THE ENTERTAINERS

65 MATT LE TISSIER

SOUTHAMPTON

LEGACY St Mary’s Stadium might never have been built had Southampton not remained in the top flight for 27 years – many of them due to Le Tissier and his feats of crucial escapology. was no a man a last minute and tense run-ins weighed in with eight goals on season final days for the south coast outfit.

He was certainly the best penalty taker in the history of the Premier League – Mark Crossley’s famous save in March 1993 gave Le Tissier a meagre 98 per cent success rate across his career – and arguably the foremost bottom-half player in the rebranded division. Criminally, the Guernsey demigod never finished above 10th in the renamed league.

THE SAINTS HERO’S FAVOURITE GOAL WAS HIS 40-YARD STRIKE AGAINST BLACKBURN

But perhaps no other player had ever assembled such a collection of goals; a compendium of free-kicks, volleys and inch-perfect long-range efforts that were necessary to prevent him from doing any more running. “Outrageous, sickening goals,” eulogised Barcelona idol Xavi, who developed an obsession with Le Tissier.

The Saints hero’s favourite was his 40-yard strike against Blackburn, in part because the beaten goalkeeper was his friend, Tim Flowers. But consider his 1993 double against Newcastle: the first started with a backheel flick, before he juggled the ball past two defenders and rolled home; for the second, he nudged the ball up with his thigh for a dipping volley from 25 yards. It was extra satisfying for Le Tiss, who had been dropped for the previous five games by long-ball merchant Ian Branfoot.

That most emphatic of comebacks started a run of form that remains virtually unrivalled. Saints scored 49 goals in 1993-94; Le Tissier netted 25 and assisted another 10, meaning he was directly involved in 71 per cent of their total.

The following year, he notched 19 and assisted 15. No one