Chapter 126: Against Chelsea

"Well, well, who do we see here? It’s Ron Haldane!" When the figure appeared on the broadcast camera, the Villa supporters in the away end let out a roar of delight.

Ron Haldane, one of the club’s few true legends. From the early seventies until the early eighties he had been the absolute heart of the side that won the league and then the European Cup.

Even after he retired, Villa had quietly kept his old number out of circulation as a mark of respect.

These days Haldane worked for the national association, and he rarely turned up in the stands, which made his appearance at Stamford Bridge something special.

Soon, though, the Villa supporters’ cheers were drowned out by the home crowd, because Chelsea’s chairman, Ivor Kessler, had just taken his seat in the directors’ box surrounded by a group of officials and advisers.

After winning the league with Chelsea, Kessler had been at the height of his popularity at the club, and even now he commanded attention in the stands.

But as soon as the players walked out, every eye in the stadium returned to the pitch.

Villa’s line-up:

Goalkeeper: Vacek

Defenders: Faraday, Teale, Barzley, Colley

Midfielders: Rocher, Reyes, Conlan, Jurek

Forwards: Tomlin, Pryce

"This is Villa’s strongest line-up," Pemberton declared.

Vacek had proved himself in the first game. As for the back line, Faraday had been solid in all three matches, and as for Teale, the former Chelsea captain had been the rock of Villa’s defence. Barzley was the most dependable of the other centre-backs, and Colley, though not as eye-catching as Alencar, was a local lad with a good deal of defensive grit.

The midfield four were no less impressive. Jurek could trouble even Chelsea’s experienced left-back, and Reyes’s performances had made many people feel that the old Barcelona captain was back.

As for Conlan and Rocher, they were long-time members of the squad, the captain and the player Saint had pinned his tactics on. Conlan’s father was in the stands too, but because of his son’s history with the club, he had not taken a seat in the directors’ box next to the Chelsea chairman.

Tomlin was Villa’s marquee signing of the summer, and the last two games had shown his value, three goals in two matches, including the only goal against Burnley.

Pryce had not scored yet, but his role up front could not be replaced. The veteran was Villa’s reference point and creator, which let Rocher and Jurek focus all their energy on attack.

Chelsea’s line-up:

Goalkeeper: Pickford

Defenders: Verhagen, Brewer, Dimitriou

Midfielders: Candler, Brisley, Okafor, Cartwright

Attacking midfielder: Strickland

Forwards: Gaunt, Rennick

A 3-4-1-2, which was Hallam’s usual shape. Strickland played behind the strikers, the wing-backs pushed on, Brisley defended fiercely, and Okafor, who ran the midfield, could dictate play and cover the whole pitch. He was widely regarded as one of the most complete midfielders in the game.

No wonder Chelsea fans were so proud. Apart from the goalkeeper, almost every player in that line-up was an international and a regular first-teamer.

"I’ve a feeling this is going to be a very exciting game," Saint said as the two teams reached the touchline and he shook hands with Hallam.

"Exciting? For me, victory is the most exciting thing," Hallam said, looking at Saint with a confident smile.

"I agree with that," Saint said, and turned away.

Hallam did not stop him, but as Saint walked off, Hallam gave his departing back a long, searching look.

"I wonder what the two managers said to each other on the touchline," Judd said as the camera caught the moment.

"In front of one of the most respected managers in the country, Saint does not look intimidated in the slightest," Granger said.

"But managers can only do so much. The result still has to be decided by the players on the pitch," Pemberton added.

On paper, Villa were far weaker than Chelsea, even with a few seasoned veterans in the side.

Teale was old. He had been in great form in the last few games, helped along by some of Saint’s secret methods, but he turned slowly. Would that be exposed here, against a player like Gaunt, the type of striker he found hardest to handle?

In midfield, whether young Rocher could get the better of Cartwright would be another key to the game. And up front, to mark Tomlin, Hallam had picked a six-foot-five Greek centre-back, Dimitriou, to start.

That tall defender was no ordinary player. He was a strong, physical presence and exactly the type to unsettle Tomlin.

So from both starting line-ups, Villa’s only clear advantage was Vacek in goal. In just three league games, Vacek had made the whole country realise how good he was.

By contrast, the goalkeeper was Chelsea’s weakest link. Pickford had played reasonably well, but neither Hallam nor the fans were entirely happy with him.

Out on the pitch the two captains finished the coin toss. Conlan lost it to Strickland, and the two had spent the toss staring at each other, so there could be nothing friendly in it.

The referee, Mike Dawlish, could not read the meaning behind those looks, and he doubted whether the two captains understood each other’s glares, but that did not stop him from warning them both before the game began.

The two captains had been warned before a ball was kicked. It was a sign this match was different, and the referee’s caution would turn out to be prophetic.

When the game began, Chelsea attacked straight away. After a few passes the ball came to Strickland’s feet, and he controlled it beautifully. He had lost none of his class.

For years Hallam had played Strickland in the hole, and judging by Chelsea’s recent form it had been a masterstroke that completely unlocked the winger.

Today, though, Strickland would not enjoy himself, because Conlan had been tracking him since the first minute. Marking Strickland was Conlan’s main job in this game.

It showed within seconds. Strickland took a touch, looked up for the pass, and found Conlan already at his shoulder. He turned the other way, and Conlan turned with him. The third time Strickland tried to spin, Conlan stuck out a leg and the ball ran out for a throw-in.

"Good lad," Saint said under his breath, from the technical area.

Strickland got up, brushed himself off and glared. Conlan simply stared back, expression unreadable, and jogged to his position.

At the other end Teale was having a quiet word with Barzley, pointing out where Gaunt liked to make his runs. The old centre-back had seen the little striker a dozen times in different shirts and knew exactly where he’d go before Gaunt did.

"Stay tight," Teale said, "and don’t let him turn."

Barzley nodded. In the stands behind the goal, the Villa supporters had begun to sing, a thin sound against the vast noise of the home crowd, but a stubborn one.

Haldane, in his seat a few rows back, found himself humming along without quite realising. Beside him a young steward leaned over and asked, politely, if he was all right.

"Better than all right," the old man said. "I think we might have something here."

On the touchline, Hallam folded his arms and watched his side settle. Saint did the same on the other side, and for a brief moment the two managers looked like mirror images of one another.

Then the ball ran loose in midfield, a challenge went in, and the whole stadium roared.