in the side to play Southampton, lining up alongside the likes of Charlie Cooke, John Hollins and Peter Bonetti.
“Looking back, I wasn’t ready for it. I wasn’t far off, but it was too much for me.
“At the time, it felt like I was having the finest time of my life.
“I walked to the front door, and kids were asking for autographs. It was amazing.
“In the game, we went 3-0 down before Peter Osgood scored an amazing solo goal to give us hope. Unfortunately, we ended up losing 6- 2. The result still makes my bones shudder.
“Terry Paine of Southampton destroyed Eddie Mccreadie that afternoon, and Ron Davies scored four times.
“I wasn’t surprised when I was left out of the first-team squad the next week.
“I was back to the reserves, where I played with some great players. I think the best was Alan Hudson.
“His family lived just across the road and they were lovely people.
“I only had that one first- team game for Chelsea, but I look back and think what a fun place it was to be.
“Not everyone was exceptionally professional but I was too young to go to the pub.
“The older players just believed they would work it off in training.
“Tommy Docherty left the club a month after my game, and Dave Sexton took over.
“The following year, I failed a medical and that was the reason I ended up leaving.
“They said I had slightly-high blood pressure, and didn’t want to take the risk of me playing.
“I didn’t play for three months, and then came back to Scotland.”
Paul, now 70, was signed by Clydebank and turned out for them 47 times.
He admits that falling from the English top flight to Division Two in Scotland was a bit of a blow.
He said: “There were some very decent players at Clydebank, but it certainly felt like a big move downwards.
“I spent three seasons there, and then played junior football with Petershill.
“I’ve always tried to keep in decent nick and was playing veterans’ games until quite recently.”
Paul spent 30 years working as an electrician, and these days he drives a taxi.