COURTESY NEIL BARNETT

Former Chelsea FC pitch announcer Neil Barnett is a co-host on "The Football Show" on SiriusXMFC.

There’s few, if any, people in this world who know as much about Chelsea FC as does Neil “Spy” Barnett.

Currently a co-host of “The Football Show” on SiriusXMFC, Barnett served as the pitch announcer for the Blues, also working at Chelsea TV for 32 years. He will meet up with fans at Ri Ra Tuesday and Wednesday before the Charlotte FC-Chelsea FC match at Bank of America Stadium, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Check the ChelseainAmerica.com website for details.

QCFC spoke exclusively with Barnett about Chelsea past and present.

QCFC: You worked for the Blues for over three decades. Did you grow up a Chelsea fan?

NB: Yes, first game was in 1959, beat Everton 1-0. This was before the days even of weekend highlights on television, so all you had were the back pages of newspapers and books to learn about the game, and at six years old that wasn’t comparable to what it’s like now. I had four local sides, Chelsea, Fulham QPR and Brentford to choose from. Chelsea won.

QCFC: Who’s the greatest Chelsea player of all time and why?

NB: It’s easy to pick out players from each generation, each decade, and make a case, but the 2004-2012 period with the spine of Petr Cech, John Terry, Frank Lampard, and Didier Drogba, who together won three League titles in that period, a Champions League, four FA Cups and two League Cups was the best spine ever. They can all be first equal!

QCFC: Who’s your favorite Chelsea player of all time and why?

NB: My fifth game watching (and no, I haven’t counted them all), and only my second involving Chelsea, was away to Tottenham. Easter Monday, 1960. Tottenham were top, Chelsea were pulling away from the relegation zone following the introduction of an 18 year old goalkeeper whom my dad told me was foreign. Chelsea won 1-0 and knocked Tottenham off the top of the table (Burnley overtook them and won the title, yes… Burnley) and the teenage keeper was miraculous. He was Peter Bonetti, he was English, and he went on to play 729 games for the club, still the second most in its history.

QCFC: Gianluca Vialli, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Antonio Conte, Thomas Tuchel – who’s the greatest manager the Blues have had?

NB: That’s a great list from the second half of the 1990s on, but before that Ted Drake, Tommy Docherty, Dave Sexton, Eddie McCreadie, John Neal, Glenn Hoddle, and Ruud Gullit all deserve mention. And you’ve left out Roberto Di Matteo who won the Champions League and FA Cup in his nine months on charge. I’m going for José Mourinho in his first spell, 2004-07, when he changed the DNA of the club from good time boys to winners.

QCFC: Do you have a favorite Chelsea moment/memory?

NB: Winning the Champions League in 2012. But, actually, every 90 minutes (or more) of watching. The best addiction in the world.

QCFC: Who do you feel is Chelsea’s biggest traditional rival – Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United or Fulham?

NB: I’m a child of the ‘60s; I still believe in all that peace and love b/s, so rivalries to me are temporary. Right now, it’s Manchester City and Liverpool, not so long ago, Manchester United and Arsenal. It’s who’s at your level. I loathe all this ‘hate’ of other clubs; it’s a feeble ugly attempt at identity. Except… I am a child of the ‘60s and so I hate Leeds! But not now that Jesse Marsch is manager.

QCFC: How would you describe the pre-Abramovich and Abramovich eras?

NB: Different budgets, same addiction, new expectations.

QCFC: Why is it hard for some players who were exceptional in other leagues, such as Timo Werner in the Bundesliga, to succeed in the EPL?

NB: Great question. Foreign managers all say the biggest difference for a player is the number of high tempo sprints that are expected in a game. In Germany you run all game, maybe cover more ground, but you don’t make so many attempts to penetrate with high tempo sprints. I always say La Liga (Spain) is technique, Serie A (Italy) is tactics, Bundesliga (Germany) is running, and Premier League (England) is passion.

QCFC: What is the future for Christian Pulisic at the club?

NB: It’s in his hands, his body, and his brain. I don’t think he should seek a move. If he wants to play at this level, he’ll have this competition for places wherever he goes. He needs consistent fitness, consistent delivery in creativity and scoring, and with that comes consistent selection. I think he gets frustrated with himself when things aren’t going well and tries to do too much. He needs a strong self-discipline. Last season, he started both Cup Finals and the home game with Real Madrid. There were more big moments for him than maybe some people perceive.

QCFC: Who is the player to watch this coming season?

NB: I’m looking forward to a fit again Ben Chilwell and hope he can find his rhythm and form quickly. And Callum Hudson-Odoi, still only 21, needs to and can move up the ladder now.

QCFC: What every Chelsea supporter wants to know… will the Blues challenge for the EPL title this season?

NB: Hmm! Raheem Sterling brings new creativity, but I still worry about the ball being put in the net. There were 21 different scorers last season, the most in the club’s history, but you can’t pick 21 players every game. There need to be more goals in the starting XI each game. But centerback Kalidou Koulibaly and Sterling are big reasons for optimism.

And because we can, here’s two more questions off the bench.

• QCFC: Besides yourself and Lord Richard Attenborough, who are other celebrity Chelsea fans?

NB: There’s Sebastian Coe, three-time Olympic gold medalist, including the 1500 meters in L.A. 1984, who is now president of the World Athletics Council, but I’ll never forget Raquel Welch coming to a game and trying to get Peter Osgood to wave to her during play. Snoop Dogg visited the team at its hotel last week. I’ve interviewed Drake pitchside after a game.

QCFC: If you had to rely on one man to score for the Blues, who would it be? Jimmy Greaves, Peter Osgood, Kerry Dixon, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, or someone else?

NB: Jimmy Greaves is the all-time top-flight scorer in English football, but that’s largely forgotten in the marketed era of the Premier League. He got 357 goals to Alan Shearer’s 260. Osgood and Drogba were the two big occasion scorers, and Lampard hit the most goals ever for Chelsea. If it’s a big game, I’ll take Drogba. If it’s every week, I’ll take Greaves.

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