Prior to joining Chelsea on a free-transfer from Spurs, Neil Sullivan was probably best
remembered by the Blues' supporters for the part he played in Frank Lampard's late
sending-off at White Hart Lane early in the 2001/02 season (true to the history of
clashes between Chelsea and their fiercest rivals, the ten-men still found time to score
a last-minute winner), and although he was given a warm welcome to the club when
he was first introduced, there was no doubt that he would have to performvery well
in order to avoid the brickbats of those same supporters.
A hasty signing, recruited at the end of August 2003 on the back of a serious injury to
another goalkeeping newcomer, Jurgen Macho, Sully had to wait until late December to
make his league debut against Portsmouth, pulling off an outstanding save with the
score at 0-0 before the Blues scored three late goals to secure victory. Despite often
looking vulnerable, he kept back-to-back clean sheets in victories over Charlton and
in the return match with Portsmouth, but in an FA Cup tie at Arsenal he had the
misfortune of conceding what proved to be a winning goal within seconds of replacing
the injured Carlo Cudicini.
He conceded just two goals in his four Premiership games for the club, both coming in
a 2-1 defeat by the Gunners six days after their Cup triumph, and the decider being
as a result of Sully's failure to deal with a corner-kick. He redeemed himself a little with
a fine second-half save from Gilberto Silva but that was to be his final significant act as
a Chelsea player. Cudicini's injury resurfaced a fortnight later but Neil was unable to
deputise due to illness so third-choice keeper Marco Ambrosio stepped in to begin an
impressive, if slightly eccentric, run of performances which saw him climb above Sullivan
in the pecking order. To his credit, Sully kept himself sharp by volunteering to play for
the reserves throughout the remainder of the season before leaving the club in July 2004
to join Leeds United on a free-transfer. (Kelvin Barker)