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John Neal, one of Chelsea’s most loved and important managers, has died at the age of 82 on Sunday, as the club remember him with an emotional tribute on their website. Neal was appointed by Chelsea back in 1981 as Geoff Hurst’s successor and was significant in their second division win.
Neal took charge of the side when they were knee-duck in financial troubles, nearly avoid relegation to the third division of the Football League. They would later go on to win the Second Division championship a season later, losing only four league games in the process. However, with his constant struggle with health, Neal had to eventually step down following his heart surgery in 1985.
Chelsea club historian Rick Glanvill writes on Neal:
“John Neal’s greatest gift was his reading of human nature. He shrewdly picked diverse players, some with demons to assuage, and moulded them into teams that were fluent, easy on the eye and dynamic in attack.”
“A succession of novices had found turning round London’s cash-strapped former giant beyond them before Neal arrived in 1981. After a dismal two seasons, his proper old football nous would produce two years of unforgettable drama and togetherness in the middle of a troubled decade and a half. Had his reign not been cruelly curtailed by illness, genuine silverware looked highly possible.”
