The Scottish Connection - Part Three
- debscoady
- Feb 6
- 3 min read
In parts one and two of this blog, I wrote about the Scottish-born Chelsea players from the
founding of the club in 1905 up until the end of the 1960s. In this third and final part, I focus
on the 1970s to the present day.
Anna Welsh
1970s
The first Scottish born player to sign for Chelsea in the 1970s was Ian Britton. Ian was born in Dundee. Originally joining the Chelsea juniors, Ian made his competitive debut at the age
of 18 on 30th December 1972 in a draw against Derby County (Stamford-Bridge.com, c.2026
(a)). The Nottingham Evening Post wrote of Ian’s performance that day “Substitute Ian
Britton proved so lively that Osgood after 72 minutes found the space to bring Chelsea on
terms. (Nottingham Evening Post, 1972, p.15). In 1973, Chelsea player Chris Garland praised
Ian for his performances “Ian Britton has been introduced into the team this season and he is
one of the most promising young players around. He is in the side on merit and has been
turning out some good performances.” (Bristol Evening Post, 1973, p.7). In 1977, manager
Eddie McCreadie wanted to dispel myths that Chelsea were a one-man team, revolving
around Ray Wilkins and mentioned other players in the team commenting “Then there is Ian
Britton, who has chipped in with a number of vital goals.” (Lincolnshire Echo, 1977, p.20).
Ian would make just under 300 first team appearances for Chelsea, scoring over 30 goals. Ian
moved to back to his birthplace in 1982, transferring to Dundee United. He sadly passed
away in April 2016 at the age of 61 following a battle with prostate cancer. (BBC Sport,
2016).
Following Ian to Chelsea was Kilmarnock-born Mike Brolly. The Sunday Mirror reported in November 1971 that “Chelsea have signed Michael Brolly, 17-year-old Scottish schoolboy international forward from Kilmarnock as a professional. Brolly joined Chelsea on amateur forms three months ago.” (Sunday Mirror, 1971, p.45). Mike only made eight appearances for
the club, one of these being in January 1974 when Dave Sexton used him as a replacement against the injured Peter Houseman (Coventry Evening Telegraph, 1974, p.17). Mike did play in the reserves and in October 1973 scored a goal in their match against Reading at Stamford Bridge (Westminster & Pimlico News, 1973, p.2). Mike departed the club in 1974, joining Bristol City.
Steve Finnieston, from Edinburgh, joined the Chelsea senior team from Chelsea Juniors in December 1971, as reported by the Kensington Post “Edinburgh-born Steve Finnieston, 17, has been upgraded from an apprentice pro because he has scored more than 20 goals for the youth side this term” (Kensington Post, 1971, p.15). However, an appearance for the first team would be a long time coming. In 1974, Steve was sent on loan to Cardiff City, which he
hoped would lead to a first team place “I averaged a goal a game for Chelsea’s reserve and
junior sides, but I never seemed to get a first team chance. I talked over my future half a
dozen times with Dave Sexton. I was always told I had a future at Chelsea – but I never got a
game. I eventually asked if a loan could be arranged. When the chance came to join Cardiff
for a month I jumped at it. It is only a month, but I feel it’s vital to my career. I am 20 at the
end of the month and I want to establish myself somewhere. I know I can do well in a league
side given a chance.” (Evening News (London), 1974, p.22). Steve returned to Chelsea and in
February 1975, he made his competitive debut away against Leicester City in a 1-1 draw
(Stamford-Bridge.com, c.2026 (b)). Steve departed Chelsea in 1978, signing for Sheffield
United.
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