July 5 – Chelsea Splurge £10m on Sutton

THE only time the Premier League title has been wrestled away from one of the ‘Big Four’ clubs was of course when Blackburn Rovers won it in 1995.

One of the reasons they were able to do it was the prolific strike partnership of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, both signed for record fees from Southampton and Norwich respectively.

Sutton scored 15 Premiership goals that season as his ‘SAS’ striek duo ran defences ragged up and down the country.

But the following season was a complete contrast for Sutton as he failed to score even one league goal and had a succession of injuries.

In 1996 he lost his strike partner when Alan Shearer left for Newcastle in a £15m deal, and on this day in 1999 Sutton got his own big money move when he signed for Chelsea for £10m.

“It’s very important coming to Chelsea now,” said Sutton. “There was a feeling about the place when I first joined Blackburn five years ago and there’s a similar one here.

“I was keen to get signed as quickly as possible. Chelsea have got some very experienced players and hopefully I can blend in here.”

In a reference to revered Chelsea forwards like Peter Osgood and Charlie Cooke, Sutton said: “There’s been many cult figures over the years and I just hope I can emulate those who have come here. This is a new start for me. I couldn’t have come to a better club.”

Chelsea boss Gianluca Vialli said: “He can be a tough player on the pitch, which is something sometimes that we missed last season and he’s got a great personality.

“Sutton is not a cheap player – £10 million is a lot of money – but I think sometimes you have to spend money if you want to improve the team. When Casiraghi got injured we were playing great football, but sometimes we were not scoring enough goals and I think we were lacking some aerial ability.”

At Blackburn, the chief executive John Williams said Rovers had been “determined to secure the best possible financial deal for the club. We now feel we have achieved that goal, the £10 million doubling the then British record fee we paid to Norwich City for the player some five years ago.”

The move would turn out to be a shrewd one . . . for Blackburn. Sutton never looked at ease in the Chelsea team, or with his massive price tag and it soon became a millstone around his neck as he struggled in the team. In 28 appearances for the Blues that season he scored just one solitary league goal.

Chelsea decided to cut their losses on him and amazingly found a club willing to pay £6m for him in the summer of 2000 when Celtic took him to Glasgow.

He had a much happier time north of the border and the goals started to come back. In 2004 he was even voted SPFA Player of the Year. But he will always be remembered by the Stamford Bridge faithful as a £10m flop.

Given that his best moments in a Chelsea shirt were few and far between, we’ll leave you with some footage of his time with Celtic. Until next time folks….