David Webb is a Chelsea folklore legend mainly for his goal in the 1970 FA cup final replay against Leeds United, which meant that Chelsea won the FA cup. However, this may make you wonder when did David Webb play for Chelsea?
When did David Webb play for Chelsea? David Webb signed for Chelsea 1968 for the sum of £40,000 from Southampton. Webb was a defender and consistently played as a fullback. Webb made 230 appearances for Chelsea before leaving in 1974.
David Webb was also the manager of Chelsea for a short period of time in the 1990s before Glenn Hoddle managed Chelsea. We take a look at David Webb’s career in more detail including a game against Ipswich where he was forced to go into goal the entire game and kept a clean sheet!
David Webb had not had a great FA cup final in 1970 against Leeds United. However, he did make a goal-line clearance in the final dying minutes of the game. In the replay at Old Trafford, Webb was moved into the center of defence whereas, in the first game he had been playing as right back. The fans were unsure whether David Webb should have even played in the replay after his dismal performance in the FA Cup final. However, it turned out that Webbs presence made Chelsea’s defense rock solid.
The game ended 1-1 and it went to extra time. Ian Hutchinson’s long throws were a nightmare for Leeds defence. With time in the replay running out, Hutchinson launched a ball into the Leeds box, Jack Charlton tried to clear the ball but was challenged and he misdirected his header across the face of the Leeds goal. David Webb was at the back post and jumped up high and put the ball into the back of the net. Webb scored the winning goal which meant Chelsea beat Leeds and won the FA Cup.,
Through virtue of winning the FA Cup, Chelsea were entered into the Cup Winners Cup. Chelsea progressed through the competition and played against Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners Cup final in 1971. Again Chelsea won in a replay and David Webb picked up a winning medal again.
David Webb was a right back, however from time to time he was put in different positions. There are two significant instances when David Webb played out of position and both of these happened against Ipswich town
The Daily Mirror reported that Webb scored a hat trick against Ipswich Town in Chelsea’s 3-1 win over them in 1968. Ipswich’s penalty box was inadequately guarded and Webb scored his first two goals with headers from the 6-yard line. When he was left on marked he scored on the 25th minute from a Bobby Tambling corner and then in the 46 minutes he had it in at Bobby. This time from a Tambling free kick. At this time Ipswich were already down to 10 men following the sending off of Derek Jefferson. In the 73rd minute, Webb pounced on a loose ball in a penalty box and put it in net.
On the 27th of December 1971, David Webb ended up playing a whole game in goal against Ipswich. In fact, he kept a clean sheet and Chelsea got a 2-0 win. The Daily Mirror reported that backup goalkeeper John Phillips had joined Peter Bonnetti on the injured list. Chelsea manager Dave Sexton contacted third-team keeper Steve Sherwood. However, Sherwood was in Selby, Yorkshire celebrating Christmas with his family. Sherwood dashed down the motorway and arrived three minutes before kickoff which was too late to play. The only alternative was for David Webb to go in goal. The fans made it clear Webb was in goal but it seemed that Ipswich tean hadn’t noticed David Webb was in goal because they were quite poor. Webb was cheered every time he touched the ball and he only had to make one serious save and that was in the 6 minutes into the game. The reporter also said there was only one hero in the game and that was David Webb who was cheered off at the end of the game as though he played the game of his life.