sandwichsaint Posted 15 November, 2012 Share Posted 15 November, 2012 He was good last night but I was more surprised his name didn't come up on the recent 'you thought they were going to be good thread'. Remember when we first signed him, lots of bigging-up and lots of posts about how good he was in pre-season, remember going to Gillingham for my first glimpse (that's probably my favourite word - a sexual onomatopoea, just say it slowly) for either a friendly or an early season league cup game. Massively under-whelmed, he looked good, he strutted, he even did a bit, but for me the sum never added up to the parts. Agree he was in the wrong sort of side (more of a Liverpool-when-they-were-good sort of player) but not sure he was ever cut out for the hurly-burly life of a Southampton midfielder. A few decent players around him and it might have been different. He will go down in my annals as an average Saints player, nice missus though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St_Tel49 Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 Two words: show pony! Show ponies don't earn 125 international caps with a team that have for a lot of the time been higher ranked than England. I suppose you prefer industrial grade CMs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 He was good last night but I was more surprised his name didn't come up on the recent 'you thought they were going to be good thread'. Remember when we first signed him, lots of bigging-up and lots of posts about how good he was in pre-season, remember going to Gillingham for my first glimpse (that's probably my favourite word - a sexual onomatopoea, just say it slowly) for either a friendly or an early season league cup game. Massively under-whelmed, he looked good, he strutted, he even did a bit, but for me the sum never added up to the parts. Agree he was in the wrong sort of side (more of a Liverpool-when-they-were-good sort of player) but not sure he was ever cut out for the hurly-burly life of a Southampton midfielder. A few decent players around him and it might have been different. He will go down in my annals as an average Saints player, nice missus though. For that alone, he earns legendary status.. Seriously though, good player under utilised by us or not suited to the English game ? A bit of rarity in that his international form exceeds club level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowgli Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 Great player. Too artistic for the saints team at the time. Did see some flashed of his ability but most of the time, he was on a different wavelength to the rest of the team intellectually and in terms of movement. Will make a good coach when he hangs up his boots - very similar to Adkins I suspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Majestic Channon Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 there was a media campaign to replace Anders in the Swedish national side ...in 2006 (!) He was 30 then, and some of the TV hacks wanted to replace him with the inconsistant Kim Källström. Källström is still in the squad but pretty much of a yo-yo player,(now based in Moscow)...whilst Anders has passed 120-something caps for Sweden and after leading Elfsborg to the Swedish League title last week, he looks a cert for the 2014 World Cup providing....of course they qualify....and he stays fit. If he can serve Zlatan Ibrahimovitch with passes like he did last night, I'd fancy the Swedes, but have severe doubts about England's ability to join them in Rio. Are you for real??? What are these serious doubts??? RE: Sweden, If there ever was a one man team... Apart from kuk näsa they really aren't up too much i thought roy's young team gave them a footballing lesson in long spells Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 16 November, 2012 Share Posted 16 November, 2012 Heading for his 122nd and 123rd caps over the weekend/early next week. Was underrated here for me as I explain here:- http://wp.me/p1mFFL-dL What does everyone else think? Unfulfilled potential? Misuse by managers? Just slightly too slow for the Prem as evidenced by the endless times he got caught from behind on the ball, but still too mobile (at the time) to play in the defensive midfield "quarterback" role he plays for Sweden now. Career probably extended by playing for most of his career in a not-so-testing Swedish league when clearly of a different class to most of his peers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lallana's Left Peg Posted 30 October, 2015 Share Posted 30 October, 2015 neoLITE @neoLITEn · 3m3 minutes ago Gothenburg, Sweden Anders Svensson 39, 140 apps & 10 goals for @SouthamptonFC #saintsfc 2001-05, plays last match of his career tomorrow for #Elfsborg. Svensson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitzhugh Fella Posted 30 October, 2015 Share Posted 30 October, 2015 Lacked consistency. Had bags of class just failed to show it often enough. Him and Tadic very similar players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatch Posted 30 October, 2015 Share Posted 30 October, 2015 Svensson only 10 goals, that surprises me. Anyway , Svensson too intelligent for the players he had around him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotonist Posted 30 October, 2015 Share Posted 30 October, 2015 Just slightly too slow for the Prem as evidenced by the endless times he got caught from behind on the ball, but still too mobile (at the time) to play in the defensive midfield "quarterback" role he plays for Sweden now. Career probably extended by playing for most of his career in a not-so-testing Swedish league when clearly of a different class to most of his peers. agreed. wonderful talent but couldn't cope with premier league pace ten years ago let alone now. i think of gaston similarly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miltonaggro Posted 30 October, 2015 Share Posted 30 October, 2015 Him and Tadic very similar players. He was a class act Svensson, on and of the park. The comparison with Tadic is right, and maybe a bit too subtle for us at that time. What a career though, perhaps a coaching or scouting role with SFC at some point in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Charlie Posted 30 October, 2015 Share Posted 30 October, 2015 Svensson was not much better than average for us though, in reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 30 October, 2015 Share Posted 30 October, 2015 Svensson was not much better than average for us though, in reality. Potential never really fulfilled. Much like Gaston, talented player but never really cut in the PL. Not even the best Svensson in the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 30 October, 2015 Share Posted 30 October, 2015 Potential never really fulfilled. Much like Gaston, talented player but never really cut in the PL. Not even the best Svensson in the team. .....think I'd go along with that Vectis, except it's unfair to compare A. Svensson with M. Svensson as they had totally different roles. Anders .. a high-profile critic of the current Swedish national side, (which is pretty abysmal compared to previous years) said ......(in TV interview some years ago) about his time at Saints; ...... that Strachan ignored his natural position as playmaker behind the front strikers (his great success in the Swedish side ) and that on one occasion told him and Fabrice Fernandes....that " he couldn't play them both in the team as they were too much like each other ?."... also () said that 'arry Redknapp..." knew nothing about football " and that his Dressing Room pep-talks were practically non-existent. Go out and play ! Judging by the varied comments on this thread, many people find it hard to agree on his worth to the Saints side. I really think that he came to the wrong club...(us) .....his 148 caps for Sweden speaks volumes for his ability in a Swedish side that tried (unsuccessfully) to find a suitable replacement for him for over 5 years. Since his return to Elfsborg (from Saints) Anders has been the mainstay of a side that " never quite " won anything...it'll be hard to replace him, but Saints fans may recall his better games at SMS .....rather than those where - he didn't quite fit in. Met him several times (here and at SMS) and is a straightforward " ordinary-type of guy " always willing to share a few words and knew the value of good PR. (My daughter still has a pic. of them together - we took after a match - when she was " much younger ") I've no doubt (like Henrik Larsson) he'll find his way back into the game via management, and he may bide his time until the Elfsborg manager eventually moves on. Elfsborg (who play in Borås) was his first and last club (aside from Saints) and I can't see him moving away too quickly ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 30 October, 2015 Share Posted 30 October, 2015 .....think I'd go along with that Vectis, except it's unfair to compare A. Svensson with M. Svensson as they had totally different roles. Only "compared" because they have the same name I'd say the same about Kelvin... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 30 October, 2015 Share Posted 30 October, 2015 Only "compared" because they have the same name I'd say the same about Kelvin... OK........but Steven Davis hasn't kept as many clean sheets as KD did in our Championship season ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallyboy Posted 30 October, 2015 Share Posted 30 October, 2015 I take it he is only retiring from club football so he can stay fit to play for Sweden another 100 times? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotonist Posted 30 October, 2015 Share Posted 30 October, 2015 Since his return to Elfsborg (from Saints) Anders has been the mainstay of a side that " never quite " won anything is wikipedia wrong? Allsvenskan: 2006, 2012 Swedish Cup: 2001, 2014 Svenska Supercupen: 2007 Atlantic Cup: 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooney Posted 30 October, 2015 Share Posted 30 October, 2015 Never foirget when Wriggles took him off at Fulham when he was playing out of his skin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 30 October, 2015 Share Posted 30 October, 2015 is wikipedia wrong? No it's correct, but living here it always seems that Elfsborg promise so much but often seem to fall at the last hurdle..(bit like Arsenal). Yes there have been some successes (I overlooked), but in Sweden the Swedish Cup sounds great, but isn't held in such high regard and has about as much glamour - as the JPT (yes I know we won it ) ....but it's not like winning the Prem. title (in this case Allsvenskan).In that respect I feel sorry for Anders and the Elfsborg club. The one title win in the last 9 years really is a shame for a team that promises so much, but nearly always seems to fall short of the honours. ........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 30 October, 2015 Share Posted 30 October, 2015 I take it he is only retiring from club football so he can stay fit to play for Sweden another 100 times? no joking, I think he could contribute a good 60 minutes to the National team - even today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjurwi Posted 31 October, 2015 Share Posted 31 October, 2015 no joking, I think he could contribute a good 60 minutes to the National team - even today. I'd still rather see him then Källström. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted 31 October, 2015 Share Posted 31 October, 2015 Him and Tadic very similar players. Tadic better IMO. I think tadic is having a good season and you really surprise me by keep droning on about him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjii Posted 31 October, 2015 Share Posted 31 October, 2015 Tadic is much more effective than Svensson ever was for us. I don't see the merits of any comparison. That Strachan team was built on an excellent GK, really dependable defenders and a striker in the form of his life. Although Svensson had moments of class I never really felt he took a hold of games the way he seemed to do for Sweden sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 31 October, 2015 Share Posted 31 October, 2015 (edited) .......it was indeed Anders' last game today and Elfsborg finished their season with 4-2 win, but sadly only a poor 4th place in the final league table. His career with Elfsborg began over 20 years ago ...and was bisected only by his 5 year stay with Saints in which he played in 140 games (10 goals) until leaving in 2005. His total record with Elfsborg shows him having played more than 450 games and netting over 70 times. (A fairly impressive career of +/- 600 games bearing in mind the Swedish top division is only 30 matches a season). Anders is the most-capped Swedish (male) player of all time (148 games and 21 goals) ....and is the most capped outfield player in European football history. (Details of winners and losers on the Overseas Saints site). Edited 31 October, 2015 by david in sweden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmonton Saint Posted 1 November, 2015 Share Posted 1 November, 2015 Interesting story(or not) I legally changed my name to Anders Svensson 3 years ago.. Best thing I ever did. Moved to Canada where nobody knew me, and now being called Anders just seems right.. The weird thing is, that I have gotten so used to it, I thought this was a thread about me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceandfriendly Posted 1 November, 2015 Share Posted 1 November, 2015 Interesting story(or not) I legally changed my name to Anders Svensson 3 years ago.. Best thing I ever did. Moved to Canada where nobody knew me, and now being called Anders just seems right.. The weird thing is, that I have gotten so used to it, I thought this was a thread about me You've mentioned this twice now I believe. If it's really true then I'm changing my name from Patrick Colletter to Immants Bleidelis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Diamond Posted 1 November, 2015 Share Posted 1 November, 2015 My memories of Anders Svensson are of a man with greasy hair, often found in Costa coffee at West Quay, who had the front to hold a press conference announcing he was rejoining his old club whilst still contracted to us and criticising our style of play. Not an awful lot of class there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sussexsaint Posted 1 November, 2015 Share Posted 1 November, 2015 Never foirget when Wriggles took him off at Fulham when he was playing out of his skin. Yup he was well up for it that day , a real WTF sub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a1ex2001 Posted 2 November, 2015 Share Posted 2 November, 2015 a quality player who in his prime would really have suited our current style, he arrived at saints before the premier league was ready for him! Totally respect his decision to spend most of his career at Elfsberg he was clearly happy there are earning enough money to keep him and his family satisfied. I'd like to see more footballers put personal happiness above the bottom line! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeky Monkey Posted 2 November, 2015 Share Posted 2 November, 2015 a quality player who in his prime would really have suited our current style, he arrived at saints before the premier league was ready for him! Totally respect his decision to spend most of his career at Elfsberg he was clearly happy there are earning enough money to keep him and his family satisfied. I'd like to see more footballers put personal happiness above the bottom line! Agreed. A lot of critism on this thread. Nice bloke. Model pro. Part of the midfield that did well in the league and got to the fa cup final. He was not robust. But man Utd had Keane as balance to scholes/skolsjaar. We had telfer/marsden and delap as balance to him. You need different types of players sometimes and he was a cracking on on his day. He looks better in better teams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintadam Posted 21 August, 2017 Share Posted 21 August, 2017 Anders Svensson is seling his old saints shirt on instagram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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