Hilaire: Vince Mark (Vince)

1988-1990 (Player Details)

Right Wing

Born: Forest Hill, London: 10-10-1959

Debut: Oxford United (h): 27-08-1988

5’6” 10st (1988)

Hilaire kicked off his career as an apprentice with Crystal Palace, turning professional in October 1976. Vince was a supremely talented winger who came to the fore in Palace's great FA Youth Cup winning side of 1977 before breaking into the first team during the 1977/78 season, while helping the club to retain the Youth Cup at the same time. An England Youth International, he was often tipped as a future full international but the nearest he got was nine under-twenty-one caps and an England “B” appearance. He made his Palace debut as a seventeen-year-old, at Lincoln City in March 1977. He rose to prominence as one of the leading lights in a Palace team seemingly destined for great things in the early eighties. Quick with a wonderful balance and control, Vince was seen at his best at Selhurst Park as Palace won the Division Two championship in 1978/79. In Division One Vince was subject to a lot of dubious challenges that would not be tolerated today but he still played in every game in 1979/80. After Palace's relegation in 1980/81 Vince remained at the club for a further three seasons and he was a player who was capable of winning matches with a moment of sublime skill. One perfect illustration of this was at Selhurst Park in 1984 when, having been reduced to nine men, Vince was pushed up front on his own where he proceeded to win a penalty duly converted by Peter Nicholas to secure a 1-0 victory. He also played one summer season in the NASL with the San Jose Earthquakes in 1982.He clocked up two hundred and fifty-five League games for Palace, and two hundred and ninety-three in total. He scored twenty-nine League goals and thirty-six in total, and was the club’s “Player of the Year” twice in successive years, in 1979 and 1980 before a move to Luton Town in July 1984, but he quickly moved to Portsmouth for £100,000 in November 1984, after just six appearances for the Bedfordshire team. Hilaire was a key member of the Pompey team that won promotion from Division Two in 1986-87. He played one hundred and seventy-four times for Pompey, scoring twenty-seven goals. A tricky winger, he cost Leeds United £190,000 in July 1988, a fee settled by tribunal after Leeds had offered £70,000 for a player that Portsmouth valued at £270,000. A virtual ever-present on the left-wing in his first season, he was unable to make much impression with Leeds during the 1989-90 season, as first John Hendrie, then Andy Williams and finally Gary Speed, kept him out of the first team. He had loan spells with Stoke City in November 1989, where he played five times and scored once, and Charlton Athletic in April 1990. Eventually he joined Stoke City on a free-transfer in November 1990, where he made ten appearances and scored twice, before moving to Exeter the following September. He scored four goals in thirty-three appearances before he left in June 1992. He then joined Waterlooville as player-coach resigning in 1994 and joined Bognor Regis in November of that year. He did local radio commentary on Portsmouth games and was on the Pompey hospitality staff.