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Alan Hudson

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Alan Hudson
Personal information
Full name Alan Anthony Hudson
Date of birth (1951-06-21) 21 June 1951 (age 73)
Place of birth Chelsea, London, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1969–1974 Chelsea 145 (10)
1974–1976 Stoke City 105 (9)
1976–1978 Arsenal 36 (0)
1979–1983 Seattle Sounders 94 (2)
1979–1980 → Cleveland Force (indoor) 13 (6)
1981–1982 → Seattle Sounders (indoor) 18 (12)
1983–1984 Chelsea 0 (0)
1984–1985 Stoke City 39 (0)
Total 450 (39)
International career
1970–1976 England U23 9 (0)
1975 England 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Alan Anthony Hudson (born 21 June 1951) is an English former footballer who played for Arsenal, Chelsea, Stoke City and the Seattle Sounders as well as the England national football team.[2][3]

Club career

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Chelsea

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Born and brought up near the King's Road, Hudson was initially rejected by the club he supported as a boy, Fulham, before signing schoolboy terms with Chelsea. Injury denied him the chance to become Chelsea's youngest-ever player, aged 16, and he eventually made his senior debut nine months later on 1 February 1969 in a 5–0 loss against Southampton. Hudson found himself in a Chelsea side noted for its flair and skill, complete with equally flamboyant footballers such as Peter Osgood and Charlie Cooke. It was during the 1969–70 season that he established himself as the team's creative playmaker, in the midfield of a 4–2–4 formation alongside the more defensive John Hollins, creating goal opportunities for Osgood and Ian Hutchinson, and enabling Chelsea to finish 3rd in the First Division.

Hudson played in every match in Chelsea's run to the FA Cup final in 1970, but then missed the final itself due to another injury when they beat Leeds United 2–1 in a replay at Old Trafford, having drawn 2–2 at Wembley. He did, however, play a major role in Chelsea's replayed European Cup Winners' Cup final win against Real Madrid in Athens a year later. Chelsea lost 2–1 to Stoke City in the 1972 League Cup final at Wembley, before which he sang with the rest of the squad on the club's 1972 record Blue Is the Colour, which peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart. The club's debt burden caused by the building of a new East Stand at Chelsea resulted in the failure to replace key players, and a spiral of decline began. At the same time a falling-out with manager Dave Sexton resulted in both Hudson and Osgood being placed on the transfer list in January 1974. Within a month, Hudson had joined Stoke City for a then club record of £240,000.[3]

Stoke City

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Stoke manager Tony Waddington saw Hudson as the final piece of the jigsaw that would turn Stoke City into genuine championship challengers in 1975.[3] Hudson's debut for Stoke against Liverpool on 19 January 1974 was described by former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Stan Cullis, commentating on radio, as the finest debut performance he had ever seen. Allowed a free rein by Waddington, Hudson combined brilliantly with Jimmy Greenhoff and their form sparked a run of only two defeats in 19 games at the end of the 1973–74 season. Manager Waddington described Stoke's style of play at the time as 'the working man's ballet', a title which Hudson used for his autobiography in 1997.[3] Off the pitch Hudson was a regular drinker, often staying at nightclubs until the early hours of the morning and even opening his own club in Newcastle-under-Lyme. He was enjoying the form of his career at Stoke and in his first two years at the Victoria Ground he missed only one game out of 162, and helped Stoke set a club record 23 home games undefeated from December 1973 to December 1974.[3] Stoke almost won their first league title in 1974–75 finishing four points off Derby County in top spot. Hudson then played 40 times in 1975–76. In January 1976 a strong storm caused considerable damage to Stoke's Victoria Ground, and to pay for the expensive repair costs they had to sell off their playing staff and, in December 1976, Hudson was sold to Arsenal for £200,000.[3]

Arsenal

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He helped Arsenal reach the 1978 FA Cup Final, playing at Wembley Stadium in the final which they lost 1–0 to Ipswich Town; but fitness issues and personal differences with the Arsenal manager Terry Neill meant that he made only 36 appearances over his two seasons at Arsenal before he was sold to Seattle Sounders of the NASL for £100,000. He was 27 years of age. He had previously been linked to Spanish side Alicante in November 1977,[4] with a reported £200,000 deal on the table.

Later career

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In the autumn of 1978, Hudson signed with the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League.[3] He returned briefly to Chelsea on a non-contract basis[3] when John Neal signed him in August 1983. Hudson played for the Chelsea Reserves (in the Football Combination League) but partly due to illness and injury he never played in the first-team.[5]

He re-joined Stoke City for £22,500 in January 1984 after Bill Asprey had consulted Waddington on how to help Stoke avoid relegation in 1983–84.[3] Stoke picked up 33 points in 17 games and clinched survival with a 4–0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on the final day of the season but in[3] 1984–85 were relegated with a record low points tally.[3] Hudson was named captain by Mick Mills for the 1985–86 season but a knee injury forced him to retire in September 1985.[3]

International career

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Hudson won nine caps for the England U23 team.[6] He had initially made his debut against Scotland U23 at Roker Park on 4 March 1970, but the game was abandoned due to snow after 62 minutes.[6] He therefore went on to make his first full debut for the under-23 team on 2 December 1970, in a 0–0 draw with Wales U23 at the Racecourse Ground.[6]

Owing to a ban from international football after refusing to tour with the England under-23 side, Hudson did not make his England debut until 1975, when sparkling performances earned him two call-ups by then England manager Don Revie. He starred in the team that beat 1974 FIFA World Cup champions West Germany 2–0 at Wembley, and then in the 5–0 destruction of Cyprus. However, injuries and clashes with Revie meant that those two caps were the only ones he earned.[3] He was called up as a late replacement by Ron Greenwood in 1978 for a match against Brazil. Hudson refused to join up as he was not in the original squad.

Later life

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His son, Anthony, is also a former professional footballer and manager.

Since his retirement, Hudson has suffered a series of personal setbacks. He had problems with alcoholism and was also declared bankrupt. In December 1997, Hudson suffered multiple injuries when run over by a car while walking along a London street. He spent two months in a coma and the doctors treating him were concerned as to whether he would walk again. He has since undergone more than 70 surgical operations. He remains disabled, using crutches to walk and says "Every day now is a chore".[7] He separated from his wife and moved back to live with his mother, but was eventually requested by the council to leave her council property when she died in 2003. He subsequently resided briefly in a hostel for the homeless.[8] He unsuccessfully invested £150,000 of his injury compensation in a property in Cyprus, and lived with his son until 2012 and the following year he moved back into a hostel.[8]

Following the collision, he took up writing professionally. His autobiography The Working Man's Ballet was a critical success and led to work as a columnist on the Stoke Evening Sentinel and The Sporting Life. A further book The Tinker and The Talisman was self-published in 2003. In 2004 Hudson appeared as himself in a cameo appearance in the British film The Football Factory. In June 2006, he joined Radio Napa in Cyprus, where he commentated on the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. In 2008 he released his third book, titled "The Waddington Years", which described his great friendship with former Stoke City manager Tony Waddington.[3] In December 2012 Hudson said that he believed that his accident was actually a deliberate attempt on his life.[9]

Career statistics

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Club statistics

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Source:[10]

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other[A] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Chelsea 1968–69 First Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 1 0
1969–70 First Division 29 3 6 0 2 0 — 0 0 37 3
1970–71 First Division 34 3 0 0 1 0 9 0 1 0 45 3
1971–72 First Division 36 2 3 0 9 2 4 2 0 0 52 6
1972–73 First Division 26 0 5 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 34 0
1973–74 First Division 19 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 20 2
Total 145 10 14 0 16 2 13 2 1 0 189 14
Stoke City 1973–74 First Division 18 3 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 18 3
1974–75 First Division 42 4 1 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 49 4
1975–76 First Division 34 2 5 0 1 0 — 0 0 40 2
1976–77 First Division 11 0 0 0 2 0 — 0 0 13 0
Total 105 9 6 0 7 0 2 0 0 0 120 9
Arsenal 1976–77 First Division 19 0 3 0 0 0 — 0 0 22 0
1977–78 First Division 17 0 4 0 4 0 — 0 0 25 0
Total 36 0 7 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 47 0
Seattle Sounders[11] 1979 North American Soccer League 26 2 — — — — 26 2
1980 North American Soccer League 27 0 — — — — 27 0
1981 North American Soccer League 27 0 — — — — 27 0
1982 North American Soccer League 13 0 — — — — 13 0
1983 North American Soccer League 1 0 — — — — 1 0
Total 94 2 — — — — 94 2
Stoke City 1983–84 First Division 16 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 16 0
1984–85 First Division 17 0 2 0 1 0 — 0 0 20 0
1985–86 Second Division 6 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 6 0
Total 39 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 42 0
Career total 419 21 29 0 28 2 15 2 1 0 492 25
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Charity Shield.

Indoor statistics

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Club Season
Division Apps Goals
Cleveland Force[11] 1979–80 MISL 13 6
Seattle Sounders[11] 1981–82 NASL 18 12
Career total 31 18

International statistics

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England national team[12]
Year Apps Goals
1975 2 0
Total 2 0

Honours

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Chelsea
Arsenal

Individual

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References

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General

  • Hudson, Alan (2019), An Audience With Alan Hudson, Griffiths/Wapping Wharf, ISBN 978-0-99565-335-1
  • Hudson, Alan (1997), The Working Man's Ballet, Robson, ISBN 978-1-86105-104-2

Specific

  1. ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 348. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  2. ^ Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Stoke City 101 Golden Greats. Desert Islands Books. 2002. ISBN 1-874287-55-4.
  4. ^ Evening Standard - 21/11/1977, page 38
  5. ^ Chelsea Football Club The Full Statistical Story 1905 - 1986 by Scott Cheshire and Ron Hockings ISBN 0-9511640-0-7
  6. ^ a b c "England Matches - Under-23's". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  7. ^ Jimenez, Tony (14 October 2012). "Disabled Alan Hudson finds every day a chore". Reuters. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  8. ^ a b Drake, Matthew (23 June 2013). "Chelsea legend Alan Hudson hits 'rock bottom' in homeless hostel". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Stoke City legend Alan Hudson recalls the day he almost lost his battle for life. In 2019 John Hellier writes the book, "An Audience With Alan Hudson"". The Staffordshire Sentinel. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  10. ^ Alan Hudson at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  11. ^ a b c "NASL-". www.nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  12. ^ "Alan Hudson". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  13. ^ "FA Cup Final 1978". fa-cupfinals.co.uk. 31 October 2007. Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 3 September 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. ^ Lynch, Tony (1995). The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. Random House. pp. 141–2. ISBN 0-09-179135-9.
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