Torres 11-12 (3rd)

Torres will take part in his second Champions League final this evening - the first being with Chelsea in 2012. Torres played a crucial role in that final despite only coming on with five minutes to go. It was of course him who won the corner from which Didier Drogba equalised! This sent the game to extra time and penalties, which Chelsea famously won!

Torres' more famous contribution in that European campaign was to score the second goal against Barcelona in second leg of the semi final, made all the better by Gary Neville's hilarious reaction to it!

The goal itself wasn't actually that important to the game, Chelsea were going through at the time, and with just a minute left to play would probably have seen the game out. Especially considering that they had done so for the previous 45 minutes with just 10 men!

As a Chelsea supporter I don't believe that performance gets the credit it deserves. Gary Cahill was taken off injured early in the match, joining David Luiz on the sidelines following his injury against Spurs in the FA Cup semi the previous week. Then John Terry was stupidly sent off for kneeing Sanchez meaning that both regular right backs, Branislav Ivanovic and Jose Bosingwa, had to play in central defence and central midfielder Ramires had to play right back!

When Barcelona scored two quick goals at the end of the first half to take the lead on aggregate (2-1) it prompted Alan Green to exclaim "standby for the floodgates to open"! In fairness it wasn't without good reason, Barcelona were known for destroying teams (they still are!) and were touted by many as one of, if not the, best teams ever to have played club football. Chelsea meanwhile were struggling to an eventual 6th place in the Premier League!

Even a wonder goal by Ramires on the brink of half time left many feeling that it was only delaying the inevitable. It certainly looked that way early in the second half when Drogba "fouled" Fabregas in the area, but incredibly Messi missed the penalty (he is still yet to find the net against a Chelsea side!). From there Chelsea soaked up wave after wave of attack as the minutes ticked by. Torres replaced an exhausted Drogba with 10 minutes to go.

Chelsea looked like holding on, but then they had done three years earlier only to be denied at the last. Then, in the last minute, the ball was hoofed up field and Torres found himself through on goal. He rounded Valdes and stroked the ball into the empty net, leading to massive celebrations in the gods of the Nou Camp and pubs in the south west London area! The goal wasn't important to the result, but it confirmed it and went some way to repaying the £50m transfer fee and the "Scandal of Stamford Bridge" three years earlier!

Nick Barmby Hull City 07-08

This is a figure I did a while back, you can tell because I've painted on the Umbro logo instead of using a transfer.

It seems the perfect time to display it with Hull taking place in the playoff final today, just as they did eight years ago. Hull won that final against Bristol City and will be hoping for a similar result today against Sheffield Wednesday.

Sullivan 03-04

Neil Sullivan signed for Chelsea in 2003 after Jurgen Macho had picked up an injury during preseason having just signed himself. He was perhaps one of the lower profile signings that summer; the arrival of Roman Abramovich led to a spending spree which exceeded £100m! Sullivan was signed from rivals Spurs for a paltry sum of £500k.

Sullivan may not have expected or been expected to play that season, but several injuries to Carlo Cudicini and Marco Ambrosio ensured him some game time. In total he played 7 games that season, keeping clean sheets against Reading, Charlton and Portsmouth (x2).

I'm reasonably happy with this simple repaint. I remember the kit fondly having dived around the garden in one plenty of times all those years ago! The unique aspect of it is the net illusion on the back of the shirt which I have attempted to replicate.

 

Ryan Giggs Manchester United 1990-92 (a)

This one is less of a repaint than my previous figures! Almost the entire shirt is created using transfers!

The figure is of Ryan Giggs sporting the Manchester United away kit of 1990-92, around the time Giggs made his first team debut for them. I have seen a lot of United repaints but never one in this kit before, probably because it is almost impossible to paint! I feel the transfers really work though.

I did this figure recently and it is available on Ebay now! If you are interested, or know of someone who might be, visit the link above!

Schwarzer 13-14

I feel a bit guilty about this one in all honesty! Mark Schwarzer is a rare Corinthians figure and was only released in the Middlesbrough League Cup winners pack. Therefore, in order to obtain a Schwarzer figure, I had to purchase the pack and then split it up so I could obtain the ones I wanted (Zenden is also part of it too). Sorry purists!

Today seemed like a good time to show this figure as Schwarzer returned to the Bridge with Leicester. Remarkably he has won consecutive league titles at the age of 43! I also believe he is the first player to win consecutive titles without featuring in the any of the games in either season!

Schwarzer was one of the first signings made by Jose Mourinho upon his return to the club. Throughout the season he provided cover for Petr Cech and ended up playing in some crucial games towards the end of the season when Cech got injured.

During the season he kept clean sheets at Arsenal, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid as well as becoming the oldest debutant in the Champions League and the oldest Chelsea player to play in the Premier League. The clean sheet away to Liverpool, which stopped them winning the league (Slippy G), took Schwarzer's Premier League clean sheet tally to 150 - only the third player to do so (Cech and David James are the other two).

Schwarzer stayed on for a second season, but found himself third in the pecking order behind Cech and Courtois - surely one of the strongest set of goalkeepers ever assembled! However, when Leicester needed cover for the injured Kasper Schmeichel in January 2015, he was allowed to move on.

Wise 89-91 (h)

This is by far the earliest repaint I've done so far. Dennis Wise has been painted in the home kit worn between 1989 and 1991.

Wise joined Chelsea from Wimbledon in 1990 and helped the club to 11th position in his first season. I don't have any memories of the season as I was yet to be born!

Malouda 10-11 (h)

This comes from the first batch of repaints since I stopped over the winter which partly explains why there are a couple of inaccuracies!

To my surprise my standard blue paint (which I use for most Chelsea home kits) seems to have become darker over the winter, no matter how much I stir it! As a result of this, the kit colour is a tad darker than it was in reality. The second problem is that the transfer with Malouda's name on it is too small!

The 2010-11 season started with such promise for Chelsea. Having finished the back end of the previous year winning the double, and scoring the most number of goals in a Premier League season, it looked as if 10-11 would be equally as fruitful and exciting. In fact, after 10 games, it looked like we would be utterly dominant in the league. The season begun with consecutive 6-0 wins, and by November Chelsea were top having gained 26 from a possible 30 points.

Unfortunately it began to unravel very quickly! Many Chelsea fans will point to one decision being the start of the downfall, and whilst I partly agreed with them, I hadn't realised the dates of the decision being made, and our implosion, were so close to one another! The decision was, of course, to sack Carlo Ancelotti's assistant, and smashing young man, Ray Wilkins!

Wilkins left on the 11th November and Michael Emenalo moved into his position a week later. This action started a run of just two wins in eleven games including defeats against Sunderland, Birmingham and Wolves. The two wins came at home against Zilina and Bolton, both of which were won by goals from Florent Malouda.

In the space of two months Chelsea had gone from being five points clear at the top to being seven points behind in 5th place having played a game more than leaders Man Utd. Despite a late resurgence through the spring, closing the gap to three points, we lost the top of the table clash with United in May and eventually finished nine points behind.

The performances of Malouda often coincided with the performance of the team. For the last 6 months of 2008-09, all of 2009-10 and the beginning of 2010-11, Malouda had been at the top of his game. This matched the club's performance, winning the FA Cup in 2009; the double in 2010; and comfortably leading the league at the start of 2010-11.

However, in the space of a few months Malouda went from being one of the first names on the teamsheet to being berated by significant sections of the support. He would never regain the sort of form he showed for that two year spell, spanning three seasons, and left on a free in 2013 having been banished to the U21 side by Andre Villas-Boas.

Despite this, Malouda is remembered fondly as a very effective wide midfielder and a crucial member of the double winning side scoring and creating 30 goals that season (15 each). He combined skill and strength, forming a great partnership with Ashley Cole on the left hand side. A further 14 goals followed in the 2010-11 season, though he only created five for his teammates. It is a shame that Malouda's time at Chelsea is somewhat soured by his slow start and, more significantly, his bemusing loss of form and enthusiasm from 2011 onwards.

David Platt Aston Villa 89-90

Another figure I sold on Ebay last year and one of my favourite non-Chelsea repaints.

Teddy Sheringham Nottm Forest 90-92

This is another one of the first repaints I did. It shows Teddy Sheringham in his Nottingham Forest days.

Sheringham was signed from Millwall in 1991 for a club record fee of £2.1m. Playing under the guidance of Brian Clough, Forest and Sheringham managed to reach win the Full Members Cup and reach the League Cup final.

Peacock 94-96 (a)

Gavin Peacock is one of the most common Corinthians ever produced. If you have a collection, chances are, you have a Peacock figure! I am currently in possession of five Peacock figures: one for my collection and four spares for repaints! Luckily Peacock just managed to play for Chelsea long enough for me to do these repaints in different kits!

You will probably recognise this kit I've painted Peacock in, mainly due to the fact it always crops up in the discussion of worst Premier League kits ever! I've always quite liked the kit to be honest, despite the funny looks you get when you wear it to five a side!

Joe Cole 09-10 (h)

This is one of the Fan Favourites figures made by Corinthians in 2003. The Chelsea team pack included a very good sculpt of Joe Cole which I have repainted in the 2009-10 home kit.

This was the year that Chelsea won the double under the guidance of Carlo Ancelotti - one of my favourite ever seasons supporting the club! The league season was exciting, going down to the very last game of the season between us and Manchester United.

This was the first real sustained success (a league title requires strong performances throughout the season rather than just a few months like under Hiddink) since Mourinho had won all domestic titles in his first three seasons. The seemingly impenetrable defence had been lost somewhat, but it was more than made up for in a ruthless attack, which still holds the record for the most goals scored in a Premier League season at 103!

Whereas all previous home games when trying to win a league title had been nervy affairs, this team was a real joy to watch, as they often blew teams away. During the last few months of the season at the Bridge, Chelsea put four past West Ham; seven past Villa and Stoke; and eight past Wigan. Naturally there was also a nervy midweek 1-0 against Bolton as well!

From my memory Joe Cole only played a minor role during the season as he came back from cruciate ligament damage to his knee, but he apparently took part in 39 games! His first game back from injury was against QPR in the League Cup, a game he ran completely. His first goal of the season was in a 4-0 win over Wolves. He also provided the assist for Ashley Cole to make it 8-0 in the title winning game against Wigan.

However, his best contribution came against Manchester United in April in what was a title deciding game and one that Alex Ferguson described at the time as like a World Cup final. Cole scored the opener with a clever flick as Chelsea won 2-1 at Old Trafford to secure control over the title race. It remains to this day one of the best away games I've been to!

With regard to the figure I like how it has come out. The Fans Favourite sculpts are a lot easier to paint as you can quite literally rip the heads of them! This makes painting the collar simple enough with no worry of accidentally getting paint on the head! The kit for the season was basic enough, although it initially drew criticism for its breast plates!