John Hollins

Born in Guildford, Surrey, Hollins was born into a footballing family – his father, grandfather and three brothers were all professional footballers as well. One of those siblings, Dave, played international football for Wales.

Chelsea

Hollins joined Chelsea as a youth player and made his debut for the Blues against Swindon Town in September 1963 aged only 17. A talented and hard-running midfielder, usually wearing the number 4 shirt, he was known for his dedicated attitude to the game and went on to become a regular and eventually club captain. Hollins played 592 games and scored 69 goals in his first spell at Chelsea, and was part of the successful Chelsea sides of the mid-1960s and early 1970s. After establishing himself in the Chelsea side in 1964, he rarely missed a game over the next decade, appearing in 400 out of a possible 420 league games, at one point making 167 consecutive appearances, a club record. Hollins played in the first leg of the 3–2 aggregate victory over Leicester City in League Cup final in 1965 and the loss to Tottenham in the FA Cup final two years later. In 1970, he played a significant part in Chelsea's hard-fought FA Cup final win over Leeds United, supplying the cross for Ian Hutchinson's late headed equaliser at Wembley. Chelsea eventually won 2–1 in the replay at Old Trafford. They won the Cup Winners' Cup in Athens against Real Madrid a year later, again after a replay, but Hollins missed the second match due to an injury. He was…

Chelsea

Hollins was immediately appointed coach at Chelsea; a year later he became first-team manager following John Neal's retirement. Chelsea built up a strong title challenge in 1985–86 and went top in February, but they finished sixth after collecting a mere nine points from a possible 33 during their final 11 games. Chelsea won the Full Members Cup in the same season, though, hanging on for a 5–4 win over Manchester City at Wembley Stadium, having almost let slip a 5–1 lead. Hollins was sacked in March 1988 with the club in the midst of a four-month run without a league win which would see the season end in Chelsea being relegated in the first ever two-leg relegation/promotion play-offs against Middlesbrough.

Post-Chelsea

After leaving Chelsea in February 1989 he came out of retirement to sign for Irish club Cobh Ramblers. However, he only played one league game before returning to England. Hollins then set up his own sports promotion and agency company, before being tempted back to join the coaching staff of his old club QPR in 1993, and stepped in as caretaker manager between Stewart Houston's dismissal and Ray Harford's appointment during the 1997–98 season. He later had spells as manager of Swansea City, Rochdale and as caretaker-manager of Stockport County. After which he managed Stockport County's Chinese affiliate club Stockport Tiger Star, before becoming a pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live. Hollins was most successful in his managerial reign with…

Hollins was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to football in the 1982 Birthday Honours. He also made an anti-smoking commercial for television in the same year as part of a Government campaign entitled Look After Yourself. Hollins's son, Chris, was the main sports presenter on BBC Breakfast between 2005 and 2012 and he also has a daughter Elizabeth. Hollins died from a heart condition on 14 June 2023, at the age of 76.

Player

Chelsea

FA Cup: 1969–70; runner-up: 1966–67 Football League Cup: 1964–65 European Cup Winners' Cup: 1970–71 Football League Second Division: 1983–84 Arsenal

European Cup Winners' Cup runner-up: 1979–80 Individual

Chelsea Player of the Year: 1969–70, 1970–71 Arsenal Player of the Season: 1981−82

Managerial

Chelsea

Full Members' Cup: 1985–86 Swansea City

Football League Third Division: 1999–2000