Chelsea Influencers Pick Their Favourite Fan Chant

This isn't The X-Factor or Britain's Got Talent, we promise.

When we think about singing these days, it's often those talent shows that dominate. They're hard to escape and bring a burning sensation to one's ears. We're left asking ourselves how we can unhear what has just been played before us.

Well, thankfully, football fans are still producing some gems on the terraces across the Premier League and Europe. Fan culture is what drives the game, with every club having its own unique approach to supporting their teams.

Chelsea supporters are no different, with an eclectic range of chants to worship the players on a weekly basis throughout the season. Come the back end of 2016/17, it was mostly "Campeones" we would hear at Stamford Bridge for the champions, but there are plenty of others on offer.

Singing together brings supporters closer as a collective. It gives them common ground to unite as one.

But what are the favourites in west London? We spoke to some Chelsea influencers to find out theirs.

We Are The Shed; Chelsea HQ

Twitter: @WeAre_TheShed; @Chelsea_HQ

Song: "One Man Went to Mow"

We've paired We Are The Shed and Chelsea HQ here as they couldn't give us a different song. Of all the chants being sung at Stamford Bridge, they were adamant there was only one that really gets their juices flowing. Yes, there always has to be one awkward person; well, two in this case.

Ironically, the song they both share an affection is "One Man Went to Mow." It's an odd one—a chant that has lyrics with no reflection on football at all. Perhaps the lyrics are an homage to the hard work of groundsmen that keep football pitches in pristine condition?

Still, when it gets going, it's a chant that brings people together. We see fans collectively unite as, jumping to their feet to count down from 10 to one before a passionate cry of "Chelsea."

"It's a long one, but I don't think any other clubs sing it and gets everyone on their feet at the end," We Are The Shed explained. "It gets everyone going, which is obviously a good thing."

Chelsea HQ agreed but also picked it out as a favourite based on a sentimental rationale.

"It's the first chant I can remember hearing at my first game in 1997. It doesn't get sung often enough these days, though.

"I love how the excitement builds until everyone starts yelling 'CHELSEA.' A bit of 'Carefree' is also lovely though."

David Chidgey, Chelsea Fancast podcast

Twitter: @StamfordChidge

Song: "Celery"

(Video has NSFW content)

For reasons of decency, we can't list the full lyrics to the infamous Chelsea chant about celery. But for Chelsea Fanzine podcast presenter David Chidgey, it's still a song that resonates for him whenever he hears it at Stamford Bridge.

"'Celery' is absolutely unique to us," he said of the song no other club's supporters sing. It's one that sums up the jovial spirit one can enjoy on the terraces, but it also comes with some other benefits.

"It creates an economic windfall for local greengrocers, too!" Chidgey buoyantly told us. For those unfamiliar with the chant, Chelsea supporters don't just sing about celery—they buy the vegetable by the bucket load and toss it around during the singing.

There are other chants Chidgey relates to.

"'F--k' em All' is quite therapeutic when things aren't going well," he said. "And 'One Man Went to Mow' is also unique to us. Besides, it has music and movement, so what's not to like?

"'Boys in Blue from Division 2' also brings back some fond memories of youth."

Nizaar Kinsellla, Goal journalist

Twitter: @NizaarKinsella

Song: "Steve Gerrard, Gerrard..."

(Video has NSFW content)

There's always room for comedy in football chants, but for all of those we've spoken to here, we're surprised that it's football journalist Nizaar Kinsella who has chosen humour over affection when it comes to Chelsea's best chants.

Those working from the press box are supposed to be impartial, but we're suspecting more than a hint of bias from Kinsella when he told us his favourite song is one Chelsea fans sing about a certain moment in Steven Gerrard's Liverpool career:

"It's a day ingrained in the psyche of any Chelsea fan: 27 April 2014, when Steven Gerrard made a catastrophic error. He slipped and allowed Chelsea's Demba Ba a free run at goal to dent a rare season in which his side had the chance to win a Premier League title.

"Chelsea won that game 2-0 and Liverpool's hopes of winning the title unravelled dramatically after.

"It was made worse by the fact that he was filmed telling his team-mates that "we don't let this slip" in a team talk after a victory a few weeks earlier. Football is cruel and so are Chelsea fans when they sing about Gerrard."

David Johnstone, cfcuk fanzine editor

Twitter: @OnlyAPound

Songs: "Blue Flag" and "Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea"

For cfcuk fanzine editor David Johnstone, chants are about the collective feeling of passion that supporters bring to the terraces.

In recent years, Chelsea have been criticised for this aspect seemingly being reduced at their home matches. But it hasn't always been that way, with a defeat in the 1994 FA Cup final as a reminder for how loud and proud Chelsea supporters have been in the club's rich history.

"My favourite two chants are 'Blue Flag' and the 'Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea', which is constant chant," Johnstone explained. "For me, they symbolise a spirit that says that the supporters will follow and back their side whatever the odds, and however much pressure they're under.

"In 1994, the first FA Cup final I saw Chelsea play in was, as far as the result was concerned, entirely forgettable. However, it also gave me one of my most memorable moments supporting them when, as victors Manchester United walked up the (then) 39 steps to receive the trophy, their fans were out-sung by the Chelsea supporters proudly singing 'The Blue Flag.'

"Although there was a definite improvement in the Stamford Bridge atmosphere last season, the home crowd needs to try to recapture that same Wembley '94 spirit, especially when Chelsea are losing games."

Rick Glanvill, official Chelsea FC historian

Twitter: @RickGlanvill

Song: "Ay, ay, ay, ay, Bonetti is Better than Yashin" and "Chelsea are the Champions!"

Getty Images/Getty Images

We've saved the best for last and it comes from Chelsea's historian, Rick Glanvill.

As you would expect from a man with such ties to Chelsea's past, Glanvill's knowledge of the chants from yesteryear is strong. And he picks his favourite with no apology for a heavy leaning toward sentiment.

"Modern chants are like memes," he told us. "They're basic, universal, have the same tune and slightly tweaked words. So I suppose I most love ones I heard in my youth that had a bit more to them.

"'Ay, ay, ay, ay, Bonetti is better than Yashin,' for example—not the only terrace chants based on a South American song (in this case, 'Cielito Lindo').

I also have a massive soft spot for the version of the English folk song, 'Strawberry Fair': 'Singing, singing, Chelsea are the champions! Singing, singing, Chelsea are the kings!'"