John Hollins: A Stamford Bridge fixture who turned reading game into an art form
John Hollins turned reading the game into an art form across almost 600 Chelsea appearances, but one moment of typically impeccable timing trumped a career’s worth of pivotal interventions. The Guildford-born Chelsea youth-team graduate popped up with a telling pass just when the Blues needed him most – trailing 2-1 to Leeds with mere minutes to play in the 1970 FA Cup final. As Leeds geared up to play out for victory at Wembley, Hollins dropped into space on the inside left and whipped in a pinpoint near-post cross that Ian Hutchinson flicked home. All the folklore from that 1970 FA Cup run tends to revolve around the brutal replay, where both teams hacked each other to bits before Chelsea ground out glory with a 2-1 triumph after extra-time at Old Trafford. But without Hollins’ solitary moment of quality in that scrappy first final on a boggy Wembley pitch, the Blues would never have had the chance for any of that Manchester madness. The versatile midfielder, who moved to right-back later in his career, amassed 592 Chelsea matches in a career rich in both quality and longevity, although he only managed a single England cap, against Spain as a 20-year-old in 1967. Born into a footballing family – his older brother David went on to play for Wales – on July 16, 1946, Hollins quickly made his mark at youth level and went on to make his senior Chelsea debut aged just 17. That first appearance came in 1963 and for the next 12 years he proved a Stamford Bridge fixture. Hollins featured in the first leg of Chelsea’s 3-2 aggregate win over Leicester in the 1965 League Cup final, but that 1970 FA Cup triumph was to provide the centre-piece of his Blues career. When Chelsea claimed the European Cup Winners’ Cup a year later, Hollins missed the crucial replay win over Real Madrid in the final through injury. In the 1971/72 campaign Hollins found the net a career-high 17 times, helping the Blues to the League Cup final where they lost to Stoke. He left Stamford Bridge in 1975 and four-year stints at QPR and Arsenal followed. He came within a penalty shootout of winning a second European Cup Winners’ Cup with the Gunners, scoring his spot-kick as Arsenal were beaten in the 1980 final by Valencia. He returned to Chelsea for the 1983/84 campaign and helped steer the west Londoners to promotion back to the First Division before retiring having made more than 900 first-class appearances in his career. An immediate step into coaching followed, with Hollins staying on at Chelsea and eventually replacing the retired John Neal as manager in 1985. The Blues mounted an early title challenge in Hollins’ first year at the helm only to slip to a sixth-place finish, in a season that also comprised victory in the Full Members’ Cup. By March 1988 Chelsea had slumped to a four-month winless league run, however, and Hollins was duly relieved of his duties. Hollins went on to play one game for Irish side Cobh Ramblers before joining the coaching staff at QPR, for whom he had a brief stint as caretaker boss in the 1997–98 season. Spells as manager of Swansea, whom he led to the Third Division title in 2000, and Rochdale followed becoming assistant to Nicolas Anelka’s brother Claude at Raith Rovers in 2004. He left after a month, with the pair reportedly not seeing eye to eye. He also managed Stockport, Crawley and Weymouth. Hollins, who has died at the aged of 76, is survived by his wife Linda, son Chris, a TV broadcaster who won Strictly Come Dancing in 2009, and daughter Liz.
1970-01-01 08:00
Ciaran Clark and Matty Longstaff leaving Newcastle
Ciaran Clark is leaving Newcastle this month, the club have confirmed. The 33-year-old defender, who spent last season on loan at Sheffield United, joined the Magpies from Aston Villa in August 2016 and was named player of the year as they won promotion back to the Premier League in his first season. Clark went on to make 127 appearances during his time at St. James’ Park, which comes to end this month upon the expiration of his contract. Also leaving is academy graduate Matty Longstaff, but he will remain at the club and continue to receive treatment on an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered towards the end of 2022. The 23-year-old scored the winning goal on his Premier League debut against Manchester United in October 2019 and went on to play 20 times for the club, having also spent time on loan at Aberdeen, Mansfield and Colchester. Matt Ritchie is staying for another season after the club triggered an option to retain the services of the 33-year-old, while contract offers have also been made to defender Paul Dummett and goalkeeper Loris Karius. Newcastle have taken an option on goalkeeper Mark Gillespie’s deal to keep him for another 12 months and defender Dan Burn gets another year on his deal after activating an appearance clause. Striker Chris Wood will make his move to Nottingham Forest permanent at the start of next month after he spent the second half of last season on loan with Steve Cooper’s side.
1970-01-01 08:00
Baby Placed in Stanley Cup
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1970-01-01 08:00
Frenkie de Jong reveals why 'restless' Man Utd transfer saga 'wasn't stressful'
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has discussed last year's transfer saga which saw him linked with Manchester United.
1970-01-01 08:00
14 best movies of 2023, and where to watch them
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1970-01-01 08:00
Amazon Fire Max 11 Review
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1970-01-01 08:00
Pitney Bowes PitneyShip Cube Review
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1970-01-01 08:00
That’s brunch: Goan-inspired coconut and cabbage fritters
My mum makes this incredible stir-fried cabbage to accompany our curries, so one day, I thought, ‘I wonder how this would work as a fritter?'” says former Bake Off contestant Crystelle Pereira. “I am pleased to report that the result is an absolute delight. I fry them in coconut oil to form crispy, aromatic patties and serve them with a cooling coconut yogurt dip.” Goan-inspired coconut and cabbage fritters Makes: 3 small Ingredients: 1 large white potato (200–240g), coarsely grated 1 medium brown onion, grated 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt 5 tablespoons coconut oil 7 curry leaves 2 teaspoons cumin seeds 1 teaspoon mustard seeds ¼ white cabbage (130g), finely shredded (I use a mandoline) 20g desiccated coconut 2 large eggs ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric 2 tablespoons plain flour 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 thin green chilli/Indian finger chilli, finely diced For the coconut yogurt dip: 4 heaped tablespoons unsweetened coconut yogurt Juice of 1 lime ½ teaspoon garlic powdera pinch of fine sea salt ¼ teaspoon chilli powder Method: 1. Place the grated potato and onion in a bowl with ½ teaspoon salt and mix well to combine. Transfer the mixture to a large colander over a sink and allow the excess moisture to drain while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. 2. Now temper the spices. Gently heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a frying pan over a low heat and, once warm, add the curry leaves, cumin seeds and mustard seeds, frying for a few minutes until fragrant, making sure not to burn them as they will turn bitter. Tip these spices into a large bowl. 3. Using your hands, squeeze out as much moisture as possible from the grated potato and onion, then tip the drained mixture into the bowl with the spices, mixing well to combine. Add the cabbage, coconut, eggs, turmeric, flour, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper and diced chilli and give this one last final mix to combine everything together. 4. Now fry the fritters. Place the remaining oil in the same frying pan used to temper the spices, over a medium heat. Once the oil is hot, spoon a heaped tablespoon of the mixture into the hot oil, flattening it with the back of the spoon to make a fritter. Fry this for 2½ minutes on each side until crispy and golden, then transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper, to soak up the excess oil. Repeat with the remaining batter. 5. Finally, make the dip. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine. To serve, dip the fritters in the yogurt sauce and enjoy! Recipe from ‘Flavour Kitchen: Vibrant Recipes with Creative Twists by Crystelle Pereira is published by Kyle Books, priced £22. Photography by Vanessa Lewis. Available Now.
1970-01-01 08:00
Hong Kong protest anthem's online presence fades as govt seeks total ban
By Jessie Pang HONG KONG (Reuters) -Various versions of the pro-democracy protest anthem "Glory to Hong Kong" were unavailable on
1970-01-01 08:00
Crowds gather for scandal-ridden former Italian PM Berlusconi's state funeral
Mourners have gathered in Milan ahead of the state funeral of Silvio Berlusconi, the divisive and domineering former premier who remained omnipresent in Italian public life for decades until his death on Monday.
1970-01-01 08:00
US producer prices fall more than expected in May on energy costs
WASHINGTON U.S. producer prices fell more than expected in May and the annual increase in producer inflation was
1970-01-01 08:00
Ukraine war: At least three killed in Odesa strikes, Kyiv says
Officials says a missile fired by a Russian warship in the Black Sea hit a food warehouse in the city.
1970-01-01 08:00
