A blog of two halves

A man for all seasons

As Blues fans set off with buckets and spades, and a contented purr, it’s been – the consensus has it – a rather good season.

4 June 2019
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Morrie Sarri celebrates with the Europa League trophy. PICTURE: GETTY IMAGES

As Blues fans set off with buckets and spades, and a contented purr, it’s been – the consensus has it – a rather good season.

We may be losing a manager, but history will look kindly on the Morrie Sarri era, even if some of the metronomic matches disappear quickly from the collective memory.

We may be losing a superstar to Spain, but once our young double-barrelled hopefuls are fighting fit again, there's every chance of further glory.

No need to look glum as we’ll always have Baku. The fun of beating Arsenal in a place everyone had to Google (come on, admit it) was oddly enhanced by the fact that we all had to cram into pubs back home to share the fun with mates over a few beers in a raucous atmosphere.

It turned out to be one of those wonderful shared experiences; strangers embracing as goals flew in, while one of our arch enemies (with their swanky new stadium) just crumbled.

Another European cup now gleams in the trophy cabinet, and Chelsea's continental history is enriched further. From a practical point of view, the only problem is finding terrace chant rhymes for Baku.

The summer is here, Blues fans have a spring in their step, and they approach autumn with distraught beaten rivals Spurs and Arsenal in something of a nuclear winter. Morrie Sarri? A man for all seasons.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.

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Tim Harrison

Tim is our Chelsea FC blogger.

Tim has been writing Chelsea match reports since the late 1980s for newspapers and, more recently, websites.

When he first reported on the Blues, the press box was a metal cage suspended over the lip of the old west stand - and you reached it via a precarious walkway over the heads of the fans.

But he has been a Chelsea fan since his father took an excited seven-year-old to watch Chelsea v Manchester United in the mid 1960s... and covered his ears every time the chanting got too ripe.

In July 2005 he wrote The Rough Guide to Chelsea, published by Penguin, which sold 15,000 copies.

His favourite player of all time is Charlie Cooke, the mazy winger who lit up Chelsea's left wing in the 60s and 70s.

When he isn't watching the Blues, Tim acts, paints, writes and researches local history.

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