IT WAS May 11, 2003 and as Eidur Gudjohnsen, the Iceland striker, sat in the home team’s dressing-room at Stamford Bridge, he was well aware that Chelsea had to beat Liverpool on the last day of the season to qualify for the Champions League. He also knew, vaguely, that the club were deep in debt.
However, it was only when a trembling Trevor Birch, the chief executive at the time, entered the room that Gudjohnsen appreciated the gravity of the situation. “As a player, I didn’t really realise what state the club was in,” Gudjohnsen said yesterday. “At least not until Trevor came in.
“He said, ‘Boys, if we don’t win this, this is the difference between staying a big club or having to sell players and being a mediocre club.’ It shocked me. As if there wasn’t enough pressure on the game. But we won, so we thought the club was safe.”
Not true. Chelsea’s debts had spiralled to about £90 million and it was only when, six weeks later, Roman Abramovich rode in on his white charger that the West London club were rescued from meltdown. It was only when the Russian billionaire’s first downpayment of £150 million had been invested that the recovery could take hold.
Graeme Le Saux, the midfield player, made his last appearance for Chelsea that fateful day and was voted man of the match. “People were saying that I was the man who had saved Chelsea,” he said. “I’m not sure about that but I do remember that Trevor was almost wetting himself.”
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Le Saux has long since left the club, as have Mario Melchiot, Marcel Desailly, Celestine Babayaro, Jesper Gronkjaer, Emmanuel Petit and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, all of whom were in the starting line-up that day and helped to defeat Liverpool 2-1. But Gudjohnsen, after almost six years at the club, is still there and still amazed at the startling turnaround that has changed not only Stamford Bridge but football’s natural order.
“From that game, suddenly we became one of the richest clubs in the world,” he said. “Big clubs have always had a lot of money to spend but you have to spend it on the right players, with the right mentality, and have the right manager to make them work together.”
Few players talk about the success of the runaway Barclays Premiership leaders, who play Charlton Athletic tomorrow, without giving José Mourinho, their manager, a healthy name-check. Mourinho has overseen Gudjohnsen’s transition from forward to midfield player and ensured his survival among the many incoming superstars.
“As a player, I think I’ve grown with the club,” Gudjohnsen said. “Whoever we’ve signed, I think my qualities and experience have got me through. You do have your disappointments when you’re not playing but, in the end, it’s down to yourself.”
Charlton “beat” Chelsea last time they met — 5-4 on penalties after they had drawn 1-1 in their Carling Cup third-round tie in October — but Alan Curbishley, their manager, is a fan of Mourinho. “People talk about the money and José’s quotes,” he said, “but, at some stage, he will get the credit that he deserves.”
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Charlton are bent on success against Chelsea tomorrow — their front line is likely to feature Darren and Marcus Bent. Other similarly named partnerships include:
Paul Williams and Paul Williams: Defenders at Coventry City, Aug 6-10, 1995. They had a third defender named Paul Williams on loan from West Bromwich Albion three years earlier
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Mike Newell and Paul Jewell: Strikers at Wigan Athletic, Dec 1984-Jan 1986. Now both successful managers, they shared 30 league goals (21 by Newell) in 13 months together
Elvir Bolic and Elvir Baljic: Strike partners for Bosnia-Herzegovina for the past ten years. The pair have both scored at roughly a goal every two games for their country