Ed DE GOEY

 Ask a supporter of any other club, 'who played in goal for Chelsea in the 1997 FA Cup final?' and the odds are that you will struggle for a correct answer. It was actually the Norwegian Frode Grodas, who was brought in, initially on loan, to cover for an injury to Dmitri Kharine and the loss of form of Kevin Hitchcock. Recognising The Blues' weakness between the sticks, manager Ruud Gullit returned to his former club, Feyenoord, to sign Dutch international goalkeeper Ed De Goey for £2, 250, 000 in July 1997. De Goey, at 6' 6" the tallest player in Chelsea's history, made his debut at Wembley in the Charity Shield, The Blues losing on penalties to Manchester United, and suffered a torrid league bow at the hands of Dion Dublin, the Coventry number nine scoring three times as The Blues lost by the odd goal in five at Highfield Road. His home debut, where he gifted a goal to Southampton's Kevin Davies, was equally traumatic but he soon settled into the job and by the end of his first season, Ed was celebrating two major cup victories.

In what proved to be one of the most bizarre seasons in the club's history, Chelsea, second in the league at Christmas and through to the semi-final and quarter-final of the Coca-Cola and European Cup Winners Cups respectively, sacked Gullit and replaced him with Gianluca Vialli. De Goey had kept goal for the first 25 matches of the league campaign but was suddenly replaced by Kharine for all but three of the remaining matches as Vialli rotated his keepers, preferring to use the Dutchman only in important cup ties. Though disappointed to be on the sidelines as The Blues clinched fourth spot in the Premiership, Ed was in goal as Chelsea emerged victorious in both cup competitions. The signings of Albert Ferrer and Marcel Desailly in the summer of 1998 strengthened The Bluesí defence significantly and the Londoners emerged as genuine title contenders, eventually finishing third. They were beaten just three times in the league that year, and Ed broke Peter Bonetti's record of top-flight clean sheets in one season with an impressive total of 14. (Kelvin Barker)

 Chelsea's third place finish in 1998/99 resulted in Champions League football the following season, and De Goey performed well throughout a campaign which saw The Blues reach the quarter-final, where they finally bowed out to Barcelona. The journey to the Nou Camp had been via AC Milan, Lazio and Galatasaray amongst others, and Ed played in all of Chelsea's matches, including two 3-1 victories against his old club, Feyenoord. Consolation for the devastating defeat at Barcelona came by way of two trips to Wembley, the first for an FA Cup semi-final where De Goey starred as The Blues clinched a fortunate 2-1 victory over Newcastle, the other was the final itself, a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa. By the end of Chelsea's busiest ever season, the Dutchman was the club's top appearance maker, having featured in all but two of the club's 61 matches in all competitions. Ed was dropped after just two matches of the 2000/01 season and although he returned in the autumn, he was a shadow of his former self. Clearly struggling for confidence, he suffered a traumatic time during the Christmas period, culminating in a disastrous performance in a 2-2 draw at Ipswich on Boxing Day. That match proved to be his last of the season and although he was selected for the beginning of the following campaign, an injury sustained in October opened the way for Carlo Cudicini, who took his opportunity in style, confirming his position as one of the Premiership's finest goalkeepers.

Carlo's continued excellence meant that De Goey was very much a peripheral figure throughout 2002/03. He was given two opportunities over Christmas when Cudicini was injured and kept a clean sheet in a draw with Southampton before conceding a goal to the youngest ever Premiership scorer, James Milner, as The Blues were beaten 2-0 at Leeds. His final appearance for the club came in controversial circumstances a week later. When Cudicini was bizarrely red-carded by referee Mark Halsey during an FA Cup third-round clash with Middlesbrough for allowing his ribs to come into contact with Dean Windass' elbow, Ed was summoned from the bench. With the crowd howling at the injustice and Cudicini's team-mates seeking revenge, De Goey was the coolest person in the stadium. He performed impeccably for the remainder of the game, one save from Boro's Geremi being particularly outstanding, as Chelsea held on for a 1-0 win despite Steve McClaren significantly strengthening his side immediately after the sending-off simply by substituting Windass. Inevitably, Cudicini's red card was rescinded and he was not required to serve a suspension. If he had, Ed would have been due to keep goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford. As it was, he was destined to remain on the sidelines for the remainder of the season. His contract expired in May 2003 and Ed De Goey was released by Chelsea, subsequently signing for Stoke City two months later. (Kelvin Barker)