Tony DORIGO

 When Tony Dorigo, a £475, 000 signing from Aston Villa in the summer of 1987, stepped out in a Chelsea shirt for the first time, it was immediately apparent that The Blues had finally found a player of true class to fill a left-back position which had been the club's Achilles heel for over a decade. A strong-tackling defender despite his slight frame, it was when he was marauding forward stylishly with the ball at his feet that he really caught the eye. The Melbourne-born player made his debut at home to Sheffield Wednesday on the opening day of the 1987/88 season and was a prominent figure as Chelsea opened the First Division campaign impressively, reaching second spot at the end of September. As The Blues' title challenge metamorphosed into a relegation battle, Dorigo was one of the few players whose performances remained strong and he featured in all but one of Chelsea's games that year.

At the end of the season he was voted Player of the Year by the supporters but his personal triumph was scant consolation as Chelsea were relegated via the play-offs, Dorigo's second relegation in successive seasons. Tony asked for, and was refused, a transfer immediately after the final match of the season. A groin injury kept him out of the first five games as The Blues made a stuttering start to the new campaign but once he returned to the side he was quick to register his first goal for the club, a sweet strike in a 2-0 victory over Walsall. He scored six goals in 1988/89, the pick of which came at Manchester City in March when he raced the length of the pitch with the ball at his feet before rounding the keeper to score the winner in what appeared at the time to be a title-decider. Despite another impressive season, in which he made 46 appearances, Dorigo remained unsettled until April when, with promotion assured, he finally agreed to honour his four-year contract. (Kelvin Barker)

 Tony Dorigo was quick to make his mark on Chelsea's return to the top flight, scoring the season's first goal at Stamford Bridge with a clever free-kick in a 1-1 draw with QPR. A regular understudy to the impressive Stuart Pearce, Dorigo's consistent form finally earned him his first England cap in December 1989 when he featured as a substitute in a 2-1 win over Yugoslavia at Wembley. He returned to Wembley later in the season for the Full Members Cup Final against Middlesbrough and was the match-winner with another of the well-flighted free-kicks which were swiftly becoming his trademark. Tony was a member of the England squad that travelled to Italy for the 1990 World Cup and made his first starting appearance for his adopted country in the 3rd Place Play-Off against the home nation, creating England's goal in a 2-1 defeat. Chelsea strengthened their squad considerably in the summer of 1990 with the recruitment of Andy Townsend and Dennis Wise and embarked on a run to the League Cup semi-final.

Unfortunately the league form suffered as a result and as the season wore on it became obvious that the increasingly impassioned pleas from manager Bobby Campbell and the Stamford Bridge faithful for Dorigo to sign a new contract were falling on deaf ears. He gave everybody a taste of what they would be missing when he rifled home a powerful shot in The Blues' 3-2 victory over Manchester United in March. Dorigo's Chelsea career finished in a rather unfortunate manner. With nothing left to play for, Campbell decided to blood the youngsters and Tony was dropped in favour of 19 year-old Frank Sinclair. He was recalled for the match at Nottingham Forest in late-April and was asked to play on the left-wing to cover Sinclair against the pacy Crosby and Charles on Forest's right. Sinclair was torn apart as Chelsea slumped to an embarrassing 7-0 defeat amid accusations that Dorigo had deliberately left the youngster exposed. It was under these somewhat sad conditions that Chelsea's best left-back of the last thirty years signed for Leeds that summer for a fee of £1.3 million. (Kelvin Barker)