Saturday saw the first home game since the opening of a special piece of artwork in the Atherton and Associates Suite paying tribute to the incredible life and career of our Club President Frank Blunstone.
It contains a collage of some of the highlights of his playing and coaching career, as well as club achievements since becoming our Club President in 2011.
The current earliest-surviving England international, here are some other landmarks from Frank’s career:
- 5 senior England caps between 1954 and 1956, 2 assists on his debut, and playing in the famous 7-2 win over Scotland in 1955. Some of the names he played alongside for England included Sir Stanley Matthews, Billy Wright, and Duncan Edwards and Roger Byrne, 2 of the Busby Babes who died in the Munich Air Disaster. He also played in the first ever schoolboy international at the old Wembley Stadium.
- After breaking through for Crewe Alex, he moved to Chelsea in 1953 for £7,500. Playing alongside legendary figures like Terry Venables, Bobby Tambling and Jimmy Greaves, he won the First Division in 1955. He made 347 appearances for Chelsea across 11 years, scoring 54 goals.
- Retiring aged 29 due to injury, he joined Chelsea’s coaching staff. His first managerial role was with Brentford with whom he reached the FA Cup 5th Round as a Fourth Division (League 2) side and won promotion to the Third Division (League 1).
- He then joined the coaching staff at Manchester United in 1973. Working in the youth and reserve set-ups, he was eventually made Assistant Manager for the 1976/77 season that ended with United winning the FA Cup after a 2-1 win over Bob Paisley’s Liverpool at Wembley. Players in that United team included Alex Stepney, Steve Coppell and Lou Macari.
- Turned down the Chelsea manager’s role and worked with Jack Charlton at Sheffield Wednesday.
- Owned a sweet shop in London and merchandise store near Stamford Bridge selling Chelsea merchandise. Also ran The Crown pub in Chertsey.
- Has been Club President at Nantwich Town since 2011 and is still a regular at home games at the age of 89.
You can see the collage yourself by visiting the Tea Lounge at the Swansway Stadium which is open most weekdays.