John Hollins turned reading the game into an art form across almost 600 Chelsea appearances, but one moment of typically impeccable timing trumped a career’s worth of pivotal interventions.
The Guildford-born Chelsea youth-team graduate popped up with a telling pass just when the Blues needed him most – trailing 2-1 to Leeds with mere minutes to play in the 1970 FA Cup final.
As Leeds geared up to play out for victory at Wembley, Hollins dropped into space on the inside left and whipped in a pinpoint near-post cross that Ian Hutchinson flicked home.
All the folklore from that 1970 FA Cup run tends to revolve around the brutal replay, where both teams hacked each other to bits before Chelsea ground out glory with a 2-1 triumph after extra-time at Old Trafford.
But without Hollins’ solitary moment of quality in that scrappy first final on a boggy Wembley pitch, the Blues would never have had the chance for any of that Manchester madness.
The versatile midfielder, who moved to right-back later in his career, amassed 592 Chelsea matches in a career rich in both quality and longevity, although he only managed a single England cap, against Spain as a 20-year-old in 1967.
Born into a footballing family – his older brother David went on to play for Wales – on July 16, 1946, Hollins quickly made his mark at youth level and went on to make his senior Chelsea debut aged just 17.
That first appearance came in 1963 and for the next 12 years he proved a Stamford Bridge fixture.
Hollins featured in the first leg of Chelsea’s 3-2 aggregate win over Leicester in the 1965 League Cup final, but that 1970 FA Cup triumph was to provide the centre-piece of his Blues career.
When Chelsea claimed the European Cup Winners’ Cup a year later, Hollins missed the crucial replay win over Real Madrid in the final through injury.
In the 1971/72 campaign Hollins found the net a career-high 17 times, helping the Blues to the League Cup final where they lost to Stoke.
He left Stamford Bridge in 1975 and four-year stints at QPR and Arsenal followed.
He came within a penalty shootout of winning a second European Cup Winners’ Cup with the Gunners, scoring his spot-kick as Arsenal were beaten in the 1980 final by Valencia.
He returned to Chelsea for the 1983/84 campaign and helped steer the west Londoners to promotion back to the First Division before retiring having made more than 900 first-class appearances in his career.
An immediate step into coaching followed, with Hollins staying on at Chelsea and eventually replacing the retired John Neal as manager in 1985.
The Blues mounted an early title challenge in Hollins’ first year at the helm only to slip to a sixth-place finish, in a season that also comprised victory in the Full Members’ Cup.
By March 1988 Chelsea had slumped to a four-month winless league run, however, and Hollins was duly relieved of his duties.
Hollins went on to play one game for Irish side Cobh Ramblers before joining the coaching staff at QPR, for whom he had a brief stint as caretaker boss in the 1997–98 season.
Spells as manager of Swansea, whom he led to the Third Division title in 2000, and Rochdale followed becoming assistant to Nicolas Anelka’s brother Claude at Raith Rovers in 2004. He left after a month, with the pair reportedly not seeing eye to eye.
He also managed Stockport, Crawley and Weymouth.
Hollins, who has died at the aged of 76, is survived by his wife Linda, son Chris, a TV broadcaster who won Strictly Come Dancing in 2009, and daughter Liz.
Hayes hails efficient and clinical USA Women after winning start against South Korea
Emma Hayes saluted the efficiency and clinical edge demonstrated by USA Women, who enjoyed a commanding 4-0 victory over South Korea in her first match in charge.
The former Chelsea boss made a winning start with the Stars and Stripes, as Mallory Swanson and Tierna Davidson scored a brace apiece at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Hayes departed Chelsea last month after a glittering 12-year spell, which culminated in her guiding the Blues to a fifth successive Women's Super League title.
The 47-year-old officially started her new job when she linked up with the US Women's national team in Colorado this week, and is already seeing strides being made.
"You can see we're building something," Hayes told ESPN. "There's lots of work to do. There are lots of holes in our play, no question, but it was a good start.
"I get to enjoy these amazing players. I just feel re-energised, and I want to coach this group, and they want to be coached.
"In terms of what I asked from the group, what we prepared for, the execution of that, we've made steps in the right direction.
"I felt for the first 30 minutes, it was technical execution where we struggled. We scored in our first three chances, so we were efficient, we were clinical."
Fenerbahce confirm Mourinho arrival
Jose Mourinho has been confirmed as the new head coach of Fenerbahce.
The Istanbul giants teased Mourinho's arrival in the wake of Ismail Kartal’s departure, and he has reportedly penned a two-year deal with the club.
Kartal took charge of Fenerbahce for three spells, finishing second behind Galatasaray in the Turkish Super Lig last season with 99 points in his final stint.
Reports said Mourinho had verbally agreed to take over on Friday, before the club confirmed his unveiling will take place on Sunday.
Mourinho has been out of work since leaving Roma in January after a two-and-a-half-year spell at the club in which he led them to their first European trophy, winning the Europa Conference League in 2022, while also taking them to the Europa League final the following year.
The 61-year-old had previously enjoyed stints at Porto, Chelsea over two spells, Inter, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Tottenham.
During that course, he won a combined eight domestic titles and two Champions Leagues, only failing to lift silverware while at Tottenham.
Mourinho is now tasked with ending Fenerbahce’s 10-year wait for a Super Lig title.
Lionesses goalkeeper Earps set to miss Euro 2025 qualifier against France with hip injury
England Women's goalkeeper Mary Earps will miss the decisive clash with France Women on Tuesday after withdrawing from Sarina Wiegman's squad with a hip injury.
Earps left St. James' Park with crutches after sustaining an injury just eight minutes into Friday's 2-1 defeat against France.
That marred what should have been a memorable occasion for Manchester United goalkeeper Earps, who made her 50th appearance for the Lionesses.
England confirmed Earps will be unavailable for Tuesday's Euro 2025 qualifier away to France, with Birmingham City's Lucy Thomas joining Wiegman's 23-player squad for the trip to Saint-Etienne.
"Not the way the big 50 was meant to go, but grateful and hugely proud to have reached 50 caps for England," Earps posted to Instagram on Sunday.
"Thank you for your lovely messages, gutted that I've picked up a minor hip injury which will sideline me for a couple of weeks.
"Not something I'm used to but nothing a little bit of rest and relaxation won't fix – right behind the girls for Tuesday!"
England are third in Group A3 as Wiegman's side chase qualification for next year's European Championship in Switzerland.
The Lionesses have four points and are behind second-placed Sweden on goal difference, with France five clear at the top of the group after three games.
Wiegman's team then host Ireland on July 12 and play Sweden away four days later in their final group game.
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