Keith Cassells - Player Profile

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Keith Cassells : Born Islington, July 10, 1957

The careers of many players have been shaped or defined by performances at Wembley, not many have been the result of performances for Wembley. Keith Cassells is one of the exceptions.

Spotted playing non league football for Wembley Cassells was signed by Graham Taylor for Watford for the grand sum of £500.

Watford were just embarking on their fantastic voyage through the divisions under Taylor and chairman Elton John when Cassells arrived but this fact did not actually assist his progress.

Having to compete with strikers of the quality of Luther Blissett, Ross Jenkins and Alan Mayes at fourth division level was challenging enough for the newcomer but within two years the club was in the second division and Cassells chances of establishing himself were even more remote.

With the club developing rapidly but unable to make an impression personally, Cassells was in danger of slipping back into non league unnoticed.

His handful of appearances for the Hornets had yet to bring a goal and he had also drawn a blank during a loan spell with fourth division Peterborough.

After three years at Vicarage Road, however, Keith Cassells' career suddenly shifted out of neutral with a £5,000 move to third division Oxford United.

Cassells would be with Oxford for little more than a year before being whisked into the first division by Southampton in one of footballs' more curious transfers.

On the face of it Cassells had done little to justify interest from the top flight. After a slow start to life at the Manor Ground he had at least managed to establish himself in the starting eleven during his second season with the club.

Without scoring freely Cassells began to impress in a handy side which skirted on the fringes of the promotion race and also made it through to the fifth round of the FA Cup before suffering a comprehensive defeat atCoventry City.

Keith Cassells showed himself to be a clever player, sharp and nimble with an eye for goal. He was competent in most departments yet without proving himself outstanding in any.

He had scored moderately in the league but heavily in the cups, albeit mainly in the early rounds. His most notable achievement so far had been scoring against first division Brighton & Hove Albion during an excellent 3-0 FA Cup away win.

As yet, however, there was little reason to believe he would be interesting the first division. After all, he had still to complete a full season in the first team.

Shortly before the transfer deadline in March 1982, however, Cassells moved to Southampton and the first division.

The transfer also involved Trevor Hebberd moving to Oxford and Keith Cassells was accompanied to the Dell by an eighteen year old centre half with only ten first team games behind him called Mark Wright.

The total value of the transfer was said to be £230,000 with Hebberd valued at £80,000. The respective valuations of Cassells and Wright in the deal were never made clear and it was difficult to assess from the outside which of the players the Saints had coveted most in approaching Oxford.

Whatever the reasons behind the transaction Cassells was now undoubtedly a first division footballer, ironically making it there two months ahead of his former club, Watford.

Keith Cassells stepped into a team containing Alan Ball, Mike Channon and Kevin Keegan, enjoying an early run in the side up to the end of the season.

He also registered his first goals for the club, grabbing a brace in an astonishing 5-5 draw with Coventry City.

There remained little to convince the cynics that Cassells was the genuine article at this level, however. He looked quicker, perhaps, but there was a hint of desperation in his running and a definite anxiety in his finishing.

His position was also rendered precarious, the following season, by the return from injury of Steve Moran. A proven scorer for the Saints over the past few seasons Moran was an automatic first choice.

Before he had completed a year at the Dell Cassells had moved again, heading back to the third division and Brentford for a meagre £25,000.

Now, however, Keith Cassells could really flourish. Quickly regaining confidence he became an important part of theBees attack, scoring consistently and scheming chances for others.

In his second season at Griffin Park Cassells made it back to Wembley, this time to the famous stadium, to play in the Freight Rover Trophy final against Wigan Athletic.

There was disappointment on the day with a 3-1 defeat but Cassells and Brentford appeared equally settled in the third division. Both were neat, tidy and destructively exciting on occassions.

At the end of that season, however, Cassells was moving on again, heading north this time to play for Mansfield Town for a fee of £17,000.

The move saw Cassells drop back down to the fourth division but it was a happy and successful switch.

By this time Keith Cassells was a genuine class act at such a level and he was instrumental in helping the Stags to promotion in his first season with them.

A distinctive figure with his sharply receding hairline and generous moustache (one of the last truly successful footballing moustaches) the quality of his play was even more eye catching.

Together with Neil Whatmore and Neville Chamberlain Cassells formed an experienced attacking trio which generally had far too much about it for fourth division defences.

It was definitely Cassells who provided the focal point, however, feeding Chamberlain, prompting Whatmore and sniffing out chances for himself.

The following season his importance became even more pronounced as the club sought to adjust to a higher standard. Cassells was the man most naturally suited to the step up and weighed in with sixteen league goals, his best ever return, to help the club to a position of comfort.

Mansfield also made it through to the Freight Rover Trophy final and provided Keith Cassells with another trip to Wembley. This time he certainly made his mark at the home of football.

By far the games' outstanding performer, Cassells tormented the Bristol City defence all afternoon.

He created the chance from which Kevin Kent put the Stags in front and provided Whatmore with a similar opening to clinch victory late on only for the striker to smash the chance wastefully against the bar.

By the end of extra time Cassells had virtually run himself to a standstill and the game remained deadlocked.

On to penalties and it looked as though fate was going to be desperately cruel to Cassells as he missed with his spot kick.

Bristol City could not capitalise on this miss, however, and the shootout went to sudden death. Eventually the unlucky man to fail would be City's David Moyes, perhaps explaining the permanent scowl, and Keith Cassells had his richly deserved winners medal.

Cassells provided two more seasons of excellent service before seeing his career abruptly cut short by injury, he was actually the clubs' leading scorer again in his final season.

This was an unfortunate end to an unusual career which will certainly be remembered by third division supporters of the 1980's who easily recognised Keith Cassells and the threat he posed to their teams.

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