Eddie McCreadie is pictured above during Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Birmingham City.
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| Signed from East Stirling in April 1962 for £6,000 |
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| Chelsea: |
1962-1963 |
Played |
32 |
Scored |
0 |
goals |
(Division 2) |
| |
1963-1964 |
Played |
35 |
Scored |
1 |
goal |
(Division 1) |
| |
1964-1965 |
Played |
34 |
Scored |
1 |
goal |
(Division 1) |
| |
1965-1966 |
Played |
30 |
Scored |
0 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1966-1967 |
Played |
38 |
Scored |
1 |
goal |
(Division 1) |
| |
1967-1968 |
Played |
36 |
Scored |
0 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1968-1969 |
Played |
38 |
Scored |
0 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1969-1970 |
Played |
30 |
Scored |
0 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1970-1971 |
Played |
14 |
Scored |
0 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1971-1972 |
Played |
7 |
Scored |
0 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1972-1973 |
Played |
31 |
Scored |
1 |
goal |
(Division 1) |
| |
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Eddie McCreadie played Scotland international, winning 23 caps between 1965 and 1969 after
making his debut against England. He played in Scotland's famous 3-2 win over world champions
England at Wembley in 1967.
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Upon his retirement from playing in 1973, McCreadie joined the coaching staff at Chelsea having made 410 appearances for the club. In April 1975 he was appointed manager but by this stage the team was in decline with the club heavily in debt and he couldn't prevent relegation to the Second Division. Nevertheless, McCreadie re-built the side - taking the captaincy from Harris and giving it to 18-year old Ray Wilkins in the process - and with no money to spend put together a team of youth players and veterans from the club's heyday.
Chelsea were promoted back to the First Division in 1977. It was then that he lost his job in somewhat bizarre circumstances. Having won promotion, his request for a company car was rejected by chairman Brian Mears, so he resigned. Mears then relented and offered him the car but with his sense of Scottish pride he did not come back to the club as he had already made his mind up.
McCreadie left for the North American Soccer League in the late 1970s and was appointed manager of the Memphis Rogues, with whom he played one game in 1979, and later the indoor Cleveland Force before finally retiring from football in 1985. He remained in the United States.
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