Saints & Sinners

‘One nil to the sheepshaggers!’

2006-10-18T20:20:00.000+01:00

There I was sitting, in a plush little bar up in Sheffield watching the Real Madrid and Manchester United games simultaneously when my phone vibrates.

It read ‘One nil to the sheepshaggers!’

When I had last checked my phone ten minutes earlier we looked as if we were heading for a good point, but obviously things had taken a late turn for the worse.

Not only had things changed over the past few minutes but seemingly over the past few games too.

Before I moved up here just over a month ago things were looking pretty peachy and from what I read and heard it seemed as if things had continued in the same way after I left.

Obviously not anymore.

After my witty reply of ‘at least we’re not Welsh’ I received another text ‘How is the bottom half these day?’

I texted back confidently but little did I know how close we now lie to the wrong end of the table.

I must admit, up here I have kind of lost most iof my footballing senses but I could have sworn we were riding high not so long ago!

It is now glaringly obvious to me that the next few games will be imperative in deciding whether we are true promotion contenders or just another mundane mid table outfit.

As I pray for the former I cant help but look past this weekends match, however important it is, to next Tuesday night!

For many a trip to Notts County on a cold northern Tuesday night is somewhat of a nightmare.

However for me it is like god answering all of my prayers.

As a student I am sure you will realise money is tight and I cannot really afford to be splashing out on luxuries, namely football tickets.

But how can I resist a £5 ticket and nearly the same again for the train!

I am counting down the minutes until I see the boys running out next week at Meadow Lane.

No matter the team we put out, how many fans make the long trek north, I am going to enjoy this game to the maximum.

All I ask is for a victory so I don’t get any more abusive messages.

COYR!

12th man

2006-09-30T01:08:00.000+01:00

Sitting at my desk in my Uni halls, with the time fast approaching 1am, I am really starting to get withdrawal symptoms.

In 12 hours time I would normally be getting ready to leave for the match, instead I shall be god knows how many miles away in rainy Sheffield!

I moved here two weeks ago to start my degree in Journalism and, not unexpectedly, the only thing I truly miss from back home is Saints (sorry friends and family)

Prior to my departure I had been to all the games this season - and every single one of the fans have been mind blowing in each game.

We really have proved to be the 12th man this season and the results are now starting to bare fruition.

The buzz the fans have produced at St. Mary’s this season has been breath-taking and I pray that we keep this up tomorrow.

Saints have a awfully strong chance of beating QPR tomorrow and continuing our fantastic recent form.

So sing one for me and be the 12th man - COYR!

It has been a while!

2006-08-29T14:54:00.000+01:00

Well it’s been a while since I last updated my blog!

I have received a couple of emails asking whether I have given up on it – no such luck I am afraid!

I have had an extremely hectic past few weeks as I have been clubbing every night and recovering everyday. Also there was the small matter of receiving my A-level results and preparing to move up to Sheffield in just two weeks!

It is going to be very strange being away from Saints and not being around the players and staff.

The start of the season has been incredible; I just wish I could be a bigger part of it.

We have so many class players but I fear the increasing pressure and heightening expectations of the majority of fans (me included) is going to put the players off their game.

Especially the younger players – particularly Bale and Lallana.

The rise of Gareth has been nothing short of stupendous but I beg that fans stop heaping the pressure on him by making disgruntled noises if he misses a free-kick or misses a tackle. Come on he is barely 17!

After covering the reserve game between Saints and Wycombe for the Echo the other week Bale was mucking around with the other players and was being a typical teenage lad.

I am just a year older than him and the pressures of life are bad enough, so they must be incredible for him. We have to be careful with the amount of pressure we put on him if we want him to progress in the right manner. I think a lot of people are starting to take his age and experience for granted.

Another player who I fear for is Adam Lallana as too many good youth players have come in and disappeared soon after!

Lallana is a great player and showed his class in the reserve game against Wycombe scoring a cracking goal and showing some great movement.

Adam is pure class in my humble opinion but I was shell-shocked to see him start just a mere few days later against Yeovil!

When I arrived to the press desk at St. Mary’s to see profile handouts of Lallana and the team sheet I was shocked to say the least after Stewart Henderson told me just the week before he did not expect Adam to get a first team start to February or March next year!

I know we have injuries and need to blood in our youth but I do think it was too soon and I pray it hasn’t shattered his confidence!

I am all for youth but we need to blend it with experience if we want to see the best out of the team this season.

COYR!

ps. Whilst on the subject of our youth players, S4E member ALL4YOUTH labeled me a ‘grass’ for saying that I saw some of the youth squad stumbling down London Road on Saturday night because ‘mentioning names is wrong, you do not no who reads this website’.

If we all worried about who read S4E then surely we would not slag off players, staff or anybody else in the club!?

Get a life mate we aren’t in primary school anymore!

Thank you Rupes!

2006-08-07T12:09:00.000+01:00

I was sitting up late last night (after a few drinks I must admit) and started thinking of Monsieur Lowe and his cronies after watching an interview with Doug Ellis on Sky Sports.

The appointment of Martin O’Neill as manager is seen as a great way for the old codger to bow out. And having watched the new look Saints under Burley yesterday I would like to thank Rupert for appointing him - what a great goodbye!

Against Derby yesterday our second half performance was the best attacking football I have seen in years from Saints!

This may seem rather hyperbolic but in the second half we linked together well, showed good vision and looked dangerous up front.

Considering Skacel has only been training for a few weeks the composure, balance as well as the intelligence he showed with and without the ball was breathtaking.

Belmadi ran the show and dictated the tempo from the right, whilst Viafara and Wright showed glimpses of a good partnership through the middle.

Rasiak and Fuller both looked good, but still lacking their edge whilst twinkle toes Bradley Wright-Phillips showed great pace and agility when he came on.

Ostlund & Bale worked tirelessly as full backs, but our defence still looked unsteady (something to work on).

Burley showed what a good manager he was yesterday and I would like to thank him, his team and the board for the job they have done for us over the summer.

Another quiet thanks goes to Rupert, but now I will look forward and I can’t wait for a tough game against Coventry, who I believe to be serious play off contenders come the end of the season.

COYR!

Southampton 1 Panathinaikos 1

2006-07-29T18:39:00.000+01:00

Well what can I say about the Panathinaikos game? Not a lot really.

It was good to see the team back at St. Mary’s again but the game did not quite live up the hype.
A huge burden however felt like it was lifted off my shoulders before the kick-off with the parading of Skacel. We all knew it was going to happen and thank god it finally did as it really got the crowd going!

In the game the first half went well with us showing glimmers of good attacking football, but our defensive frailties were obvious if not unpunished.

After moving seats at half-time the attacking emphasis seemed to dry up with Burley visibly telling the defenders to keep the ball rather than try long balls.

Prutton’s goal was well struck but in my humble opinion rather lucky whilst Romero audacious Ronaldinho-esque equalizer was evidentially an accident.

After the two goals the ball just ended up pinging from one end to the other and I must admit for the first time ever, I left early (mainly due to my moaning mate!)

However on the way out I noticed something very odd. In the quiet of the concourse you could hear the fans through the sound system. I don’t know whether this is an old thing that I have just previously not noticed or if the club has tried to create a better atmosphere by using the sound system?

Anyway was a good day out if not anything else and it was good to be home!

Saints ratings:
Davis showed steady hands and good distribution 7
Baird was strong down the right and was rarely second to the ball 6
Claus looked jaded and seemed a bit off today 5
Pele had a stormer and constantly pushed the Panithanikos players back into their own half, however I worry that his lack of positioning may well be punished this season 7
Bale gave another Bridge-esque performance beyond his tender years 7
Dyer showed some exciting flashes but nothing special 5
Wright was there and did his job well 6
Surman never gave up and was quite exciting down the left 7
Licka was impressive before going off – sign him up! 6
Jones looked like Ormerod - worried about running at goal and working towards his own goal 5
Fuller was sensational in my opinion, showing great vision and confidence by ruining fearlessly at the Panathinaikos defence 8

Subs:
Prutton took his goal well and battled hard all game 7
Belmadi drifted in and out of the game but did ok 6
Rasiak showed his good heading technique and awareness of others 7
BWP did all right but never really got going 5
Sarmiento looked composed on the ball but slow moving forward 6

The ‘Peach of the match' is awarded to the player who has a peach of a match. The first recipitent is Ricardo Fuller for the outstanding attacking threat he posed during the game.

PS. Thanks to the Saints Forever members and people of the general public who helped with my vox pop for next weeks Daily Echo. It was good to hear people’s views and it was evident that people still have Lowe on the brain!

Saints in the Community

2006-07-28T13:49:00.000+01:00

As we all know, for a club to progress it needs to focus on everything from the first team to grassroots level.

Luckily, at Southampton we have a fantastic team working behind the scenes to develop the players and people of tomorrow in the Community department.

Before I go any further I must admit I too am a Saints in the Community coach, and have been for over three years now.

I apologise for any bias you may feel in the following but let me assure you that the work Saints are doing is first class!

Saints in the Community became a registered charity in 2002 and has been providing football at grass roots level in some shape or form for the past 15 years.

The department, which is based in the heart of the St. Mary’s stadium, is flourishing and caters for approximately 100,000 children per year and 150 schools a week.

"We believe that Saints in the Community offers a great opportunity to deal with educational issues and grab peoples attention using the power of football," explains head of Saints in the Community Mark Abrahams.

"Saints in the Community is committed to offering children, throughout the county, the opportunity to enjoy playing football."

The Community scheme runs after school clubs, holiday courses, Saturday clubs and coaching centres with some of the best-qualified coaches around.

Community coach Alex Baptie believes the benefits of football helps to develop children in a variety of ways.

"Saints in the Community gives children the chance to have a healthy active lifestyle and it gets them involved in football."

"It allows them to make new friends and have lots of fun whilst enjoy the benefits that it brings."

At a recent Stadium Day hosted by Saints in the Community the good work done by the club was evident.

Hosted in the Community suite, the children took part in everything from a stadium tour to quizzes, and shooting exercises to meeting Sammy Saint!

"I loved the day!" smiled 10-year old Saints fan Callum Blackman. "It was really fun and I believe that everyone here has learned something new."

"I really liked it too", said 9-year old Dan Hampton with a plethora of trophies and certificates in his hands. "The coaches were really good and I especially liked the shooting because I scored full points on every shot!"

And it wasn’t just the kids who enjoyed the day, just ask Community coach Nathan Cornick.
"I love my job as coaching the kids gives me so much! I like working with the children as they are so energetic and it is very satisfying watching the children progress."

Saints in the Community aims to provide grass roots football to children of all abilities from the ages of 5 to 14 along with a talent identification programme to enable players to progress, as Mark Abrahams explained.

"We have an excellent talent identification programme at the club, and if there are any elite players that come through the system we can pass them onto the Academy. They may just end up playing for the club in the future, who knows?"

The scheme Southampton run however is mainly concerned with the overall development of both children and adults within the community, using football as a tool to improve their personal and social skills.

This summer the scheme is running over 60 courses from Andover to Guernsey and it is a great way for children to improve their footballing skills and have lots of fun on along the way!

If you would like more information on the excellent work Saints in the Community does or would like to enrol your child on a course call the community office on 08702 200170.

And the winner is...

2006-07-28T12:02:00.000+01:00

This morning Southampton’s mystery trialist, who scored in last night’s 3-1 win over Cheltenham Town, was confirmed as Polish international Sebastian Mila.

The left-winger was announced over the tannoy as a ‘mystery trialist’, but is now known to be the impressive Polish World Cup winger.

On this very blog last night he was one of the Eastern European blonde beauties battling it out in the 'Battle of the Blondes'.

I must admit, I have known for a while and wanted to inform fellow fans so put him on my shortlist.

This morning though Wien’s sporting director Peter Stöger confirmed Mila was the man that Saints have tried so hard to keep under wraps.

"He wants a chance and we will try to give him this chance," he announced on Wien’s official website. "If he finds a home there, we will be pleased but if he doesn't he will return and will get his chance."

Mila is keen to secure a move away from the Austrian Bundesliga champions FK Austria Wien and has been recently linked with moves to Chicago Fire of the MLS and Turkish outfit Antalyaspor.

The 5ft10 winger started his career at home town clubs of Gwardia Koszalin and Baltyk Koszalin, before moving on to play for Lechia Gdansk, Wisla Plock and Groclin in his homeland.
Whilst at Groclin he managed to score 14 goals in 74 matches whilst playing alongside current Saints striker Gregorsz Rasiak.

Mila’s consistent impressive form earned him a move abroad to FK Austria Wien in 2005 as well as a regular place in the Polish national side.

The young talented winger has quick feet and has fantastic vision allowing him to run riot down the wing if not kept shackled by opposition defenders.

Mila is an extremely ambitious individual who has been described by some as 'the next Boniek'.

Battle of the blondes!

2006-07-27T21:06:00.000+01:00

Who is the trialist? We all want to know!

I know the club don’t want us to but I can’t help but to make a shortlist of Eastern European left wingers with flowing golden hair.

So far I have narrowed it down to:

Pavel Nedved

Andriy Husin

Maxim Kalinichenko

Sebastian Mila

Mirosław Szymkowiak

Let the guessing commence!!!

Changing rooms & goals!

2006-07-27T16:40:00.000+01:00

Well, as mentioned in my blog last night I spent the day at St. Mary’s today – my word it has changed!

As one would expect you couldn’t turn a corner without seeing the flybe.com logo, whether it be on business cards or signs it is everywhere!

However, I was shocked to see workmen in nearly all parts of the stadium. I think this was mentioned on S4E a few days ago – but it still took me by surprise.

The pressroom has been gutted, everything is red and white in the stadium and, most shockingly, employees look happy to be there!

During the day I also met the new directors in passing.

Jim Hone seems to be a really nice guy and we said a quick hello to each other whilst Michael Wilde was smiling every time I saw him.

Whilst I was there I picked up on the fact that the boardroom area was very busy – loads of people coming and going throughout the afternoon.

There also seemed to be what looked like agents, a group of 3 men of Middle Eastern descent around the Matt Le Tissier suite and boardroom.

Finally the changing rooms were very interesting. I had never noticed before the differences in the home and away team dressing rooms.

The away dressing room has lower ceilings, darker colours, mirrors on the back of the toilet cubicle doors, smaller benches and baths which make the players face each other.

Whereas the home dressing room is very spacious and gives off a relaxed atmosphere with the bright colours and open feel.

On the walls of the home changing room I noticed numerous facts, including stats such as to finish in the top 6 teams need approximately 70 goals.

Having seen that stat I do worry that we may have the strikers to score the goals but will they get the right service from the midfield?

I guess we will see in the friendly tonight and on Saturday!

Jim Smith - or was it Asafa Powell?

2006-07-27T00:18:00.000+01:00

Tonight I interviewed former Saints assistant manager Jim Smith at the Silverlake Stadium after his side Oxford beat Eastleigh.

A lovely guy who will answer anything, well that is until I plucked up the courage to mention Southampton, 'Arry, Lowe et al.

Like a 100m sprinter he was gone, into his Jag and off into the night.

Wonder why he didn't want to talk?

ps. Look out for my match report on the Eastleigh game in Thursday's Echo ; )

pps. I am spending all day tomorrow at St. Mary's with the new directors so I will report any intersting findings on here tomorrow evening

Danny heads for St. Mary's exit

2006-07-26T15:31:00.000+01:00

On Monday I announced on S4E that Danny Higginbotham was set to put in a transfer request – and guess what?

People were cynical but according to my sources he has been unhappy for a while and it certainly wasn't a shock to me.

I hope Danny has a good career when he leaves Saints, as he has been a good servant for us.

But we need to make sure the money is right and don’t sell him on the cheap.

From what I know he is a good professional and overall nice guy so I believe he would still perform for Saints even if he can't find a transfer before the window closes.

The guy obviously has his reasons for wanting to leave so I wont be slating him.... yet!

Panathinaikos

2006-07-26T14:24:00.000+01:00

With Panathinaikos on Saturday and with a general lack of information on our opponents I have done some research into the 19th best team in Europe.

Well to start – they are pretty good!

19 Greek Championships, 1 Panhellenic Championship, 16 Greek Cups, 4 Super Cups, 7 doubles and a Balkan Cup shows that they have certainly history, if not anything else.

The side themselves have no star attractions but some talented players to watch out for.
Trying to breach the Saints defence will be a fearsome attack with the creative flair of the Argentinean Ezequiel Gonzalez looking to unlock our backline.

Alongside Gonzalez in the midfield may well be the ex-Liverpool legend Igor Biscan, who at one stage came close to singing for Saints.

Trying to halt Saints’ attacks will be Anthony Seric, who played against Saints a few years back for AC Parma. Alongside him will be ex-Saint Mikael Nilsson and the impressive Nasief Morris.

The Panathinaikos side has skill and talent but at the end of the day I am unsure how will they gel as a unit with more than 7 languages being banded about.

It shall be interesting to see how Saints fair against Champions League opposition but it must be remembered that whether we win or lose it is just a warm-up. Last season we beat similarly able opposition in Anderlecht but then had a season to forget.

On Saturday let’s get behind Saints and welcome our new signings with open arms whatever they have done in the past!

Championship ones to watch

2006-07-25T12:35:00.000+01:00

With Saints looking for promotion here are some dangerous players which we will need to keep our eye on as we aim for the Premiership. Here are 9 of them...

Cardiff City – Kerrea Gilbert
Signed on a season long-loan from Arsenal this attacking full-back has bags of strength and speed.

Colchester United – Greg Halford
Versatile, long-throw specialist who has impressed many as a right sided midfielder.

Coventry – Jay Tabb
A skilful and versatile winger looking to prove himself in the Championship following his summer move from Brentford.

Derby County – Giles Barnes
17-year old midfield prospect who has already attracted interest form the Premiership big boys.

Plymouth – Sylvan Ebanks-Blake
Record signing from Manchester United looking to show Sir Alex what he can do.

QPR – Shabazz Baidoo
Former Arsenal trainee has impressed many at QPR and is looking to claim his place as a first team regular.

Southend - Freddy Eastwood
Following his excellent scoring record in League One & League Two will be interesting to see if he can make the step up.

Stoke City – Adam Rooney
No relation to Wayne – apart from his scoring ability, including a hat-trick against Brighton on the last day of the season.

Wolves – Mark Davies
With many of the old heads gone new manager Mick McCarthy will be using youth prospects instead – Davies fits the bill.

Mario Lička on trial

2006-07-25T11:21:00.000+01:00

Following my post yesterday regarding the signing of an Eastern European it was announced on the OS today that Saints will be giving an trial to 24-year old midfielder Mario Lička.

The 24-year old is out of contract next week and Saints hope to receive clearance to play him in the friendly against Bristol City.

Lička currently plies his trade with FC Slovácko (formerly known as 1. FC Synot) after signing from Baník Ostrava at the start of last season.

The impressive Czech spent parts of the 2004-05 season on loan at Italian side Livorno and has had trials at West Ham and Leeds United.

Lička’s father is a former Czechoslovakia international whilst his brother Marcel plays in Poland for Dyskobolia.

Possible new signings

2006-07-24T12:35:00.000+01:00

With so many rumours flying about regarding new signings I have made profiles to help Saints fans know what we might be getting in the next few days.

Radoslaw Sobolewski

Radoslaw Sobolewski is a Poland international who plays for Wisla Krakow in the Orange Ekstraklasa - the Polish Premier League.

Sobolweski was born on December 13 1976 in the north eastern Polish town of Bialystok, where he started his playing career at Jagiellonia Bialystok.

After impressing at his hometown club Sobolweski moved to Wisla Plock in 1998 before transferring to the then league runners-up Groclin four years later.

In the 2003-04 season Sobolweski shone for Groclin in the holding midfielder role, playing behind current Saints striker Gregorz Rasiak.

In just 37 games Sobolweski scored seven goals and earned himself a transfer to reigning champions Wisla Krakow.

Having helped Wisla to the Orange Ekstraklasa in 2005 Sobolweski was selected in the Polish national squad for the World Cup, but received a red card in just the second game after picking up two bookable offences in the grudge match with hosts Germany.

Rudi Skacel

Rudolf Skacel – Rudi for short – is a Czech Republic international midfielder who shone last season playing for Heart of Midlothian.

Skacel made his senior debut in 1999 whilst playing for SK Hradec Kralove, and had soon helped them gain promotion to the top flight.

The impressive winger signed for SK Slavia Praha in 2001 and helped his side beat fierce rivals AC Sparta Praha in the 2002 Czech Cup final.

That same summer Skacel helped the Czech Republic to the European under-21 Championship and after another successful season with Slavia Praha was snapped up by Olympique de Marseille for 2.5 million euros.

After a judicious first season, which saw former Portsmouth manager Alain Perrin get the sack, the Czech international was loaned out to Greek Champions League side Panathinaikos.
After a successful season with Panathinaikos the Czech winger moved to George Burley’s Heart of Midlothian in 2005.

Goals in each of Hearts first seven games saw Skacel set a new Scottish Premier League record and by the end of the season his total tally was 16.

Skacel helped Hearts to runners-up in the Scottish Premier League, a place in the Champions League qualifiers as well as scoring the goal, which won Hearts the Scottish Cup for the first time in eight years.

John Viáfara

John Eduis Viáfara Mina is a Colombian international combative midfielder who plays for Portsmouth.

Viáfara signed for Pompey for £800k after impressing with his performances in the national team and at Colombian side Once Caldas.

During his time at Once Caldas he was instrumental in helping the side win the Copa Libertadores – the South American equivalent of the Champions League.

At Portsmouth the sacking of the main who signed him, Alain Perrin, and the return of Harry Redknapp saw Viafara soon loaned out to La Liga side Real Sociedad for the second half of last season.

Chris Katongo

Chris Katongo was born on 31 July 1982 and recently has impressed many with his performances for both club and country.

Katongo currently plies his trade for South African Premier League side Jomo Cosmos and is a key player for Zambia.

Having started his career in Zambia with Kalulushi Modern Stars and Green Buffaloes the international striker was snapped up South African giants Jomo Cosmos.
Despite being just 23 years old Katongo has already made 22 international appearances and has represented his country at the All-Africa Games in Abuja, Nigeria and competed in the COSAFA Cup Tournament in South Africa.

Recent performances in friendlies with British sides have seen the player linked with moves to Saints, Aberdeen and Glasgow Rangers.

Fabrice Muamba

Fabrice Muamba is a tough tackling Arsenal midfielder who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1988.

Muamba’s family fled war torn country at the start of the Second Congo War and arrived as asylum seekers in England in 1999.

Having impressed in school football Muamba signed a professional contract with Arsenal on July 1 2004 and made his first team debut in the Carling Cup third round tie against Sunderland in October 2005.

Despite his Congolese roots Muamba is eligible to play for any of the home nations as he is a naturalised British citizen, and has represented England at under-16 and 17 levels.

NB: Sources close to the club have informed me that Saints may well be signing an Eastern European in the next 48 hours. Keep your eyes peeled!

Flash Gordon

2006-07-06T12:35:00.000+01:00

As a member of Southampton FC’s Young Saints you were given certain luxuries, such as money off in the Saints shop, a chance to be a matchday mascot and most notably a signed birthday card from your favourite player. At a time when Saints had the enigmatic Matthew Le Tissier and stars such as Neil Shipperley and Jim Magilton there was only one player in my eyes whom I wanted my card from. A no-nonsense, centre forward from Sidcup - the one and only Gordon Watson.

The other day I spoke to my idol in depth about the ups and downs in what proved to be a turbulent career, which included the heady heights of European football to the depths of depression.

On the 15 January 1997 Watson became Bradford City’s record signing, completing a £550,000 deal to sign for the Bantams. However within two weeks Huddersfield’s Kevin Gray left Watson’s career in limbo after a horror tackle.

“My leg hit the ground, then a few moments my shin and toes landed,” Watson graphically explained. “If you can imagine banging your elbow down and your wrist following, then you can imagine what the bottom part of my leg was like.” The horror tackle resulted in a double fracture, which required five operations and the insertion of a six-inch metal plate. The severity of the tackle meant Watson and Gray eventually ended in up in the High Court, where Watson successfully sued Gray for negligence and was awarded £50,000 in interim damages as well as a latter £900,000, the bulk of which was to compensate for the loss of anticipated earnings.

The injury ruled Watson out of playing for two years and life was hard. “I was never going to give up but I certainly had my dark moments. I suffered from depression for a while, but most sportsmen have that because the thing you do all the time has been taken away,” explained a somber Watson. “If you think about it the majority footballers are like Peter Pan. They still want to do the same thing when they are 34 that they did as a four year old.”

My conversation with Watson taught me what an articulate, intelligent and determined man he is. “It was hard getting back into playing football after so long out but because I had a little ‘un I thought ‘I have got to try and get back’. Otherwise, later in life when my son is tested and has to dig deep I wouldn’t be able to give him advice if I just quit.” I found his comments refreshing in a day and age of damning revelations about the state of the ‘beautiful’ game on and off the pitch.

Watson himself was born in Sidcup on 20th March 1971 and started playing as soon as he could walk. With his role models being the likes of Kenny Dalglish and Bob Latchford he joined his first team at the age of nine. The young striker’s progression brought him to the attention of his boyhood heroes, Charlton Athletic. “I made my professional debut for Charlton against Derby in 1989. In goal they had the England’s number one Peter Shilton and it was fantastic time. However it is one of them things that you long for and dream of, but then two weeks later it becomes the norm. The quicker it becomes the norm the better chance you have of staying there.”

After a two years spell at the Addicks, in which Watson scored eight goals in 23 starts, the headstrong Watson made the brave move to uproot to South Yorkshire and join Sheffield Wednesday. “I went up for talks with them, [Sheffield Wednesday] and never came home! I took my boots with me and the rest of my stuff was brought up for me by my girlfriend!” And what a wise move it proved to be. “It was brilliant, it was absolutely unbelievable! We got in three Cup finals, played in Europe, finished third in the Premier League and there were 15 international players at Sheffield Wednesday when I was there. It was the best time in their history so I was very, very fortunate to be there.”

After many successful and memorable times at the Owls, Watson signed for Southampton, just three days shy of his 24th birthday. “ I didn’t want to leave Sheffield but I felt the time was right so I handed in a transfer request. Alan Ball was putting together a good young side [at Southampton] and I wanted to be a part of that.” Watson was full of praise for the man as he describes as his “favourite manager”. “Alan concentrated on the positives at all times,” he explained. “If you did three things right but seven things wrong in the game he would tell you to continue the things you were doing right. It was always half full with him and not half empty.” A philosophy, which Watson used throughout his career and beyond shown in a famously outright Watson comment about his injury, quoted as saying” if you are going to have an injury, you might as well have a proper one!”

After his time at Southampton, his injury-ravaged time at Bradford and a period at Bournemouth, Watson’s career was at a crossroad. “I was looking for a club whilst training with Portsmouth. I was there for just under a year and in my mind I was ready to play for Portsmouth. The manager [Graham] Rix said he would like to offer me a contract but he just couldn’t as they had 40 odd players there already.” But just as one door seemingly closed for Watson another opened. “My former teammate at Sheffield Wednesday Chris Turner had just taken over at Hartlepool and asked if I could go up so he could have a look at me. And the rest is history!” In just 43 starts Watson’s goal haul of 23 helped the side off the bottom of division three [now known as League One] and into the playoffs. “I absolutely loved it at Hartlepool” proclaimed Watson. And the fans obviously loved him too with many fan sites describing him as ‘Hartlepool’s best ever striker’.

Despite playing up and down the country, Watson never fell out of love with Southampton. “I loved it at Southampton and I didn’t want to leave. I remember doing an interview with Peter Hood [Power FM sports presenter] and I was choked that I was leaving. I am still living in the same house that I was when I was a player for Saints. I never moved. My children were born here and so much has happened here.” Even when Watson played for Hartlepool, he made the 306-mile journey to Cleveland from his Southampton home. “I used to fly from Southampton to Newcastle on a Wednesday night, train on Thursday and Friday, play on the Saturday and then come home Sunday morning,” he explained. “I used to train down here, first at Portsmouth before I then went to Southampton, trained here on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.”

Watson’s dedication and passion for the beautiful game is still evident today as he coaches his son Callum’s team, Townhill Emperors, in the Eastleigh & District mini soccer League. “Since leaving the game I have done loads of different things, such as buying and renting properties in the UK as well as being involved in an overseas property business. But to be honest I get most pleasure out of coaching the kids now.” Watson plans one day to move onto coaching at higher levels but is satisfied at the moment with coaching Townhill. “I have had these kids since they were about seven years old. No other players, just the same group of kids together in infants and juniors. There are no individuals, there are no stars, but they are good team. The side’s belief, togetherness and confidence is key and I want to continue instilling this in them.”

Fondly looking back at his career Watson has many fantastic memories, with one particularly special moment at Hartlepool sticking out. “We were playing Oxford United away in August 2002 and my son was mascot at the game. Luckily I then scored the winner in a 1-0 victory!” Over his 14-year career there were plenty of other fond memories aside from that. “Scoring in the Sheffield derby” Watson said emphatically. “That was amazing. Also scoring for Sheffield Wednesday in Europe was great and at Saints beating Pompey 3-0 in the FA Cup, when the sides hadn’t met in donkey’s years at the Dell.”

After a career stretching 14 years, despite arguably having one of the unluckiest runs of injuries in modern football, Watson managed to play 280 professional games whilst scoring 71 goals in the process. He played for six different clubs and averaged a goal every four starts. Off the pitch it is evident what a great presence he must have been in the dressing room. Articulate yet humorous, intelligent and impulsive. Add to that a dashing of dedication, hard work and optimism and you have a perfect role model for all potential footballers.

Welcome

2006-07-05T20:35:00.000+01:00

Well, here I am.

I have been a die hard Saints fan since for over ten years and was a season ticket holder up until last season. Therefore at the dawn of a new era for the club I felt obliged to start a blog to publish my thoughts and views on the club.

I have been with the club to the highest peaks, and the lowest troughs but I am in no doubt that this season we will start to see change.

My previous writing experience has come working in the media and for the past two years I have had columns in The Southern Daily Echo and The Pink. I have also worked at The Daily Telegraph and have had published features on skysports.com and bbc.co.uk.

Last season I worked for the radio station Capital Gold presenting the football coverage on Saturdays and next year plan to read Journalism Studies at the University of Sheffield.

In the coming weeks I hope to post interviews, news and views so please let me know what you think.