Le Tiss

[Barrel of Fun]

Go on then. Pop quiz - who is the only 'keeper to have saved a Le Tiss penalty?

I shall avoid this question as I read about it in The Observer about 5 or 6 years ago, an article from the man himself. He did save one in an FA Cup final, if my memory serves me correctly (The keeper in question, not Le Tiss).

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

Matt Le Tissier is the epitomy of the ultimate domestic footballer.

 

[Stevie Boy]

the keeper is Mark Crossley

 

[pasty]

the keeper is Mark Crossley

Stevie Boy gets a banana

 

[Hiney]

it was the last goal at The Dell, couldnt think of a better player to get the loast goal there, he was a genius, another player great for his club and not too good for his country, one of my top players of all time

Not strictly true.

He DID score the last LEAGUE goal at The Dell but the last ACTUAL goal was scored by (I think) Uwe Rosler

 

[NMH]

The South Coast Cantona - but he did it in a fairly average side, without much reward, and he was an England player. Mostly ignored by England managers though, who favoured such as Wright.

Magical, class, a brilliant professional.

 

[NMH]

The South Coast Cantona - but he did it in a fairly average side, without much reward, and he was an England player. Mostly ignored by England managers though, who favoured such as Wright.

Magical, class, a brilliant professional.

 

[Hiney]

Wasn't he the first midfield player to score 100 Premiership goals?

There is a lot of talk about the 'One Man team' but Saints in the mid 90s really were. He scored around 30 goals 3 seasons in a row I think and kept them up on his own.

Someone once said when they were talking about his lack of England caps that too many England Managers concentrated on what he COULDN'T do, instead of what he COULD do.

Brilliant, brilliant player.

 

[Robdinho]

Wonderful, wonderful player.

The term 'goal from nothing' is massively over used, but so many of the goals in that clip you can't see how he can possibly score until the ball is actually in the net!

 

[NMH]

Wasn't he the first midfield player to score 100 Premiership goals?

There is a lot of talk about the 'One Man team' but Saints in the mid 90s really were. He scored around 30 goals 3 seasons in a row I think and kept them up on his own.

Someone once said when they were talking about his lack of England caps that too many England Managers concentrated on what he COULDN'T do, instead of what he COULD do.

Brilliant, brilliant player.

Likely so - he was accused and probably guilty of being a bit of a lard-arse, lazy about back-tackling or defending, and generally quite slow.
England have rarely built a side built on a TEAM basis, the managers always go for individual profiles. Thus a Berbatov might not even get in an England side, being a 'luxury' player.
It's probably a good contributing reason as to why we've not won much.

 

[NMH]

Incidentally, the England manager at the time, picked him quite late in his career when we faced Italy (I think my memory serves me) and he may have been a sub). He went up for a ball that was floating towards their keeper and got to it - but the ball bounced over the bar I recall. It was the closest we came to scoring, and late in the game. A simple small difference in bounce and LeTissier would have been credited with saving the day and fully warranting his overdue selection, but it didn't work that way unfortunately.
In a return leg at Wembley, Wright got a one-on-one and rounded their keeper. He only had to squeeze the ball from the left into an empty net, but he hit the post instead and it ended 0-0. Wright had England history though, and was therefore more forgivable.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

he was one of my favourite players of the time

why were the mid-late 90's so BLESSED with ultra flair icons?! was it that there was a general lack of flair about so that the flair players stood out more?

 

[Simster]

He was an absolute legend and true servant to club and country. The only people who didn't like him were Portsmouth fans, which obviously makes him even better.

As an Albion fan, we think of Peter Ward as a real club icon - I reckon you could multiply that by 100 before you come close to the way Saints fans think of Matt Le Tiss - quite justifiably IMO. He was genius and would have played far more for his country if we weren't being managed by CLOWNS in that era.

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

Have you ever met anyone who didn't like him as a player? Brilliant.

I loved him, but when he played for England he got very harshly treated by the press and some fans.

 

[S'hampton Seagull]

Watching that video after he scores the third goal vs Newcastle, a number 3, with ADAMS on his back celebrates with him. Is that our very own MA?

 

[Man of Harveys]

I remember reading that, at a time when Le Tissier - unquestionably one of the greatest players ever to play in this country - couldn't get a regular place in the England team, England played a friendly against Brazil - many of whose players were spotted buying the "Unbelievable!" Matt Le Tissier highlights video at Heathrow.

That a genius like that only had a patchy England career and that Brian Clough never managed England simply speaks volumes about the powers that be.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

he was accused and probably guilty of being a bit of a lard-arse, lazy about back-tackling or defending, and generally quite slow.

To be fair NMH, that's pretty much what he says about himself. Though probably in jest.