The A to Z of Chelsea: Where Were You When We Were Shocking?

The A to Z of Chelsea "Where Were You When We Were Shocking?' is a selection of Neil Smith's memories from just a few of the now (July 2018) in excess of 2000 Chelsea matches he has attended. It is also a look back at some of the occurrences he witnessed that in some way shaped his life.

Neil's first game was at Stamford Bridge in 1966 when Chelsea beat West Ham 6-2 on April 9th when he attended with his older brother Martin. When he got home after that game, he wrote some words about the day and it was the start of a habit that, as he got older, became a diary.

The title of Neil's book is in no way a 'slight' on the glorious Chelsea Football Club. Indeed, like many others of his ilk, Chelsea have always been the best football club in the world with the book's name simply reflecting the fact that they weren't as successful back then as they have been since around 1997.

While there are plenty of books about matches played, individual players and managers and of course the historical aspect of Chelsea FC, 'Where Were You When We Were Shocking?' gives a unique perspective of following the side from one of the club's most loyal supporters.

'Thoughtful, funny, away-day reminiscences on days spent supporting the Blues, and how the less important things in life very nearly get in the way.' Rick Glanvill Official historian Chelsea FC

Hailing from the wilds of Buckinghamshire where he was born in the mid 1950s, Smiffy, as Neil is known to many Chelsea supporters, can trace his lifelong love of the club to the door of cousins who lived on the World’s End Estate less than a mile from Stamford Bridge. By the time he was 10-years old young Smiffy had been indoctrinated into the true Blue faith... and the rest as they say is history.

The 1970 FA Cup Final against Leeds United at Wembley? Smiffy was there along with a dozen family members. The replay at Old Trafford? Smiffy wasn’t there. ＂You’ve got French that day,＂ his mother had advised him while wagging her finger. As he grew into his later teens, freedom from lessons beckoned and Smiffy became a regular at Chelsea away games, travelling in silence on football specials out of fear that his country bumpkin accent might be deemed unacceptable.

A fully paid up member of Eddie McCreadie’s Blue and White Army, Smiffy missed only two games of the fabulous 1976/77 promotion season and went on to chalk up a 100% record in the 1983/84 campaign seeing all 42 matches when Johnny Neal steered Chelsea to the Second Division title.

Smiffy is world-renown for his encyclopaedic knowledge of all things Chelsea. In 1992 he was invited by Neil Barnett to become a columnist for Bridge News (forerunner of the official Chelsea magazine) after continually pointing out factual errors in the publication. Entitled Those Were The Days, Smiffy’s column revisited previous and upcoming fixtures. He currently writes a similar article for the cfcuk fanzine.

In 2017, the late great Ray Wilkins name-checked Smiffy as the Chelsea Statistician on talkSport, a touching moment that ranks alongside being reunited with Eddie McCreadie the same year when the former Blues boss returned to Stamford Bridge for the first time in four decades. Eddie was back in town to attend a tribute event held in his honour that marked the publication of ’Eddie Mac, Eddie Mac’, a book which Smiffy co-authored.