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The much-vaunted Chelsea youth scheme of the 1960s and 70s produced some
truly outstanding performers who thrived for many years as top
performers at the highest level - Peter Osgood, Alan Hudson and Ray
Wilkins to name but three - but there were many others who for one
reason or another were unable to make their mark on the upper echelons
of league football. Some were perhaps not quite as talented as they
themselves thought and others appeared to lack the necessary desire but a
small number were simply unlucky. Kevin Hales - a neat and tidy,
hardworking midfielder - must surely fall into the latter category.
Hales was just 18-years-old when in November 1979 he stepped up from the
substitutes' bench to replace John Bumstead in an incredible 7-3
victory at Orient which also marked the debut of his former youth team
colleague Colin Pates. His first start came on a cold and miserable
January night when 4th Division Wigan Athletic upset the odds to send
Chelsea hurtling out of the FA Cup and another two-month absence
followed before he made the first of his five League starts that season,
a 1-0 win against Cardiff. The Blues looked odds-on for promotion for
much of the 1979/80 season but fell away badly over the Easter period
and eventually missed out on goal-difference.
Surprisingly, Kevin was
destined to another full season of reserve team football before he was
asked by new manager John Neal to inject some enthusiasm into a
lacklustre midfield which had been misfiring for much of the first three
months of the 1981/82 season. Reinstated for a 4-3 victory at Charlton,
Hales revelled in his first regular run in the side and secured a spot
on the right of midfield with a string of dependable performances. His
first Chelsea goal came just two weeks after his recall, a fine strike
in a 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday, and another followed in a 4-1
demolition of Leicester City, but sandwiched between these games was a
tremendous FA Cup run which saw Kevin figure in a midfield which
outfought and outplayed their full-strength Liverpool counterparts to
win 2-0 (the photo above was taken during the game), before
losing by the odd goal in five to Tottenham in the quarter-finals.
However, in keeping with many who have pulled on the blue jersey through
the years, misfortune was lurking just around the corner and a serious
knee injury suffered at Barnsley just a week after the cup exit brought a
premature end to his fine season. A brave ten-month battle for fitness
followed before Kevin was able to return to the side. He made his
comeback in a 6-0 win over Cambridge United but that freak result could
not mask the fact that he had returned to a very poor team, one which
was destined to finish in the lowest position in the club's history. His
confidence eroded, Hales was unable to reproduce his previous form and
made just three league performances, the last one of his Chelsea career
coming when he scored an own-goal in what was a dreadful team display as
a run-of-the-mill Barnsley side romped to a 3-0 victory at Stamford
Bridge in March 1983. That summer Kevin moved on a free-transfer to the
club where it had all begun for him, Orient, and went on to play more
than 300 games in a ten-year career with the east London club. (Kelvin Barker)
1979-1983 Chelsea 20 (2)
1983-1993 Leyton Orient 353 (25)
Teams managed.
1995-2000 Welling United
2000-2003 Stevenage Borough - assistant
2003-2004 Margate - assistant
2004-2005 Erith & Belvedere
2005-2007 Weymouth - coach
2007-2008 Rushden & Diamonds - coach
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