Born on 21st June 1951, Alan Hudson was rejected by his beloved Fulham F.C., where he had grown up and learned so much from his idol, the great Johny Haynes. Very shortly afterwards “Huddy” went just around the corner and joined Chelsea Juniors, Fulham’s local rivals in the West End of London. It was be Fulham’s loss, as by common consent, Alan went on to become one the all time best, and most influential players to ever pull on a shirt for the famous “Blues”. He went on to play for Stoke City, under his much respected friend and Manager Tony Waddington, before returning to London to join Arsenal. In 1979 he then went to America in a pioneering move to Seattle Sounders and a brief spell with Cleveland Force, before returning to England for second spells with both Chelsea and Stoke City.
Astonishingly Alan only ever gained two Caps for his country, both in 1975! Famously, after winning the World Cup in their own country the previous year, Germany came to Wembley (Beckenbauer, Muller and all!) to take on England. On a muddy and tiring pitch, again by common consent, Huddy took total control of the game and virtually beat the World Champions on his own in a 2 – 0 victory. In September of the same year, the immortal George Best, wrote to his friend Huddy, saying “You are still the best player in the country by a mile”, which coming from George, absolutely speaks for itself.
Alan was a hugely gifted, thoughtful player, who had flair and imagination, but also always worked extremely hard for his Managers and Team Mates. To this day Huddy’s flair and imagination is still evident in his various rolls as a writer and pundit. Alan’s first autobiography was very aptly named “The Working Man’s Ballet”!

Alan will be launching his new book later this year click here for more details