What his fellow professionals say about LE TISSIER..

Ryan Giggs: Listed Le Tissier among his top 10 Premiership players in a 1998 SHOOT magazine interview.

The following are from a 1995 football article "What is it with Matt Le Tissier?", Match magazine:

Colin Hendry (Blackburn): "Who could forget that magical goal he scored against us earlier this season? He turned us inside out with a mazy run and just hit a shot from 30 yards. You rarely see anyone beat our keeper Tim Flowers from that far out, so it just shows you how special Matt is. He may not be the hardest of workers on the pitch, but it doesn't matter when you can produce magic like that."

Dwight Yorke (Aston Villa): "It's incredible he can score spectacular goal after spectacular goal. He seem to amble around the pitch then explode into life with one shot. People crictise him for being lazy but he just answers them with his goals."

Paul Ince (Man Utd): "He is one of very few midfield players I know who can change the whole outcome of a game with one stoke of genius. He looks great in Southampton's team, but I think his real test would be if he joined a bigger club. I'm sure though he would still shine and possibly become an even greater player."

Steve Watson (Newcastle): "He's not inhibited by anything, he knows what he's capable of, and he just goes and do it. There are a lot of footballers that won't try things because they won't come off, but he's never scared to try. "

Graham Hyde (Sheff Wed): "He just seems so relaxed, like he hasn't got a nerve in his body. When you see him scoring goals where he just flicks the ball up and volley it from 30 yards, he makes it all look so easy. He always seems calm, nothing seems to ruffle him. He strikes the ball very well and he tries things that few people in this country would even dream of!"

Kevin Gallen (QPR): "He's got brilliant skill, great vision and enough strength to stop defenders knocking him off the ball. He's a great passer of the ball and he has tremendous shooting ability too. You don't find that too often in football, someone with that many strings to his bow. And what about those goals from long range? Outrageous!"

Nathan Blake (Sheff Utd): "He's an amazing player, an absolute genius. People say that he's lazy and doesn't work hard, but at the end of the day, if you've nine or ten other players around you who do work hard, you can afford a bit of luxury. You need one or two classy players like Matt who can turn a game, otherwise you are always going to be a run-of-the-mill side."

Le God himself speaks...

From a 1996 interview with The Daily Mail, "The Star Player Who Can't Be Bought": "I am not a person who is particularly worried about winning a cabinet full of medals. I know that a lot of people say I won't be able to tell my son that I won anything in the game. But there will be a lot of players at bigger clubs who will not be able to tell their sons: 'I was a better player than Matt Le Tissier.' To me, that's more important than a medal. I know I could possibly double my wages at another club. But as things stand, I also know that if I do well for Southampton, I could finish playing at 35 and never have to look for another job. How much money do you have to have in life before you are happy?"

What the media say about LE GOD...

The following are from some Saints and general football websites.

Soccernet Site (outdated 1998 version) "What can be added to what has already been said about the enigmatic Southampton midfielder? His 1997-98 started on a low note, when he was missing until late September, having broken his arm in a pre-season friendly, and, on his return, he injured his groin and was missing for a further two matches.

Returning again, he was substituted ten times before he regained something like his old best form and fitness, and it appeared that he had done enough to get into England's World Cup squad when he scored a hat trick, hit the woodwork twice, and completely dominated a "B" international against Russia. Added to this was a club goalscoring run at the end of term, making him Saints' top scorer with 14, and one can understand both his and his fans' disappointment at his omission.

However, if he stays fit he is going to remain one of the games most creative players for years to come. Brilliant with the ball at his feet, often beating defenders for "fun", Matt can both score and create, and often opens the door when others cannot find the key."

Carling Premier League Site (outdated 1997? version): "Le Tissier is considered to be the best player ever to have graced the Dell. Despite his tremendous form over the last few years he has won only eight England caps, a subject of great controversy in the world of football. In the 95/96 season he signed a contract keeping him at Southampton until 1999, almost certainly making him a Saints player for the rest of his career. Southampton have turned down offers of £10 million, refusing to sell their top goalscorer. Manchester United and Chelsea are just two of the sides who were prepared to pay millions for Le Tissier.

He joined Southampton in 1986 from Vale Recreation, Guernsey, and has not played professionallly for any other club. In his first season he scored six goals in 24 appearances.

His scoring rate was phenomenal in 1989-90 and 1990-91, scoring 39 League goals in two seasons, Southampton's top scorer in both years. The following two years were less prolific but 1993 saw a massive return to form and the start of his England campaign.

The two years that followed seemed to produce a Le Tissier classic every week. He scored 44 League goals in two seasons and created many more for Iain Dowie and Neil Shipperley amongst others.

He has scored over 150 goals in over 300 games for Southampton, averaging a strike every two games. He has finished the season as top scorer on five occasions and has been 'Player of the Year' at Southampton a record three times."

1994 SHOOT article "The Reluctant Star" (excerpt): "Filled to the brim with footballing talent, he is an atypical product of a country which produces its footballers in the British bulldog mould: hard-running, tough-tackling, sheer guts and full-blooded commitment. Hailing from the Channel Islands, Le Tissier's languid running style masks the deceptive pace he possesses; and while all those around him slip-slide in the mud, the sheer nonchalant ease and perfect balance he displays on the ball make him an absolute joy to watch and admire."

Saints Fan Site: "Without Matt, a couple of things would be different in the world today.

Firstly, Southampton would almost certainly be, or have been, in the Nationwide division 1 over the last few seasons. The Guernseyman's goals over the last 4 or 5 seasons, last year aside, have been one of the major factors in Saints survival. And what goals they have been. I could do no justice to Matt's gallery of goals should I try to describe them. Suffice it to say somebody agrees enough to have released TWO videos of his goals.

Secondly, the word 'mercurial' would not be in existence.

Since the age of 17 Matt has graced the Saints first team, winning awards along the way for his performances and goals, and his goalscoring tally remains one of the best in the Premiership since its incarnation. An expert penalty taker, having failed to score from only 1 in 40-odd attempts, Matt's unerring shooting accuracy has seen him score goals from all over the park, and also, just as impressively, his 'assists' for others to score come in all shapes and sizes. At his best, Matt's control, passing, and shooting is simply unequalled."

Another Saints Site: "It is hard to describe Matthew Le Tissier without getting carried away with praising adjectives. He is without doubt the most gifted and prolific midfielder of his generation and is quite possibly the best player Southampton have ever had.

Le Tissier has been at the Dell for a decade now and in many seasons it has been his goalscoring and natural talent which has kept the Saints from being relegated into the lower divisions.His contribution to the continued Premiership status of the club cannot be understated and neither can his quite stunning individual skills. His dribbling skills are second to none, his vision as a playmaker superb and his shots are by and large spectacular and unstoppable.

The only blight on Matthew's career has been his continued exclusion from the England setup. The arguments against him playing are that he does not work hard enough fror his team. LeTissier has an ambling gait and from his position in the park he is not best suited to become a defender just like many of his contemporaries. Admittedly Le Tissier's tackling skills aren't great but frankly, considering that he is a superb attacker, who cares? There have been many players who have been picked to play for England with far more serious flaws than Le Tissier."

Yet another Saints site: "From a promisingly exciting youngster to a fully fledged England International. In a glittering footballing career Matt has entertained and divided everyone interested in the English game at some stage. When anyone looks back at the 'Unbelievable' video in years to come people will wonder why Matt didn't play more games for his country.

It is easy for people to point at Matt's work rate as an excuse for excluding him and others will point at his 'lack of ambition', however, how many players in the English game can command as much respect as Matthew Le Tissier? How many other players have kept a club of limited resources in the top flight almost single handedly for the best part of the 90's? How many players have been as loyal to a club as Matt?"

On the other Premier League clubs and players

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