Matt Le Tissier

Matthew Paul Le Tissier (/ləˈtɪsieɪ/; born 14 October 1968) is a football television presenter and former professional footballer.

Matt Le Tissier
Le Tissier in 2010
Personal information
Full name Matthew Paul Le Tissier[1]
Date of birth (1968-10-14) 14 October 1968
Place of birth Saint Peter Port, Guernsey
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Playing position(s) Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1975–1984 Vale Recreation
1985–1986 Southampton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986–2002 Southampton 443 (161)
2002–2003 Eastleigh 17 (3)
2013 Guernsey 1 (0)
Total 461 (164)
National team
Guernsey U15
1988–1990 England U21 21 (3)
1990–1998 England B 6 (3)
1994–1997 England 8 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Le Tissier spent his entire professional club career with Southampton and won eight caps for the England national team before turning to non-League football in 2002; his loyalty garnered special affection from Southampton's fans who nicknamed him "Le God".[3]

A creative attacking midfielder with exceptional technical skills,[4] Le Tissier is the second-highest ever scorer for Southampton behind Mick Channon and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990. He was the first midfielder to score 100 goals in the Premier League. He is notable for his record at scoring penalty kicks – converting from the spot 47 times from 48 attempts – and is considered one of the greatest ever from the 12-yard spot.[5]

Following his retirement as a player, Le Tissier became a football pundit, and currently works as a panelist on the Sky Sports show Soccer Saturday. In 2011, he became honorary president of Guernsey F.C.

In 2020, he was voted the Eurosport Best Premier League Player of All Time, in a vote in which many world-renowned Premier League footballers participated in, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry.[6]

Club career

Early career

Le Tissier was born in Guernsey, a crown dependency, and played youth football on the island with Vale Recreation between the ages of seven and sixteen. At fifteen, he had a trial at English club Oxford United, but nothing came of it.[7]

Southampton

Signing for Southampton on YTS forms in 1985 and then signing professional forms in October 1986, Le Tissier made his club debut in a 4–3 defeat at Norwich City in the Football League First Division, and by the end of that season had scored six goals in 24 league games, including a hat-trick against Leicester City in the league. He scored his first two competitive goals in a League Cup third round replay at home to Manchester United on 4 November 1986, a game which Southampton won 4–1 and was Ron Atkinson's last in charge of the visitors, his sacking coming within 48 hours of the result. Le Tissier made 19 first team league appearances in 1987–88, failing to score, but in 1988–89, scored nine times in 28 league games.

He was voted PFA Young Player of the Year for the 1989–90 season, in which he was one of the league's top goalscorers with 20 goals as Southampton finished seventh in the First Division, the club's highest finish for five years.[8]

Le Tissier's highest scoring league season was 1993–94, when he scored 25 league goals.[9] The following season he won the Match of the Day Goal of the Season award for his drifting 40-yard chip against Blackburn Rovers, scoring against his long term friend, and former Southampton keeper, Tim Flowers.

Le Tissier's goal tally for the season regularly went well into double figures for the league alone throughout the 1990s, playing a major role in Southampton preserving their top flight status into the new millennium as they came close to relegation on five occasions in the first seven seasons of the Premier League – including one season when they only survived on goal difference. He was the subject of interest from many big clubs in England and overseas during this time, particularly from Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, but the transfer never happened and Le Tissier would ultimately remain a Southampton player until his retirement. In August 1995, Chelsea reportedly made a £10million bid for Le Tissier which would have made him the most expensive player in English football at the time. Shortly afterwards, defending league champions Blackburn Rovers were reportedly planning to sign him for a similar-sized fee.[10]

On 2 April 2000, Le Tissier scored a last minute penalty for Southampton in a 2–1 defeat to Sunderland. This brought his tally of Premiership goals to 100, making him only the sixth player and first midfielder to reach this milestone.[11][12]

He scored the last goal in the final competitive match played at The Dell on 19 May 2001, against Arsenal.[13] This turned out to be his last goal for Southampton. He played several games for the club during 2001–02, the first season at the new St Mary's Stadium, in an eventual 11th-place finish. His final competitive appearance for the Saints came against West Ham on 30 January 2002.[14] He announced on 29 March 2002 that he would retire from playing at the season's end after limping off with a recurrence of a calf strain during a reserve team game against Charlton.[15]

His final match, a testimonial against an England XI in May 2002, ended in a 9–9 draw, with Le Tissier playing 45 minutes for each side, while his 10-year-old son Mitchell came on as a substitute in the second half, scoring four times.[16]

Throughout his career, Le Tissier had a fearsome reputation for scoring from the spot, converting 47 of the 48 penalties that he took for Southampton.[17] His sole failure to convert came on 24 March 1993 in a match against Nottingham Forest, his spot kick being saved by Forest keeper Mark Crossley, the feat being so unique that Crossley describes it as the save of which he is most proud.[18]

Eastleigh

After leaving Southampton, he had a two-season-long spell with non-league side Eastleigh, where he played alongside his former Southampton teammate David Hughes.[19][20] He made his debut in a 3–0 victory over Newport (IOW) in the Hampshire Senior Cup in October 2002.[21] He played his last match for the club early in August 2003, starring in the Hampshire Chronicle Cup Final second leg victory against Winchester City.[22]

Guernsey

On 7 April 2013, ten years after retiring from football, Le Tissier announced he had come out of retirement and signed with his hometown club Guernsey. A number of fixture postponements meant that they had to play 17 league fixtures in a month, and Le Tissier announced that he would be able to play in four or five games, also saying he was unable to play Saturday games due to his job as a television pundit on Soccer Saturday.[23] He made his debut for the club on 24 April, as a substitute for Ollie McKenzie, in a 4–2 defeat in their Combined Counties League Premier Division clash with Colliers Wood United.[24] The fixture was his only appearance for the club.

International career

Le Tissier represented Guernsey's under-15 side, playing in the 1983 Muratti Vase final against Jersey U15.[25]

Le Tissier chose to play for England, joining a relatively small group of players who were not born in the country, and earned eight caps over three years. Guernsey, although largely self-governing, does not have an official FIFA national team, which made Le Tissier eligible to play for England.

Le Tissier was picked by the then manager Terry Venables to start the ill-fated friendly match against the Republic of Ireland at Lansdowne Road, on 15 February 1995. With Ireland leading from a 22nd-minute goal by David Kelly, a group of England fans began to riot, causing the Dutch referee Dick Jol to abandon the match.[26]

In the run-up to the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Le Tissier scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 victory for England B against Russia B at Loftus Road;[27] despite this, he was controversially overlooked by manager Glenn Hoddle for the final squad, a decision that the player himself cited as a turning point in his career after which his form never fully recovered.

Style of play

Le Tissier was a creative and technically gifted attacking midfielder, with an eye for goal, known for his ball striking, and ability to get into good attacking positions, in addition to his vision, and ability to create chances for teammates; these abilities also enabled him to play as a supporting striker on occasion, or even on the right wing, although this was not his favoured position. Despite his poor work-rate, and lack of notable pace or stamina, he was known for his excellent control, technique, balance, and dribbling skills, as well as his intelligence on the ball, and his use of tricks and feints, which allowed him to beat opponents.[4][15][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] He was also known for his extreme accuracy on penalties.[5]

Post-retirement

Le Tissier had one of the hospitality suites at the St Mary's Stadium named after him. On the former site of The Dell, where apartment blocks are named after Southampton players, one is named Le Tissier Court.[35]

On 7 February 2007, he had a plane in the Flybe fleet named after him, on his home island of Guernsey.[36][37] It was withdrawn from use in July 2011.[38]

After Southampton's relegation to level three in 2008–09, Le Tissier initially offered to help with a bid to take over the club, but later withdrew,[39] amidst some controversy.[40]

In September 2009, Le Tissier revealed in his autobiography that he had placed a spread bet on a match he was involved in during his playing career. During an April 1995 match at Wimbledon, Le Tissier stood to win "well into four figures" after betting on the time of the first throw-in. After kicking off, he tried to overhit a pass to unsuspecting teammate Neil Shipperley, but due to nerves, underhit it and Shipperley was able to keep the ball in play. Le Tissier revealed he had "never run so much" in his life as he tried to put the ball out of play to avoid losing money, with the ball eventually going out of play after 70 seconds, meaning Le Tissier and his associates neither won nor lost money.[41] The event was investigated by Hampshire Police but the Crown Prosecution Service refused to take the case further, citing that it did "not represent appropriate use of police resources" and "would not be in the public interest".[42]

Le Tissier made a cameo appearance for Southampton in Claus Lundekvam's testimonial against Celtic, on 18 July 2008.[43] Lundekvam had previously played with him at Southampton from 1996 to 2002.

In 2009, Le Tissier made an appearance on the Channel 4 game show, Countdown, as the Dictionary Corner guest, next to Countdown's resident lexicographer, Susie Dent. He would make 10 appearances over two spells in 2009 and 2010. On 28 September 2015, Le Tissier became the first former guest to become a contestant on the show. He won three shows, including scoring two centuries, before losing on his 4th appearance to John Hardie, who would reach the quarter-finals at the end of that series.

In 2011, he accepted the position of Honorary President of Guernsey F.C.[44]

In August 2016, Le Tissier and ex-Southampton teammate Francis Benali announced that they had gone into business as football agents. Speaking about their joint business venture, Le Tissier commented that their aim was to provide "guidance and support on every aspect of a footballer's career – on and off the field". Benali added: "We've got a real passion for football and are keen to impart our experience and knowledge to help players make the right decisions for their careers.[45]

In 2020, Le Tissier became an outspoken critic on the reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, with several tweets in which he criticised what he deemed to be an 'overreaction' from the government and media, among others opposing lockdowns and mask orders.[46]

Personal life

Le Tissier married childhood sweetheart Cathy and had two children, Mitchell and Keeleigh. The couple divorced in 1997 and Cathy and the children moved back to Guernsey, after which he had a relationship with Home and Away and Emmerdale actress Emily Symons.[47] All three of Le Tissier's brothers – Mark, Kevin and Carl – also played football, but never professionally.[48] Mark is currently secretary of Guernsey FC.[49]

Career statistics

Club
Source:[50]
Club Season League League National Cup League Cup Full Members Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Southampton 1986–87First Division2461042223110
1987–88190111110222
1988–892892042203611
1989–9035202173–4424
1990–9135193242104323
1991–923267161675115
1992–93Premier League40151132–4418
1993–9438252000–4025
1994–9541205535–4930
1995–963475142–4310
1996–9731131063–3816
1997–9826111033–3014
1998–993061020–336
1999–20001830030–213
2000–01810021–102
2001–02401000–50
Total 44316133125227129540209
Eastleigh 2002–03Wessex Premier Div.????–––??
2003–04Southern Lge. Eastern Div.????–––??
Guernsey 2012–13C. Counties Premier Div.1000–––10
Career total 44416133125227129541209

International
Source:[51]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
England 199450
199510
199610
199710
Total80

Honours

Southampton

Eastleigh

Individual

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References
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  2. "Matthew Le Tissier: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  3. "The most underrated Premier League player ever is proof that football is about more than trophies". 14 August 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  4. "Matthew Le Tissier". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2016. On his day the mercurial midfielder-cum-striker can beat players for fun, score goals from seemingly impossible situations and display sheer brilliance.
  5. "THE LIST: Football's greatest penalty kings - Nos 10-1". Daily Mail. London. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  6. "Shock result - Matt Le Tissier voted greatest Premier League player". Eurosport.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  7. "Succeeding was hard - Le Tissier". BBC. 25 March 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  8. "Matthew Le Tissier (Part 1) 1986/87–1989/90". Football Heroes. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  9. "KickOff.co.uk". Retrieved 30 October 2013.
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  38. G-JECT Withdrawn
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