The King came home in December 1978. Almost five years had passed since his acrimonious departure to Southampton and in the intervening period the Chelsea landscape had changed considerably.

Osgood was one of many stars of the cup-winning teams of the early 1970s to leave. Manager Dave Sexton soon followed. The ambitious new East Stand had left the club debt-ridden and unstable; we were relegated in 1975.

Not long before Osgood left for the South Coast, Sexton called him into his office and asked him if he would like to take over the captaincy of the club. It had been taken away from Ron Harris, passed to Eddie McCreadie and was then being filled by John Hollins.

‘The players all look up to you,’ Sexton reasoned to Osgood, who recounted the story in his autobiography. The striker wasn’t sure it was a good idea and said he would think about it.

Then in late December 1973, immediately after a home defeat to the champions Liverpool, Sexton called Osgood into his office again. Ossie thought it would be to discuss the captaincy further. Instead he was told he was being dropped. It was his last Chelsea appearance for five years.

Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough was the venue for Ossie’s first game back following a stint at NASL side Philadelphia Fury. Danny Blanchflower was the new manager of a very young team battling relegation. We lost 7-2, but Osgood did at least score the opening goal. This is how TheObserver described it.

‘Osgood celebrated his return with one of his old-time specials after 25 minutes. He began the move with a pass to Stanley, who touched it onto Bumstead on the right wing. When the cross came over Osgood was there to rise above a knot of Middlesbrough defenders and head the ball high into the net.’

A week later, Bristol City visited the Bridge. In the absence of 22-year-old club captain Ray Wilkins and stand-in Micky Droy – both injured - Osgood skippered the side as the home crowd celebrated his return.

Unfortunately the game was insipid, like so many that season, finishing goalless. Osgood’s homecoming was chronicled by Hugh McIlvanney, writing in The Guardian, and rather summed up Chelsea’s lengthy demise.

‘Peter Osgood returned to the colours with some early bravura, showing a few of the touches that had more relevance when the likes of Hudson and Cooke were there to elaborate the subtlety.’

Our next game was at Southampton three days later and he captained the side there at another of his former homes, The Dell. Once more we drew 0-0 with Osgood showing, according to The Times, ‘flashes of magic’.

Such was our plight that Osgood was moved into a centre-back role alongside the returning Droy in an FA Cup defeat at Old Trafford the following month. He then scored at Man City in our next fixture (below), a surprise 3-2 victory. It would prove to be his 150th and final Chelsea goal.

He was captain for the day once more, to mark the visit of his former club Southampton in April 1979. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee ligament injury five minutes into the second half and had to be withdrawn. Our relegation to the Second Division was confirmed two days later following a 5-2 loss against Arsenal.

Osgood stayed and made a final appearance in Chelsea blue in September 1979 but he did not warm to new manager Geoff Hurst and decided to hang up his boots late that year. Even if his second spell came nowhere near reaching the heights of his first, it was still fitting the final chapter of Peter Osgood’s glittering career was played out at Stamford Bridge, his home from home.

We will continue to tell stories of the legendary Peter Osgood in the lead up to the 20th anniversary of his passing on Sunday. You can read and watch more on 'The King of Stamford Bridge' Peter Osgood here.