Local Heroes

When Tony Waddington paid 250 thousand pounds in 1974 to buy Alan Hudson from Chelsea, many people thought he was out of his mind. He’d been banned from the England squad by manager Don Revie, and had fallen out with Chelsea boss, Dave Sexton.

“When I left Chelsea no-one would touch me, there was only 1 club that came in for me and that was Stoke City." he said. "Tony Waddington took a very big gamble, paying a quarter of a million pounds for me, which was a record fee at the time. I knew I had to repay him.”

Repay him, Hudson did. He played some of the best football of his career as Stoke finished just four points behind the first division champions Derby County in his first season with the Potters.

“It was a phenominal time – Stoke had a little bit of success before I arrived,  getting to FA Cup semi finals and winning the League Cup. I still believe if Gordon Banks hadn’t have suffered that terrible accident, and Terry Conroy could’ve stayed fit, we would’ve won the Championship that year. That would’ve gone down as Stoke City's finest ever achievement.”

Tony Waddington

Alan Hudson was born and bred near the Kings Road, and after being rejected by Fulham as a schoolboy, he signed for Chelsea, and played alongside other flamboyant characters such as Charlie Cooke and Peter Osgood.

But his confident attitude landed him in a lot of trouble most notably with Blues manager Dave Sexton.

Alan Hudson and Peter Bonetti (Photo:PA)

“I was just known as trouble really, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Tony Waddington saved my career. The the wonderful thing about Tony was he didn’t care about reputation. He’d had so many players before me who were ten times worse, and if you could turn up and play on the Saturday, that’s all he cared about.”

In his time at Stoke, Alan Hudson and Tony Waddington’s relationship became more than manager-player and more like father-son, leading Hudson to write a book about him called “The Waddington Years”.

“I don’t think there's ever been a player and manager who’ve ever been so close. Other players didn’t like it but I didn’t care. We used to go out for lunch and dinner. I loved him so much, he was like my second father, my mentor.”

The Boothen End

It wasn’t just a deep love for his manager which spurred Alan Hudson on in his career at Stoke City. It was also the support he received from the Victoria Ground faithful, most notably, those who stood on the Boothen End. 

“My debut against Liverpool was a very special occasion – I wasn’t fully fit and I remember pacing myself for the first 20 minutes. After a while I knew things were going to be alright, when the Boothen End started taking to me, and I played up to it. I used to play up to the crowd all the time. I loved it, and they did too. Hence, they used to sing that I walked on water.”

Financial troubles forced Stoke to sell Hudson to Arsenal in 1976. Again, a fall out with another manager, this time Terry Neill, saw him move to America and the Seattle Sounders aged just 27. After spells in the US and Spain, Alan Hudson returned to his spiritual home – Stoke City - helping the club avoid relegation from the old First Division in the 1983-84 season.

Coma

After retiring from the game, Alan Hudson suffered problems with alcohol, and was declared bankrupt. In December 1997, he spent 3 months in a coma after being run over by a car. Doctors thought he would never walk again.

Alan Hudson on Sporting Good Times

“I could’ve felt sorry for myself, accepted what had happened and been in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. But that wasn’t the way I wanted it to be. I fought hard – trained hard – and I came through the tunnel on the other side.”

“I’d only been married 6 months, and my wife walked away while I was in hospital – It was really traumatic but it actually did me the greatest favour. I was fighting against her as well, and that was my incenitive to get better. It was the lowest point of my life, but you get through it. A lot of people give up on life but it’s precious and you've got to make the most of it.”

Potters Legend

England captain Bobby Moore once said of him: "Alan Hudson could have conquered the world, but there was no guarantee he was going to conquer his temperament." At Stoke, under Tony Waddington’s shrewd leadership he did just that, becoming one of the Boothen End’s favourite sons, and a Potters legend.

“What I love about the Stoke crowd they’re so knowledgable. When people from the Potteries say you were one of the greatest players they ever saw, they mean it because they know a player. It’s from their hearts and their heads, and I appreciate that.”