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Vote For The Ultimate Saints Team
Monday, 16th Oct 2017 13:34

Ahead of a major exhibition on the club to be held at the Sea City Museum in the Civic Centre, Saints fans are being asked to vote on who they think is the best Saints team.

Being one of the two supporters asked to compile a list of Saints players to go before the final panel to hone down the list ready for the vote I have to say it was a task that was not as easy as it sounds.

Firstly how do you set the standards for qualifying to be on the list ?

The vote would only be for players who played after 1945, the reason for this was that there would be few supporters who would have seen us in action pre the Second World War and therefore not many votes would be cast for the pre war era players and most of those would be based more on heresay.

Secondly we discounted those who are currently at the club, so that their contribution could be assessed fairly after leaving, if this vote was being compiled at the end of last season there would be those who would want Virgil Van Dijk in, but not now for obvious reasons.

The first players in were easy, we simply picked the 12 on duty for the FA Cup Final at Wembley in 1976, although perhaps not as many of them as you would think would make the ultimate XI, the truth is that these 12 players remain the only Saints to have won a major honour for the club and therefore deserved to be in the running for any ultimate team.

Then it did start to get tricky, we decided that the first thing to do was get a list of those that had played 150 League games for the club and work from there.

After that we added those that had not played 150 League games but had made a major contribution ie Kevin Keegan for instance.

The list was all about the player's form for Saints and not about what they may have done elsewhere, Gareth Bale has arguably gone on to be one of the best players the club has ever produced, but the fact is that he had one full season at Saints in the Championship and therefore for Saints at least he cannot be considered one of our greats.

The difficulty was also in selecting just how the formation should line up, over the 72 years were selecting the side from formations changed over the years and players would be considered to be different depending on what era they played in, for instance when Matthew Le Tissier started his career at Saints he would have been considered a forward, but within a few years he would play a deeper lying role and although his position hadn't changed he would now be a midfielder.

Likewise Terry Paine spent most of his career as a winger but by the end of it was a wide midfielder.

Therefore we decided on a fairly traditional line up to make it easier to select a team rather than a group of individuals that would not really fit into any sort of formation or team.

Voting will be easier in some positions than others and there will naturally be a bias towards the players from the past few years due to more supporters having seen them play.

Personally I have gone for the following.

Manager - Lawrie McMenemy - Only two real options here i think, Ted Bates who built the foundations of the modern club in the 1950's and Lawrie who took us to our only trophy in 1976, for that reasons Lawrie shaded it for me.

Goalkeeper - Peter Shilton for me, when he arrived he was the best goalkeeper in the World and was throughout his five seasons at the Dell when he was Englands undisputed number 1 throughout, youger fans might go for Anti Niemmi but he was not as good for Saints as Shilton.

Right Back - Jason Dodd for me, there were a couple of other options, but for me Dodd was a steady performer who just about shaded Ivan Golac due to his longer service.

Left Back - David Peach for me here, I might have gone for Francis Benali due to his number of games under many different managers a fact that perhaps showed that he was a decent player as they all could not have been wrong, but Peach got it due to his performances, his penalty taking ability and quality.

Central defence- I chose Chris Nicholl and Mark Wright, Nicholl was a mainstay of a team that won promotion and he then was the rock as it established itself as a top flight club again and even challenged for the League, he was a virtual ever present for six seasons and worth his place right to the end.

Wright was class from the moment he first stepped into the team and like Nicholl was virtually ever present apart from breaking his leg in a Cup Semi Final for five seasons,a time in which he went from unknown teenager to an England regular we have had better centre halves in more recent history, but none played enough games to get on the list, but Wright was the best of the rest.

Midfield - Matthew Le Tissier, no explanation needed , quite simply the best player Saints have ever had in every level of qualification you could apply.

Midfield - Terry Paine - I only saw the last few years of his Saints career, but he played for 18 seasons for the club and was a member of the 1966 England World Cup Winning squad, this vote cannot just be about players that you saw at their peak otherwise it will just be a best of the last 20 years, Paine was truly one of the greatest players we have ever had.

Midfield- Steve Williams - A lot of possible options here including Alan Ball, Jimmy Case, Adam Lallana & David Armstrong, but Williams gets it for me he was in the side as a teenager, he gave us 8 full seasonsplus a bit in two others and like Wright went from starlet to England player, we saw him at his best, if he played in our midfield now we would not have a goal drought.

Forward - Mick Channon - Like Paine & Le Tissier, Channon is a club legend, I would almost have insisted that all three not have to have even been voted for but in automatically

Forward - Kevin Keegan- Keegan is the one player in my list that hasnt made the 150 game benchmark, but his signing for Saints truly put the club on the map, he was the European Footballer of the year when he arrived from Hamburg and arguably the best in the World at the time with very few up to his standard, it made the world look at Southampton FC and take us seriously and we were genuine title contenders in his time at the Dell.

Forward - Rickie Lambert - He is in because he was the talisman of the club rising from adversity after Markus Liebherr took over, he lead us in a fairy tale rise from League One back to the Premier league scoring goals galore and winning an Engalnd cap.

My head says that probably Ron Davies should be in ahead of Rickie Lambert more games for us, more goals and all in the top flight, but my heart says that Rickie was a talisman who was at the heart of our resurgence and meant so much to so many people he should be in there, so Big Ron has to do with a place on the bench, mind you he will be in exalted company.

Vote for your team now on the club's official site using the link below.


https://southamptonfc.com/2017/10/13/southampton-fans-ultimate-xi-sea-city-museu

Photo: Action Images



Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.



Number_58 added 15:20 - Oct 16
How can you leave out Big Ron? Personally, I'd drop Keegan and play Davies and Lambert together. Keegan was injured a lot of the time and then pissed off to Newcastle. Sod him.
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SaintNick added 16:28 - Oct 16
If we are basing being in the best Saints side on not bu**ering off at the first sign of more money then out of my XI only Dodd, Nicholl, Le Tissier, Paine and Peach would get in, all of the others left for a bigger club/more money or both
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SaintBrock added 16:29 - Oct 16
What a ridiculous thing to be asked to do. Any fool can work out that most fans today probably haven't been watching for more than 15/20 years and will be ignorant of players who wore the stripes before the 70's.

Any result will be heavily biased towards modern day players for the obvious reason that those who watched in the long decades before that are mostly dead so will find it difficult to vote.

Alf Ramsey, Denis Compton, Ted Drake, Ernie Rawlings - Who ????????
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SaintBrock added 16:31 - Oct 16
Fully acknowledge Nick that you too recognise this statistical flaw
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SaintNick added 16:31 - Oct 16
SaintBrock, you ae probably right, but it still needs to be done, I would prefer to have seen a hall of fame with perhaps 30 players inducted at the start and then every year more added.

Many Saints supporters and for that matter the club itself have never cherished the rich history that it has hence i am sure that rickie lambert will get more votes than Paine, Davies and Channon put together
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SanMarco added 18:22 - Oct 16
"best Saints team" - 'best' suggests quality rather than loyalty or longevity. Peach was great but was he a better left back than Bridge? If it is an 'all-time sentimental 11' then of course Peach, Dodd, Lambert, Lundekvam etc but best players: Lambert better than Keegan? Was Dodd really better than Nathanial Clyne?

My all time 'favourite' eleven would be very different to one judged purely on quality. Toby whatshisface is as good a centre-back as I have seen play for Saints but no-one is going to put him in are there? I know us boys love our lists but this one is too difficult for me...
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redwight added 18:29 - Oct 16
Can't believe Dave Watson didn't even make it onto the shortlist. Can only imagine he fell short of the 150 appearances rule, but can't be bothered to check.
1

aceofthebase added 19:23 - Oct 16
Derek Reeves, what a goalscorer. Knapp top centre half. Terry Paine and Le Tissier inked in. Channon pips Chivers but space needed for Ron Davies. Peter Shilton No 1 No1.
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leighsaint added 20:17 - Oct 16
What about Alf Ramsey Bill Ellington Neamie as goalie Ted Bates as both player and manager beats McMenamy who deserted us for Sunderland where you won’t find a person who likes him
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SaintNick added 20:43 - Oct 16
Im surprised that there has been negativity on this subject from a couple of posters, it is of course a difficult subject, but it is better to do something rather than nothing, as I said I would rather have seen a hall of fame inaugrated than juts the ultimate XI but its a start in the club acknowledging its past.

Yes McMenemy left us for Sunderland but he had given us 12 great years of service and had turned down offers before and remained loyal, the FA Cup win means for me he just about shades it from Ted Bates
1

Boris1977 added 08:26 - Oct 17
Could do it by age group. M 11 would come from the mid 80s onwards but my uncle would be from the 60s. Benali would be in my 11 as he transcends football and is just a legend. Maybe even find room for Gordon Hobson 😀. Looking forward to the museum opening, whenever that is.
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terrybaron added 08:43 - Oct 17
So many crest players to choose from, yes to Terry Paine, Mick Channon and Ron Davies. You could have so easily picked Tony Knapp, Dave Watson, Phil Boyer, Ted McDougall, Alan Ball, Lundekvam, Jim Steel and Stevenson, everyone will have their favourites.
1

Hamnottingham added 12:55 - Oct 17
Nicky Holmes. Lost count of how many positions he could play in/cover and so the formation of your 11 can be varied.
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SaintBrock added 14:50 - Oct 17
Your "Hall of Fame" would have been an excellent idea, Nick and it would also allow for more than one player for each position.

The other concern is that people are likely to pick favourite players like Ricky irrespective of whether they were very good footballers in the overall scheme of things..

There again, a Hall of Fame should be about more than just on-field performance. Great person, good clubman, loyalty as well as skill as a player.
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Whatsforpud added 11:53 - Oct 18
As people's memories vary according to when they started watching football, perhaps it would be more meaningful to chose a different team from each decade. Then, very few of the better players would be left out.
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legineloc added 17:10 - Oct 19
Another centre back I liked was Ken Monkou, I watched the arsenal game when he had Ian Wright in his pocket all afternoon, he got so frustrated that he stamped on his foot, then at left back Mark Dennis one of the best left back not to play for England then you had staham & le saux
1 Shilton
2 Golac
3Dennis
4 Case
5 Nicholl
6 Watson
7 Le Tissier Subs Shearer, flowers, Monkou, Wright,Williams
8 Ball
9 Keegan
10 Channon
11 Armstrong
Players like hurlock gave Le Tissier the space to play, Le Tissier had more skill in his little toe than hurlock but hurlock would pull down a brick wall for the team if needed
-1


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