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With a Young Player of the Year award in his pocket and a full season of
reserve team football behind him, 18-year-old left-back Keith Dublin
was introduced to the Chelsea first team in the penultimate match of the
1983/84 season. His burgeoning reputation within the club certainly
seemed justified as, replacing the injured Joey Jones, he made a
faultless bow in a 3-1 win over Barnsley only to collect an injury
himself which ruled him out of the final match, a triumph at Grimsby
which clinched the Division Two championship for the Londoners. The
signing of Doug Rougvie pushed Keith further down the Stamford Bridge
pecking order and he had to wait almost a year before he made his second
appearance. He returned as a substitute in a 2-0 defeat at Ipswich and
kept his place in the team for the following ten matches, performing
well and looking very much a star of the future, but when new manager
John Hollins selected his team for the start of the 1985/86 campaign
there was no place for Dublin.
He was recalled for a Full Members Cup
tie against Charlton in October and a week later he thought he had
scored the winning goal in a League Cup tie with Fulham when his crisp
20-yard shot whistled past Gerry Peyton in the Cottagers' goal only for
the referee, perhaps with one eye on the following morning's headlines,
to blow the final whistle as the ball was struck. Perhaps the boost of a
crucial goal would have altered the course of his season but for Keith
the 1985/86 campaign turned into a nightmare. As he struggled to find
the form and confidence of the previous season, the supporters were
quick to jump on his back and he became a popular whipping boy on the
terraces. Hollins eventually withdrew him from the team after just 11
League appearances, although he was a non-playing substitute as Chelsea
beat Manchester City at Wembley to win the Full Members Cup in March.
Dublin's final season at the Bridge was to prove his most consistent.
After missing out as the campaign began, he returned to the side at the
end of October and finally cemented his place in the team. Impressive
defensive performances in 0-0 draws with Watford and Aston Villa before
Christmas were followed by increasingly confident forays along the
left-wing which led to him becoming an important supply line for the
strikers as the Blues recovered from an awful start to finish the season
in mid-table. However, despite his 28 League appearances that season,
Hollins remained unconvinced and moved to sign two excellent left-sided
players, Tony Dorigo and Clive Wilson, in time for the following season.
Dublin was clearly surplus to requirements and in August 1987 he moved
to Brighton and Hove Albion for a fee of £35, 000. (Kelvin Barker)
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