VOLUME 2, ISSUE 4 APRIL 2010
DEEP FROM THE HEART
• Chelsea's Perfect
10 Review
• Deep from the
Heart
• First Trip to the
Bridge
• Tales from the
FA Cup Final
1970
• 5 Questions
For...
Chelsea's Perfect
10 by Neil Barnett
Review by Jeremy
Willard
I would like to start this review by
stating this: Everyone’s favorite spy in
the camp is a liar.! Oh don’t worry, he
admits he is – it’s one of the first
things he writes in the book.! You
see, to say this book is Chelsea’s
Perfect 10 is incorrect; it’s actually
Chelsea’s perfect 8, two halves, and
one for the future.! Actually, now that
we’re in 2010 its Chelsea’s Perfect 9
and two halves, as Neil states that by
the time 2010 is here the one for the
future will be part of the Perfect 10
(err, Perfect 9 and two halves I mean).
So where do the two halves come
from?! Well, Neil explains in the book
that goalkeepers are only half players
anyway, and he had two goalkeepers
to include in his perfect 10 –!but who
continued on Page 5
Notes from the Chairwoman
Hi guys,
! yourselves, our club and Chelsea proud,
WHAT A MONTH! But first things first. As
many of you know one of our own, Dean
Kelley, “Eidur” on the message board,
has been in a horrible accident, and is
still in ICU in Seattle. We have sent out
an email and posted on the board the
details, and we have set up a donation to
help him out. We have had an
overwhelming response to the call, and
thank you to all that have given so
generously! But if somehow it has
escaped your notice, or if you haven’t
had a chance yet, here is the link to
donate: http://
www.chelseainamerica.com/
ShoppingCarts/DeanKelly.htm and
THANK YOU! If you would like to keep
up on Dean’s progress, Jens has been
keeping us all informed as news breaks,
and you can check that out on the
bulletin board - just go to the general
chat, then Chelsea Football Club and
look for the thread “One of our own is
really in trouble!!!”. You don’t have to
register to read it, and news will break
there first. Please, if you could take a
moment and send a good thought, a
prayer, or whatever method of help you
can, it is needed.
! to them. They are an incredible group of
And so that brings me to my thoughts
on what this club means. Yes, it is about
following the team through thick and
thin, but it is more about the friendship,
camaraderie and care that is a
benchmark of who we are. The kindness,
loyalty and generosity of all of you is a
hallmark of CIA and Chelsea. We are
more than just a team of 11 players, we
are a family and when one of our own is
in trouble, the cavalry truly is on the
way. People might say we are crazy, a
little too passionate or something like
that, but in the end what I love the most
about this group is the people that make
it up. What fine people they are, always
ready to lend a hand, always there to
help and always giving. You do
and I am proud beyond words to be
a"liated with such an incredible group
of people. Just this month alone, our
members have stepped up and
supported Dean, we helped Steven Rea
raise well over $1000 for a children’s
cancer charity (and helped him beat a
Spud!) and continued to support
Monique as she walks for Breast Cancer
research!! That is a lot of giving, and
thank you all!
!
But now on to other things...
!
It has been a roller coaster this past few
weeks, bad times and amazing, and I
don’t think I have to remind any of you
of the pain or the joy. We have a big
match this Saturday, and I know all of
you are as anxious and nervous as I am;
we must win. So hold onto your hats, get
down to your local, gather the troops
and let's get this thing done!
!
We have also been having a great time in
North Dallas supporting our U19 team in
the Dallas Cup! What a privilege it is to
not only watch these young lads in
action but to get to meet them and talk
young men and do our club proud. They
are wonderful ambassadors for the game
and for our club, and it is truly a thrill to
talk to them and get to know them a bit.
We are in the middle of the tournament
now, so I will save a full report on it until
the end. But we are having a great time,
and there are many, many stories to tell.
I know it isn’t the first team, but
honestly, if you can ever make it to this
event, it is well worth the time and the
e#ort! It is an experience you will never
forget. And as long as they all go back
home safe and injury free, that will be
continued on Page 2

Continued from Page 1
great, no matter the result - after all
they have an FA Youth Cup to win!
! I also want to thank Jeremy for all his
And speaking of the FA Youth Cup, it is
nearly time for the Spring Trip. Not a
huge number going this year, but those
that will be there will be all together and
in the Shed End for the Stoke match, so
keep an eye out for us! We have a few
things planned, like a dinner and meet-
up, a tour of the Bridge and some other
events that are happening that match,
like a legends match, the FA Youth Cup
final and a Star on a Stool. It is really
turning out to be a great trip! This more
than any other year we have had more
members go to more matches than ever
before. That is amazing, and there have
been more “first timers” than ever
before, which is great. Remember that
going to the Bridge can happen for you -
a little dosh, a CIA membership and a
True Blue membership will assure you
tickets!
! boys! We also have a number of people
And so as the season ends, that means
we are getting ready for next season.
CIA and Chelsea membership will start
up soon, so get ready! We will be
starting membership as soon as this
season ends, and we will be sending
email and board messages (and
Facebook too) to let everyone know how
to sign up. We don’t feel any need to
raise the membership dues, so it looks
like $8 will get you your individual
membership. We have used that money
wisely; we got shirts for all the U19 boys
as a memento of their trip to the US, we
are nearly done with the DVD and will
have that out to everyone soon, and we
made a donation to Dean. We have
printed new pass-out cards (so if you
need them, let me know) and have a
committee making handmade cards for
all the boys for their birthdays and such.
We are looking into some software
upgrades to make the membership and
operations of the club easier and
upgrading the board. We have been
working ever closer with the U.S.
Megastore to bring more and better
merchandise here to the U.S. And
speaking of the DVD, I am so excited
about that. I know it has taken longer
than I thought, but I know the end result
will be worth it. Bill, our video editor,
has spent so much time taking 28 hours
of footage down to a normal size DVD. It
has been a HUGE task, and I know you
will all love the results. It might not be
PAGE 2
Oscar material, but it will be so much
fun reliving the fun we had last summer!
!
e#orts on the weekly podcast! If you
don’t listen, you should, and if you don’t
participate, you should! Danny has
started a new series of Legend podcasts
as well, so check that on the website as
we upload them. Mo has been our
tireless and intrepid Twitter girl, keeping
us all up-to-date on contests and info
from Chelsea, but you don’t know unless
you sign up. Just follow CFCinAmerica
for all the news updates. And of course
there is Raciel, who puts up with me
constantly wanting to get this or that
made; her skills and talents will be on
view when you see the DVD! Jamie has
done a remarkable job on the newsletter
and has actually been able to keep me
tied down to do these articles along with
a few of you! Julie is heading up the card
committee, and I wish you could see the
wonderful cards they are making the
posting on Facebook. I can’t even begin
to remember all the Facebook pages that
are out there and who is doing what, so
thank you all! And then there is your
board - Andy, Chris, Paul, Bill - who put
in so many hours to sort out a million
and one things to make everything
happen like membership, tickets and all
of that - we all owe them a lot! And
there is still more to come. No matter
the results this season, we have had a
CONTRIBUTORS:
great season at CIA, things have
happened, we have grown and we have A big thanks to everyone who
become stronger and closer all because helps make the CIA Bluesletter
of you. possible!
!
CAREFREE! Editor: Jamie Edwards
! Chairwoman: Beth Wild
Beth Logo and Graphics: Raciel Diaz
Dates to Remember: Tel Stevens
Proofreaders: Dorothy Cooper
and Sarah Drake
CIA Crest done in collaboration
with Who Are Ya Designs -
www.whoareyadesigns.com
Want to contribute or make a
Our very own Gill of the Kent Blues suggestion? Send Jamie an
took this photo of the big screen at email at newsletter@
Stamford Bridge when this flashed chelseainamerica.com!
across during the 7-1 thrashing of
Aston Villa - Super Frank, continuing
to rewrite the Chelsea history books!

FIRST TRIP TO THE BRIDGE: WILL IT EVER BE MATCHED?
Story and photos by Danielle Shank
To summarize my trip into a write-up
for the newsletter would not be justified;
however, I will give it an honest try. Of
the ten days I was in London, nine of
them were spent around Stamford
Bridge. The first day there I headed for
Fulham Broadway on the tube from Earl’s
Court. With a short walk out of the
station, a left turn and a city block, I
found myself standing at the Bridge.
What a feeling, to stand outside the
stadium for the first time. Truthfully, I
never imagined the feeling I would get.
Chills ran up my arms, and a strange
feeling of “I made it” came over me. I did
a lap around the outside, trying to take
in everything. It’s strange being on the
grounds as a Chelsea fan. I felt as
though you walk with a little more pride
and belongingness while at the Bridge. It
was a good feeling being around others
who could relate to what I felt.
After a quick walk around, I headed for
King’s Road. I recommend walking and
shopping, there is a lot to do. After
spending the afternoon on King’s Road, I
headed back to Earl’s Court to change
and get ready for Star on a Stool. Carlo
and Ray would be answering questions
and chatting with the fans. The
atmosphere was light, and there were
good amounts of laughter between
manager and assistant manager. They
really seem to have a good relationship.
After a great dinner and drinks it was
back to the youth hostel for the night.
Staying at the hostel really saved money
and it was nice. It had a bed to sleep in,
place to keep my stu#, and a shower;
everything I was looking for in a place to
stay, since I wasn’t planning on
spending much time in the room.
Friday before the West Ham game I took
a tour of the Bridge - what a stadium.
The press conference room, the locker
room, running out the tunnel to the
pitch, seeing the dug out, and sitting in
the stands, all was a necessary
experience for first-time Chelsea goers.
At the end of the tour, spending time in
the museum is a good idea as well. The
amount of history that comes with this
club is fascinating to brush up on. Later
that evening I met up with some of the
Austin Blues (Jens, Scott, Lalo) for
dinner. Neil Barnett joined us, which was
a treat beyond anything I could express.
What a trip so far and it hadn't even
been game day yet.
Saturday finally arrived. It was game day,
and I was over-the-top excited. I was set
to meet up with Chris at 11 for pregame
rituals that included the possibility of
meeting Ron Harris. Chris took me up to
the hotel for a drink and a hello. There I
was introduced to Mick, who does all the
autographed photos of players. What a
great man. Friendly, funny, and
knowledgeable, he was a joy to spend
some time with. While being introduced
to a handful of people, including a
picture and autograph from Ron Harris
and Peter Bonetti, I was told to tag along
with Mick’s friend Paul. Paul showed me
where to wait for the players to walk by
as they headed into the stadium to
prepare for the game. Standing there
wide-eyed, I waited. First to walk
through were John Terry and Mikel. We
asked if they might come over and sign
PAGE 3
some things, and they obliged. I couldn’t
believe it; I was standing inches away
from John Terry and Mikel. As the rest of
the team trickled in, we called for them
to come over. Most of them just headed
straight in, but Joe Cole did come over
to do autographs; he’s so shy. One of
the last ones to come through was Frank
Lampard. He was a class act and came
over to sign some things. I handed him
my Lampard jersey for him to sign. At
this point I was on cloud nine and a little
dumbfounded. After he walked away, I
remembered I had had my camera on my
shoulder the whole time. I took not one
picture the whole time all this was going
on. Once all the players walked through,
Carlo headed in and also came over for
signatures.
After all was said and done with the
players, I rejoined my new friends
upstairs. Chris was ready to take Tim
and I over to the Goose, I told him I
needed to sit a minute and gather
myself. This was by far the highlight of
my trip. Once at the Goose, I met Gill
and Graeme, along with Lord Parky and
other fellow Chelsea supporters. Two
pints knocked back, and it was time to
head back to the Bridge. My seats were
6th row of the Lower Shed in the west
corner. What a view of the game! After
crushing West Ham with a solid 4-1
victory, I met back up with Chris. The
group went for pints and Italian. We ate
good food, sang songs and made
memories.
This was by far the high point of my trip.
I still had a Wembley Stadium tour
scheduled and the Champions League
game to attend. Wembley was good to
see, even though it was trek to get there.
I’m happy to say I went. With Monday
continued on Page 4

TALES FROM AN FA CUP FINAL 1970
Phil Watson shares his tales from the FA Cup Finals in 1970. He has lived in
Iowa since 1972.
I was lucky enough to be at both the
FA Cup Final at Wembley and the FA
Cup Final Replay at Old Tra#ord
against Leeds in 1970.
!
I attended all the games in the Cup
run, except the away game at
Burnley.!At Wembley, my favourite
memory is of Hutch’s goal.! Even
though we were behind, we still
believed we could score.! From the
terrace behind the goal I watched
Chopper slip the ball to Hollins.!As
the ball came in and Hutch headed it
goalwards, it seemed to take forever to
hit the net.!I’ve always remembered him
heading it from the edge of the penalty
area, until I bought a video of the game.!
There he is heading it from the edge of
the GOAL area, and the ball is past
Sprake in an instant!
! The Chant: Normally, we’d chant
I went to work on the Monday and my
boss said, “I supposed you want
Wednesday week o#, then?”! It was
either that or quit.
! pushing the team and the ball away from
We arrived in Manchester about midday
and all afternoon were greeted by the
locals hoping that we’d win.! Nobody
liked Dirty Leeds.
! Cheeeel-sea, Cheeeel-sea”, (tears in my
I watched the match on the Stretford End
continued from Page 3
over, it was time for the Champions
League. Tuesday morning I gave Mick a
call to meet up with him for pre-game
activities. Today I was going to
remember my camera and get some
pictures. We went to watch the players
walk to the coach out of their hotel. I
was able to get a picture with Joe Cole
and Ray Wilkins. As the players walked
out, there was a strange air about them.
As a player, it wasn’t a good feeling.
They seemed nervous and tense.
Looking back on the game, I’m now not
surprised at the performance, even
though there were tough breaks from
PAGE 4
Gira#e is too tired to jump, Harvey
misses it, two Blues on the back
post,! the arms go up, it’s in!!
Pandemonium!
The Cup is ours!
!
The latest highlight was being
selected by Neil Barnett at the fans
gathering in Seattle last summer as
having attended the games and
being asked to choose between
Ossie and Drogba for the all-time
Chelsea favourite.! At the time,
until Ossie scored and everything went there was no question that it’s Ossie,
black as I was swamped by the masses. especially as Didier ended last season on
! a bad note.! Os will always be The King
Jones had done the dirty on Bonetti and of Stamford Bridge, but it remains to be
then scored on a shot that the Cat seen what legacy Didier will leave when
would’ve saved without the injury. his Chelsea career is over.
!
“Chelsea, Chelsea” a few times and then
go on to something else.! As the match
was deep into injury time the chant went
up and went on and on and on and on –
the Stretford End towards the Leeds
goal.
A long throw from Hutch.! “Cheeeel-sea,
eyes writing this!), in it comes, The
the refs. It was a tough game to watch
knowing how the team felt after the
game. I felt sorry for them and their
performance.
With the Champions League the end of
the Chelsea portion of my trip, I felt it
was bittersweet. I can’t complain about
anything that happened on my trip since
it far exceeded my expectations of
activities I partook in. I have a feeling I
will forever be trying to match this trip. I
suppose though there is no harm in
trying. Trips back to Stamford Bridge are
definitely in the forecast. Thanks to
everyone who made this trip truly a trip
of a lifetime.

5 QUESTIONS FOR....
OC Hooligan Andy Wray
How did you become Chelsea, and
when?
Like most Americans, growing up we
used to be happy to just see any soccer
match from any league on here in the
U.S.- seems we mainly got international
matches. I had always struggled to find
a!club to support (most I know are
United or Arsenal and have always
marched to a di#erent beat-!they
weren't for me). I had heard of Chelsea
many times, saw Zola and!JFH
passively!on!soccer highlight show - the
internet had played a big part in keeping
up with EPL news and players. One
evening I was watching a youth match
that happened to be England and saw
Lamps play for the first time (might have
been U-21 or so... just about the time
he was graduating to the men's squad
and transferring to Chelsea) and liked
his style of play.! About!then I!started
following Chelsea from!the couch,
fighting with!3!United supporters, but
never knew about the concept of a
supporter's club.!I was able!to see some
of our boys play live in Lisbon when
England played Portugal at EURO '04. I
would religiously watch our CL matches,
becoming a more passionate CFC
supporter, saw us win both EPL titles and
met our own Andy B at a taping of
FoxFootballFriday Pub (remember that
show?). He got me dialed back in with
the then-forming CIA group. I felt very
fortunate to be Chelsea and have!the
club here in Los Angeles training in
2006, saw both summer matches!in
2007 and 2009, formed our own local
group The OC Hooligans, and of course
met Beth and the family here at CIA and
abroad... Blue is definitely the Colour.
Who is your favorite first team player?
My favorite first team player is Frank
Lampard, hands down! I was like a kid in
a candy store when I first got to meet
him in the UCLA locker room in 2006 for
training. He was the reason I'd become
Chelsea. Lately, experts have claimed he
is a genius... He has got it all- a good
head on his shoulders, incredible vision,
huge amount of talent, a great work
ethic, as well as the desire to make each
of his teammates a better player.
Recently spoke to a 40+-year Chelsea
supporter down at the Olde Ship and
said SuppaFrank is the best player to
ever play for the club, and I couldn't
agree more!
Have you ever been to Stamford
Bridge, do you have a favorite
memory?
Over the past 15 years, I've been to
World Cups, EUROs and International
friendlies, but there is nothing like the
electricity of banners waving, songs
singing on a warm Champions League
night at Stamford Bridge!!To be honest,
some of the!best memories are the pre-
and post-match beers chatting with
fellow Chelsea, bar hopping along
Fulham Rd and the blue friends made
along the way - many got a glimpse of
this during the US tours.
What is your most cherished piece of
Chelsea “stu!”?
My most valued piece of Chelsea
memorabilia is a toss up: I have obtained
signed jerseys, clothing and photos, but
adore both my CPO (Chelsea Pitch
Owners) certificate signed by Frank
Lampard and JT's gray Adidas training
top that he went back in to give me in
'06.
What is your favorite Chelsea song?
May be simple but "CareFree" is my
favorite song. For me it is such a great
way to start o# a Chelsea match. Not
only does it remind me of good times at
the Bridge and the history of the club,
but it also lets other supporters know
that “we're real supporters” from the
opening whistle!
PAGE 5
Continued from Page 1
would really have 2 out of the best 10
players to ever play for Chelsea be
goalkeepers?! The solution –!two
goalkeepers (half a player each) to
make one part of the perfect 10 (or is
it to make the two halves of Chelsea’s
perfect…nevermind).
Now that we have that explanation out
of the way, I can actually discuss what
the book is about.! Neil explains in
detail who are his perfect 10 players
(or perfect 9 and… I give up at this
point) and why.! He dedicates a
chapter to each one, which includes a
detailed history of the player,
statistics, personal stories and
interviews with the player.! In some
instances, he explains the origins of
things such as nicknames and songs
dedicated to a player.! These
explanations are all very detailed and
true to Neil’s style of wit and humor.!
Many of his stories are quite enjoyable
and almost always a good history
lesson regarding our club.
He also discusses who didn’t make his
perfect 10 (not even bothering with it
this time) and why.! There were many
players he had to leave out, and he
explains why many of our legends and
recent players were left out.! My
favorite explanation was for his
exclusion of everyone’s favorite
William Gallas.! Although Neil is of the
opinion that our favorite Bill was the
best defensive partner JT has ever had
and felt he was one of our best
players, Neil also wanted to do
something else: actually be able to sell
the book.! Obviously, no Chelsea fan
in a stable state of mind would buy a
book that included William Gallas in a
top 10 list of Chelsea players.
!!!!!!
Chelsea’s Perfect 10 is a great read,
and a great place to start if you are
new to Chelsea and are looking to
learn about our history and legends.!
It's not extremely long and
overwhelming, but full of history,
stories and legends.! Chelsea’s Perfect
10 is available in paperback edition at
most online book retailers and is
absolutely a recommended buy for any
Chelsea fan.