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The difficulties faced by any Scottish winger moving down to join
Chelsea in recent times can be summed up by just two names: Charlie
Cooke and Pat Nevin. The standards set by these two Chelsea legends have
ensured that they remain prominent in the hearts and minds of the
club's supporters but have also guaranteed that any future compatriot
will be judged by those same standards. In truth there was no comparison
between the talents of the aforementioned Cooke and Nevin and those of
David Hopkin, who joined Chelsea from his hometown club, Greenock
Morton, in September 1992, although with a little more luck he just
might have been a contender. Conspicuous by his tattoos and shock of red
hair, Hopkin made an impressive debut in a 0-0 draw with Liverpool in
February 1992, one of few impressive performers in a truly dire match.
Not surprisingly he kept his place for the following weekend's visit of
Aston Villa but Chelsea lost, manager Ian Porterfield was sacked and his
caretaker replacement, David Webb, surprisingly opted to replace him
with the woefully out-of-form Robert Fleck on the right wing, selecting
Hoppy for just two substitute appearances in the final three months of
the season. He fared little better under new manager Glenn Hoddle when
the former England man took over that summer, not helped by the fact
that Hoddle preferred a 3-5-2 formation with the full backs pushed on as
wing-backs. Hoppy was given his first opportunity to impress when he
replaced the suspended Dennis Wise for a trip to Aston Villa but was
immediately dropped after a 1-0 defeat that continued a disappointing
start to what was a poor league campaign.
He was given further
opportunities either side of Christmas but, in line with the vast
majority of the team, he was regularly out-of-sorts and only rarely
showed glimpses of what he was capable of. Perhaps his most significant
moment in a Chelsea shirt came when he crossed for Gavin Peacock to
score the goal against Wolves which took Chelsea into their first FA Cup
semi-final for 24 years but by the time the final came around, David
was on the sidelines. There was little change in his fortunes the
following season. Hoddle signed David Rocastle just prior to the start
of the season, putting another obstacle in Hoppy's way, and it wasn't
until late October that he resurfaced in the first-team. There was
further frustration in the fact that a FIFA ruling meant that he was
considered a foreign player and he was therefore not selected for any of
Chelsea's European Cup Winners Cup matches as the Blues made it to the
semi-finals.
He did, however, benefit in part from the European run as
he found himself being recalled to the squad for the weekend matches
following the European ties as Hoddle looked to rest players. He scored
his only goal for the club with a header in a 3-3 draw at Everton in May
but it was little more than a swansong. Sporadic appearances were
barely adequate for a man who had travelled south in the hope of making a
name for himself and he played his last game for the club in a 2-1
victory over Arsenal on the final day of the season before joining
Crystal Palace that summer for £850, 000 and going on to perform well at
the highest level for both Palace and Leeds in a more withdrawn role. (Kelvin Barker)
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