Peter Osgood

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Peter Osgood
0Full Name	Peter Leslie Osgood
0Date of Birth	20 February 1947
0Place of Birth	Windsor, Berkshire
0Position	Striker
0Chelsea career	1964-1974 1978-1979
0Debut	16 December 1964
0Games (goals)	380 (150)
0Other clubs	Southampton Norwich City (loan) Philadelphia Fury

Peter Leslie Osgood (20 February 1947 – 1 March 2006) was an English international striker who spent the majority of his career at Chelsea. An FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup winner at Chelsea, with 150 goals in 380 appearances, he is remembered as one of the greatest players in the club's history by fans, and is hailed to this day as the "King of Stamford Bridge".

Contents 1 Chelsea career 2 After Chelsea 3 Return to Chelsea 4 International 5 Retirement 6 Statue 7 Statistics 8 Career honours

Chelsea career

Having signed as a junior and impressing in the reserves with 30 goals in 20 games, Osgood made his senior debut in 1964 at the age of 17, scoring two goals on his debut against Workington in the League Cup, with Chelsea eventually winning the competition. However, the Windsor-born striker would have to wait until the following season for his second competitive first team appearance. Having once more demonstrated his potential with a haul of twelve goals in eight games during a close-season tour of Australia, Osgood lined up in a violent Inter-City Fairs Cup victory against AS Roma, before a run of first team appearances in the league yielded seven goals. Such was the young player's impact, Osgood was included in the provisional 40-man squad for the 1966 World Cup squad by Alf Ramsey, but didn't make the final 22.

During the 1966-67 season, Osgood's participation was cut short after he suffered a broken leg against Blackpool in a League Cup tie. He would miss the rest of the season, including Chelsea's first appearance in a Wembley FA Cup Final; a 2-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.

Returning from injury under new manager Dave Sexton, Osgood's skill and physical presence was often employed in midfield during the 1968-69 season, but his goalscoring ability as a centre forward would deliver silverware to Stamford Bridge the following season.

Osgood scored in every round of the 1969-70 FA Cup (the most recent player to do so) with Chelsea eventually winning the competition in a replayed final against Leeds United at Old Trafford, the striker equalising with a diving header from a flighted Charlie Cooke pass before an extra time winner from David Webb earned the Blues their first FA Cup win. Osgood's 31 goals in all competitions also earned Chelsea a third place finish in the First Division.

The following season Osgood helped Chelsea to their first European trophy, including a five-goal haul against Jeunesse Hautcharage in the first leg of a European record 21-0 aggregate win. He scored in the European Cup Winners' Cup final against Real Madrid, though a late equaliser from the Spaniards forced a replay in which Osgood also scored, with Chelsea 2-1 winners in Athens. In the 1971-72 season Osgood scored in a cup final for the third consecutive season, though his goal couldn't prevent a 2-1 defeat to Stoke City.

Osgood continued to score regularly for Chelsea, a goal-of-the-season volley against Arsenal in the FA Cup a particular highlight, but financial problems resulted in a decline in the club's fortunes in the mid-1970s, and following a series of disagreements with Dave Sexton regarding the striker's lifestyle, Osgood signed for Second Division Southampton in March 1974 for a club record £275,000.

After Chelsea

Osgood won the FA cup for the second time in his career with the Saints; a 1976 victory over Manchester United, leaving in 1977 having scored 36 goals in 157 appearances, followed by a spell on loan at Norwich City.

Return to Chelsea

Osgood rejoined a financially troubled and relegation-threatened Chelsea in December 1978 following a spell in the United States with Philadelphia Fury. His only goal in 23 appearances came in a 7-2 defeat to Middlesbrough in his first appearance following his return to England, with the Blues eventually relegated at the end of the season. He retired from playing in December 1979, at the age of 32.

Osgood was Chelsea top scorer in four seasons and remains the joint fourth highest goalscorer in Chelsea history.

International

Despite his goalscoring prowess at domestic and European level, Osgood only appeared four times for the English national side, with manager Alf Ramsey apparently disapproving of his playboy lifestyle. His England debut was in February 1970 in a 3-1 win over Belgium, and he appeared twice in the 1970 World Cup, appearing as a substitute against Czechoslovakia and Romania.

Retirement

Following his retirement, Osgood ran a pub for a spell in his native Windsor, the Union Inn, with former Chelsea teammate Ian Hutchinson. Following perceived criticism of his running of the club in the 1990s, Ken Bates banned many former Chelsea stars, including Osgood, from Stamford Bridge, but following the aquisition of the club by Roman Abramovich in 2003 he was invited to return, resuming his role as a matchday host. Osgood had welcomed the Russian's aquisition of the club, recognising the opportunity it afforded to cement Chelsea's revival as a top side in England and Europe [1].

In addition to his ability, Osgood's personality, on and off the pitch, ensured his legendary status among Chelsea fans, with his era at the Bridge coinciding with a period in which the club's success on the field was matched by a glamourous image off it; movie star Raquel Welch at one time sporting a t-shirt adorned with the words "I scored with Osgood", following a visit to SW6.

His autobiography 'Ossie – King of Stamford Bridge' written with Martin Knight and Martin King was released in 2003 and in 2004 Osgood appeared in a cameo role in the British film The Football Factory.

Peter Osgood passed away on Sunday, 1 March 2006, following a heart attack at a family funeral at the age of 59 [2], having seen Chelsea win the league for the first time in 50 years a few months earlier. Three weeks before his death he had enjoyed a standing ovation when presented to the Stamford Bridge crowd at half-time during a match.

Chelsea's first home game following Osgood's death was against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, with the Spurs fans fully respecting the occasion. Osgood was honoured with a minute's applause before Chelsea won 2-1, William Gallas scoring a last-minute winner.

In a memorial service on Sunday, 1 October 2006, Peter Osgood's ashes were laid to rest under the penalty spot at the Shed End of Stamford Bridge. Over 2500 fans attended the memorial service and they were joined by former managers, chairmen, players, colleagues and current Chelsea players. In December 2007 in a 4-4 draw against Aston Villa, Andriy Shevchenko scored the first penalty kick at the Shed End since Osgood's ashes were buried there.

Statue

Four years to the day after his ashes were laid to rest under the Shed End penalty spot, on 1 October 2010 a statue of Osgood was unveiled outside the Millenium entrance at Stamford Bridge to a select group of 150 family, friends and representatives of the club. John Terry, Frank Lampard, Peter Bonetti, John Dempsey, Tommy Baldwin, Bobby Tambling, Alan Birchenall, Tommy Docherty and club Chairman Bruce Buck were all in attendance. [3]

Sculpted by Philip Jackson, the statue could be viewed by the public the following day. The first home match following the unveiling was a 2-0 win over Arsenal, on Sunday 3 October. [4]

Statistics

See also: List of Peter Osgood goals

Season	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1964-65	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	2
1965-66	32	7	5	1	0	0	11	3	0	0	48	11
1966-67	10	6	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	12	6
1967-68	42	16	5	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	48	17
1968-69	35	9	5	3	3	0	4	1	0	0	47	13
1969-70	38	23	7	8	3	0	0	0	0	0	48	31
1970-71	27	5	3	1	3	2	7	4	1	0	41	12
1971-72	36	18	3	1	9	4	4	8	0	0	52	31
1972-73	38	11	5	4	7	2	0	0	0	0	50	17
1973-74	21	8	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	22	8
1978-79	9	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	2
1979-80	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Total	289	105	34	19	30	10	26	16	1	0	380	150

Career honours

Chelsea

• FA Cup: 1970
• European Cup Winners' Cup: 1971

Southampton

• FA Cup: 1976

Player of the Year

1967: Bonetti | 1968: Cooke | 1969: Webb | 1970: Hollins | 1971: Hollins | 1972: Webb | 1973: Osgood | 1974: Locke 1975: Cooke | 1976: Wilkins | 1977: Wilkins | 1978: Droy | 1979: Langley | 1980: Walker | 1981: Borota | 1982: Fillery 1983: Jones | 1984: Nevin | 1985: Speedie | 1986: Niedzwiecki | 1987: Nevin | 1988: Dorigo | 1989: Roberts 1990: Monkou | 1991: Townsend | 1992: Elliott | 1993: Sinclair | 1994: Clarke | 1995: Johnsen | 1996: Gullit 1997: Hughes | 1998: Wise | 1999: Zola | 2000: Wise | 2001: Terry | 2002: Cudicini | 2003: Zola | 2004: Lampard 2005: Lampard | 2006: Terry | 2007: Essien | 2008: J.Cole | 2009: Lampard | 2010: Drogba | 2011: Čech | 2012: Mata 2013: Mata | 2014: Hazard