Hudson, right, who lifted the Cup Winners’ Cup with Chelsea in 1971, says he is the reason Lampard joined the club

If the past week has told us anything it is that we should treasure our football heroes. The death of Peter Bonetti and the struggles of Norman Hunter have tapped a rich vein of love and nostalgia. Tribal rites have been ignored by shared sympathy. When modern football finally reopens, another Seventies veteran of those Chelsea-Leeds duels hopes that we can put the game in its true place.

Alan Hudson is one of a small band of Seventies mavericks, all flair, hair and devil-may care hedonism, and he has a suggestion for post-lockdown football. “Smile,” he says. “These are frightening times. When I go to the shop you never hear anyone laughing now. You can understand it but it’s awful. When football comes back it