Could Chelsea’s Past Come Back to Haunt Them?

What goes around comes around, isn’t that what people say?

Well, for one Premier League striker, he’s probably hoping that’s the case against Chelsea on Sunday. Blackburn’s Jason Roberts was apparently rejected by Chelsea as a teenager and his resulting despondency saw him give up football and take a job as an export clerk.

However, his uncle, Cyrille Regis, got him a £15 a week slot at non-League Hayes and he’s never looked back. Since then, he’s played his way through the divisions, starting out with loan spells at Torquay and Bristol City before signing for Bristol Rovers where he spent a couple of years.

 

Roberts then moved on to West Brom for a four year spell, a year of which was spent on loan at Portsmouth before signing for Wigan, and after a couple of years there, he’s been with Blackburn Rovers since 2006.

 

On Sunday, the side who rejected him all those years ago travel to Ewood Park to face Blackburn and Roberts, now 30, might feel he has a point to prove.

 

The Blackburn striker said: “I came close to packing it in after that.

 

"I was an export clerk, calling exotic places and I wasn’t playing football at all for a while, then my uncle, Cyrille Regis got me a trial at Hayes.

 

"A few clubs showed an interest after that so I quit my job. It was a gamble but I’ve played in every division from the Conference to the Premier League and proved myself at every level.”

 

Fair play to him.