Chelsea FanCast

Stamford Chidge and Martin King interview John Bumstead, an unsung hero for Chelsea, and talk about his love for the club; what it was like to experience the lows of relegation and highs of promotion during the 1980’s; playing for John Neal and Bobby Campbell and playing with the likes of Nigel Spackman and Kerry Dxion and against David Platt and Paul Gascoigne

John Bumstead or Johnny B as he was affectionately known by the supporters, played for Chelsea from 1978 until 1991, making 409 appearances, the 9th highest appearance maker for Chelsea and scoring 44 goals.

There are few Chelsea players who have experienced the rollercoaster of what it was like to play for Chelsea in that 13 year period of the doldrums of Division Two; near relegation to Division Three; promotion to Division One; winning the Full Members Cup; relegation back to Division Two via a play off and then promotion again the next season with a record number of points. Throughout it all he remained loyal to his boyhood club until being transferred to Charlton.

Johnny B was the ultimate selfless team player, playing at the heart of Chelsea’s midfield, doing the simple things very well and he hardly ever had a bad game for the club.

He may have been small in stature but he was a steely competitor and his fearless, courageous challenges meant that injuries were a recurring theme throughout his career. He had an eye for goal and was an accomplished free kick taker with his last goal for Chelsea coming in a 3-2 victory over Spurs on December 1st 1990, the start of an unbeaten run against our North London rivals that was to last for 28 years. But perhaps he should best be remembered for the way he could shackle opposition flair players from the likes of Tony Currie to David Platt and Paul Gascoigne.

If you were to sum John Bumstead up, I can think of no better description than understated excellence.