sambosa75 Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 Was just doing my squad on another thread for the SFC Masters 8 and put Paul Jones in. It got me thinking... Niemi was in my opinion a superior 'keeper but because of this I feel a lot of people, myself included, don't pay enough credit to Paul Jones. I thought he was an excellent club servant, never let us down and in fact, probably won us more points with some of his performances between 1998 and 2001/2 than most of the other players in our squad. I also remember him bizarrely being loaned to Liverpool as an emergency loan and getting a few games for them. Because he helped Liverpool out, I seem to re-call him being immensely popular among Liverpool fans. Aside from that dodgy '50' he had shaved in to his hair on his 50th game for Wales, I thought he was an excellent keeper and massively under-rated.
Dibden Purlieu Saint Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 Was just doing my squad on another thread for the SFC Masters 8 and put Paul Jones in. It got me thinking... Niemi was in my opinion a superior 'keeper but because of this I feel a lot of people, myself included, don't pay enough credit to Paul Jones. I thought he was an excellent club servant, never let us down and in fact, probably won us more points with some of his performances between 1998 and 2001/2 than most of the other players in our squad. I also remember him bizarrely being loaned to Liverpool as an emergency loan and getting a few games for them. Because he helped Liverpool out, I seem to re-call him being immensely popular among Liverpool fans. Aside from that dodgy '50' he had shaved in to his hair on his 50th game for Wales, I thought he was an excellent keeper and massively under-rated. A genuinely good bloke too. In fact, most of keepers do seem to be good guys.
Gemmel Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 Paul Jones was a fantastic keeper, he got into the game late, ( I think he used to milk cows!) and Dave Jones bought him and Lee Todd with him from Stockport and stuck them both straight into the first team (Kinda tough on Maik Taylor at the time). Todd was a disaster and Jones was excellent and glad he got to play in the FA Cup final for us. He did indeed go to Liverpool as an emergency loan and made some sort of worldee save, which is why i think they hold in high regard. It was a perfect end to his career..... he was a lifelong Liverpool fan.
saintmatt Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 A genuinely good bloke too. In fact, most of keepers do seem to be good guys. The exception to the rule? Stephen Bywater.
Gemmel Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 The exception to the rule? Stephen Bywater. And Peter Shilton
sambosa75 Posted 15 June, 2011 Author Posted 15 June, 2011 And Peter Shilton and Tommy Forecast if recent rumours on here are to be believed...
skintsaint Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 always remember that goal which he thought was going over but it didnt...
RedAndWhite91 Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 He was our keeper when I first started supporting Saints around 1997 so he'll always be a favourite. Whenever I had to go in goal down the rec I was always Paul Jones. He did indeed go to Liverpool as an emergency loan and made some sort of worldee save, which is why i think they hold in high regard. It was a perfect end to his career..... he was a lifelong Liverpool fan. Sorry to be a pedant Gemmel, but he played for Wolves, Watford, Millwall, QPR and Bognor Regis after Liverpool!
saintmatt Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 always remember that goal which he thought was going over but it didnt... I always remember those goals which he thought were going over but didn't. Still a hero though.
Gemmel Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 He was our keeper when I first started supporting Saints around 1997 so he'll always be a favourite. Whenever I had to go in goal down the rec I was always Paul Jones. Sorry to be a pedant Gemmel, but he played for Wolves, Watford, Millwall, QPR and Bognor Regis after Liverpool! No worries.... The sands of time wearing out the old grey matter at this end !!
Whitey Grandad Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 A nice bloke but I think 'never let us down' is stretching things a bit too far. I think Maik Taylor was a better keeper but we sold him for £500k and bought Jones for £1m.
corky morris Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 Interesting................I always thought it was a mistake to pay £1m for him & sell Taylor for £200k as Taylor was the better keeper. Also, he cant be that good because when he played for Bridgnorth in the Dr Martins I scored against him!!!!! And I bowled his brother Steve out 2 weeks ago & he played for nets for Hereford!!
Glasgow_Saint Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 Thought it was a mistake to pay £1.1m for him & sell Taylor for £100k
Dibden Purlieu Saint Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 The exception to the rule? Stephen Bywater. Bywater? He's never played for us. Do you mean Forecast?
merrimd Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 He now does goalie coaching courses for the local lads in our youth league. My goalie goes to them and says he is the best. Really good bloke.
JackFrost Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 I thought Jones did a very solid job for us for a few years and then he was eventually displaced by Niemi because he was one of the best keepers in the PL at that time. Very underrated was Jones
Paul Chuckle Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 Great shot stopper but couldn't kick and couldn't catch a cross so for those reasons i wouldn't say he was a graet goalkeeper. Did make some very good saves though. That one from Dwight Yorke in 3-3 draw at old Trafford in 1999 was different class, i remember they slowed it right down on the Big Breakfast and they still couldn't see how he managed to make the 2nd save
Big_Bald_Si Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 Agreed -he was a great keeper for us. I also agree with others that, at the time, I found it odd we sold Maik Taylor for a pittance and snapped up Jones for £1 million +, however, he was a good servant for us, and did win us plenty of points. As I recall, he was instrumental in our cup run in 2003, Niemi was injured, but then he wasn't picked for the final - but was glad to see him come on when Niemi got injured.
tpbury Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 I always defended him, but I did know that any waist high cross from the by line would likely be dollied up to the nearest attacker. Never mind, it didn't happen that often, and he is a sound chap.
Crab Lungs Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 Was devastated when we turfed out Maik Taylor but Paul Jones turned out to be a superb servant. Like many above me have already said, he had a few minor faults to his game but was definitely a "Premier League Kelvin", saving us far more points than he lost us by an absolute mile. Superb shotstopper, in my opinion, better than Niemi in that respect but Antti was a better all-round goalkeeper. Was never bothered who'd be in goal for us when we had both of them around, though. Top professionals.
rooney Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 Was a good keeper as you would expect in the Premiership, but not great. He would regularly flap at crosses and I was relieved when Niemi came in and took his place. Now he was a great keeper.
ecuk268 Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 He has the distinction of keeping a clean sheet in the Cup Final but ending on the losing side.
yateleysaint Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 I think there's a bit of revisionism going on here. Paul Jones was a decent keeper and I've heard that he's a nice bloke but I was disappointed when Dave Jones let Maik Taylor go and relieved when Strachan brought Niemi in. Paul Jones used to get a lot of grief, although it wasn't always justified.
Jonnyboy Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 He was our keeper when I first started supporting Saints around 1997 so he'll always be a favourite. Whenever I had to go in goal down the rec I was always Paul Jones. Sorry to be a pedant Gemmel, but he played for Wolves, Watford, Millwall, QPR and Bognor Regis after Liverpool! Exactly! - his career had ended
Dalek2003 Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 Actually, didn't we have one of better spells with Paul Jones in goal ?
Golden Balls Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 Great shot stopper. Flapped too much to be considered a great keeper IMO. He always seemed to play well against Man Utd
saintmatt Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 Bywater? He's never played for us. Do you mean Forecast? I know he didn't - the rule I was referencing was "most keepers do seem to be good guys"
Dr Who? Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 always remember that goal which he thought was going over but it didnt... Derby County away, Beattie own goal if I remember correctly. Beattie went to clear a corner and sliced it very high into the air, and Jones swung on his crossbar to signal it was going over and it dropped into the net. Time seemed to stand still. remember a game at the Dell v Man U and we won 1-0. God knows how he managed to keep out all the efforts, as our defence with all at sea. blinding save after save!! Loved Paul Jones, my favourite Saints and all time goalkeeper!
so22saint Posted 15 June, 2011 Posted 15 June, 2011 I think that Dell 1-0 win over the Mancs was the high point of his career with us - some of the 1 and 1s he saved that night, and I remember a chance for Ole Gunner that "surely" had to go in until he got a hand to it. Really liked Taylor though and the fact that he used to come to The dell to watch saints prior to joining us meant I was gutted he left. I remember a story that Taylor was stood in the Milton and saved a pre-match warm up shot in the stands from Le Tiss or somebody which started a chant of "sign him up"....
Super_Uwe Posted 16 June, 2011 Posted 16 June, 2011 Jonah was a good solid keeper for us and was indeed a great servant over the years. His shot-shopping was IMHO up there with the very best keepers in the world at the time, and I genuinely mean that. His reactions were just unbelievable at times. What let him down though was his distribution and overall command of the box. He never seemed to communicate particularly well with his back four either, and as a result that is why he never got "hero" status during his time with us. One of the things I always remember about him was his insistence on putting the ball back on the same divot to kick it! Always used to make me chuckle, he wasn't the best kicker in the first place so putting the ball on a divot (which got bigger as the game went on) seemed a bit bizarre. But each to their own hey!
Petersfield Saint Posted 16 June, 2011 Posted 16 June, 2011 I think there's a bit of revisionism going on here. Paul Jones was a decent keeper and I've heard that he's a nice bloke but I was disappointed when Dave Jones let Maik Taylor go and relieved when Strachan brought Niemi in. Paul Jones used to get a lot of grief, although it wasn't always justified. This
Torrent Of Abuse Posted 16 June, 2011 Posted 16 June, 2011 Really liked Taylor though and the fact that he used to come to The dell to watch saints prior to joining us meant I was gutted he left. I remember a story that Taylor was stood in the Milton and saved a pre-match warm up shot in the stands from Le Tiss or somebody which started a chant of "sign him up".... Wasn't Taylor signed for a pittance from Fleet Town? I think he made a debut away to Middlesbrough when we were bottom of the table and in dire straits the season we also won away at Forest (they went down that year). Of course I could have got some or all of the details wrong as I'm a uncontrollable crack addict.
markyboy Posted 16 June, 2011 Posted 16 June, 2011 Derby County away, Beattie own goal if I remember correctly. Beattie went to clear a corner and sliced it very high into the air, and Jones swung on his crossbar to signal it was going over and it dropped into the net. Time seemed to stand still. remember a game at the Dell v Man U and we won 1-0. God knows how he managed to keep out all the efforts, as our defence with all at sea. blinding save after save!! Loved Paul Jones, my favourite Saints and all time goalkeeper! I remember that one, long old journey back on the train after that match. Along with their crappy automated drum beat to get the crowd going bad day all round.
gandalf Posted 16 June, 2011 Posted 16 June, 2011 He used to live around the corner from me in sunny Bognor Regis. I think he is still local as the local paper mentions him coaching youngsters. Can be seen shopping in Tescos and B&Q!
Steel City Saint Posted 16 June, 2011 Posted 16 June, 2011 I seem to remember a game between Finland and Wales where both keepers were Southampton players: Jones & Niemi. Can't have been many teams at that time with two first choice international goalkeepers in their squads.
bowers-sfc Posted 16 June, 2011 Posted 16 June, 2011 Top bloke! Top keeper. At the recent all stars match, he got involved in a bit of a banter. He was happily signing autographs and and doing photos with fans, when i said to him " even got new gloves for today, might catch some for a change " His reply was " dont hold your breath, im knackered " then went to swipe me round the head good lad
The9 Posted 16 June, 2011 Posted 16 June, 2011 (edited) I seem to remember a game between Finland and Wales where both keepers were Southampton players: Jones & Niemi. Can't have been many teams at that time with two first choice international goalkeepers in their squads. Yeah, I went to that at the Millennium, it was a Euro 2004 qualifier and basically cost Wales a place in the Finals as they only drew 1-1 after starting the campaign really well. Niemi got beaten in the first 10 minutes by a shot that never would have done him at St Mary's, and I realised what a great defence Saints had at the time with Claus chucking himself at everything. There's an article about Jones v Niemi from the match in Helsinki from earlier in the Euro 2004 qualifiers here, some interesting comments about Jones keeping Niemi out of the team : http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Football%3A+Criticism+will+not+Finnish+ace+Jones%3B+FINLAND+v+WALES,...-a091401544 Edited 16 June, 2011 by The9
hughieslastminutegoal Posted 16 June, 2011 Posted 16 June, 2011 He was our keeper when I first started supporting Saints around 1997 so he'll always be a favourite. Whenever I had to go in goal down the rec I was always Paul Jones. Sorry to be a pedant Gemmel, but he played for Wolves, Watford, Millwall, QPR and Bognor Regis after Liverpool! That's what he meant; Bognor Regis was the perfect end to his career.
miserableoldgit Posted 16 June, 2011 Posted 16 June, 2011 TBF I always thought that Manfred Mann were a better band with him in it. Didn`t like Mike D`Abo that much.
saint_ben Posted 19 June, 2011 Posted 19 June, 2011 Anyonr seen paul jones pkaying for liverpool in the masters. He's made some good saves too!
Matthew Le God Posted 19 June, 2011 Posted 19 June, 2011 Odd he played for Liverpool, as he only played for them twice in 2004.
david in sweden Posted 20 June, 2011 Posted 20 June, 2011 He couldn't take a decent goal kick, though. ...well he's wasn't the only goalie with that problem. Of course he made a few mistakes, but some of us older types can recall that Peter Shilton wasn't the " best goalie in the World " every week. Still Paul Jones will forever be remembered as ..the answer to a question in the alltime Pub Quiz. Q- " Which goalkeeper kept a clean sheet in an FA Cup Final ...and yet only got a Loser's medal ? "
jam Posted 20 June, 2011 Posted 20 June, 2011 Wasn't Taylor signed for a pittance from Fleet Town? I think he made a debut away to Middlesbrough when we were bottom of the table and in dire straits the season we also won away at Forest (they went down that year). Of course I could have got some or all of the details wrong as I'm a uncontrollable crack addict. About £500k from Barnet IIRC.
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