FarehamRed Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 Legend. I was there when Frannie scored :-) Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Colinjb Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 Cortese critical, one goal scoring, hard tackling legend. The very definition of a cult hero.
Saint Charlie Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 Stalwart rather than legend. Also try and find your own posting style haha.
Dellman Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 he wasn't a very good player tbh but we loved him because he was passionate and whole hearted but definitely the thuggish type
david in sweden Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 Frannie...comes into the " Norman Hunter " class of defender......hard but fair (well most of the time). ....but I think you've forgotten Mark Dennis and Terry Hurlock - haven't you +
Appy Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 His goal line clearance vs Millwall meant we had a chance to get to the 03 cup final. FACT.
Nutwood2 Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 Not to mention Denis Hollywood!Frannie...comes into the " Norman Hunter " class of defender......hard but fair (well most of the time). ....but I think you've forgotten Mark Dennis and Terry Hurlock - haven't you +
DJ_TOAST Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 Yes Legend, along with Dodd and Le Tiss. Grew up seeing em at the Dell and they loved the club (still do) and stuck with us, good times (despite the relegation battles lol).
the stain Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 He was a legend until he started messing with Nicola. He's just another ex player chump now.
Ziggy Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 Legend. I was there when Frannie scored :-) Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2 I nearly crashed my car when he scored. Was on the way to a wedding in Leicester at the time.
ringwood Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 Legend, served under countless managers, saw off countless recruits to the Dell, and made some awesome tackles, probably one of the best man markers seen at Saints, and his goal well it was DC
Gruffalo Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 Legend - red and white to the core.. I was glad to be there for that goal..
krissyboy31 Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 Stalwart rather than legend. This! Still not quite sure how he managed to play so many games in the top tier of English football with his somewhat limited ability.
Sour Mash Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 Saints Legend... OR A violent thug... This thread is obviously a wind up, but no Saints fan would call Benali a "Violent thug".
Supersubpuckett Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 he was cr4p but had pace, passion and always got stuck in. Seemed to remember he scored a fair few own goals. he wouldn't get anywhere near the team now.
saintoaks Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 He was a legend until he started messing with Nicola. He's just another ex player chump now. Oh please..
Miltonaggro Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 Neither a legend or a violent thug (too small and lightweight). A good servant who was lucky to play his career in the top division. career highlight for me was witnessing the Kung fu kick on fellow short arse Barmby at White Hart Lane, the whole crowd, including Saints went deathly quiet, as it was pointless and 10 men led to us getting dicked after taking the lead...
Hatch Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 legend. anyone who doesn;t agree can foook off.
melmacian_saint Posted 17 January, 2013 Posted 17 January, 2013 Benali, while loyal and good fan of our club, I'm afraid only got such because of the time he spent with us, considerably disproportionate to his quality. Nothing else in there and at any stage of his Saints career most of us would be happy if the club had seen the back of him. IMO he is one of the reasons why we always seem to think that loyalty will sort everything else out, and not recognize that constant change is essential especially in the pitch-side of things. One of the main factors that lead to the 2005-2009 meltdown.
DJ_TOAST Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 Benali, while loyal and good fan of our club, I'm afraid only got such because of the time he spent with us, considerably disproportionate to his quality. Nothing else in there and at any stage of his Saints career most of us would be happy if the club had seen the back of him. IMO he is one of the reasons why we always seem to think that loyalty will sort everything else out, and not recognize that constant change is essential especially in the pitch-side of things. One of the main factors that lead to the 2005-2009 meltdown. really ? those first 2 sentences are aload of bo11ox. Just looked up his wiki, didn't realise he was born in Southampton aswell as went to school here, that really does make him a Legend on top of everything else and anyone who says otherwise ain't a propa Saint. It ain't all about quality and scoring 100 goals (and that's not saying Benali wasn't quality as he was, a chopper stopper).
SaintBobby Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 My favourite Saints player of all time. Always loved him. When he cleared the ball off the line at 0-0 at Dellhurst Park, my love moved to another level.....
Gemmel Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 He was a legend until he started messing with Nicola. He's just another ex player chump now. But Franny won
Gemmel Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 Benali, while loyal and good fan of our club, I'm afraid only got such because of the time he spent with us, considerably disproportionate to his quality. Nothing else in there and at any stage of his Saints career most of us would be happy if the club had seen the back of him. IMO he is one of the reasons why we always seem to think that loyalty will sort everything else out, and not recognize that constant change is essential especially in the pitch-side of things. One of the main factors that lead to the 2005-2009 meltdown. How many managers did he play under? He saw plenty of challenges off. He wasnt the greatest footballer, we all know that, but drop him at your peril..... and those that did , soon had him back in the team.
SaintBobby Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 Benali, while loyal and good fan of our club, I'm afraid only got such because of the time he spent with us, considerably disproportionate to his quality. Nothing else in there and at any stage of his Saints career most of us would be happy if the club had seen the back of him. IMO he is one of the reasons why we always seem to think that loyalty will sort everything else out, and not recognize that constant change is essential especially in the pitch-side of things. One of the main factors that lead to the 2005-2009 meltdown. Bang on. If Franny hadn't worried so much about running his curry house, we'd have done much, much better between 2005-2009. That was - as everyone surely agrees - his essential weakness. A total lack of commitment to the cause. Sigh.
jasonb Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 *I think I remember him getting sent off up at Bolton. He basically cut someone in half near the dug outs, picked himself up and promptly strolled down the tunnel before the ref could show the red card... classic Benali ! *this may or may not of happened as I've slept a few times since, but never let the truth get in the way of a good story!
jasonb Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 Hmmm could this be what I'm thinking about I wonder.... Benali was sent off earlier in the season in a goalless draw at Bolton for a similar incident, raising his arms at an opponent. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Saint+Benali+faces+fine+if+proved+to+be+a+sinner%3B+Southampton+0+Derby...-a060776576
Whitey Grandad Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 He missed a sitter at Newcastle. I think it came to him on his wrong foot. Left, right, whatever.
Restark19 Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 Also looks like Pep Guardiola these days - his son posted this on twitter.
Sheaf Saint Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 This thread is obviously a wind up, but no Saints fan would call Benali a "Violent thug". You never saw his tackle/assault on John Fashanu at Wimbledon then?
FarehamRed Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 You never saw his tackle/assault on John Fashanu at Wimbledon then? That was classic Benali. Fought back from 3-1 down to draw on a sunny day, and Frannie taking out there main man. Happy days. Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Noodles34 Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 That was classic Benali. Fought back from 3-1 down to draw on a sunny day, and Frannie taking out there main man. Happy days. Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2 was there for that one, think it was my 1ooth consecutive game, Matty scored a dubious hat trick if I remeber rightly.
manji Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 Hes a great example of our how we rewrite our clubs history. He was generally loathed by most fans. Whenever the team was read out at games his name he was booed. Just because hes played a lot of games for us and is a grade fan panderer he is now a "legend". He lost his right to be called a "legend" with his embarrasing rant against Cortese on Soccer AM or whatever it was just because Nicola had spilled some wine on his Carpetright **** pile. Now a fully paid up member of the "Dark Forces".
diggers Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 He Knows his way round a curry, that shows he's got skills..
Noodles34 Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 Hes a great example of our how we rewrite our clubs history. He was generally loathed by most fans. Whenever the team was read out at games his name he was booed. Just because hes played a lot of games for us and is a grade fan panderer he is now a "legend". He lost his right to be called a "legend" with his embarrasing rant against Cortese on Soccer AM or whatever it was just because Nicola had spilled some wine on his Carpetright **** pile. Now a fully paid up member of the "Dark Forces". That is a load of tosh. You are write that in the first stages of his career at a LB (remember he played for England Schoolboys as a forward), he wasn't very good (his distribution was abysmal at times), and people were dismayed when his name was read out... initially. It then came to pass that this man saw off any rival, man marked players like Ian Wright and Ian Rush out of games and spat red and white striped blood. Yeah, he wasn't the greatest, but compare his attitude to someone like Guly, Jesus, what i would give for the attitudes of 11 Frannys.
OfnPanad Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 Legend. Until this year the only player I paid to have on my shirt
ericb Posted 18 January, 2013 Posted 18 January, 2013 One of my favourite Franny memories was him launching the Portuguese winger (can't remember his name but was a bit of a one season wonder) into the stands at Upton Park. A typical "Franny challenge" where he got the ball by taking a limb off the winger! Oh and don't forget his beauty of an own goal, against Bolton i think but the memory isn't what it was, a diving header into the bottom corner leaving Timmy helpless. As for being sh.it i still stand by the fact that he was one of the best man markers i've seen at Saints, there was a reason he was often tasked with following people like Cantona around the pitch, and it wasn't cause he was a violent thug! Now OOOOH Terry Hurlock, there WAS a man that could make widows of wingers wives!
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