Hayles turns down Boro return

Arguably the best ever player to play for Stevenage has rejected the chance to re-join the club nearly 13 years after he left the club for Bristol Rovers. Hayles went on to play in the Premier League with Fulham as well as successful spells at Millwall, Plymouth Argyle and Leicester City. He is currently with League 2 side Cheltenham Town, as the 37 year old veteran striker begins to wind down his career. According to the Gloucester Citizen, Hayles rejected a chance to sign for Stevenage last summer, opting to move to Cheltenham instead. Now it seems that GW has gone in again to try and bring Hayles ‘home’, but the former Jamaican international has again refused.

Although it would be a dream for many Boro supporters to see Barry Hayles back in a Stevenage shirt, I’m not that disappointed that he hasn’t come back. I don’t really believe players should go back to their former clubs, especially when Hayles had such a legendary status at this club when he was approaching his peak. If he came back now, we would be seeing a player that is declining and struggling to maintain his fitness. Would he even be able to cut it at this level now?

I began watching Boro in 1994 as an 8 year old kid, when Hayles was part of that brilliant side that won promotion from the then Diadora Premier (now Blue Square South). I remember all those glory days when he scored within 8 seconds against Dover in our title winning season, came on to inspire that comeback against Morecambe and his two hat-trick’s against Runcorn, both home and away. He was a class above and you could tell he could easily play at a much higher level. Hayles was a massive part of why we won the Conference title back in 1996, but he wasn’t the whole reason. That team had quality all over the pitch and had more than one player that could and in some cases, did move into the football league.

I’d rather have them memories than have some of a player that came back, but just wasn’t the same. Anyway, it obviously looks like Hayles has the same opinion. He has had two chances to come back, that we know about, but doesn’t seem to want to make a return as a player to Broadhall Way. I don’t know whether it’s because he still wants to play his football in the league or whether the money isn’t good enough or he just doesn’t want to play for Stevenage again after such a successful first period.

I assume the deal for Hayles was looked at prior to the signing of Tim Sills. I can’t imagine us being able to afford both, so I think that GW must have looked into the availability of signing Hayles as an alternative to Sills. To be honest, I think we have done the better deal. I think Sills has much more to offer this team at the moment than Hayles does and he genuinely wants to get Boro into the football league this season. That dream of Hayles stepping out of the Broadhall Way tunnel again is now beginning to fade…..fast.