Micky Hazard

Michael Hazard (born 5 February 1960) is an English football coach and former professional footballer. A central midfielder, he played at the top level for Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, and also turned out for Portsmouth and Swindon Town in the Football League. During his second stint at Spurs, he made numerous Premier League appearances. After retiring, he had a short spell at Crystal Palace and later managed non-league side Hadley for three years.

Hazard grew up in Sunderland and started playing football with friends and his school team. A Tottenham scout spotted him during a school match, but he was too young for a trial. He began training with Spurs at 14, attending week-long sessions until he moved to London at 16 to join the youth squad as an apprentice. He struggled with homesickness, running back home six times over the next two years before finally settling in.

He signed professional terms with Tottenham and made his league debut in a 3–0 win over Everton on 19 April 1980, aged 20. He was part of the Spurs team that won the 1982 FA Cup and the 1984 UEFA Cup, with his crosses setting up goals in both legs of the final against Anderlecht. In September 1985, he moved to Chelsea for £300,000, spending five years there and winning the 1986 Full Members Cup. He joined Portsmouth in January 1990, then signed for Swindon Town that September for £130,000.

At Swindon, Hazard became a key figure in their 1992–93 play-off-winning season under Glenn Hoddle, which earned promotion to the Premier League. He was sold back to Tottenham in November 1993 for £50,000 and stayed until his retirement on 23 April 1995.

After playing, Hazard worked as a youth academy coach at Crystal Palace. He said of that role: “I got my trophies and a whole sackful of terrific memories and now I’ve moved on helping the kids, and I love it. Playing was great but I still get the biggest buzz from seeing my lads do the best they can.” In July 2011, he took an advisory role at Chigwell Athletic alongside director of football Ben Richman. He became manager of South Midlands League side Hadley in summer 2014 and left in October 2017.

In 2001, he played in the Celebrity Soccer Six charity tournament as part of Damon Albarn’s team, losing in the quarter-finals to Rod Stewart’s “Vagabonds”. A 2006 report said he was working as a taxi driver. In July 2009, he signed for Sevenoaks and District League side Dunton Green, explaining: “You never lose that buzz to want to play the game of football.” He is not related to Eden Hazard, who also played for Chelsea.

Honours include the FA Cup (1981–82) and UEFA Cup (1983–84) with Tottenham; the Second Division title (1988–89) and Full Members Cup (1985–86) with Chelsea; and the First Division play-offs (1993) with Swindon Town. Individually, he was named in the PFA Team of the Year for the Second Division in 1991–92 and the First Division in 1992–93.