Chelsea f.c.

Paul Elliott CBE MBE returned recently to a Stamford Bridge where his star lit up the Chelsea sky very brightly but all too briefly back in the early 1990s.

It was a kind of continuity on the back of Celtic [where Paul had been Scotland’s Players’ Player of the Year the previous season] and I was at that right age of 27, 28 and it felt great because the supporters’ opinions of you are very important. I co-founded Kick It Out in 1992 with Lord Ouseley and the PFA and I've seen videos of me back then with a curly perm and a moustache and I think look what has happened to me 30 years later! I remember the replay in Sunderland after we conceded a late equaliser here, that was a tough game. When you came to Chelsea in 1991 you were a sought-after player and you started well with a goal in each of your first two home games. So I’ve gone through my whole life with that in mind and I just wanted to prove people wrong, break down barriers and lead by the quality of my football and my leadership and my character. We're on a journey now with equality, diversity and inclusion and that's been my work on the field as a player and in doing what I've done in the 30 years since. Scotland was a very challenging environment, the same issues I got down south, and I had it in Italy as well, players just being abused for the colour of their skin. What we've got today are 21st Century challenges and the great thing is we've got a generation of players who are exceedingly powerful, and are now using their power to great effect. I started at Charlton and I remember playing as a 16-year-old kid at Stamford Bridge, and it wasn't for the faint-hearted. Chelsea was a huge move for me but I was at Celtic before, in Italy before then, Aston Villa before then in the First Division, Luton Town in the First Division. I feel sorry for them not having the tools and the support mechanisms to cope with that, because it does affect so many people in different ways. I’ve been having conversations about celebrating the Windrush anniversary, which is in June, and I think this kind of area should be all round because this is the journey to where we are now but that said, Black History Month does give a focal point which is always important.