Author, singer, artists, footballers: Chelsea players’ off-pitch talents and pursuits

2. Pat Nevin: Was he a muso or a footballer first?

Pat Nevin was an 80’s wing-wizard for Chelsea. He played in an era that followed a turbulent period for the club. The side that manager John Neal built included not only Nevin but Kerry Dixon, David Speedie and Paul Canoville amongst many who were assembled on a shoestring. That team, through the 80s, played some scintillating football and gave Chelsea supporters memories that still linger. Who can forget those magical victories in the Full Member’s Cup?

For wee Pat, though, football was not the be-all-and-end-all of life. For him, music was much more important than kicking around a ball of air. Having gained an art degree at Glasgow Caledonian University, Nevin could easily have found himself in another profession. The fact was, despite his small stature, he was a big-time footballer.

However, that never prevented him from pursuing his true passion. He was a proper muso and collector of vinyl. Football was very much his “B side.” Nevin proved that to be the case when he asked to be left out of the Chelsea squad for a pre-season friendly against local rivals Brentford:

"I can’t remember if it was the Cocteau Twins or New Order, at the Royal Festival Hall. It was a friendly just before the start of the season, I’d done pre-season and I was phenomenally fit, as I was a distance runner as well – fitness was never a problem. I was signing my new contract at the time. Just before signing, I said to the manager, ‘I’ll sign it except for one thing – I don’t want to play in Monday night’s game. There’s a band on I want to see!’ He said, ‘You must be joking!’ Anyway, we worked it out and came to an agreement that I could leave at half-time. The chairman at the time, Ken Bates, thought I was a lunatic. They didn’t know how to deal with me, as I didn’t have an agent and wasn’t desperate to be a professional footballer – I could just go back and finish my degree if I wanted to… – Long Live Vinyl"

Nevin has continued his love affair with music having moved from playing to punditry. Amongst many other footballing things he writes a column for the Chelsea FC website and mixes that with the odd guest DJ-ing slot when he can fit it into his schedule. But for fans of a certain age there’ll only be one Pat Nevin and, for them, it was all about the football.