How often have you been to a Chelsea game?

[King Kante 1,527]

I thought it would be interesting to run a topic to see what all of our experiences are of seeing Chelsea live. I do this as I am interested to see what kind of demographic we have on here in regards to how we all experience the joy of following Chelsea. 

Further, you can also list the following: 

Best ever game: 

Worst ever game: 

Best away game: 

Worst away game: 

Best ever European away game: 

Worst ever European away game: 

Favourite Chelsea memory: 

[King Kante 1,527]

Best ever game: Champions League Final 2012

Worst ever game: Tottenham away 2002 (5-1)

Best away game: Liverpool CL Semi 2008

Worst away game: Man City away 2018

Best ever European away game: Schalke away

Worst ever European away game: Barcelona away 2005

Favourite Chelsea memory: Winning the league in 2005. 

My games have been picked based on games I went too and experienced but this is open to all, so if you haven't been, still feel free to join in! 

[OhForAGreavsie 5,903]

I haven't counted but it's over a thousand. It would have been a lot more but to this day I have never been to a Chelsea men's match outside of London. In fact since the introduction of ticket only entry and away members I've not been to many away games even in London.

First ever game was away to Arsenal FA Cup quarter-final replay March(?) 1973. First home game was FA Cup 4th round vs Birmingham January 1975. First league game was Spurs away April 1975. First full season at The Bridge 1975/76. First season ticket 1976/77.

By the way, those first three games were good preparation for life as a Chelsea fan. We lost them all.

Edited September 14, 2021 by OhForAGreavsie

[Fulham Broadway 16,968]

Not over a thousand like OFAG but must be into the high hundreds. Unlike OFAG also, been to hundreds of away games, always a great crack and atmosphere. 

First games were in the 60s with Hudson, Hutchinson, Osgood, Tambling Harris etc when I was 7 or 8 years old. In the 80s mainly away games. It was better as a fan before Rupert Murdoch created the premier league. But then Abramovich - and all the fucking silverware !! This is sweeter if youve watched us week in week out when we were shit. 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,543]

It is a bit of a drive from Georgia USA. We were supposed to be there in 2020... but the entire trip to Paris, Edenborough, London was Covided! Last week we recovered our last airfare.  It has taken this long to get our money back from all travel and hotels. We will make it one of these seasons.

[Laylabelle 9,406]

Don't really know..100 maybe..have to have a count. Sorta didn't really become interested till 2007..always found it boring. Without actually really watching lol. Always been in the family though.

But its a shame how stupid pricey it's become so stick to cheap tickets rather then league.

[Fulham Broadway 16,968]

27 minutes ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

It is a bit of a drive from Georgia USA. We were supposed to be there in 2020... but the entire trip to Paris, Edenborough, London was Covided! Last week we recovered our last airfare.  It has taken this long to get our money back from all travel and hotels. We will make it one of these seasons.

We used to get a coach to away games in the 80s, one guy came up from Cornwall, for every game and one flew from New York every other week. Dedication 😜

[ZAPHOD2319 4,543]

17 minutes ago, Fulham Broadway said:

We used to get a coach to away games in the 80s, one guy came up from Cornwall, for every game and one flew from New York every other week. Dedication 😜

That is serious dedication! My son was coached by a youth coach sent from Chelsea to Georgia. Can you imagine coming into work to find out you are being assigned to go coach a bunch of USMNT hopefuls in the U.S.? 

 

Chelsea youth instructor Harry Cutler said the growth of soccer in southeast Georgia makes the prospects of this merger particularly exciting.

“GISA, before its affiliation with SSA, was apparently doing a very good job of promoting the game and developing players,” he said. “With SSA and Chelsea Football Club’s support, SSA-Coastal is raising the level of quality even higher.”

[Fulham Broadway 16,968]

20 minutes ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

That is serious dedication! My son was coached by a youth coach sent from Chelsea to Georgia. Can you imagine coming into work to find out you are being assigned to go coach a bunch of USMNT hopefuls in the U.S.? 

 

Chelsea youth instructor Harry Cutler said the growth of soccer in southeast Georgia makes the prospects of this merger particularly exciting.

“GISA, before its affiliation with SSA, was apparently doing a very good job of promoting the game and developing players,” he said. “With SSA and Chelsea Football Club’s support, SSA-Coastal is raising the level of quality even higher.”

Wow thats amazing for your boy and Georgia football. You must be proud of him !

[OhForAGreavsie 5,903]

1 hour ago, Laylabelle said:

Always been in the family though.

I think this is an important point and the answer to all those accusations of where were you when you were crap. There were a lot of pitifully low attendances at The Bridge during the dark days. For example, I was in a crowd of just over 8,000 on a cold Wednesday night in 1976. I was in worse attendances than that too but that one stands out because I'd been among 56,000 at SB just four days earlier. People notice that our support collapsed but never think very hard about why it happened. No doubt our attendances fell because we were crap, but the environment of hooliganism and racism also played it's part.

It's true to say that there was more often an atmosphere of violence than of actual violence, but a lot of people didn't want any part of it and definitely didn't want to be associated with it. My own dad refused to take me to Stamford Bridge which is why I didn't go to Chelsea until I could go on my own. All clubs were affected by this but we were among the worst hit. People were driven away from Stamford Bridge in their tens of thousands. They were still Chelsea families however. They supported the club from afar but they didn't go to matches. When the situation gradually improved the bigger numbers began to return but by then there was an entire generation of Chels fans who had never developed the match going habit.

Roman's arrival was the spark that got more of them into that habit but the latent support was always there.

Edited September 14, 2021 by OhForAGreavsie

[OhForAGreavsie 5,903]

1 hour ago, Fulham Broadway said:

and one flew from New York every other week.

Standing ovation.

I used to dream of a return Concorde flight once a fortnight to watch the Washington football team but Concorde didn't last and I never got as rich as I was certain I was going to. 😀

[Fulham Broadway 16,968]

29 minutes ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

Standing ovation.

I used to dream of a return Concorde flight once a fortnight to watch the Washington football team but Concorde didn't last and I never got as rich as I was certain I was going to. 😀

Shame about Concorde, fantastic plane, and yes expensive to fly

Yes 1976 was a low point, in Div 2. The following season though, still in Div 2 we were on the cusp of promotion attendances almost doubled. We had great players Ray Wilkins, Tommy Langley, Bill Garner - Mcreadie as manager (who walked out because they wouldnt give him a company car) 😜. 

Again as we dropped into Div2 in the early and mid 80s attendances were even lower than 76. Heysel and Hillsboro had a lot to answer for -then the money men realised that with satellite technology, it could be beamed round the World... the rest is history, as they say.

[Pokitren 1]

I'm the only one who has never seen Chelsea live But I've always admired their game! Last season they beat Manchester City beautifully. In the Champions League, of course.

Edited September 22, 2021 by Pokitren
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[kanewilliamson 0]

Never seen chelsa live. 🙃

[Clockwork 1,794]

Once, i have been in England on that occasion only. Planing to go back maybe in mid August this year.