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Great things were expected of Dale Jasper when he finally made the
breakthrough into Chelsea's first team late in the 1983/84 season. An
almost unanimous selection amongst his peers as the youngster with the
brightest future ahead of him, the versatile 20-year old made his senior
bow in an incredible match at Cardiff in March 1984. Playing as an
emergency centre-half in the absence of Joe McLaughlin, Jasper was given
a baptism of fire by a rugged Cardiff side who raced into a 3-0
half-time lead, a lead they held until six minutes from time before
Chelsea staged an incredible fight-back to claim an unlikely share of
the points. McLaughlin's return saw Jasper back in the reserve team, a
team which he captained to the Football Combination title that year. He
was recalled to the first team for the final two games of the season and
further illustrated his versatility by playing in his preferred
central-midfield spot in a 3-1 win over Barnsley, before ending the
season at left-back in the team which clinched the Second Division title
with a 1-0 victory at Grimsby. Dale had a composed, elegant playing
style which was pleasing to the eye and he was given an immediate
opportunity to exhibit his skills at the highest level when the new
season began, replacing the injured John Bumstead for the first three
games of the season. He acquitted himself superbly but incurred a foot
injury against Everton which kept him out for a spell.
Jasper returned
in midfield at Sheffield Wednesday in a Milk Cup quarter-final tie in
which Chelsea were trailing 3-0 at half-time. He replaced Colin Lee at
the interval and defended superbly as Chelsea turned certain defeat into
apparent victory before conceding a last minute equaliser. The Blues
eventually triumphed at the third attempt but the semi-final first-leg
proved to be the turning-point in his career. Replacing McLaughlin, who
had dislocated his elbow after just 11 minutes in the match at
Sunderland, Jasper conceded two contentious penalties which cost Chelsea
the match. Manager John Neal commendably kept faith with the youngster
for the next four matches but, with an unforgiving crowd now on his
back, and his graceful, languid playing style no longer being seen by
the supporters as a measure of his class but rather a sign of laziness,
Neal eventually dropped him from the side for the remainder of the
season. The manager was forced to retire through ill health that summer
and his successor John Hollins wasted no time in recruiting Tottenham's
Micky Hazard to do the job that Dale coveted. The writing was on the
wall for Jasper when he made just two appearances, one as a substitute,
in 1985/86 and it came as a surprise to nobody when he was offloaded on a
free-transfer to Brighton before the season's end. (Kelvin Barker)
1986–1988 Brighton & Hove Albion 49 (6 goals)
1988–1992 Crewe Alexandra 111 (2 goals)
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