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Matt Le Tissier

Matthew Paul Le Tissier (/ləˈtɪsi/; born 14 October 1968) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Le Tissier spent his entire professional club career with Southampton, before turning to non-League football in 2002; his loyalty garnered special affection from Southampton's fans who nicknamed him "Le God".[3]

Matt Le Tissier
Le Tissier in 2022
Personal information
Full name Matthew Paul Le Tissier[1]
Date of birth (1968-10-14) 14 October 1968 (age 55)
Place of birth Saint Peter Port, Guernsey
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
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)
International career
Guernsey U15
1990–1998 England B 6 (3)
1994–1997 England 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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] Born in Guernsey, Le Tissier opted to represent England, winning eight caps from 1994 to 1997. In 2011, he became honorary president of Guernsey F.C., and briefly came out of retirement to play for the club in 2013.

Following his retirement as a player, Le Tissier became a football pundit, and worked as a panellist on the Sky Sports show Soccer Saturday until August 2020. In his retirement, he has made several posts on social media, concerning COVID-19 and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which were met with criticism.[6]

Club career edit

Early career edit

Le Tissier was born in Guernsey, a British 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 edit

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 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 the 1987–88 season, failing to score, but in the 1988–89 season, 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 in the 1993–94 season, in which 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 £10 million 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 Premier League goals to 100, making him only the sixth player and first midfielder to reach this milestone.[11]

He scored the last goal in the final competitive match played at The Dell on 19 May 2001, against Arsenal.[12] This turned out to be his last goal for Southampton. He played several games for the club during the 2001–02 season, 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 United on 30 January 2002.[13] 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 Athletic.[14]

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 ten-year-old son Mitchell came on as a substitute in the second half, scoring four times.[15]

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.[16] 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.[17]

Eastleigh edit

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.[18][19] He made his debut in a 3–0 victory over Newport (IOW) in the Hampshire Senior Cup in October 2002.[20] 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.[21]

Guernsey edit

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.[22] He made his only appearance 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.[23]

International career edit

Le Tissier represented Guernsey's under-15 side, playing in the 1983 Muratti Vase final against Jersey U15.[24]

He 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. He was picked by the 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.[25]

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;[26] despite this, he was overlooked by manager Glenn Hoddle for the final squad. He never played for England again after the tournament.[1]

Style of play edit

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][14][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] He was also known for his extreme accuracy on penalties.[5]

Post-retirement edit

On the former site of The Dell, which was Southampton F.C.'s old stadium, the names of apartment blocks honour Southampton Football Club players; one is named Le Tissier Court.[34] At Southampton F.C.'s current ground, St Mary's Stadium, one of the hospitality suites is named after him.[35]

On 7 February 2007, a plane in the Flybe fleet was 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.

 
Le Tissier in 2010

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] He was a long-term panellist on Sky Sports show Soccer Saturday until August 2020 when he was dropped.[46] Whilst working for Sky Sports, Le Tissier claimed that he was required to wear a Black Lives Matter badge and was only told this "about a minute" before the show started. After wearing the badge for one show he subsequently refused to and he believed that this contributed to his dismissal.[47]

In 2019 and 2020, Le Tissier featured in both seasons of ITV show Harry's Heroes, which featured former football manager Harry Redknapp attempting get a squad of former England international footballers back fit and healthy for a game against Germany legends.[48]

In 2020, Le Tissier became an outspoken critic of the reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. He issued several tweets criticising what he deemed to be an "overreaction" by the government and media, among others, opposing lockdowns and mask orders.[49] An image he posted on Twitter which implied a comparison between the Holocaust and having to wear masks during the pandemic was deleted.[50] In 2021, Le Tissier drew widespread criticism again for promoting unverified hypotheses, when he suggested that Christian Eriksen's on-pitch cardiac arrest was an adverse reaction to being vaccinated, despite Eriksen not being vaccinated.[51][52] In November 2021 he faced further criticism, this time by epidemiologists, as one of several former professional footballers "demanding investigations into links" between onfield collapses and COVID vaccinations, after three footballers collapsed in one week.[53]

Le Tissier controversially retweeted a post on Twitter concerning the Bucha massacre, committed during Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, suggesting the media was lying in its coverage of the event.[54] Following backlash, Le Tissier stepped down from his role as a Club Ambassador at Southampton on 6 April.[52][55]

On 4 May 2022, Jersey Bulls cancelled an appearance of Le Tissier after he was previously announced as the special guest at their awards dinner following fan backlash.[56]

Personal life edit

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,[57] before marrying Angela Nabulsi in April 2008 in a small ceremony. Together, they have one daughter, Ava. All three of Le Tissier's brothers — Mark, Kevin and Carl — also played football, but never professionally.[58] Mark is currently secretary of Guernsey F.C.[59]

Note Matt Le Tissier is not related to fellow Guernsey born football player Maya Le Tissier although her father did play football with Matt.

Career statistics edit

Club edit

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[60]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Full Members Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Southampton 1986–87 First Division 24 6 1 0 4 2 2 2 31 10
1987–88 First Division 19 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 22 2
1988–89 First Division 28 9 2 0 4 2 2 0 36 11
1989–90 First Division 35 20 2 1 7 3 44 24
1990–91 First Division 35 19 3 2 4 2 1 0 43 23
1991–92 First Division 32 6 7 1 6 1 6 7 51 15
1992–93 Premier League 40 15 1 1 3 2 44 18
1993–94 Premier League 38 25 2 0 0 0 40 25
1994–95 Premier League 41 20 5 5 3 5 49 30
1995–96 Premier League 34 7 5 1 4 2 43 10
1996–97 Premier League 31 13 1 0 6 3 38 16
1997–98 Premier League 26 11 1 0 3 3 30 14
1998–99 Premier League 30 6 1 0 2 0 33 6
1999–2000 Premier League 18 3 0 0 3 0 21 3
2000–01 Premier League 8 1 0 0 2 1 10 2
2001–02 Premier League 4 0 1 0 0 0 5 0
Total 443 161 33 12 52 27 12 9 540 209
Eastleigh 2002–03 Wessex Premier Div.
2003–04 Southern Lge. Eastern Div.
Guernsey 2012–13 C. Counties Premier Div. 1 0 0 0 1 0
Career total 444 161 33 12 52 27 12 9 541 209

International edit

Appearances and goals by national team and year[61]
National team Year Apps Goals
England 1994 5 0
1995 1 0
1996 1 0
1997 1 0
Total 8 0

Honours edit

Southampton

Eastleigh

Individual

References edit

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  4. ^ a b . 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. ^ a b "Masters from the penalty spot". uefa.com. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
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  33. ^ Sprigings, Toby (20 October 2015). "The Cult: Matt Le Tissier". Vice Sports. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
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  39. ^ Fifield, Dominic (30 June 2009). "Southampton on the brink as Matthew Le Tissier pulls out of takeover". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
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  48. ^ "Harry's Heroes returning to ITV with former Leeds man David Seaman confirmed". 16 January 2020.
  49. ^ de Menezes, Jack (4 September 2020). "Matt Le Tissier apologises and deletes Anne Frank-related tweet following Twitter backlash". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  50. ^ Harpin, Lee (4 September 2020). "'Stupid' Matt Le Tissier compares Nazi treatment of Anne Frank with wearing face masks". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
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  53. ^ "Scientists reject vaccine "theory" from experts after third footballer collapses in one week". Bharat Express News. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  54. ^ Bukowski, Bartłomiej (8 April 2022). "Legenda, która konsekwentnie burzy swój pomnik" (in Polish). Sportowe Fakty WP.
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  56. ^ "Matt Le Tissier: Jersey Bulls cancel appearance after fan backlash". BBC Sport. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
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  65. ^ Lynch, Tony (1995). The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. London: Random House. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-09-179135-3.
  66. ^ "Spurs and Wales legend Cliff Jones inducted into Hall of Fame". BBC. 26 September 2013.
  67. ^ "Le Tissier in San Mamés | Athletic Club". athletic-club.eus. Retrieved 9 February 2021.

External links edit

  • Matthew Le Tissier at England Football Online  
  • Matt Le Tissier at Englandstats.com  
  • Matt Le Tissier at Soccerbase  
  • Matthew Le Tissier index at Sporting-heroes.net

matt, tissier, matthew, paul, tissier, born, october, 1968, former, professional, footballer, played, midfielder, tissier, spent, entire, professional, club, career, with, southampton, before, turning, league, football, 2002, loyalty, garnered, special, affect. Matthew Paul Le Tissier l e ˈ t ɪ s i eɪ born 14 October 1968 is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder Le Tissier spent his entire professional club career with Southampton before turning to non League football in 2002 his loyalty garnered special affection from Southampton s fans who nicknamed him Le God 3 Matt Le TissierLe Tissier in 2022Personal informationFull nameMatthew Paul Le Tissier 1 Date of birth 1968 10 14 14 October 1968 age 55 Place of birthSaint Peter Port GuernseyHeight6 ft 1 in 1 85 m 2 Position s Attacking midfielderYouth career1975 1984Vale Recreation1985 1986SouthamptonSenior career YearsTeamApps Gls 1986 2002Southampton443 161 2002 2003Eastleigh17 3 2013Guernsey1 0 Total461 164 International careerGuernsey U151990 1998England B6 3 1994 1997England8 0 Club domestic league appearances and goals 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 Born in Guernsey Le Tissier opted to represent England winning eight caps from 1994 to 1997 In 2011 he became honorary president of Guernsey F C and briefly came out of retirement to play for the club in 2013 Following his retirement as a player Le Tissier became a football pundit and worked as a panellist on the Sky Sports show Soccer Saturday until August 2020 In his retirement he has made several posts on social media concerning COVID 19 and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine which were met with criticism 6 Contents 1 Club career 1 1 Early career 1 2 Southampton 1 3 Eastleigh 1 4 Guernsey 2 International career 3 Style of play 4 Post retirement 5 Personal life 6 Career statistics 6 1 Club 6 2 International 7 Honours 8 References 9 External linksClub career editEarly career edit Le Tissier was born in Guernsey a British 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 edit 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 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 the 1987 88 season failing to score but in the 1988 89 season 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 in the 1993 94 season in which 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 10 million 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 Premier League goals to 100 making him only the sixth player and first midfielder to reach this milestone 11 He scored the last goal in the final competitive match played at The Dell on 19 May 2001 against Arsenal 12 This turned out to be his last goal for Southampton He played several games for the club during the 2001 02 season 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 United on 30 January 2002 13 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 Athletic 14 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 ten year old son Mitchell came on as a substitute in the second half scoring four times 15 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 16 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 17 Eastleigh edit 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 18 19 He made his debut in a 3 0 victory over Newport IOW in the Hampshire Senior Cup in October 2002 20 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 21 Guernsey edit 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 22 He made his only appearance 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 23 International career editLe Tissier represented Guernsey s under 15 side playing in the 1983 Muratti Vase final against Jersey U15 24 He 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 He was picked by the 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 25 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 26 despite this he was overlooked by manager Glenn Hoddle for the final squad He never played for England again after the tournament 1 Style of play editLe 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 14 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 He was also known for his extreme accuracy on penalties 5 Post retirement editOn the former site of The Dell which was Southampton F C s old stadium the names of apartment blocks honour Southampton Football Club players one is named Le Tissier Court 34 At Southampton F C s current ground St Mary s Stadium one of the hospitality suites is named after him 35 On 7 February 2007 a plane in the Flybe fleet was 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 nbsp Le Tissier in 2010 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 He was a long term panellist on Sky Sports show Soccer Saturday until August 2020 when he was dropped 46 Whilst working for Sky Sports Le Tissier claimed that he was required to wear a Black Lives Matter badge and was only told this about a minute before the show started After wearing the badge for one show he subsequently refused to and he believed that this contributed to his dismissal 47 In 2019 and 2020 Le Tissier featured in both seasons of ITV show Harry s Heroes which featured former football manager Harry Redknapp attempting get a squad of former England international footballers back fit and healthy for a game against Germany legends 48 In 2020 Le Tissier became an outspoken critic of the reaction to the COVID 19 pandemic in the United Kingdom He issued several tweets criticising what he deemed to be an overreaction by the government and media among others opposing lockdowns and mask orders 49 An image he posted on Twitter which implied a comparison between the Holocaust and having to wear masks during the pandemic was deleted 50 In 2021 Le Tissier drew widespread criticism again for promoting unverified hypotheses when he suggested that Christian Eriksen s on pitch cardiac arrest was an adverse reaction to being vaccinated despite Eriksen not being vaccinated 51 52 In November 2021 he faced further criticism this time by epidemiologists as one of several former professional footballers demanding investigations into links between onfield collapses and COVID vaccinations after three footballers collapsed in one week 53 Le Tissier controversially retweeted a post on Twitter concerning the Bucha massacre committed during Russia s 2022 invasion of Ukraine suggesting the media was lying in its coverage of the event 54 Following backlash Le Tissier stepped down from his role as a Club Ambassador at Southampton on 6 April 52 55 On 4 May 2022 Jersey Bulls cancelled an appearance of Le Tissier after he was previously announced as the special guest at their awards dinner following fan backlash 56 Personal life editLe 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 57 before marrying Angela Nabulsi in April 2008 in a small ceremony Together they have one daughter Ava All three of Le Tissier s brothers Mark Kevin and Carl also played football but never professionally 58 Mark is currently secretary of Guernsey F C 59 Note Matt Le Tissier is not related to fellow Guernsey born football player Maya Le Tissier although her father did play football with Matt Career statistics editClub edit Appearances and goals by club season and competition 60 Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Full Members Cup Total Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Southampton 1986 87 First Division 24 6 1 0 4 2 2 2 31 10 1987 88 First Division 19 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 22 2 1988 89 First Division 28 9 2 0 4 2 2 0 36 11 1989 90 First Division 35 20 2 1 7 3 44 24 1990 91 First Division 35 19 3 2 4 2 1 0 43 23 1991 92 First Division 32 6 7 1 6 1 6 7 51 15 1992 93 Premier League 40 15 1 1 3 2 44 18 1993 94 Premier League 38 25 2 0 0 0 40 25 1994 95 Premier League 41 20 5 5 3 5 49 30 1995 96 Premier League 34 7 5 1 4 2 43 10 1996 97 Premier League 31 13 1 0 6 3 38 16 1997 98 Premier League 26 11 1 0 3 3 30 14 1998 99 Premier League 30 6 1 0 2 0 33 6 1999 2000 Premier League 18 3 0 0 3 0 21 3 2000 01 Premier League 8 1 0 0 2 1 10 2 2001 02 Premier League 4 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 Total 443 161 33 12 52 27 12 9 540 209 Eastleigh 2002 03 Wessex Premier Div 2003 04 Southern Lge Eastern Div Guernsey 2012 13 C Counties Premier Div 1 0 0 0 1 0 Career total 444 161 33 12 52 27 12 9 541 209 International edit Appearances and goals by national team and year 61 National team Year Apps Goals England 1994 5 0 1995 1 0 1996 1 0 1997 1 0 Total 8 0Honours editSouthampton Full Members Cup runner up 1991 92 62 Eastleigh Wessex Football League 2002 03 63 Individual PFA Young Player of the Year 1989 90 citation needed Southampton Player of the Season 1989 90 1993 94 1994 95 citation needed Most assists in the Premier League 1994 95 64 PFA Team of the Year 1994 95 Premier League 65 BBC Goal of the Season 1994 95 citation needed English Football Hall of Fame 2013 66 One Club Man Award 2015 67 References edit a b Matt Le Tissier England Football Online Retrieved 7 July 2018 Matthew Le Tissier Overview Premier League Retrieved 4 June 2020 Jenson Pete 14 August 2012 Matt Le Tissier Le God preaches new gospel for coaches The Independent Archived from the original on 12 May 2022 Retrieved 15 August 2021 a b 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 a b Masters from the penalty spot uefa com 17 August 2013 Retrieved 1 September 2020 Stokel Walker Chris 7 April 2022 Big pharma and social media how Matt Le Tissier fell into the conspiracy theory trap inews Retrieved 9 April 2022 Succeeding was hard Le Tissier BBC 25 March 2009 Retrieved 9 January 2014 Matthew Le Tissier Part 1 1986 87 1989 90 Football Heroes Retrieved 2 June 2010 KickOff co uk Archived from the original on 18 October 2015 Retrieved 30 October 2013 Culley Jon 6 May 1996 That was the season that was The Independent Archived from the original on 12 May 2022 Retrieved 29 November 2018 Gjorgjievski Martin 12 March 2015 The Timeline of Matt le Tissier Footie Central Retrieved 26 April 2022 Le Tissier caps Dell farewell BBC 19 May 2001 Archived from the original on 18 October 2002 Retrieved 7 December 2009 Fernandes sinks Hammers BBC Sport 30 January 2002 Retrieved 11 March 2010 a b Did Le Tissier fulfil his potential BBC News 29 March 2002 Retrieved 27 February 2016 Goal feast at Le Tissier farewell BBC Sport 14 May 2002 Retrieved 24 June 2010 Holley Duncan Chalk Gary 2003 In That Number A post war chronicle of Southampton FC Hagiology Publishing p 539 ISBN 0 9534474 3 X How to save a penalty The Observer London 6 January 2002 Retrieved 25 June 2010 Eastleigh lure Le Tissier BBC Sport 13 August 2002 Retrieved 18 February 2011 Wigmore Simon 22 October 2002 Le Tissier coup for Eastleigh The Telegraph London Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 Retrieved 18 February 2011 Le Tissier It was good to be back Daily Echo 31 October 2002 Retrieved 19 April 2013 Le God s Final Farewell Non League Daily 5 August 2003 Retrieved 19 April 2013 Matthew Le Tissier 44 will make his Guernsey debut on Sunday BBC Sport 7 April 2013 Retrieved 19 April 2013 No winning return for Le Tiss Daily Echo 24 April 2013 Retrieved 25 April 2013 Matt Le Tissier Saints Hub Retrieved 7 July 2018 EnglandStats A database of England Internationals since 1872 Retrieved 19 June 2011 Le Tissier hat trick fires England B BBC Sport 22 April 1998 Retrieved 23 February 2016 Symes Pat 6 March 1999 Jones sees life beyond slow Le Tissier The Guardian Retrieved 27 February 2016 Matt Le Tissier One on One FourFourTwo 1 October 2010 Retrieved 27 February 2016 Steinberg Jacob 19 September 2014 Golden goal Matt Le Tissier for Southampton v Newcastle 1993 The Guardian Retrieved 27 February 2016 Riach James 11 April 2013 Matt Le Tissier I ll celebrate a goal in the same nonchalant way I used to The Guardian Retrieved 27 February 2016 Sky Sports pundit Matt Le Tissier receives Athletic Bilbao award Sky Sports 29 April 2015 Retrieved 27 February 2016 From cod to Le God FIFA com 24 October 2013 Archived from the original on 27 September 2015 Retrieved 27 February 2016 Sprigings Toby 20 October 2015 The Cult Matt Le Tissier Vice Sports Retrieved 21 November 2017 Dawkins Andrew 21 October 2014 What happened to England s lost football grounds BBC Sport Retrieved 21 October 2014 The stories behind football stadium stand names The Telegraph 4 May 2017 Retrieved 4 May 2022 Tiss takes off saintsfc co uk 7 February 2007 Archived from the original on 29 September 2007 Retrieved 19 July 2008 Olding Peter 23 February 2007 Photo of FlyBe plane De Havilland Canada DHC 8Q 402 Dash 8 G JECT Flybe BE BEE Southampton Airport Air Britain Photographic Images Collection Retrieved 2 June 2010 G JECT Withdrawn Fifield Dominic 30 June 2009 Southampton on the brink as Matthew Le Tissier pulls out of takeover The Guardian London Retrieved 2 June 2010 Szczepanik Nick 1 July 2009 Football League deny Matthew Le Tissier claims The Times London Retrieved 2 June 2010 Le Tissier in failed betting scam BBC Sport 3 September 2009 Retrieved 2 June 2010 Le Tissier bet inquiry is dropped BBC News 22 September 2009 Retrieved 2 June 2010 Friendlies round up Sky Sports 18 July 2008 Retrieved 19 July 2008 Macphail Cameron 6 April 2013 Matt Le Tissier could make playing comeback for Guernsey FCi The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 Retrieved 4 November 2015 Saints legends Matt Le Tissier and Francis Benali go into business as football agents Southern Daily Echo 31 August 2016 Retrieved 31 August 2016 Matt Le Tissier Charlie Nicholas and Phil Thompson leaving Sky Sports The Guardian PA Media 26 August 2020 Retrieved 5 September 2020 Matt le Tissier Reveals the Truth About Being Sacked from Sky YouTube Harry s Heroes returning to ITV with former Leeds man David Seaman confirmed 16 January 2020 de Menezes Jack 4 September 2020 Matt Le Tissier apologises and deletes Anne Frank related tweet following Twitter backlash The Independent Archived from the original on 12 May 2022 Retrieved 5 September 2020 Harpin Lee 4 September 2020 Stupid Matt Le Tissier compares Nazi treatment of Anne Frank with wearing face masks The Jewish Chronicle Retrieved 5 September 2020 Nassoori John 14 June 2021 Matt Le Tissier courting controversy regarding Eriksen incident CaughtOffside Retrieved 22 June 2021 a b Ostlere Lawrence 6 April 2022 Matt Le Tissier leaves role as Southampton ambassador after conspiracy tweet The Independent Archived from the original on 12 May 2022 Retrieved 6 April 2022 Scientists reject vaccine theory from experts after third footballer collapses in one week Bharat Express News 26 November 2021 Retrieved 29 November 2021 Bukowski Bartlomiej 8 April 2022 Legenda ktora konsekwentnie burzy swoj pomnik in Polish Sportowe Fakty WP Matt Le Tissier stands down as Southampton ambassador after controversial social media post on war in Ukraine Sky Sports 6 April 2022 Retrieved 6 April 2022 Matt Le Tissier Jersey Bulls cancel appearance after fan backlash BBC Sport 5 May 2022 Retrieved 5 May 2022 Matt Le Tissier Daily Echo 19 June 2007 Retrieved 15 November 2012 Succeeding was hard Le Tissier BBC Sport 25 March 2009 Retrieved 25 March 2009 Green light for Green Lions This Is Guernsey 13 April 2011 Retrieved 13 April 2011 permanent dead link In That Number pp 196 201 206 213 219 223 228 235 241 245 250 255 259 264 269 amp 277 386 413 290 296 301 Le Tissier Matthew National Football Teams Benjamin Strack Zimmermann Retrieved 30 January 2017 Rollin Jack ed 1992 Rothmans Football Yearbook 1992 93 London Headline Publishing Group p 640 ISBN 978 0 7472 7905 1 Football Club History Database Wessex League 2002 03 fchd info Retrieved 12 July 2018 Premier League Player Stats Assists premierleague com Retrieved 1 June 2022 Select season in the Filter by season drop down menu Lynch Tony 1995 The Official P F A Footballers Heroes London Random House p 150 ISBN 978 0 09 179135 3 Spurs and Wales legend Cliff Jones inducted into Hall of Fame BBC 26 September 2013 Le Tissier in San Mames Athletic Club athletic club eus Retrieved 9 February 2021 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matt Le Tissier Matthew Le Tissier at England Football Online nbsp Matt Le Tissier at Englandstats com nbsp Matt Le Tissier at Soccerbase nbsp Matthew Le Tissier index at Sporting heroes net Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Matt Le Tissier amp oldid 1223499865, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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