Another of my early heroes has died. By my calculation, John Hollins is the fifth member of the Chelsea team that won the FA Cup in 1970 to be taken off by the great manager in the sky. (Peter Houseman, Ian Hutchinson, Peter Osgood and Peter Bonetti have gone before him.)
To use an old-fashioned term, Hollins was a right half. He played there for Chelsea in their kings of the King's Road years, and later for Queens Park Rangers in the wonderful team that so nearly won the title under Dave Sexton in 1975-6.
Later he played for Arsenal as a full back and returned to Chelsea to manage the club between 1985 and 1988.
Hollins won his only England cap against Spain in 1967, though he returned to the squad for a while after the 1970 World Cup.
This goal against Arsenal from 1970-1, which won the Big Match's goal of the season award, is typical of his skill and industry. Note the great ball by Chopper Harris too.
Hollins is remembered with gratitude and affection in South West Wales.
ReplyDelete"The former England international took over as Swans boss in 1998, and he would lead the club to Third Division title success in 2000.
"His Swans side was built on solid foundations and a strong defence, with his team conceding just 30 goals across 46 games that season, and keeping 22 clean sheets.
"Hollins’ three-year tenure also included leading Swansea to the play-offs in 1998, and the historic FA Cup victory over West Ham in 1999, which saw the club become the first team from the bottom tier to knock a Premier League side out of the famous competition."
https://www.swanseacity.com/news/swansea-city-saddened-passing-john-hollins
He seems to be like Ray Wilkins: he was loved by the fans at every club he was involved with.
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