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Neil Shipperley, son of Millwall's Seventies star Dave, was strongly
touted by the Chelsea management staff to be a genuine star player of
the future. The bulky centre-forward had found the net prolifically for
the Blues' youth and reserve sides and was given his first opportunity
in the first team when, at the age of just 18, caretaker manager David
Webb sent him on as a second-half substitute for the struggling Robert
Fleck in an Easter Saturday match at Southampton. That game was lost but
two days later Neil replaced Fleck in the starting line-up for the
visit of near-neighbours Wimbledon and the young striker celebrated his
first start with a neat finish to complete the scoring in a 4-2 victory.
With just three appearances to his name from the season before, Neil
was given early opportunities to impress new manager Glenn Hoddle when
the 1993/94 campaign began and after three substitute appearances he
replaced the injured Tony Cascarino for a trip to Coventry in September.
Four days later he scored his first goal of the season, a diving header
to secure a draw at West Bromwich Albion in the League Cup, and the
following weekend he struck the only goal of Chelsea's 1-0 win over
Liverpool, aided in no small part by a piece of eccentric goalkeeping by
Bruce Grobbelaar. Shipps was initially partnered in attack by Gavin
Peacock, who dropped back into midfield when Cascarino returned to
fitness, thereby allowing Hoddle to play his big strikers together but
the experiment was a flop, most notably as both players lacked pace.
Hoddle sought to rectify the problem by recruiting Stoke City's Mark
Stein and it was Shipperley who made way.
A tremendous goal in a
substitute appearance at Leeds in November was enough to earn him
another run in the side and further strikes early in the New Year in
victories over Swindon, Everton and in an FA Cup clash with Barnet
suggested that he might have an important part to play in the second
half of the season but in the event it was Stein who took the goal
scoring plaudits as Shipps fell from favour long before the end of the
season, missing out on an FA Cup final appearance in the process. The
departure of Cascarino the following summer might have offered renewed
hope to Neil that he could make an impression in the number nine shirt
but Hoddle's recruitment of Watford's athletic striker Paul Furlong
effectively signalled the end for the youngster. Although he began the
season alongside Furlong he only managed ten appearances - four of which
were as a substitute - prior to a loan move to Watford in December.
He
did, however, stand tall amongst the Chelsea youngsters who battled
bravely to clinch a vital away goals victory in Vienna in the European
Cup Winners Cup. Nevertheless, doubts about his ability to perform at
the highest level remained, particularly as he appeared to have
difficulty keeping his weight down and sometimes appeared a little
slovenly as a result. It was clear that his future lay elsewhere and
when Alan Ball offered £1, 250,000 to take the youngster to Southampton
in January 1995, Hoddle and his chairman Ken Bates could barely believe
their luck. (Kelvin Barker)
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