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One of the great mavericks of English football during the 1970's, Duncan
McKenzie was 28 years-old when he signed for Chelsea from Everton in
September 1978 for £165, 000. Recruited by manager Ken Shellito to add
flair and experience to a young side who had struggled on their return
to the top-flight a year earlier, the portents were good early on when
he scored on his debut in a 3-2 defeat at Coventry and again two weeks
later to earn The Blues a point at Birmingham. A hugely self-confident
character, McKenzie initially delighted his new supporters with displays
of on-field arrogance and 'showboating' which had the boys on the
terraces harking back to the golden days of Osgood and Hudson, but alas
it was not to last.
He scored on his return to Goodison Park but it was
another 3-2 defeat at the start of a pre-Christmas run which saw Chelsea
become firmly anchored at the bottom of the table. Although he was
clearly no longer the player who had so thrilled the followers of
Nottingham Forest and Leeds previously, it was Duncan's misfortune to
have joined a club who were beset by problems both on and off the field.
The club's financial problems were well documented (McKenzie was in
fact Chelsea's first major signing for four years) and the youngsters
who had guided The Blues out of Division Two clearly needed
supplementing in order to have any realistic chance of avoiding the
drop. With the exception of Ray Wilkins, the midfield were out of their
depth and the service to the front men was poor. Duncan became an
increasingly forlorn figure and when two of the best youngsters, Steve
Wicks and Ken Swain, were sold mid-season in order to ease the debt, the
entire team became enveloped in an atmosphere of total desperation.
Peter Osgood was brought back to Stamford Bridge in December in the hope
that the two flamboyant characters might be able to find the necessary
magic to dig The Blues out of the hole they were in and both men were on
the scoresheet when Chelsea travelled to Maine Road in January and beat
Manchester City 3-2. Somewhat surprisingly, McKenzie was dropped after
that game and never returned to the side. In March 1979, just weeks
before Chelsea's relegation was confirmed, he joined Blackburn Rovers
for £80,000. (Kelvin Barker
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1969–1974 Nottingham Forest 111 (41)
1969–1970 Mansfield Town (loan) 10 (3)
1972–1973 Mansfield Town (loan) 6 (7)
1974–1976 Leeds United 66 (27)
1976 Anderlecht 9 (2)
1976–1978 Everton 48 (14)
1978–1979 Chelsea 15 (4)
1978–1981 Blackburn Rovers 74 (16)
1981 Tulsa Roughnecks 31 (14)
1981–82 Tulsa Roughnecks (indoor) 1 (0)
1982 Chicago Sting 20 (3)
1983 Ryoden