Chelsea

Chelsea Football Club is today a brand-name industry worth millions and football's longest-running soap opera. Brian Mears was chairman of Chelsea at arguably the most volatile period of its tempestuous history - when the club tumbled catastrophically from being Kings of Europe to relegated has-beens. The only time Chelsea ever won the Championship was in 1955 when Brian's father was chairman. This book tells of their unique triumph and their half-a-century quest to repeat it. Marvel at the talents of the greatest goal machines the club has ever produced: Jimmy Greaves and Peter Osgood in their prime. Discover the truth about the golden age of the Bad Boys: the careers of Chelsea superstars who burned brightly and were then crippled by drink. Other Chelsea bad boys congregated in the legendary 'Shed' and were the equivalent of the Jesse James Gang in hooligan terms. The former chairman tells of his dealings with the most feared fighting crew in the game: the notorious Chelsea Headhunters. Margaret Thatcher enlisted his help in trying to stop the havoc they wreaked. The Mears family were the founders of Chelsea Football club. Brian Mears partied with the A-list celebs.
He socialised with Michael Caine, dined with Prince Philip, drank with George Best and shopped with Elton John. Who else can claim to have sacked Geoff Hurst and Sir Alf Ramsey, who helped win England the 1966 World Cup? Today's football is dominated by the characters that Mears dealt with and that later became household names, like Terry Venables, George Graham and Kevin Keegan. Brian's meeting with Matthew Harding and his tragic death in a helicopter crash are documented. Harding's love for Chelsea through 30 years of strife formed the basis of their brief friendship. Chelsea: A Modern History analyses the 'noveau' Chelsea with their cool foreign players and millionaire lifestyles. Read a roller-coaster history of the club through the '60s '70s and '80s.