Osgood sacked from Chelsea

Peter Osgood has been sacked from his public relations role at Chelsea after a "personality clash" with chairman Ken Bates.

The club has released the former England striker, who spent 11 years at Chelsea in two spells in the Sixties and Seventies, from his £10,000-a-year PR job.

"I was doing a PR job there for seven or eight years and loved every minute of it, but I had this personality clash with the chairman and he unfortunately has got rid of me. All of a sudden Chelsea can't afford £10,000 a year, which is a bit sad."

Osgood scored 105 goals in 286 league appearances for the club and recently topped a fans' poll as the best-ever Chelsea player.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have thrown their pre-season preparations into disarray after cancelling their planned tour of the Far East.

They had been set to play matches in China and Malaysia. As part of their alternative arrangements, Claudio Ranieri's side will play Oxford on 24 July.