In first article of this series Chelsea FC Legends, we covered Bobby Tambling. In the second article we will look at another legendary player who graced the pitch of Stamford Bridge.
What is a strikerai??i??s dream? Most will say it is to score on his debut. Now imagine scoring a brace in front of your home crowd and on your transfer from lower division. How does that sound?Well, Kerry Dixon will be able to answer that question. The debut match in question is Chelsea FC vs. Derby County on 27th August 1983 in which Kerry Dixon made his debut and scored two goals in a 5-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
In the 1983-84 season Chelsea FC were playing in the Second Division of English football and had come close to relegation to the Third Division the previous season. The team was in desperate situation and was in need of rebuilding. In comes Kerry Dixon from Reading FC who were playing in the Third Division at that time. Kerry Dixon had spent three seasons at the Royals between 1980-83 and had scored 51 goals in 116 appearances. His performance had attracted attention of Coventry, Chelsea FC, Charlton, Norwich and Sheffield Wednesday. But Chelsea FC made the first move for his transfer at the end of the 1982-83 season. Initially, the chairman of the club, Ken Bates hesitated to pay the asking price of A?150,000 for a Third Division striker as his transfer agreement also included the condition that the team would pay an additional A?25,000 if Dixon was ever capped by England. After the initial hesitation the club signed him along with other players notable of which was Pat Nevin with whom he would go on to form a partnership that resulted in significant results for the team.
Ai??In his debut season alone Kerry Dixon scored 34 goals in 48 matches out of which 28 came in the league. He was a gifted striker blessed with blistering pace, two good feet, outstanding aerial ability and an eye for the goal. His form was also helped by the service provide by hard working fellow striker David Speedie and aforementioned Pat Nevin who provided accurate crosses. Beside his outstanding debut the highlights of his first season were four goals in a League Cup match against Gillingham, a hat trick against Leeds, which secured the promotion to the First Division, and a final day goal against Grimsby, which sealed the title for Chelsea FC. Within one season Kerry Dixon had gone from a Third Division striker to a First Division one.
Ai??On his debut in top flight Chelsea FC played against Arsenal at Highbury. The previous season Arsenal had finished sixth in the league and were expected to do well against a promoted team. But Kerry Dixonai??i??s spectacularly scored volley earned Chelsea FC a draw. However his form dropped subsequently and he did not find the net again for a month. However he was soon back to his best, scoring 19 goals in 15 matches that included hat tricks against Coventry and Manchester City. He finished his debut season in top-flight football as the joint top scorer and Chelsea FC ended the season on sixth position. He scored a total of 26 goals that season, meaning his total goal tally for Chelsea was 70 goals in 101 games in two seasons.
In the same season he made his debut for England in a match against West Germany and like in his debut for Chelsea FC he scored a brace and set up one goal. England won the match 3-0, their first win over the Germans in over a decade.
Midway through the 1985-86 season he suffered a muscle injury in a match against Liverpool. This stalled his development and he managed to score only 2 goals in the next 15 matches. Incidentally, both these goals came in a match against Manchester United that sealed his place in the team for 1986 FIFA World Cup. However his total contribution to the campaign was just six minutes in a match against Poland.
At the beginning of the 1986-87 season, Chelsea FC were thrown in turmoil over disagreement between the players and the management. This fracture in the team resulted in number of senior players handing in transfer requests. Kerry Dixonai??i??s form suffered and he was dropped from the team. Soon he too handed in his transfer request. In January 1988 he was linked with transfer to local rivals West Ham United and Arsenal. However he stayed back after the appointment of Bobby Campbell as manager. Temporary peace was restored after change in management but the team was relegated back to the Second Division as their form suffered.
The relegation was to prove a boon for Kerry Dixon as his form returned and he scored 28 goals in the season including four goals in a single match against Barnsley. The team immediately bounced back in the First Division as the champions of the Second Division. Back in the First Division, Dixon continued his form by scoring 25 goals as Chelsea FC team finished fifth in the division. In the next season he scored 15 goals that included braces against Derby County, Everton FC and Liverpool FC.
In his last season for the club he managed a return of six goals in 45 matches. He was sold to Southampton the following season. He also played for Luton Town, Millwall, Watford and Doncaster Rovers. After his playing career was over he managed Doncaster Rovers and non-league sides Boreham Wood, Letchworth and Hitchin Town.
By the end of his Chelsea FC career he had become the third highest all time and league goal scorer for the club, surpassed only by Frank Lampard and Bobby Tambling. He had managed 193 and 147 goals respectively.Ai?? He shall always be a club favorite and the Blues faithful have immortalized him in the clubai??i??s legend through the chant ai???Thereai??i??s only one Kerry Dixon, one Kerry Dixon, thereai??i??s only one Kerry Dixon.ai???
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