ONE FORMER Chelsea player holds the honour for the shortest Premier League career ever – and then he had to compete with 500 others for another contract.
The now 45-year-old Joe Sheerin was a forward that came through the youth ranks at Stamford Bridge right at the height of the club’s foreign invasion.
Ruud Gullit had arrived in 1996 and he was followed the following year by Italian superstars Gianluca Vialli, Roberto Di Matteo and Gianfranco Zola.
Despite that vast competition, he got his debut aged 19 in April 1997 when he came off the bench to replace Zola in the 1-0 Premier League victory over Wimbledon at Selhurst Park.
However, despite the obviously proud moment, Sheerin did not even manage to get a touch of the ball before the final whistle went less than a minute after his introduction.
And that gave him the unwanted record for the shortest Premier League career ever.
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Speaking to Planet Football, he said: “I’m not too proud of the record, to be honest. But I have to put things into perspective because I had an amazing time at Chelsea, and I got to train and play with world-class footballers.”
Injuries, particularly an issue with his hip that eventually led to it being replaced at 42, hindered him throughout his time at the Blues.
And he eventually left the club in 2000 to sign for Bournemouth, but despite a spectacular debut goal, he only made six appearances for the Cherries.
Sheerin then ventured into non-league and spent two years with Kingstonian before he found his true calling in the game.
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Following the controversial relocation of Wimbledon to Milton Keynes from South London, he joined around 500 other players in trials for the relaunch AFC Wimbledon.
And he went on to be made the reformed club’s captain as he played a prominent role in their rise that eventually led to their Football League return.
After 35 goals in 85 matches, Sheerin left in 2005 and finished his playing days with stints at Croydon Athletic and Leatherhead, sandwiched inbetween another short spells at AFC Wimbledon, before hanging up his boots.
Despite his legendary status with Wimbledon, it is still his short-lived Premier League cameo that he is best-known for.
But Sheerin also revealed how that almost never occurred as he recounted that night.
He said: “I was actually training with the reserves when a coach came over and told me to come and train with the first team, and that I would be travelling with them to Selhurst Park.
“The good thing was that I was told on the day of the game, so it didn’t give me a lot of time to dwell on things.”
He then added: “When I was warming up, I actually saw a friend in the crowd, so I was chatting to him!
“It was a really cold night, so I had a hat and about five layers on and I remember Dennis Wise hitting me on the back and telling me to hurry up taking the layers off, otherwise I wasn’t going to be able to get on.”
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