Tom Hutchison

The league career of lanky Scotsman Tom Hutchison finally came to an end at Swansea in 1991 at the age of 43, remarkable longevity and resilience for an outfield player. To most people he is probably best known as the Manchester City player who scored for both sides in the 1981 Cup Final. To Blackpool supporters old enough to remember the early 1970's though, he was a brilliant winger whose skill and speed were more than a match for some of the best defenders in the country.

His 5 year spell at Bloomfield Road began when he was signed by Stan Mortensen from Alloa Athletic in February 1968. He gradually established himself as a regular over the next 18 months with a number of skilful displays, but the real breakthrough came in September 1969. It was a hard fought derby with Blackburn Rovers, whose defence included Keith Newton, at the time Alf Ramsey's first choice for the England number 2 jersey. As Pool attacked the Kop end in the second half those of us in the West Paddock were in a perfect position to witness Tom Hutchison come of age. Everything seemed to click that night, we were astonished at the number of occasions, and the ease with which Keith Newton was left floundering as Hutch flashed by. Unfortunately, this virtuoso performance was not matched by his team mates who failed to capitalise on the many chances created. A 0-0 draw was a disappointing result on the night, but more significantly Hutch now believed in his own ability and began to fulfil his potential. He had a brilliant season, the culmination of which was Pool's return to the First Division after an absence of 3 years.

Not unexpectedly his style of play attracted harsh treatment from lesser players. It was an all too familiar sight to see a fast and incisive run terminated by the lunges of those unable to keep pace with him. After each brutal assault he would lie characteristically hunched up on the turf as though poleaxed. The physio would administer the magic sponge and Hutch would struggle to his feet, his uncoordinated legs conjuring up visions of Bambi on the ice. A few minutes later he would be running around as though nothing had happened. This natural resilience helped him avoid serious injury, and enabled his career to extend well beyond what would normally be expected.

His goals were few and far between, usually 2 or 3 a season, and strangely for a player of his talents they were never particularly spectacular. One that sticks in my memory was something of an oddity. Hutch headed the ball about as often as Stanley Matthews did, about once a season, but on the occasion in question he actually scored a headed goal! It was during a 1972 end of season tussle with Portsmouth at Bloomfield Road. The ball was whipped back hard and Hutch met the ball perfectly (sic) with his head just outside the six yard box. The keeper stood no chance, the look of amazement on the face of the scorer was a treat. If he was honest though, I'm sure he would admit that the ball came back so quickly that he couldn't get out of the way.

During the brief return to Division 1 he showed he had the ability to compete with the best. Unfortunately most of his team mates were not in the same class, so it was straight back to Division 2. Here the team performed well on the whole, finishing in the top half of the table but lacking the level of consistency required for promotion. In terms of entertainment they were good value, a lot of goals were scored with Hutch a principal creative force. His consistent displays had of course attracted attention, and with Pool failing to achieve promotion it seemed inevitable that the star performer would soon be on his way. Eventually, a couple of months into the following season Coventry City came in with a good offer and Hutch returned to the First Division. We were sorry to see him go but wished him well.

15 years later I was living near Northampton, who were having their best season in years. As I had a free Saturday I decided to go up to the County Ground for the top of the table clash with Swansea. I knew Hutch was still a Swansea player but didn't expect him to be in the first team. You can imagine my surprise and pleasure when I realised who was wearing the Swansea number 11 shirt. He didn't really look much different, obviously a bit older and not quite as quick, but the skills were still there. As he set off on one of those familiar runs it almost brought tears to my eyes, then he was sent crashing to the ground by some young upstart of a defender. Some things never change.