In a 16-year career spent with Chelsea and Southampton, goal-scoring legend Peter Osgood made 560 appearances, scoring 220 goals and winning two FA Cup-winner's medals. He was part of the victorious Chelsea side that defeated the mighty Real Madrid in the 1971 European Cup-Winners' Cup final and is the last player to have scored in every round of the FA Cup, including the final. "Ossie" tells the story of the career and the extraordinary roller-coaster personal life of the man who spearheaded a team that made as many headlines off the field as on. The truth about the hard-drinking and hard-living antics of these Kings Road dandies - Hudson, Cooke, Baldwin and company - has never before been told. Osgood tells of his strained relationship with manager Dave Sexton, which resulted in his and other stars' departures, triggering a decline in Chelsea FC's fortunes that took some 20 years to reverse. He recounts his experiences in the Mexico World Cup of 1970 and is brutally honest about the challenges and problems faced by ex-footballers as they attempt to adjust to life in mainstream society. Notwithstanding the popularity of contemporary players such as Zola and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Osgood is still feted, loved and sung about by the fans. Although many of them have never seen him play, he still represents a golden era for many Chelsea supporters, while for others he personifies the club itself.

Author Biography

Peter Osgood played for Chelsea and Southampton, and was also capped four times by England in the early 1970s. He died in 2006. Martin King is the author of A Boy's Story, The Estate and The South Downs Way, and Martin Knight is the author of the novel Common People. Together they have co-written Hoolifan, The Naughty Nineties and On the Cobbles.