Matt Le Tissier - Footballing Genius

For many football fans during the 90s, one of their prevailing memories will be of Matt Le Tissier tearing defences apart for his beloved Southampton F.C. But who is he? All statistics by Transfermarkt.

Le Tissier was born in the Channel Island of Guernsey on the 14th of October 1968.

According to a 2009 article on the BBC, Le Tissier started playing football at the age of five with a local team, Vale Recreation.

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Le Tissier told the BBC, “I'm convinced if my family were brought up in the UK that all four of us would have made a career out of football,” believing his development, and that of his brothers, was stunted by his Guernsey-based childhood.

Aged 15, Le Tissier secured a trial spot with football league club, Oxford United. Matt’s brother, Kevin, had a trial at Oxford too, but struggled to make the grade, with homesickness playing a part.

After his failure at Oxford, Matt was able to secure a Youth Training Scheme deal with Southampton at the age of 17.

Just a year later, he signed his first professional contract with the club, making his debut against Norwich in 1986, per Sotonpedia.

Le Tissier was an instant success at Southampton, appearing in 24 games and scoring six goals. This included a hat-trick against Leicester City in the English First Division (precursor to the Premier League).

The 1989/90 season saw Le Tissier flourish, scoring 20 times and assisting twice in his 35 appearances as he helped Southampton achieve a seventh-place finish in the First Division. According to Football Heroes, this was the Saints’ highest finish for five years.

Throughout the early 90s, Le Tissier became the key man for Southampton as they battled in the lower half of the First Division and Premier League.

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The 1993/94 season was the second since the launch of the Premier League. With larger TV deals and winnings on the table, it was more important than ever for clubs to maintain their status in the top division. Le Tissier almost single-handedly kept Southampton up, scoring 25 goals in 38 appearances.

The following season, Le Tisser would go on to win the Match of the Day Goal of the Season. The goal saw Le Tissier pick the ball up near midfield, dribble past two, and beat former teammate Tim Flowers from nearly 40 yards out.

Per the Independent, Le Tissier’s talent was not going unnoticed by the bigger clubs in England, with Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United, and Blackburn all interested in signing him, with Chelsea bidding a record £10 million in 1995. However, he turned down all offers, staying at Southampton until his retirement in 2002.

According to Saints Players, a Southampton F.C. player archive, Le Tissier once told fans and club officials he has no regrets about staying at one club his whole career, despite it leaving him with no major trophies. His rationale was that he won enough at the youth level.

Despite his prowess in the Premier League, Le Tissier only played eight times for England, with some suggesting he was frozen out by manager Glenn Hoddle.

Le Tissier himself suggested in his testimonial match program that his rejection of Chelsea’s mega-money big could have been the cause for the falling out, whilst journalist Jonathan Wilson wrote that, “Hoddle couldn’t bear not to be the most gifted player still on the training pitch.”

Following his retirement, Le Tissier was a long-time panelist on the much-loved Soccer Saturday Sky Sports show. However, following his outspoken views on COVID-19 and criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement, he was dropped from the program.

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