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A Chelsea fanzine editor once predicted: 'One day, Roy Wegerle will
score the greatest goal you've ever seen'. Sadly, by the time he did so,
a stunning solo effort against Leeds at Elland Road, he was wearing the
colours of another club, Queens Park Rangers. It was another ex-QPR
man, Rodney Marsh, who brought the supremely gifted, Johannesburg-born
striker or wide man to England from America after an impressive spell
under his management at Tampa Bay Rowdies. Indeed, his early career was
inextricably linked with west London's third club as, having made his
debut as a substitute in a 2-2 draw at Everton in November 1986, he
scored his first League goal in a 3-1 victory over the Loftus Road side
on New Year's Day 1987. For a while, the prospect of Wegerle and the
impeccable Pat Nevin teaming up on the wings for Chelsea had the
supporters licking their lips but, unfortunately, Roy failed to secure a
regular place despite his main competitors for the wide left berth
being the depressingly mediocre John Coady and Jerry Murphy.
His final
total of 12 League appearances, with five of those being as a
substitute, and only one more goal, a strike against Wimbledon having
missed a penalty earlier in the game, was a little disappointing. The
following season was to prove no better, and perhaps the frustrations of
his Chelsea career were perfectly encapsulated within the space of
three days in the autumn of 1987. Against Oxford at the end of October,
in his first appearance of the season, Roy was simply magnificent and
scored the Blues' opening goal of a 2-1 victory. Later that week,
however, he put in a strange performance at Highbury. With the sides
level at one apiece, Wegerle raced through a static home defence and
with just John Lukic in the Arsenal goal to beat, fired the ball
wastefully into the crowd to the bewilderment of players and supporters
alike. It later transpired that Roy had heard a whistle from the crowd
and assumed he was offside.
Unfortunately, things got even worse for him
after the break when he shanked a routine clearance from an Arsenal
corner into his own net to secure a 3-1 victory for the home side. He
was immediately dropped and failed to reappear in the starting line-up
until the weekend before Christmas, by which time Chelsea were plunging
headlong into the relegation dogfight. The victory against Oxford proved
to be the Blues' last League victory for almost six months. There was a
brief moment of respite for Wegerle when he scored a superb goal in an
FA Cup third round victory at Derby but it was to prove a final hurrah.
It had been his misfortune to play out his Chelsea career under the
management of two men, John Hollins and Bobby Campbell, who were never
slow to compromise silk for steel and whilst acknowledging that Roy's
failure to cement a place in the side was in part down to his own
insularity both on and off the pitch, the fact that he was only ever
selected to start 15 League matches for the Blues is quite staggering.
Chelsea were relegated at the end of 1987/88 and that summer, Campbell
sold Wegerle to Luton for a paltry £75 000. Little more than a year
later, having been somewhat better utilised by the Hatters, he joined
QPR for £1 million! (Kelvin Barker)
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