david in sweden Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 (edited) with Billy Sharp's departure, he can be added to the list of " bit-part heroes", who have saved the day for Saints in the last 50 years of Saints history. Come the day, come the hero(es). in the 1965/66 promotion season, reserve striker Norman Dean came good in his only season in the first team, when he netted 11 goals in 18 starts (which included a hat-trick at Fratton Park - something no other Saints player has ever achieved)..and Saints were promoted to the First Division (read Prem.) for the first time. But luck finally ran out for Norman, when Saints manager Ted Bates signed another striker in the close season from Norwich - Ron Davies) After a relegation, Saints were promoted back up again in 1977/78, and the hero was young striker Tony Funnell. Drafted in by Lawrie McMenemy for the final run-in ; Tony came off the bench to score twice to beat C.Palace at the Dell and ended the season with 8 goals from just 11 starts. The following season Ted Mac Dougall hit top form and there were few chances for a disappointed Tony moved onto the pastures new. Micky Evans move from Plymouth in 1997, was short-lived but priceless in terms of his input. He scored twice in the away fixture at Notts Forest and two further strikes in the home games v West Ham and Coventry. Saints stayed up by the slimmest of margins, but the soon to depart Evans has done his job in just 8 games. Who will ever forget the "Great Escape " season 1998/99. Saints were dead and buried and on their way down (according to the media and most neutrals,) but Saints fans even had " Great Escape " tea shirts printed in an effort to see us stay up, and success came in the form of the diminutive Latvian Marian Pahars. Dubbed by fans " the Latvian Michael Owen " he came off the bench to grab the third vital goal in the 3-3 draw v Blackburn, and finally saved the day in the last game when he scored both goals in beating Everton 2-0 at The Dell. (3 goals in 4 games and a sub app.) Which is precisely where we came to with Billy. (Nigel Adkins favourite from his former clubs), many fans suggested Billy wasn't even good enough to move to the top of the Championship, after playing with struggling Doncaster at the bottom, but Billy turned up trumps with 8 goals in the last 8 games - just at the time that the normally dependable Ricky Lambert was going through the worst goal drought in his Saints' career. Few would have suggested that Billy was real Premier League material, but he was there when it mattered when to came to promotion. Good luck Bill, but just as long as Saints don't draw Leeds in a Cup competition ! Edited 15 August, 2014 by david in sweden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadesmith Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Marian didn't really play a bit-part for us he scored 43 goals in 143 games. He was my sons hero for about 7 years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldNick Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Shamefully I cant remember his name but we had a forward who scored a few goals for us and moved to Plymouth. he scored a couple in a vital away game at Forest.Also a brave goal against WHU, would have been in the 90's...ive just remembered Mickey Evans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldskoolsi Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Richard Wright Maik Taylor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintSeb Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Interesting info re: Norman Dean; as a younger fan I had barely heard of him so had no idea he held such a prestigious record! I wonder who the second player to score a hat-trick for us at Nottarf? No that any will get the chance for a while but for a fateful cup draw one would think... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Micky Evans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZebadeeRust Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Ronnie Ekelund Jason St Juste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katalinic Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Jonno Quick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Jonathan Forte with his goals against MK Dons, a turning point during the season, I think he scored 2 last weekend and got MOM for Oldham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalek2003 Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Bobby Stokes....for that goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pancake Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Christian Dailly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingsland Codger Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Kasey Keller - not that he contributed much in our 2004-2005 relegation season (he was an emergency keeper and only played 4 times) but he made 'that save' from a Matty Taylor point-blank blast in the last couple of minutes to ensure an all-too-rare victory. Since it was against you-know-who, the save and the victory was all the sweeter and has ensured his immortality at St Mary's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Crab Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Matthew Le Tissier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cellone Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Vignal on his second stint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 (edited) Theo Walcott. Thirteen total League starts for Saints. The only thing that made August-December 2005 even remotely watchable. Dale Stephens and Oscar Gobern - bit part players at the critical end of the L1 Promotion season, when the midfield had a few injury and suspension concerns. Gobern played in the win at Brighton of his 5 league starts for Saints (and of course there was his tackle at Bournemouth), Stephens played 90 minutes in the crucial win at Plymouth of his 5 starts for Saints (bizarrely I've just noticed that Palace's Yannick Bolasie scored for Plymouth that day). Edited 15 August, 2014 by The9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eesti matty Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Chris Lucketti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Saint Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Vignal on his second stint. Wasn't he the chap who took a free kick from near the angle of the sideline and the center line and it went straight in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Chris Lucketti Great shout, helped drag us to safety in Championship and only 4 appearances in 2007/8 (1W 2D 1L). Ditto Richard Wright, 7 appearances in a similar timescale with him in goal. W2 D3 L2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Did anyone remember Billy Sharp actually played for Sheffield United against us in that last match of the season when we stayed up in the Championship? Weird fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pap Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Jonno Quick Jonathan Forte with his goals against MK Dons, a turning point during the season, I think he scored 2 last weekend and got MOM for Oldham Was in the Irish office alone listening to this game over Internet radio. Didn't see the goals, just heard them go in; still a top moment. Can't remember him doing anything before or since. The footballer equivalent of a disposable barbecue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Was in the Irish office alone listening to this game over Internet radio. Didn't see the goals, just heard them go in; still a top moment. Can't remember him doing anything before or since. The footballer equivalent of a disposable barbecue. That's because he didn't, for Saints. Though thanks to last weekend's 2 goals for Oldham, he is currently the joint top scorer in L1 this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesfp1 Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Without that brace from Jonno Quick against MK Dons we could still be in league one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katalinic Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Was in the Irish office alone listening to this game over Internet radio. Didn't see the goals, just heard them go in; still a top moment. Can't remember him doing anything before or since. The footballer equivalent of a disposable barbecue. Lol brilliant analogy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pap Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 That's because he didn't, for Saints. Though thanks to last weekend's 2 goals for Oldham, he is currently the joint top scorer in L1 this season. Well I wish him well. Thanks to the journey up and down the years, there have been a lot of players to make a "temporary" impact before being deemed surplus to requirements. I'll remember the likes of Harding, Hammond and especially Sharp fondly. It's a testament to the club that we rose too fast to accommodate players like Forte any longer than we did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnsie Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Chris Lucketti for sure - his old timers partnership with Perry kept us up under Pearson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Chris Lucketti for sure - his old timers partnership with Perry kept us up under Pearson I remember the panic well when we realised he wouldn't be playing against Sheffield United in the last match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St.Jeweller Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Kasey Keller, we beat the skates at St Marys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jawillwill Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Jhon Viafara for about 5 minutes during the play off semi final. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Jhon Viafara for about 5 minutes during the play off semi final. How about that time he smashed his teeth out conceding a corner in front of the Northam and carried on to head it away? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 15 August, 2014 Author Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Marian didn't really play a bit-part for us he scored 43 goals in 143 games. He was my sons hero for about 7 years! of course, and I didn't mean to suggest otherwise, it was just that he arrived so late that season and his contribution alone kept us up. Shame he got that terrible injury and he never quite recovered afterwards....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Ricardo Fuller. His striking contribution after Burley joined was enough to stop us falling out of the Championship in our first season down. A capable player, unfairly maligned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldskoolsi Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Henri Camara nearly was Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintwbu Posted 15 August, 2014 Share Posted 15 August, 2014 Ricardo Fuller. His striking contribution after Burley joined was enough to stop us falling out of the Championship in our first season down. A capable player, unfairly maligned. That stint caused me to buy the entire new away kit with his name on the back for around £70, only for him to leave a week later. Ah, football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 16 August, 2014 Author Share Posted 16 August, 2014 Interesting info re: Norman Dean; as a younger fan I had barely heard of him so had no idea he held such a prestigious record! I wonder who the second player to score a hat-trick for us at Nottarf? No that any will get the chance for a while but for a fateful cup draw one would think... Norman Dean and Martin Chivers came through the Reserves in the early 1960's and whilst Chivers got to the first team that bit sooner, their time together in " The Stiffs " was very productive goalwise. In their first two seasons, they netted nearly 70 goals between them, but it shows that - even back then - a good player doesn't always get the lucky breaks, especially when someone else gets the shirt. The story of " Norman's big season" also parallels the " Sharp / Lambert " story (quoted in the OP). Chivers was in fantastic form that promotion season and netted 30 goals in the first 29 games, but then suffered a terrible goal-drought and failed to find the net in the remaining 13 matches (!) .....which meant that Norman's contribution was even more valuable that it may have seemed at the time. The real irony of this tale is that Norman Dean also had the misfortune to be challenging for a first team place, at the same time as another emerging talent ...a young Wiltshire lad called ..Mick Channon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now