david in sweden Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 he came over from Northern Ireland in 1998 as a 16 year old, together with Chris Baird...(he of Fulham nowadays), and as many young keepers spent most of his Saints career in the Reserves..(as memory serves me that he did have a couple of first team performances, at a time when we had a goalie crisis? and whilst we were still in the Prem. ..may have played in (televised) 3-3 draw v. Newcastle - maybe I'm wrong?) After which, he disappeared off to ..Doncaster ? (maybe wrong again) and got lost in the world of lower leagues. The reason for the thread is that I noted the name popping up in the Northern Ireland sqaud to play on tuesday night. With Maik Taylor (another former Saints) injured they have reverted to N.I. League sides and he apparnatly plays for Linfield. Not much glory in any of that I suppose, but at least Alan may draw some comfort from the fact that he would be capped by his country. Good luck anyway.
Benj Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 Didn't he make that save from an absolute bullet header from Shearer against Newcastle, about 4 yards out? One of the best saves I've ever seen.
CWD Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 I remember him. He was quite promising for a while and there were chants of 'are you Niemi in disguise' in said Newcastle game!
revolution saint Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 I'm sure he won "save of the season" for his double save in the Newcastle game.
for_heaven's_Saint Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 I'm sure he won "save of the season" for his double save in the Newcastle game. Yes wasn't it going to Niemi for the triple save against Arsenal then Blayney nicked it?
JackFrost Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 (edited) One of our most underrated goalkeepers ever. Deserved far more starts in the first team than he got. Many people didn't seem to rate him but I always thought he was a very solid keeper and a bright prospect I thought he was quite unlucky because he was at his peak when we had Niemi and an on-form Paul Smith Edited 7 February, 2011 by JackFrost
SuperSAINT Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 I remember that save.... Shearer looked at him with a look of equal parts distain, and wonder!
Saint Garrett Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 He saved 2 penalties the other day didnt he ? I dont remember him being a great keeper by any means - probably why Paul Smith always started in front of him, I seem to recall he just had an amazing debut against Newcastle and won Save of the season!
Viking Warrior Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 Alan Blayney suffered alot of home sickness early on , had the potential to be a great GK
saint1977 Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 He had a great game that night but he leaked quite a few in a loan spell at Bournemouth and had a nightmare game V WBA in 2004 which at a time of instability at the club pushed him out of contention. He looked like a fine shot stopper but his command of his area looked suspect. Paul Smith also struggled when Antti was injured and has never looked the same keeper since, particularly in a poor spell at Forest. Fortunately we are a far more stable and better run club now.
Papa Shango Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 That save in the Newcastle game was fantastic. Even Shearer applauded it. After that I remember playing West Brom at home and he let in a weak Paul Telfer shot right under his body in the warm up, which didn't exactly fill anyone with confidence. Sure enough he made another blunder in the match itself, where we dropped two vital points. Kasey Keller was brought in after that and Blaney never seen again.
Ekelund Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 Bevan saved the pens, AB let in a shocker against someone the other week (Serbia??). Both Ginger. Remember the Shearer save well tho! Happy days
Lighthouse Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 Yes wasn't it going to Niemi for the triple save against Arsenal then Blayney nicked it? Niemi's triple save was the season before. I think Blayney's actually won the Sky Sports save of the season, not just ours.
Chorlton Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 After that Newcastle match, people were on one of the forerunners of this site saying that we should sell Niemi as we have so much decent cover in Paul Smith and Alan Blayney. Good that people don't have kneejerk reactions after one good or bad game these days.
Hatch Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 One of our most underrated goalkeepers ever. Deserved far more starts in the first team than he got. Many people didn't seem to rate him but I always thought he was a very solid keeper and a bright prospect I thought he was quite unlucky because he was at his peak when we had Niemi and an on-form Paul Smith What's happened to him? Is he still at Forest
scott_saints Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 Gotta feeling that when we had "Niemi day" at Charlton.....it was Blayney in goal because Niemi was injured. My be wrong...
jjsaint Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 I think Blayney when when Bart came in? Or do I have the timeline wrong?
thesaint sfc Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 I'm sure he played for Brighton for a bit too.
saint_ben Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 i knew Alan when we were at the saints youth together. he's now at linfield in ireland.
The9 Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 Gotta feeling that when we had "Niemi day" at Charlton.....it was Blayney in goal because Niemi was injured. My be wrong... You are not wrong. It was also the first day that a load of the youth players who ended up comprising our team in the Championship relegation season got squad numbers in the high 30s due to the ridiculous "injury crisis" that Sturrock presided over - which turned out to be one of those "lost the dressing room" kind of injury crises, rather than one of those "training badly" injury crises. Oooh, Soccerbase has been redesigned, you can't link to an individual match any more ! Blayney played v Newcastle and then Charlton away (Niemi Day as noted above). http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=2471#teamTabs=results Southampton A. Blayney, P. Telfer, F. Hall, D. Kenton, S. Crainey, F. Fernandes (L. Griffit, 85), D. Prutton , Y. Folly, A. Svensson (C. Baird, 13), B. Ormerod, J. Beattie Subs not used: D. Blackstock, M. Cranie, M. Poke Blimey, that team looks crap, no wonder we got relegated the season after.
DT Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 Anyone recall Blayney? I think we should recall him.
The9 Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 I think Blayney when when Bart came in? Or do I have the timeline wrong? Blayney left 05 Jan '06, Bart arrived 6 Jan 06. So you could possibly claim the two events were linked. http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=33709 - Blayney http://www.soccerbase.com/players/search.sd?search=Bartosz+Bialkowski&type=player - Bart Blayney played for Saints, Doncaster and Oldham permanently, with loans to Bournemouth, Rushden & Diamonds and Brighton (twice).
sammysaint Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 Didn't he make that save from an absolute bullet header from Shearer against Newcastle, about 4 yards out? One of the best saves I've ever seen. I was there behind the goal was the best save i have ever seen
woodsaint Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 Yes plays for linfield in the northern irish premier, doing very well aswell which has earned him a few caps. Did have a bit of a nightmare in the last international against morocco though gifting them their goal in a 1-1 draw. Could definetly still play at league one level if it wasnt for getting homesick
Lets B Avenue Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 IIRC he was terribly homesick when he first came here and ended up going back to N.Ireland. He was later allowed back to continue his academy career.
CWD Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 Anyone have a video of that save? I remember being at the game but was sat at the other end of the ground
Huffton Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 I was half expecting to open this thread and find someone suggesting we should bring him back to replace Davis...
LeBenali Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 If anybody could find a video link of that save I'd be very grateful, been searching on Youtube every now and again for months with no success!
Dark Munster Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 You are not wrong. It was also the first day that a load of the youth players who ended up comprising our team in the Championship relegation season got squad numbers in the high 30s due to the ridiculous "injury crisis" that Sturrock presided over - which turned out to be one of those "lost the dressing room" kind of injury crises, rather than one of those "training badly" injury crises. Oooh, Soccerbase has been redesigned, you can't link to an individual match any more ! Blayney played v Newcastle and then Charlton away (Niemi Day as noted above). http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=2471#teamTabs=results Southampton A. Blayney, P. Telfer, F. Hall, D. Kenton, S. Crainey, F. Fernandes (L. Griffit, 85), D. Prutton , Y. Folly, A. Svensson (C. Baird, 13), B. Ormerod, J. Beattie Subs not used: D. Blackstock, M. Cranie, M. Poke Blimey, that team looks crap, no wonder we got relegated the season after. Fact or speculation?
bpsaint Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 That save in the Newcastle game was fantastic. Even Shearer applauded it. After that I remember playing West Brom at home and he let in a weak Paul Telfer shot right under his body in the warm up, which didn't exactly fill anyone with confidence. Sure enough he made another blunder in the match itself, where we dropped two vital points. Kasey Keller was brought in after that and Blaney never seen again. Blayney would play one more game after that for us, the oh so memorable trip to Watford in the Carling Cup the following Tuesday. What an embarassing night that was!
Mattio Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 My mate (who was 16-18 at the time) ended up going back to his and getting smashed with him. Apparently he could handle his drink!
Papa Shango Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 Blayney would play one more game after that for us, the oh so memorable trip to Watford in the Carling Cup the following Tuesday. What an embarassing night that was! My god yes it was. One of the worst performances ever. I remember there was a small campaign to refund the fans who went. 5-2 flattered us.
Benj Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 Blayney would play one more game after that for us, the oh so memorable trip to Watford in the Carling Cup the following Tuesday. What an embarassing night that was! What a game! It may have been awful to watch but I don't think I've laughed so much at a game for ages. I recall chants of "Can we come and sit with you?" and "Let's pretend we scored a goal" followed by "shhhhhhhhshhhhhhhhh" and then loads of us just going mental
Deppo Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 If we are recalling Alan Blayney, can you not just put this on the Davis thread? FWIW, I think we should recall Blayney. He has probably got more command of his box than Davis/Bart/Forecast/the young fella.
jimmysaint7 Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 Niemi won save of season blayney came runner up
The9 Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 Fact or speculation? Speculation, of course. But there were plenty of rumours about "player power" as well as the stuff about egg stains.
bpsaint Posted 7 February, 2011 Posted 7 February, 2011 Anyone have a video of that save? I remember being at the game but was sat at the other end of the ground I've just uploaded it for everyone's viewing pleasure. Enjoy.
david in sweden Posted 8 February, 2011 Posted 8 February, 2011 I've just uploaded it for everyone's viewing pleasure. Enjoy. nice one, thanks for that bp saint
chocco boxo Posted 8 February, 2011 Posted 8 February, 2011 The Premiership days seem so long ago now, great save ! Anders Svensson did we really appreciate him?
bpsaint Posted 8 February, 2011 Posted 8 February, 2011 The Premiership days seem so long ago now, great save ! Anders Svensson did we really appreciate him? I think with regards to Anders most people, myself included, felt he was a quality player but never really played a system or put him in a position that allowed him to really shine as much as he was capable of. He certainly had moments of brilliance and was always good for a little brazillian spin on the ball now and then,but its only now looking back through some of the videos ive uploaded that I think what a class act he could have been in the Prem.
martel Posted 8 February, 2011 Posted 8 February, 2011 I recieved an e-mail from Jamie's dad just yesterday informing me that he has signed for a Mackay team doen under, however, it was reported in the Echo just last week that he had signed for Totton. The news I have though and reading from the Australian local rag that he has definately signed along with Jamie Hatch, I hope he can give his career a kick start with this new start after the injuries he has suffered recently.
Huntingdon Posted 8 February, 2011 Posted 8 February, 2011 It's the Queensland State League, not exactly A-League is it? I feel sorry for Jamie White, his career was destroyed by injuries
Crab Lungs Posted 8 February, 2011 Posted 8 February, 2011 http://www.dailymercury.com.au/story/2011/02/07/trio-boost-hopes-for-miners-miners-imports-footbal/ Good luck to 'em
simo Posted 8 February, 2011 Posted 8 February, 2011 Fair play VERY promising talent if he can stay injury free!
Recommended Posts