Steve CLARKE

 The swashbuckling, marauding Steve Clarke who joined Chelsea in January 1987 bore little resemblance to the dogged, determined campaigner of later years, but throughout the majority of his 11-year career with The Blues Steve was a model of consistency, and thoroughly deserved to be a part of the success which the club eventually achieved in his final seasons at Stamford Bridge. 'Clarkey' was signed for £400, 000 from St Mirren by John Hollins and made his debut as a substitute in a 2-2 draw at Norwich. A right-back by trade, he made his full debut at centre-half in an injury-affected Chelsea defence which lost 1-0 to Watford in an FA Cup 4th round tie. Clarke made his full League bow against Sheffield Wednesday a week later and immediately looked a class act, establishing himself in the side throughout the remainder of the campaign. In truth, he had joined a club in turmoil, the previous season's title challenge having been replaced by a relegation battle in 1986/87, and various players at odds with the management team. An upturn in results after his arrival offered some relief to his beleaguered manager, and The Blues' supporters, and Steve was rewarded for his impressive form when he was selected alongside his team-mate and compatriot, Pat Nevin, to play for a Football League XI which faced a World XI featuring Diego Maradona and Michel Platini at Wembley in August 1987 in a match which was part of the Football League's centenary celebrations.

By the time the new season began, Chelsea had recruited the classy Tony Dorigo at left-back, giving The Blues a defensive stability in the wide areas which had been missing for some years. It should have offered a platform for success, and certainly the early omens were promising. Chelsea made an excellent start to the 1987/88 campaign and were sitting pretty in second place in the table after a 3-0 victory at Watford in late September. Three weeks earlier, Clarke had scored his first goal for the club when he linked up well with Nevin and Darren Wood before shooting past Hans Segers in the Nottingham Forest goal to complete an incredible fightback as The Blues overturned a 3-1 half-time deficit to win 4-3. However, the early season optimism soon dissipated and Chelsea embarked on a depressing run in which they won just one of their last 26 League matches, eventually being relegated via the Play-Offs. Only Dorigo made more appearances than Clarke throughout the campaign and his form was such that he was also capped five times by Scotland that season. Happily, it was only a brief sojourn into Division Two. Chelsea eased to promotion, finishing 17 points clear of their nearest rivals, Manchester City, and although he failed to find the net in any of his 36 appearances, Clarkey took advantage of the drop in class to find himself regularly amongst the goal assists with his decisive running and crossing from the right. (Kelvin Barker)

 With the 1990 World Cup on the horizon, Steve Clarke made an impressive return to the top-flight. Having scored just once previously for the club, he was positively prolific in front of goal in the autumn of 1989. His first goal of the season came at Tottenham, when he ran onto a Micky Hazard through ball and fired Chelsea into a 4-1 lead at the ground their supporters love to call Three Point Lane. His next goal came a month later at Scarborough but in true Chelsea style, the team that had demolished a Spurs side laden with internationals conspired to let slip a 2-0 second-half lead to the lowly Yorkshiremen, and lost 3-2. Clarkey's finest moment to date in a Chelsea shirt came in mid-November when he took advantage of an error by Everton's Martin Keown and fired the only goal of the game to send The Blues to the top of the table. The inevitable slump followed in December as Chelsea were heavily beaten four times, but Steve managed to find the net again at QPR in a 4-2 defeat. Worse was to follow. He suffered a back injury during a Scotland training session in February which brought his season to a premature end. Chelsea went on to finish fifth and win the Full Members Cup but Clarkey was forced to miss the Wembley final and, more significantly, the Italia 90 World Cup. Further frustration lay ahead for Steve at the start of the new campaign when manager Bobby Campbell opted to use young Gareth Hall, who had deputised for Clarke at the end of the following campaign, at right-back.

Steve fell out with Campbell and asked for a transfer. He briefly returned in place of Hall, and found the net in a 3-3 draw at Southampton, but was then dropped again until New Year's Day, when he was asked to deputise for Dorigo at left-back. Another spell on the sidelines ended when Jason Cundy was injured for the visit of Arsenal and Clarke filled in at centre-half. Chelsea won 2-1, The Gunners' only defeat in the League that season, but his season of frustration continued a week later when he was sent-off after just 20 minutes at Manchester City. He was recalled to the side when Chelsea travelled to Hillsborough for the second-leg of the Rumbelows Cup semi-final but, 2-0 down from the home leg, The Blues capitulated to a 5-1 aggregate defeat and soon after, Campbell was sacked. New manager Ian Porterfield began the following campaign with Steve at right-back and he responded in style. A string of superb performances were interrupted by a groin injury suffered at Luton in the last game of 1991 and he was out of action for more than two months, missing out on Chelsea's run to the FA Cup quarter-final. He scored his only goal of the season with a header in a 2-1 win over QPR but two days later, on Easter Monday, he suffered a recurrence of his injury which brought the curtain down on his season. (Kelvin Barker)

 Clarkey was further hampered by injuries throughout the 1992/93 season. An injury sustained at Aston Villa at the beginning of September kept him out of the side until January. He struggled for form and fitness after his return and it wasn't until the final two months of the season that he cemented his place back in the side. The arrival of Glenn Hoddle as Player/Manager in the summer of 1993 gave Steve a new lease of life. Despite playing in a team who struggled desperately in the League, Clarke's form, whether playing as a wing-back or as a traditional right-back, was simply magnificent. His new found confidence was never better exemplified than in an FA Cup 4th round clash with Sheffield Wednesday when he created Chelsea's goal with an outstanding run and pass which set Gavin Peacock free to score. The Blues reached the Final that year but were beaten 4-0 by Manchester United. However, at the end of the season, Clarke was quite rightly voted Player of the Year by the club's supporters. Injuries once again caused Steve to miss much of the first half of the following campaign.

After being sent-off in a home defeat by West Ham at the beginning of October, he was injured at Arsenal a fortnight later and was unable to return until after Christmas. Chelsea struggled at the wrong end of the table for much of the season, perhaps distracted slightly by their participation in the European Cup Winners Cup, which they had qualified for as a result of Manchester United also winning the League in the previous season and thus qualifying for the Champions League. Clarke, considered a foreign player by a ridiculous FIFA ruling, was an essential member of the team who reached the semi-final before bowing out to eventual winners Real Zaragoza. The arrival of the exemplary Dan Petrescu in November 1995 ensured that Steve would struggle for a place on the right side of the defence during Hoddle's last season in charge. Typically, however, he showed his versatility, and importance to the team, when The Blues suffered a number of injuries after Christmas. He was a regular in a three-man central defence throughout the second half of the season and played in every game of Chelsea's run to the FA Cup semi-final. It was testimony to his outstanding performances in the middle that when Dan Petrescu was suspended for the semi-final against Manchester United, Hoddle chose to switch big Michael Duberry to right-back rather than move Clarke from the centre of defence. Unfortunately, Steve was forced off through injury before half-time and The Blues lost 2-1, having led at the interval. (Kelvin Barker)

 Steve Clarke finally received his just reward for a decade of great service to The Blues in 1996/97. A week before the season began, a crowd of just under 13, 000 attended his testimonial against PSV Eindhoven, the Dutch side winning 3-2. New manager Ruud Gullit chose to start the season with a 3-5-2 formation and retained Clarkey at the heart of the defence. With the cool presence of Frank Leboeuf behind, and the rugged Erland Johnsen alongside him, the 33-year-old Scot flourished with a run of outstanding performances, even captaining the side on various occasions when Dennis Wise was not selected. The highlight of the season was the FA Cup run. Clarkey played in every game as Chelsea reached the Final for the second time in four years. At Portsmouth in the quarter-final, he popped up at the far-post to apparently head the goal which gave The Blues a 2-0 lead but Wise denied him his moment of glory by claiming the final touch. The Final was against Middlesbrough and was won 2-0. Chelsea claimed their first major trophy for 26 years and the scenes at the end of the game, when the two Chelsea stalwarts, Wise and Clarke, embraced on the Wembley pitch, will be forever etched in the memories of the club's supporters. Just like the buses, you win one trophy and then another two follow almost immediately.

Clarkey's final season at Stamford Bridge could barely have been more successful. It began at Wembley in the Charity Shield where The Blues lost on penalties to Manchester United, and ended in the Rasunda Stadium, Stockholm, where Chelsea picked up the European Cup Winners Cup. After an early season injury, Clarke played himself back into first-team contention on a regular basis after Christmas. He again deputised as captain for Wise a number of times and it was on one such occasion that he finally scored his first goal since the header against QPR six years earlier. It came in April against Liverpool when his low shot on the turn beat Brad Friedel to restore Chelsea's lead in a game which was eventually won 4-1. The look on his face as he celebrated was one of total disbelief. The Blues reached the Coca-Cola Cup Final that season and Clarkey was named amongst the substitutes. He replaced Dan Petrescu after 75 minutes, and was on the pitch as Chelsea triumphed with two extra-time goals. The Stamford Bridge side finished in a very creditable fourth place at the end of the season and then beat VFB Stuttgart 1-0 to win the ECWC. That match in Stockholm proved to be Steve Clarke's last appearance for Chelsea. He was not in the starting line-up as the new season began and within a month of the kick-off, he had joined his former boss, Ruud Gullit, as Assistant Manager at Newcastle, for what was an ultimately unsatisfactory spell. He later returned to Chelsea as Youth Team Coach and still looked bewildered when anybody mentioned that goal against Liverpool! (Kelvin Barker)