1981/82 FA Cup: Chelsea v Wrexham

It's all just a little bit of history repeating. As Chelsea travel to Wales to take on Wrexham in the FA Cup fifth round it is interesting to revisit their last meeting in the competition. In 1982, Nottingham Forest and Hull City had been knocked out of the FA Cup by Wrexham and Chelsea respectively, as they have in 2026. But after a closer inspection, this coincidence is possibly where the similarities end.

Before their meeting in the 1982 FA Cup fourth round, the financial state of both clubs was as far removed from the current situation as possible. Both Division Two clubs were facing huge debts. With Chelsea reportedly £1.6 million in the red, the future of Stamford Bridge was in doubt as property developers hovered. Relegation-threatened Wrexham would spend the rest of the decade merely trying to survive.

1983: A Christmas football feast

It is a Christmas tradition up there with eating too much turkey, watching James Bond films, and numerous family rows. Football on Boxing Day may not have always been popular with players in the past, yet for supporters it has often provided the ideal palate cleanser.

So when news broke recently of a distinct lack of top-flight matches on Boxing Day, a gnashing of teeth could be heard up and down the country. Another brick removed from the wall of football tradition, the influence of television and a swelling calendar impacting the beautiful game. Never mind that there is a full Football League and National League fixtures that day, apparently it is the top table people want to feast at.

It hasn't always been this way. In fact there was a time when just like mince pies and chocolates, we overindulged in football at Christmas. The 1983/84 season was a prime example of this. The vast majority of clubs would play on both Boxing Day and December 27, players expected to be disciplined enough to forgo that extra glass of sherry and then perform twice in the space of 24 hours.

1985/86: Chelsea v West Ham

Football may have been in the doldrums in England during a troubled time for the sport, but there could be no doubting that on the pitch the excitement provided by the 1985/86 title race was a welcome distraction. A glance at the Division One table at the end of March reveals that six clubs still held hopes of claiming championship glory.

Two of the contenders would meet during the Easter weekend as squeaky bum time neared. Chelsea and West Ham were enjoying fine seasons and, along with Arsenal, were trying to bring the title back to the capital for the first time in 15 years. Their clash at Stamford Bridge was a potential title eliminator, especially for the visitors.

1984: Pat Nevin and that penalty

We all had our footballing heroes during our childhood. Maybe Jorginho was a big Pat Nevin fan, and he would spend hours reading about the diminutive Scottish winger and his time at Stamford Bridge. Certainly the tribute act performed by the Brazilian against West Ham last weekend would suggest this.

Jorginho's weak effort saved by Lukasz Fabianski immediately got many of us older football lovers rewinding our memory banks back to Nevin's tame attempt at the same ground on November 21, 1984. Fortunately for both Jorginho and Nevin, their awful misses did not matter ultimately. But it doesn't stop smart-arse bloggers like me writing a few words on the subject.

1985/86: Manchester United v Chelsea

It's a marathon, not a sprint. An oft-used phrase in sport that sadly for those involved has proved to be correct on many occasions. Think Crisp in the 1973 Grand National, Rory McIlroy at the 2011 Masters, and Steve Davis in that black ball final. Timing in sport is everything.

It is possible to come flying out of the blocks and lead from the front. But in the case of Manchester United in the 1985/86 season, the pack had started to breathe down their necks as soon as the clocks went back in the autumn. Winning their first ten matches, and remaining unbeaten for the first 15, surely the long wait for the Division One title was over?

1986/87: Manchester United v Chelsea

Throughout the elongated 2019/20 Premier League season there seemed to be four words that were never far away from live reports, match commentary and social media updates: penalty to Manchester United. Awarded a record 14 penalties for a Premier League campaign - I've put feelers out to try and see if this is an all-time top-flight record - people will no doubt be scrambling to get Bruno Fernandes into their Fantasy Football teams.

1984: Chelsea's Robert Isaac is stabbed

Sheffield United's Oli McBurnie recently made headlines when he was caught making obscene gestures during Swansea's visit to South Wales rivals Cardiff City. The former Swansea player was reminded of his responsibilities by both the FA and club manager Chris Wilder, and although his attendance did raise a few eyebrows, it was quite refreshing to see a football player with an obvious connection to one of the clubs he represented in the past.

Heavy security surrounding the South Wales derby meant that McBurnie and his fellow Swansea supporters would have been shipped in and out of the Welsh capital, reducing the chances of trouble between the rival sets of fans. The experience for McBurnie would have been a whole lot different in the distant past.

1985: Chelsea's electric fence

Football pitch invaders have been making the news in recent weeks. In April 1985, Chelsea chairman Ken Bates chose a rather controversial method to address the problem.

Preventing football violence during the 1984/85 season was proving a thankless task for the authorities. Events at Derby, Chelsea, and Luton provided examples of the problems facing the sport, and cures for the English disease seemed thin on the ground.

1987/88 play-offs: Chelsea v Middlesbrough

It hasn’t always been a case of winning titles and triumphing in Europe for Chelsea. There was a time when the club were playing in a rundown stadium, with property developers lurking, and just staying in the top flight was a challenge in its own right. The 1987/88 season was a prime example of the down side of supporting the West London club. And people say Chelsea have no history.

1986: Full Members' Cup

Chelsea and Manchester City are now contesting for major honours domestically and in Europe, but in 1986 things were a lot different.

English football in 1985 was constantly hitting new levels of rock bottom. Violence and decaying stadia combined to make the match day experience an often unpleasant occasion, and with deaths at Birmingham, Bradford, and Brussels in May, the sport had seemingly reached the point of no return. It was little wonder that attendances were dropping across the country, and you didn't need to be Bergerac to deduce that Margaret Thatcher and her Government would have been quite happy if the problem child faded into obscurity.

1980s: Goalkeeping gaffs

Claudio Bravo made a much publicised error on his recent Man City debut, but I'm not sure if his cock up matched any of the following goalkeeping bloopers from the 1980s.