It isn’t always easy remembering what Stamford Bridge used to be like before the money arrived. Suffice to say, though, it was nothing like the shiny, photogenic ground Chelsea call home now. Stamford Bridge had soul. But it was hard-faced, too, and a little eccentric bearing in mind it was the only ground in the country where there was enough space for drivers to park round the edge of the pitch, meaning games would take place with a forecourt-style display of motors – including a sky-blue Robin Reliant if memory serves right – behind one goal. Handy for a quick getaway – but not without risks, given the number of occasions a stray shot would thud against someone’s near-side panel, followed by an unsympathetic cheer from the Shed.
If that sounds like an American drive-in movie theatre, in reality it was never quite that glamorous. Away fans in those days would be steered up some steps to a rough, crumbling terrace that is now the Matthew Harding stand. The facilities were basic, to say the least. There was often a sense of danger and Brian Clough described the away dressing room as a pigsty after one visit, otherwise notable for a smoke bomb being set off, with his Nottingham Forest side in 1977. The publicity was so embarrassing for Chelsea that one of their supporters, a painter and decorator, wrote to the club offering to spruce up the place free of charge.
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