Matt Le Tissier - one of the greatest ever?
May 28th 2008 06:21
If anybody has a better collection of goals than Matt Le Tissier... I can't even imagine it, has to be one of the most underrated players to ever lace a soccer boot.
When you mention the greats, you mention Pele, Kryff, Marco van Basten, Ronaldo, Stanley Charlton, Best ... the list goes on, but Le Tissier wouldn't even get a second glance - well for a midfielder to crack over 100 goals in the premier league you have to be good...
He was sensational, when your team travelled to the Dell - you always feared the worst, was this a Matt Le Tissier day?
Speaks for itself really
Matt Le Tissier has been a legend at Southampton. He retired at the end of the 2002 season, but Saints fans will never forget how, almost single-handedly at times, he kept Saints in the Premiership.
He is rated by many Southampton fans as their greatest player ever (not hard to see why). An attacking midfielder, Le Tissier is the second-highest ever scorer for Southampton behind Mick Channon. He was the first midfielder to score 110 goals in the Premier League. Despite his excellent form at club level, Le Tissier was capped just eight times at senior level for the England team, and failed to score a goal.
Le Tissier played his first professional game on September 2, 1986 and went on to play 443 league games for Southampton, 52 League Cup games, 33 FA Cup games and 12 other official games, making a total of 540. He scored 209 goals for his club including 48 out of 49 penalties (the one save came from Mark Crossley). His top scoring season was 1993-94, when he scored 30 goals, made more remarkable due to his struggling side. The following season he won the coveted Match Of The Day Goal of the Season award for his drifting 40-yard lob against Blackburn Rovers, scoring against his long term friend, and former Southampton keeper, Tim Flowers.
Already well established in Southampton folk-lore, he scored the last goal in the final competitive match played at The Dell on May 19, 2001 against Arsenal. After being out most of the season due to injury, he was brought on as a substitute near the end of the match to the delight of the fans and scored a spectacular left-footed volley on the turn from outside the penalty box to earn The Saints a 3-2 win; this turned out to be Arsenal's last away defeat for over a year.
He played several games for Southampton during 2001-02, their first season at the St Mary's Stadium, and the finished 11th in the Premier League. Le Tissier then announced his retirement from playing. His testimonial match against an England XI in May 2002 ended in an extraordinary 9–9 draw, with Le Tissier playing 45 minutes for each side, while his son came on as a substitute in the second half, scoring four times.
Even if he is not remembered around the globe, Southampton fans and Premier League enthusiasts will never forget...
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Comment by Daily Footy
Im a bit of a Matt Le Tissier fan myself, he was a great player and was soo underrated, the best in my books.
Keep up the good work
Comment by Karyn
Punk, Rock and all things Roll
Portsmouth Football Club
No he was a top player.