Bio:
Born and brought up near the King’s Road, Hudson was initially rejected by the club he supported as a boy, Fulham, before signing schoolboy terms with Chelsea. Injury denied him the chance to become Chelsea’s youngest ever player aged 16 and he eventually made his senior debut nine months later on 1 February 1969 in a 5–0 loss against Southampton. Hudson found himself in a Chelsea side noted for its flair and skill, complete with equally flamboyant footballers such as Peter Osgood and Charlie Cooke. It was during the 1969–70 season that he established himself as the team’s creative playmaker, in the midfield of a 4–2–4 formation alongside the more defensive John Hollins, creating goal opportunities for Osgood and Ian Hutchinson, and enabling Chelsea to finish a respectable 3rd in the First Division.
Hudson played in every match in Chelsea’s run to the FA Cup final in 1970, but then missed the final itself due to another injury when they beat Leeds United 2–1 in a replay at Old Trafford, having drawn 2–2 at Wembley. He did, however, play a major role in Chelsea’s replayed European Cup Winners’ Cup final win against Real Madrid in Athens a year later. Chelsea lost 2–1 to Stoke City in the 1972 League Cup final at Wembley, before which he sang with the rest of the squad on the club’s 1972 record Blue Is the Colour, which peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart. The club’s debt burden caused by the building of a new East Stand at Chelsea resulted in the failure to replace key players, and a spiral of decline began. At the same time a falling-out with manager Dave Sexton resulted in both Hudson and Osgood being placed on the transfer list in January 1974. Within a month, Hudson had joined Stoke City for a then club record of £240,000
Factfile:
- Full Name: Alan Anthony Hudson
- Position: Midfield
- Date of Birth: 21.06.1951
- Birthplace: Chelsea, London
- Nation: England
- Full Caps: 2
- Major League Career
- 1969-74, Chelsea (145/10)
- 1974-76, Stoke City (105/9)
- 1976-78, Arsenal (36/0)
- 1984-85, Stoke City (39/0)
- More Facts
- Photo Gallery
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