Episodes

  • Didier Drogba, the Lion in the Jungle (teaser)

    Didier Drogba, the Lion in the Jungle (teaser)
    17 May 2022
    As Didier Drogba approached the penalty spot in Munich, he knew Chelsea's destiny rested on his shoulders. A club that two decades earlier had flirted with extinction, faced potential bankruptcy, reached five Champions League semi-finals and lost a final on penalties, was staring destiny in the face once more.

    And this time, Drogba delivered, stroking his penalty home... somehow, Chelsea Football Club had reached the promised land. They were European champions.

    The Blueprint tells the story of how it all happened.

    From the arrival of Glenn Hoddle as manager in 1993, right through to glory in Munich in 2012, we speak with the key players and decision makers who inspired an impossible story.
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    2 min
  • The Ken Bates Tapes: Part 1

    The Ken Bates Tapes: Part 1
    21 Mar 2023
    Over a two part interview, Garry Hayes and Ceri Levy sit down with former Chelsea FC owner Ken Bates to hear him tell his Stamford Bridge story like never before.

    Bates seldom gives interviews these days. Indeed, he doesn't do documentaries, which makes The Ken Bates Tapes all the more compelling.

    Listeners will hear how Bates ushered in a new dawn for Chelsea FC and English football. From battling the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal for equity in the Premier League, to appointing Glenn Hoddle as Chelsea manager; his boardroom battles with Matthew Harding and how he sold the club to Roman Abramovich over dinner at The Dorchester Hotel in London.

    Our theme music "Blue Day '23" is composed by Mike Connaris with bed arrangements by Jake Bradford-Sharp. It's used under license from Mcasso Music.
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    38 min
  • The Ken Bates Tapes: Part 2

    The Ken Bates Tapes: Part 2
    21 Mar 2023
    In the second part of The Ken Bates Tapes, the former Chelsea FC owner opens up on his strained relationship with Matthew Harding and the circumstances surrounding the Blues' sale to Roman Abramovich.

    Bates explains Chelsea's financial situation ahead of the sale in 2003 and challenges the notion the club was facing financial difficulty.

    Our theme music "Blue Day '23" is composed by Mike Connaris with bed arrangements by Jake Bradford-Sharp. It's used under license from Mcasso Music.
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    42 min
  • The Matthew Harding Tapes: Part 1 (with David Cooper)

    The Matthew Harding Tapes: Part 1 (with David Cooper)
    17 May 2023
    Matthew Harding is a significant and important figure in the history Chelsea Football Club after his investments into the Blues in the 1990s helped the club to scale new heights.

    Much has been made of the so-called "Battle for Stamford Bridge" between Harding and former Chelsea owner, Ken Bates.

    But little is known or spoken about with regard to Harding outside of this.

    Who was he? What was he like? How did his friends and family see him? Through extensive conversations with those closest to him, The Blueprint is bringing to light the persona and the humanity of the man that was Matthew Harding.

    In this first episode of "The Matthew Harding Tapes", we speak with David Cooper, who was Harding's confidante and lawyer who oversaw the inquest in his death following a tragic helicopter accident in October 1996.

    David sheds light on Harding's various business delaings and brings us into the life of the former Chelsea vice-chairman.

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    Our theme music "Blue Day '23" is composed by Mike Connaris with bed arrangements by Jake Bradford-Sharp. It's used under license from Mcasso Music.
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    48 min
  • The Matthew Harding Tapes: Part 2 (with Mark Killick)

    The Matthew Harding Tapes: Part 2 (with Mark Killick)
    17 May 2023
    Mark Killick was best friends with Matthew Harding, the pair finding kinship owing to a shared love for Chelsea Football Club.

    Killick was also an executor of Harding's will following his tragic death in October 1996 and speaks publicly with The Blueprint for the first time.

    In a varied interview, Killick provides new insight to Harding's hopes and ambitions for Chelsea, including making the Blues the preeminent club in London and the Premier League.

    Harding also sought new investment for Chelsea, which Killick explains may well have involved the billionaire owner of Virgin, Richard Branson.

    ***
    Our theme music "Blue Day '23" is composed by Mike Connaris with bed arrangements by Jake Bradford-Sharp. It's used under license from Mcasso Music.
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    1 hr and 4 min
  • 1: Enemies of Football

    1: Enemies of Football
    31 May 2023
    As Chelsea faced Barcelona in the 2004/05 Champions League, the club was about to navigate unchartered waters. Jose Mourinho and his men were disrupting the European game and the continent's elite didn't like it one bit.

    Come the end of the Blues' Last-16 clash, UEFA labelled them as the "Enemies of Football", referee Anders Frisk retired from the game on account of death threats and a modern rivalry between Chelsea and the Catalan giants was born.

    Mourinho and his new club had arrived on the biggest stage. The Roman Abramovich era at Stamford Bridge had suddenly gone international.

    Things would never be the same again.

    This is the inside story of how it all happened.

    In this episode you will hear from: Steve Clarke, Frank Lampard, Tore Andre Flo, Frank Leboeuf, Jody Morris, Colin Hutchinson, Simon Johnson (The Athletic), Peter Drury (Commentator), David "Stamford Chidge" Chidgey (Chelsea Fancast), Rick Glanvill (Chelsea FC Historian) and Martin Tyler (Commentator).

    The Blueprint is written by Garry Hayes and narrated by Ceri Levy.

    ***
    Our theme music "Blue Day '23" is composed by Mike Connaris with bed arrangements by Jake Bradford-Sharp. It's used under license from Mcasso Music.

    Archive used in this episode is courtesy of Chelsea TV.
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    56 min
  • 2: The Hand of Hod

    2: The Hand of Hod
    31 May 2023
    When Glenn Hoddle arrived at Chelsea in 1993, he thought he was becoming the manager of a Premier League club.

    He soon found out the Blues were in name only. Hoddle had stepped into a club that was years behind its rivals and needed to dramatically improve standards. From player recruitment to the playing style and basics such as nutrition and how the team trained.

    It was a new dawn at Chelsea and Hoddle had it all to do.

    This is the story of how Hoddle did it.

    In this episode you will hear from: Glenn Hoddle, Ken Bates, Steve Clarke, David Lee, Eddie Newton, Michael Duberry, Colin Hutchinson, Luke Harding, Joel Harding, Clive Batty (Journalist), Rick Glanvill (Chelsea historian)

    The Blueprint is written by Garry Hayes and narrated by Ceri Levy.

    ***
    Our theme music "Blue Day '23" is composed by Mike Connaris with bed arrangements by Jake Bradford-Sharp. It's used under license from Mcasso Music.
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    50 min
  • 3: Ruud Awakening

    3: Ruud Awakening
    7 Jun 2023
    In just two years, Glenn Hoddle had taken Chelsea from the doldrums of the Premier League to a European semi-final.

    It was April 1995, and Real Zaragoza stood between the Blues and a match-up with London rivals Arsenal in the Cup Winners' Cup final.

    Chelsea would lose that tie 4-3 on aggregate, but, importantly, that European campaign ignited something in the Chelsea manager and managing director, Colin Hutchinson.

    They had seen the future and what was possible with a club like Chelsea.

    And that future was now: the Bosman Ruling was coming and it opened the transfer market for the Blues to become the first English club to really exploit it.

    Enter Ruud Gullit, the Ballon d'Or winner and Dutch legend who would be the first in a long line of Bosman signings that would help send Chelsea to the top of the Premier League.

    This is the story of how Gullit helped awaken a sleeping giant of English football.

    In this episode you will hear from: Ken Bates, Colin Hutchinson, Glenn Hoddle, Ruud Gullit, Martin Tyler (commentator), Clive Batty (Journalist), Rick Glanvill (Chelsea historian), Andy Saunders (The Chels), Tim Rolls (Chelsea fan and author) and Neil Barnett, AKA "Spy".

    The Blueprint is written by Garry Hayes and narrated by Ceri Levy.

    ***
    Our theme music "Blue Day '23" is composed by Mike Connaris with bed arrangements by Jake Bradford-Sharp. It's used under license from Mcasso Music.

    Archive used in this episode is courtesy of Chelsea TV.
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    41 min