Nigel SPACKMAN

 Unable to pay an outstanding debt to Chelsea chairman Ken Bates, Wigan Athletic offered Bates the pick of their players to take to Stamford Bridge instead. The chairman and his manager John Neal travelled to watch Wigan take on Bournemouth and as the match reached it's conclusion Bates asked Neal for his thoughts. Neal replied 'Bournemouth's number four looks useful'! Bournemouth's number four was Nigel Spackman, an industrious, energetic midfielder who signed for Chelsea in the summer of 1983 for £35,000.

Spackman, whose name was amusingly chanted by the supporters to the theme from Batman, made his debut on the opening day of the 1983/84 season in a 5-0 thrashing of Derby County and fired home his first goal for the club after just four minutes. If the supporters thought they had found a prolific goal scorer from midfield they were sorely mistaken. He scored only twice more that season, the first a shot from the edge of the area which gave Chelsea the lead in a 4-0 victory over Newcastle, and the other a last minute penalty at Cardiff to salvage a 3-3 draw from a game which The Blues had been trailing 3-0 with just six minutes remaining.

Paired in the centre of midfield with John Bumstead, a player with very similar attributes, Spackman would cover every blade of grass during a match, tackling and harrying opponents and throwing himself fearlessly into challenges for the cause. He made 40 league appearances in his first season as Chelsea won the Second Division title and in the following campaign he proved he was a genuine top-flight performer, playing in all 55 of Chelsea's games that season.

He scored just twice, the goals coming in defeats against Liverpool at Anfield and in the FA Cup against Millwall at Stamford Bridge. However, the lack of goals did not disguise the level of performance. He was a huge factor in Chelsea's run to the Milk Cup semi-final but most impressive of all was an outstanding performance at White Hart Lane when he totally dominated a Tottenham midfield featuring Hoddle, Hazard and Mabbutt. (Kelvin Barker)

 Micky Hazard's arrival from Tottenham in September 1985 saw Nigel surprisingly relegated to the substitute's bench when the new man made his debut against Arsenal. The supporters were shocked and disappointed that Spackman had been sacrificed and he received a stirring ovation from them when he replaced the tiring Hazard late in the game and scored a penalty to clinch a 2-1 victory.

He was left on the bench for just one more game but when he returned to the side it was in an unfamiliar left-midfield role. Typically, he battled on without complaint but was clearly uncomfortable in the position and eventually manager John Hollins restored him to the centre. Spackman retained his place in the heart of midfield throughout the remainder of the season and even managed to find the net seven times, Chelsea winning six of the matches in which he scored.

Nigel began the next campaign in the starting line-up but after a dismal run of results, culminating in a depressing 1-0 defeat at home to Charlton, Hollins wielded the axe. Spackman, along with David Speedie and Joe McLaughlin, was left out of the side for almost two months as the team continued to struggle (not surprisingly considering the reserve side was now as strong as the first team) but he maintained a dignified silence while other players voiced their anger via the tabloid press. He returned to first-team duty for a Full Members Cup match against West Ham at Upton Park at the end of November and scored a goal in a 2-1 win.

He subsequently remained in the side for the majority of the next three months, although he was briefly returned to the left of midfield as Hollins mystifyingly chose to play centre-half Colin Pates in Nigel's position. However, it was common knowledge that Spackman had been hurt by his treatment that season and it was therefore no surprise that he jumped at the chance to join Liverpool for £400,000 in February 1987, where he went on to enjoy some well-deserved success. (Kelvin Barker)

Chelsea paid Glasgow Rangers £485, 000 to take Nigel Spackman back to Stamford Bridge in September 1992. He made his 'debut' in a 3-2 defeat at home to Norwich but was only able to make a further five appearances before suffering a back strain which sidelined him for the next seven months. Spackman returned for the last two games of the season but the injury flared up again in the summer and he subsequently missed the first five months of the following campaign.

After totalling just 20 appearances in the first two seasons since his return, a fully fit Nigel Spackman made 48 appearances for The Blues in 1994/95. A more defensive player than during his first spell, Nigel played a commanding role at Elland Road on the second Saturday of the season, directing operations superbly alongside Dennis Wise as Chelsea fought back from two goals down to win.

He was also hugely influential in the run to the European Cup Winners Cup semi-final. Calling on his experience of European football with Rangers, Spackman was a calming influence on a very young team and captained the side who clinched an away goals victory in Vienna. He finished runner-up to Erland Johnsen for that season's Player of the Year award. Nigel's last season with Chelsea was another badly affected by injury, the back problem resurfacing at Nottingham Forest in August and restricting him to just 20 appearances, 6 as a substitute.

His final campaign will probably be best, and most fondly, remembered by Chelsea's followers for an altercation with Arsenal's Martin Keown at Stamford Bridge when the usually placid Spackman reacted to being fouled by Keown by delivering a right-hook to the Arsenal man's head. Dismissed by the referee, he received a standing ovation from the supporters for carrying out this most public of duties. After a total of almost eight years as a Chelsea player, during which time he never once gave less than 100%, Nigel Spackman played his last game on May 5th 1996 before retiring at the age of 35 to pursue a managerial career. (Kelvin Barker)

1980–1983    Bournemouth    119    (10)
1983–1987    Chelsea    141    (12)
1987–1989    Liverpool    51    (0)
1989               Queens Park Rangers    29    (1)
1989–1992    Rangers    100    (1)
1992–1996    Chelsea    67    (0)
1996–1998    Sheffield United    24    (0)

Total        521    (24 goals)