Mr Gareth Hall

Director of Coaching IDFA
Chelsea FC

1986-1996

POSITION

Right Back

DATE OF BIRTH

Wednesday, 12th March 1969

PLACE OF BIRTH

Croydon, Surrey, England

LEAGUE DEBUT

Tuesday, 5th May 1987 as a sub in a 2-1 defeat at Wimbledon (Aged: 18)

CLUB CAREER

120 League apps (+18 as sub), 4 goals

Having only recently turned 18, Chelsea's youth and reserve team captain, fresh from leading the youths to a South East Counties Cup win just a matter of weeks earlier, made his much anticipated debut in a league match at Plough Lane in May 1987

Given the opportunity to show what he could do, Gareth performed admirably, even scoring his first goals for the club: a one-yard tap-in which gave Chelsea three points against Manchester United, and a neat finish to help send the Blues to Wembley at the expense of Crystal Palace in the much-maligned Zenith Data Systems Trophy. At the end of March, Gareth was a member of the side that lifted the trophy in front of 76, 000 fans, as Chelsea beat Middlesbrough 1-0. (Kelvin Barker).

He began the following season in an unfamiliar left-back role, where he performed solidly before Clarke succumbed to injury in September, allowing Gareth to spend much of the remainder of the campaign back in his preferred position on the right. He was a goalscoring hero in a 2-1 victory over Ipswich in October, and was equally popular with the home supporters when, after picking up a red card for a dreadful challenge in a League Cup victory over Everton, he responded to the taunts of the Toffees' manager, Howard Kendall, by pointing to the Stamford Bridge scoreboard which was showing 'Chelsea 1 Everton 0'. However, perhaps Gareth's most memorable spell in the Blues' first team came during David Webb's three-month tenure at the helm, after Porterfield was relieved of his duties as the Blues slipped down the table. Webb astonished everybody by installing Hall as a midfield playmaker, and Gareth responded in style. Against Middlesbrough, as the Blues ran out 4-0 winners, so inspired was the Welsh international's performance that one Chelsea fanzine ran the headline 'Gareth Hall is a Midfield Genius'. And he continued to play the role of midfield genius for the remaining six weeks of the campaign, even finding the time to net a fine goal in a 4-2 victory over Wimbledon.

INTERNATIONAL RECORD: Welsh Caps 1988-92

23/03/88 v Yugoslavia (H) L 2-1 (F) sub
01/06/88 v Malta (A) W 3-2 (F)
04/06/88 v Italy (A) W 1-0 (F)
14/09/88 v Netherlands (A) L 1-0 (WCQ)
19/10/88 v Finland (H) D 2-2 (WCQ)
08/02/89 v Israel (A) D 3-3 (F)
28/03/90 v Rep. Ireland (A) L 1-0 (F)
06/02/91 v Rep. Ireland (H) L 3-0 (F)
29/04/92 v Austria (A) D 1-1 (F)
Career Record: P9, W2, D3, L4

After making his debut as a sub against Yugoslavia Gareth started five of the next six games for Wales. He lost his place in the team after the 3-3 draw against Israel on 8th February 1989 and only featured in three of the next twenty-one games for his country with his final appearance coming against Austria in April 1992.

All of Gareth's caps came during his time with Chelsea for whom he made 138 League appearances, scoring 4 goals.

 

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Mr David Lee

Chelsea FC

1988-1998

POSITION

Central Defender

DATE OF BIRTH

Wednesday, 26th November 1969

PLACE OF BIRTH

Bristol, England

LEAGUE DEBUT

Saturday, 1st October 1988 scoring in a 2-1 win at home to Leicester City (Aged: 18)

CLUB CAREER

119 League apps (+32 as sub), 11 goals

David joined Chelsea as a Youth Trainee, signing professional forms in October 1988. He spent a decade at Stamford Bridge, scoring 13 goals in a total of 194 appearances.

As central defender, Lee spent most of his career at Chelsea, He made his club debut against Leicester City, scoring in a 2-1 win. He also played with with Reading, Plymouth Argyle, Portsmouth and Sheffield United.

Lee joined Bristol Rovers 1998 and later had spells at Crystal Palace, Exeter City, Parramatta Power, Havant & Waterlooville and Forest Green Rovers.

Mr. Clive Walker

Chelsea FC

1975-1984

POSITION

Left Winger

DATE OF BIRTH

Sunday, 26th May 1957

PLACE OF BIRTH

Oxford, England

LEAGUE DEBUT

Saturday, 23rd April 1977 in a 1-0 defeat at Burnley (Aged: 19)

CLUB CAREER

168 League apps (+30 as sub), 60 goals

When Clive Walker streaked past Liverpool's Joey Jones and sent a spectacular shot flashing beyond the grasp of Ray Clemence to give Chelsea the lead in an FA Cup third round clash in January 1978, it seemed to confirm that the Blues had finally unearthed a gem to capture the hearts of their long-suffering supporters.

The 19-year-old youth-team product had initially caught the eye of almost 17, 000 Chelsea supporters during a match played as a tribute to one of his predecessors on the left wing, the late Peter Houseman, and was soon making his mark in competitive football. Two goals in a 3-1 triumph at Wolves preceded the Cup clash with Liverpool, in which he scored twice and gave the experienced Jones such difficulties that he was never selected again for the Reds.

His playing career spanned some 1,000 league and cup games for Chelsea, Sunderland, Fulham and Brighton before enjoying a renaissance in the Conference with Woking and Cheltenham.

Walker was an old-fashioned winger with pace who used to terrorise full backs on a weekly basis. He began his career with Chelsea, playing in the same side as the likes of Ray Wilkins. He first broke into the Chelsea team during the 1977-78 season, He played a big role in several key matches for the club in this period.

He put in Man of the Match performances against European champions Liverpool in the FA Cup in 1978 and 1982 as the Blues pulled off two famous upsets