Publisher's Synopsis
The 1969-70 season was momentous for Chelsea... a campaign that concludes with the Club winning the FA Cup for the first time in its history. It is also a period of awakening for Blues supporter Tommy Walker, a local boy from the World's End whose passion for the team is matched by his love of music and Sophia Fossati, a girl he meets at the Isle of Wight Festival
Almost fifty years later, Tommy's health is failing fast and he asks his friend, author Mark Worrall, to write his memoirs. 'Liquidator' sets out Mark's struggle to come to terms with Tommy's situation and outlines how their friendship developed before focussing itself on Chelsea's journey to FA Cup glory with match descriptions so vivid you feel you are at the games cheering on Peter Osgood as he scores in every round of the competition!
Granular details of Tommy's early life provide a fascinating snapshot of what following the Blues was like, both in the mid-1950s when he first sees Chelsea play at Stamford Bridge, and then later as he attends every match of the 1970 cup run, that culminates in a tempestuous and ultimately triumphant final replay against Leeds United.
Vibrant, larger-than-life characters fill the pages as Tommy and his friends weave and bob around London, mingling with Chelsea players and rock stars in long-lost pubs and clubs at a time when man first walked on the moon and 'The Liquidator', a reggae-tinged instrumental with an infernally catchy beat, wormed its way into the consciousness of Blues supporters. The recurring theme of how quickly time passes is never far away as is the yearning for days gone by and those who left this life too early.
