Today I'm going back to 1986 and Third Division York City's visit to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea in the (Littlewoods) League Cup 2nd Round 2nd Leg. This was the first and only time that I've seen York play Chelsea and it's hard to imagine when the next such occasion will be.
Younger readers may struggle to remember a time when Chelsea weren't one of Europe's biggest clubs but back in the mid to late 70's and the 1980's Chelsea were a very ordinary club that often found itself slumming it in the Second Division. Ken Bates, a former Chairman of Oldham Athletic in the 1960's, bought Chelsea for just £1 in 1982 and entered into a long running battle with property developers Marler Estates who owned a substantial portion of the freehold to Stamford Bridge. Bates spent 21 years at Chelsea and employed nine managers during that time. Such is the rotational velocity of the managerial merry-go-round these days that I'm tempted to put the word "just" in before the word nine in my last sentence! By the time that Bates sold his stake in Chelsea to the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovic for £140 Million in early 2004, Chelsea were an established top flight club and, indeed, had started winning trophies again (2 FA Cups, a League Cup and a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup) but it was Abramovic's Billions that would take Chelsea to the next level. It's arguable that Chelsea were in deep financial trouble just before Bates sold up since they had a mountain of debt secured against Stamford Bridge and were finding it increasingly tough to make ends meet.
Back in 1986 however Chelsea were struggling in the First Division and were without a home win in the previous seven months. Chelsea's manager, John Hollins, was shuffling his pack in an effort to find a winning formula and ahead of kick off dropped David Speedie and Nigel Spackman. This was back in the days before top flight sides would play weakened teams of fringe players and homegrown products against the likes of York City remember. Certainly the tie didn't captivate the London football watching public with an attendance of only 9,927. Incredibly, from today's vantage point, York actually came into the tie with a one goal lead from the first leg scored by Tony Canham and had eliminated Sunderland over two legs in the First Round!
The first goal arrived in the first half from a Chelsea set piece. Ricky Sbragia and Kerry Dixon went up for the flighted ball and it was Sbragia who applied the finishing touch for an unfortunate own goal. It remained 1-0 to Chelsea at half time and was therefore level on aggregate at one goal apiece. Another goal for York and Chelsea would have required two more in order to go through. Unfortunately for York, on 61 minutes it was Chelsea who got their noses in front with a smart finish from England international Dixon. Chelsea's third of the evening wasn't long in arriving and was put away by Kevin McAllister following good work from fellow Scot John McNaught. Overall on the night it was a toothless performance from Denis Smith's York side who created nothing and Chelsea dominated throughout. Had it not been for a few fine saves by Andy Leaning in goal for York, the score line could have been a lot worse.
Chelsea advanced to the Third Round and a tie later that same month against Cardiff City in the principality where they went down 2-1. The League Cup was won that season by Arsenal who beat Liverpool 2-1.
CRB Match No. 456
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