Chelsea were forced into wearing their opponent’s kit in the Premier League after the kitman’s mistake led to bizarre scenes against Coventry City in 1997
Chelsea once had to wear Coventry City’s away kit after the Blues’ kitman forget to pack their away kit, leaving a clash between the Blue stripes of Coventry and the navy of Chelsea’s strip.
In bizarre circumstances during the 1996/97 season, Ruud Gullit’s Chelsea side travelled to face relegation-threatened Coventry in April with just six games of the season to go as the Blues chased down Champions League football.
Chelsea travelled to Highfield Road after back-to-back defeats put their European bid in doubt, matters got worse for the Blues as they were forced to wear Coventry’s red and black away strip with Chelsea’s blue shorts and white socks in a horrific combination.
Gullit’s side fared as well as their kitman on the day with goals from Dion Dublin, Paul Williams and Noel Whelan cancelling out Paul Hughes’ first half opener for Chelsea, as the West London outfit fell to a 3-1 defeat.
Chelsea were then beaten the following weekend away from home against Newcastle United before three wins from their last four games salvaged a 6th place finish as Chelsea went on to beat Middlesbrough 2-0 in the FA Cup final to qualify for the Cup Winners’ Cup.
The Blues went on to finish fourth the following season as well as winning the League Cup and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.
Coventry meanwhile have Chelsea’s kitman to thank for the error, as the three points that the Sky Blues picked up that afternoon saw them survive the drop – as they stayed up by just one point.
It’s an almost impossible thing to conceive happening in the Premier League now, especially given all the kits that are released every season by clubs, with the image of the world’s best in the wrong strips likely to cause a sponsorship and image rights headache.
SOURCE: dailystar.co.uk
