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With his distinctive features and 1980s pop-star hairstyle, Joe Allon
breezed into Stamford Bridge in August 1991 looking like something out
of the pop group Bros. Signed for £300, 000 from Hartlepool United, for
whom he scored 50 goals in little more than 100 appearances, Joe made a
stirring debut for his new club against Wimbledon on the opening day of
the 1991/92 season, just three days after joining the west London
outfit. Starting on the substitutes' bench, he was thrown into the
action as a replacement for Kevin Wilson in the 70th minute and was on
hand to bundle the ball home to rescue a late point for Chelsea. It was a
trick he repeated in the Blues' next home match, again coming off the
bench to put the seal on a comeback from 2-0 down against the mighty
Notts County. Had Chelsea found a worthy successor to Kerry Dixon in the
number nine shirt? Well no actually.
Try as he might, and there was
certainly no lack of effort where Joe was concerned, he was unable to
ever truly convince in the top-flight and, in truth, became more famous
at Chelsea for his tales of living with Vinnie Jones than for any
on-pitch exploits. Of his eleven league appearances in 1991/92, nine
were from the bench. His only other goal in a Chelsea shirt came in a
Full Members Cup tie with Ipswich when he came off the bench with ten
minutes remaining to head the goal which gave the Blues yet another 2-2
draw. He was then on target in the penalty shoot-out which Chelsea won
4-3. By the time that season ended, Joe had been farmed out on loan to
Port Vale where he failed to find the net in six appearances.
He
returned to the Bridge in time for the following season but Dixon's
departure that summer was followed by the arrivals of strikers Mick
Harford, Robert Fleck and John Spencer, in addition to Tony Cascarino,
who had joined towards the end of the previous season. Joe was now way
down the pecking order although he was given an opportunity to impress
early in the new campaign with a place in the starting line-up for a 2-1
defeat at Norwich and substitute appearances against both Sheffield
clubs. However, it was an opportunity he failed to take and in November
1992 he was sold to Brentford for £275,000. (Kelvin Barker)
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