With Steve Clarke disgruntled by his treatment at the hands of the manager, a fallout between the two saw Gareth given the opportunity to continue where he had left off the previous season: in the Chelsea number two shirt. It wasn't a popular choice with the Blues' faithful, who felt that for all his hard-working hustle and bustle, Hall was ill-equipped to replace Clarke on a permanent basis. Typically, Gareth gave of his best, but the 1990/91 season ended with Chelsea in mid-table, and the Welsh defender's greatest ally - Bobby Campbell - was replaced the following summer by Ian Porterfield. The Scottish former Sunderland legend quickly restored his compatriot to his rightful place in the Chelsea back-four, and Hall asked for a transfer after being selected on just 15 occasions in all competitions throughout Porterfield's first season. Surprisingly, 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. But changes were afoot at Stamford Bridge. The arrival of new player/manager Glenn Hoddle saw the Blues switch to a change of system, with full-backs being used as marauding wing-backs. Steve Clarke was given the spot on the right and responded with a magnificent set of performances that earned him the club's Player of the Year trophy. Hoddle's midfield genius spot went to Gavin Peacock. As Chelsea embarked on a season of trials and tribulations in the league, which was surprisingly supplemented by an FA Cup run that took them all the way to Wembley, Gareth made just four starts, a total he matched the following campaign. By now it was clear that his career was stagnating, and with players of the calibre of Ruud Gullit, Mark Hughes and Dan Petrescu starting to infiltrate the Chelsea team, there was really no way back for Gareth. He was asked to fill in at left-back against Bolton in November 1995 and responded by curling in a tremendous shot as the Blues won 3-2, but that would prove to be his final act of note in a Chelsea shirt, and the following February he moved on to Sunderland for £300, 000. (Kelvin Barker)