When Chelsea Were Top Of The Hooligan League Table, Not Premier League

Chelsea weren’t always the glamor club that they are today. In the late 70s and early 80s, they were the scourge of English football thanks to their hooligans who terrorized trains, city centres and stadiums around the country. They weren’t the only troublemakers, but they were often the most feared.

Searching through YouTube, I found a selection of videos that I wanted to share with you that discuss Chelsea hooligan incidents from 1983 after they went to Derby County’s Baseball Ground and tore up several hundred seats. It’s an interesting series of videos to watch for several different reasons. There are the ton of empty seats at Stamford Bridge. The interviews with Chelsea chairman Ken Bates and Derby chairman Mike Watterson (who, later on, left the club because of the hooligan problem). Also discussed on the videos are the expensive cost of tickets as well as why people were less interested in going to see games in the early 80s. Watterson also discusses the financial suicide demonstrated by many clubs by signing expensive players. I wonder what they would think nowadays.

The videos are definitely recommended viewing. But before you watch them, I must warn you that some of the videos contain very graphic content.