***** Really? I don't think he gets mentioned enough for having world class talent as a footballer, especially since he's inspired many future players.
I've always loved Matthew's way of playing, he was like an English Roberto Baggio and thanks to him, I'm supporting Saints from Italy.. Forza Southampton!!!
true english premier league legend...still wonder why he only got 8 england caps...when player likes heskey, trevor sinclair and phil neville got more england caps...- arsenal fan
+Mohd Nasri The English and Germans have a similar mentality - they only reward hard workers. Whereas in places like Brazil, Argentina, Italy, France - they reward the most talented
France never played Ginola and Cantona for similar reasons. Germany now have flair in the side, but I cant think of a 'talent' that missed out previously.
Bernd Schuster was an outcast maverick of German football who might've been the difference between them winning and losing the 1982 and 1986 World Cup finals.
Gascoigne and Le Tissier in the midfield , can you imagine the carnage?! Unfortunately, football formations were not as modern then as they are now. Having those two just behind the striker (preferably Shearer) with Ince et al in a DM role would have been perfect. (FYI, I am Saints so a little biased) ;)
Venables didn't like him coz he tore up a Spurs contract (basically tapping up) and Hoddle didn't like him because he refused to see that faith healer. Remember when Le Tissier scored a hat trick in the England B game before the 1998 WC as Captain? yep, Hoddle disliked him that much.
If only he'd accepted the offer to play for Wales (for whom he was eligible as a Channel Islander), he would've scored that Paul Bodin penalty vs Romania and he would have gone on to win USA 94 with Southall, Giggs and co. If only...
Chris Sutton refused to play Engalnd B team and essentially retired from international football off the back of that game, stating Le Tissier's performance and resultant failure to be selected as the waste of time trying. Le Tissier was constantly over-looked for Gascoigne who for all his talent did not have the temperament or influence to guide a win. Le Tissier terrorized top flight teams while playing for lowly Southampton whilst continually maintaining Premiership status which was lost as soon as he retired...... Gascoigne flourished against Scotland in a Euro group game most memorable for the 'dentist chair' celebration. Some might argue Le Tissier was a bit over-weight as a pro to play for the England team, which up against anyone else might be a fair point, but Gazza?
It's such a shame the England teams style of play has always been so static, they could never make room for players like Le Tissier who deserved to be in the team many times over.
interesting .. i made a similar comment on a george best compilation. Couldn't say they were better than one another but the difference in public and media perception is obvious. First goal of GB looked very similar to MLT dribbling.
I can honestly say Le Tissier is one of the best I have ever seen. He made the incredible look easy, and although he didn't have a good scoring record against my team it was always a pleasure to watch him when he came to visit Elland Road. I love the fact that he knocked back Spurs after originally agreeing to join them for big bucks, because he enjoyed being the big draw at his home town team. He was continually overlooked by England managers, but any real footy fan back in the day could tell you how special he was. Gazza got the headlines, but Le Tiss did the same job with less fanfare and injuries.
I'm an Arsenal fan but Le Tiss was one of the reasons I loved football. Supremely gifted, gotta respect his loyalty though he could have played anywhere he wanted.
Amazing player. Remember growing up and watching the Premiership and Le Tissier...just something special. Not all the time, but when he did, it was just top notch stuff.
one of the finest players I have ever seen (and I saw him live many times, though I'm not a Saints fan). Year after year Le Tiss and Flowers kept them in the top division. At times he made keeping the ball look like a dad playing against a load of 7 year olds. Pure genius.
Yeap, I was watching his interview and he talked about watching Liverpool play a lot during Tissier's era and how they played quite identical football to the current Barca side. And he mentioned a few of his idols growing up, Tissier being amongst his favorite.
+The Typical Brits Frodothebasset He would've only got into the side as an attacking midfielder or used as a striker seeing as he had goals in him, he was used as a forward player for England, and he was used as a forward player for Southampton (more of a Deep Lying forward. And no way would he have been used as the attacking midfielder because that was Gazza's spot (Englands best player). People forget England was actually a very good team then.
+The Typical Brits Frodothebasset Replacing who though? we're talking back in the day when England really was a 4-4-2 team, back then had England used Formations like you see today such as the 4-2-3-1 then we would've seen a lot more of Le Tissier. Trying to fit him into the system was obviously a headache for past England managers, you always had a midfield general in a 4-4-2, so that only really left a few positions for him, either to use him as a forward or at central midfield...all of which had top quality players already playing there. I'm not saying he shouldn't have played more, maybe he should have? but when you had stars like Shearer, Lineker, Gazza in the side (who we're all top draw players) you can understand why he only played 8 times for England.
"One of Xavi's favourite players. He won a grand total of 7 England caps." Not a lot of people know that. I wish he still played for us instead of Spain.
Got nothing but love for Matt Le Tissier! Stayed true to the club he loved all along.... so sadly missing in these times..... and those free kicks where he used to tee himself up were nothing short of spectacular!
A proper highlights video, full of great goals..most tribute videos you see on you tube show the same goal about 5 times and even show missed chances..the fact you can make a video like this with many different goals of sheer quality shows how brilliant Le Tissier was
I remember the French being astounded at how this player never got considered for the England team. I believe two of their national team managers both said had he been French he would have been their mainstay in the team.
Brilliantly underated. Top quality player, great penalty taker and downright nice bloke too. Met the guy in Guernsey and he's very unassuming. No ego. Did he ever score a 'normal' goal? No.
underrated scorer, unwell known player either, at least abroad. Always had great fun at watching his goals, and not only cause his name sounds like a french one. Greetings and respect from France
Criminally underused by England, a true genius. Lethal from 30 yards out, and even more lethal from 12 (He missed one penalty in his career). The guy was awesome!
+Boy Better Know And the only reason you've never heard of him was because he played for Southampton, who at the time was always a struggling Premiership side. Had he of been a Manchester United player he'd probably be more famous than Eric Cantona... He was an amazing player ;)
One of my all-time faves, this unbelieable player. How Sir Alex failed to sign him for half of Manchester is still beyond me. A player like Le Tish would have gained 150 caps had he been born a Spaniard.
Brilliant, watching this has brought back great memories from the time I spent down The Dell. Always had a seat down the Archers Rd end, fairly close to the away supporters (loved the exchange of light, playful, teasing remarks; good-natured raillery between supporters)!! LoL - Matt LeGod was one hell of a player and scored some amazing goals. His volleys were the best. Happy Christmas. Have fun be safe !
+Adam Qvisten This was against my team. I was watching it live, in a pub, crying.............the funny thing is, he scored another amazing goal in the same game.
Strange people saying he would have got 100 of caps if he was Spanish. Probably, as they were utter shite during this time, not that the were home of creative talent.
WTH this guy is fuckin amazing. he deserves so much more credit than he gets. AMAZING just amazing...no wonder they call him le God. God should change his name to Tissier instead.
The same kind of genious as Paddy McCourt. Underrated too. Recent football fashion is too highlight players with the profile of Lukaku, good athlete before to be footballistically inspired. Le Tissier's style is so much more interesting. We suffer of a huge lack of that kind of players here in France, as scouts promote "Lukakus". Unfortunately, I am not sure Le Tissier would have a chance to be really recognized today; same problem for McCourt.
This Man was a footballing genius. I think they invented vision on footballing games just to account for him. Lets all think through balls and appreciate.
Accommodate him at least. Joe Cole was a great player also, sticking him out on the left wing goes to show my point, why didn't we play him in a more central role? Because we didn't want to upset the 4-4-2 role that we've trusted for so long thats why. Teams like Italy, Brazil, Spain etc... Do whatever system works best, if that meant leaving out the likes of Robinho, Ronaldinho, Totti, Del Piero and co (which they did regularly) then so be it, they done it. We try n fit all the grafters in.
Nah I don't think you can call Lampard shite mate. Let's face it he is the highest scoring midfielder in the history of the premier league and the runner up for the Fifa World Player of the year in 05. Where does Gerrard rank on that? Also, Lampard has scored at least 10 goals a season for the last 9 despite being labelled as past his prime. Gerrard on the other hand has done Nothing to solidify his place in the England squad for the last 3 seasons yet still becomes captain based on reputation.
He did say a lot of it was envy, he was at the academy when they were both younger and he said the fact that Stevie was at Liverpool meant there was no way he was gonna make it there. I dont think Gerrard is like that in general, they just dont get on. His main problem is that Terry, Gerrard, Rio & co get away with so much more than himself, Barton and Carroll. They're media darlings basically. I can see where he's coming from. Im a Liverpool fan but Gerrard can be a dirty bastard!!
Gerrard is the far more complete player, everyone knows that... Look at his performances in last 3 games for England. Lampard is one hell of a player though, one of the greats, Gerrard does more though. I was speaking to Kev Nolan last week about this, he HATES Gerrard with a passion but even he said the guy is on a different planet when it comes to head to head battles. Even Vieira and De Rossi this week have said he's the complete combative midfielder.
Le Tissier, possibly the best player ever to be snubbed so regularly in international football... certainly in English football. He's probably inside the top 25-30 players of all time so how he wasn't the star in any England squad is an absolute outrage. Growing up as a Southampton fan, he was my idol and it still angers me even now that he wasn't picked me regularly, he could have done great things for the country on the International stage.
Im a massive Lamps fan lad, even as a scouser, awesome box to box player. We're more interested in playing Barry, Lamp and Parker types as opposed to players like Le Tiss (not that there's anyone like him) It's like with little Danny Sturridge, awesome raw player, yet im hearing people saying he needs to do play it simple, work more, track back etc... if he's going to play for England. Ronaldinho, Robinho, Ronaldo, Zizou, Kaka, Crespo all done well, didnt work that hard off the ball.
Coming from a Liverpool fan, heads should still be rolling for him not having an entire team built around him for England. By far the most talented player this country has ever produced, not even debating it. We've had players like Le Tissier, Fowler, Collymore, Scholes, J Cole and Gerrard yet we'll never build a team around them, we'll always focus on shite like Barry, Lampard... Them types of Lilleshaw produced players. We've had some raw talent but we waste it all the time. Le Tiss was best
+1 from polish saints supporter ;-) dodd, benali and of course le tiss... what a great team that was. despite being man utd supporter for almost whole life (so that's ~20 years of supporting) and saints for only little more than 10 matthew is one of my most favourite players. he's pure skills and loyalty made him so special player. it's easy to be giggs, raul or maldini when your team wins everything. it's so much harder to be le tiss or totti. ps. delays are great! :)))
@blackamoor61 ...To use your example, i actually think Scholes is a perfect example of the modern creative player: His ability is good enough for the likes of Zidane, Vieira and Desailly to call him the best footballer in the world at one point, but he was also one of the most tireless workers in the united team. He never rested on his laurels, but Big Matt would just stroll through games. As for the England team, they're just a bunch of chokers. They shit themselves at every tournament.
@blackamoor61 I think we're both about 80% in agreement here. Like you, I love creative players and I hated the FA's attitude towards skillful players, but where we differ is: I still think all players have to work for the team (I don't mean a playmaker has to charge about making sliding tackle's, but he DOES have to do more than stand around scratching his balls when not in possession). You're being a bit too romantic about playmakers. Modern teams can't afford to mollycoddle one player...
@MrHokeykokey I hear what you say but cannot agree, mate. Form is temporary class is permanent and Matt had class. Generation after generation,the rare English players of the highest talent had been shafted by England managers playing safe by picking limited but predictable runaround types over players of sheer quality - not surprising we win bugger all at the highest levels. Le Tissier, like Hudson, Currie, Scholes, immediately come to mind.
@blackamoor61 I totally agree that his ability was world class, but that's not enough on it's own to justify him a regular slot in the England team. The truth of the matter is, he never really bothered when playing for england either. Southampton were happy to build a team around him to accommodate his laziness, but you can't do that at international level. I agree that England has always had a natural mistrust of creative players, but Le Tissier never pulled his weight for the national team
Such a sinful waste of talent! Anyone blessed with that much natural ability almost has a duty to dedicate himself to make the most of it, but he tread water for 20 years! He was obviously happy with his lot at Southampton (It wasn't loyalty that kept him there, it was pure laziness), but the question is, is contented mediocrity anything to be proud of? The most agonising question a man can ask himself in life is "What if...?", Le Tissier will never know where his talent could have taken him.
Le Tiss could've played for any one of the home nations as well as France I think. He chose England. Too many coaches thought he was lazy though. I used to see him in a nightclub on a friday night before the games on a saturday. Still didn't do his ability any harm. Just his fitness. He was one of those players who would stand around and do nothing for 89mins and then come up with a scorcher. His last game for england was a friendly against Ireland. Absolute legend! :-)
Couldn't agree more, I'm a Man Utd fan but Le Tissier was one of the best players of his generation, totally overlooked, I never could understand that. I'll never understand why he wasn't a regular in the England jersey. You just never knew what he was going to do next..He didn't have the disciplinary issues of other genius players either.
Yeah obviously he had no pace (didnt need it), couldn't tackle, didn't cover much ground etc but thats not the point of Le Tiss. Football is about entertainment and he certainly entertained. I'll let you go off and watch 11 David Battys (insert any generic shite 'team players' name here) run around shining the ball off the pitch and i'll still be here watching a true artist.
We'll have Gerrard, Barry, Milner and Downing playing in midfield, and then we wonder why our strikers dont get chances. My point is, people always say England lack technical players and that we need more but when we do have someone of that mould we just cant seem to get them to fit in.
How does scoring a 30 yard screamer in the dying seconds of a game to rescue your team a point not make him a team player? And the argument that he had no pace is stupid. He didn't need it because he was simply brilliant. These clips don't do him justice, he was way ahead of his time.
he was lazy, useless physical and was only able to take long rage pots, But was SO gifted technical and mentally that it made all the weakness simply...... disappear. Le Tissier by no means a pele or Di Stefano but by far the most naturally gifted Englishman to have ever graced the Premier league
Matt Le Tissier could do skills without any speed, culd shoot without power, could do amazing things in a team which haven't a great level, if I should gave a rate to his skill I would give him a 10/10, there is only one who can be compare to LeTissier, Dennis Bergkamp.
I know Saints fans will probably hate me for this but I don't know why any of the so called bigger teams in England or even Europe ever bought him..he was some player..seems like everytime he scored a goal it was special..my fav was his free-kick against wimbledon..TRUE LEGEND!!
