Dale William Jasper (14 January 1964 – 30 January 2020) was an English professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played in
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
in defence and in midfield for
Chelsea,
Brighton & Hove Albion and
Crewe Alexandra.
[Dale Jasper Profile]
at Neil Brown.
Jasper signed as a professional for Chelsea in January 1982 from Chelsea Juniors. He captained the Chelsea Reserves in
The Football Combination. He found it difficult to break into the first team, partly because the two established centre backs were captain
Colin Pates and
Joe McLaughlin, who were ever-present. He made his first team debut at
Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
in March 1984. He played midfield, fullback and centre-half in his first three games for Chelsea
[''Chelsea Football Club 1905-1986: The Full Statistical Story'' by Scott Cheshire and Ron Hockings ] - all regarded as dramatic games for Chelsea, for whom contemporary
Pat Nevin wrote a 2020 tribute likening Jasper to
David Luiz
David Luiz Moreira Marinho (born 22 April 1987) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Flamengo. Primarily a centre back, he can also be deployed as a defensive midfielder.
After starting out at Vitoria, David Luiz moved to Ben ...
for his defensive midfield passing abilities.
While a Chelsea player, Jasper interested
Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
having been recommended by
Alan Hudson
Alan Anthony Hudson (born 21 June 1951) is an English former footballer who played for Arsenal, Chelsea, Stoke City and the Seattle Sounders as well as the England national football team.
Club career
Chelsea
Born and brought up near the King's ...
, the ex-Chelsea star. However, Jasper's father did not want his son leaving London, so no move to Stoke ensued.
[''The Working Man's Ballet'' by Alan Hudson , p95. Robson Books. ]
Jasper was a versatile defender who moved on a free transfer to Brighton & Hove Albion in 1986.
[ There he played under managers Alan Mullery and ]Barry Lloyd
Barry David Lloyd (born 19 February 1949) is an English retired professional footballer and manager. As a player, he most notably played as a midfielder in the Football League for Fulham, for whom he was captain and made over 280 appearances ...
, and was part of the squad who won promotion from Division Three in his second season ( 1987-88).Dario Gradi
Dario Gradi, MBE (born 8 July 1941) is an Italian-English former amateur football player, coach and manager. He was associated for more than 36 years with Crewe Alexandra, where he was variously manager, director of football and director of the ...
, helping the team win promotion in his first season. He moved to Crawley Town in 1992.
Honours
Brighton & Hove Albion
*Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...
runners-up: 1987–88
Crewe Alexandra
*Football League Fourth Division
The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...
third-place promotion winner: 1988–89
References
1964 births
Footballers from Croydon
English men's footballers
Men's association football defenders
Chelsea F.C. players
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players
Crewe Alexandra F.C. players
Crawley Town F.C. players
Kingstonian F.C. players
English Football League players
2020 deaths
{{England-footy-defender-1960s-stub