Meeting / experiences with Saints players

[Tamesaint]

21 minutes ago, scott_saints said:

Staplewood tours used to be a part of the young saints "football camp" type things - Mark Hughes just ignored all the kids waiting for autographs and walked past. Miserable git. Benali made up for it by spending loads of time with them all. Top bloke.

Saw Beattie saying "do you know who I am" in a restaurant once. Used to think too highly of himself.

Interesting. I remember meeting Hughes when he was a player after the Great Escape match at Wimbledon. He signed quite happily then - much to my nipper's delight.

[Give it to Ron]

I gave first aid to Brett Ormerods son at a football tournament after fell off a swing - nice chap.

Rickie Lambert came to my son’s football presentation stayed hours - still owes me a pint after I bought him one 🙂

[warsash saint]

Once had a piss in the toilets at the Sky Studios flanked by MLT & Paul Merson ... conversation was a bit awkward!

 

Also got told to shut by Alan Ball in the early 80's for talking during a junior football club presentation

Edited 24 July, 2020 by warsash saint

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Have met MLT a few times. Golf driving ranges, West Quay. Had a chat every time and really grounded, well spoken and mannered man. Got a lot of time for him. 
 

Met Ronald Koeman once. Chatted on and off over the course of two and a half hours with him and his wife. He was really friendly and was loving life at Saints at the time. I was certain he would stay for a while the way he was taking. Such a shame and the start of our downfall when he left. 
 

I’ve met Gareth Bale quite a few times and had long chats with him. This was going back about four or five years. Spoke really fondly of his Saints time and told me who of the academy lads he’s still friends/in contact with. Said at the time he would only return to play for Cardiff, but I doubt he saw then, how his time at RM would pan out, so who knows. Such a shame it’s gone the way it has. 
 

During my late teens/early 20’s we used to bump into Saints all over town on a regular basis.  Peter Crouch was always friendly even after a loss. 
 

Didn’t see as many out on the town during WGS’s era! 

Edited 24 July, 2020 by Behind Enemy Lines
Never met MLT at a gold range...

[Matthew Le God]

He is turning into the new David Icke!

Does he think road traffic accidents are contagious?

 

[Dell McDellFace]

Met a few in my time:

Did bob-a-job for Gerry Gurr once (cleaned his front porch)

Met Dennis Hollywood walking back to his car after a game at Chelsea. Happy to chat as we walked with him and his car was chock full of football magazines. Same game, the rest of the players were on the train back to Southampton and I was surprised how many were drinking and smoking. Talked to John McGrath and Docker (Dave Walker), both lovely guys.

Met Dennis Wise on holiday somewhere and he swore at my son when he asked him for a photo with him.

As someone else said Ken Monkou lived in Lightwater and was always happy to stop for a chat when walking his dog. Very intelligent guy.

My colleague lived next door to Colin Clark and I met him a couple of times. He was a lovely and slightly sensitive guy. He was very upset that he was getting chants about his weight - he thought that Saints fans were even doing it.

I won a holiday to Yugoslavia through a competition in the program (Yugotours were a sponsor) and was presented it on the pitch by Jimmy Case, another great guy who was happy to chat but struggled a bit because he was quite deaf and wasn't wearing his hearing aid.

[hypochondriac]

I reckon mlt is trolling a load of you on twitter and all you mugs are falling for it. Well played matt. 

[Matthew Le God]

3 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

I reckon mlt is trolling a load of you on twitter and all you mugs are falling for it. Well played matt. 

Sadly that is unlikely. He doesn't work on that many levels. Great footballer... terrible virologist and social commentator!

[hypochondriac]

Just now, Matthew Le God said:

Sadly that is unlikely. He doesn't work on that many levels. Great footballer... terrible virologist and social commentator!

Not unlikely at all. I'm fully supportive of matt hoodwinking you and living in your head 24/7 via twitter. Go Matt. 

[Mr Saints]

Spoke to Nigel Adkins once when we were in league one. He was exactly as he seems, plenty of cliches but hugely positive and friendly.

[beatlesaint]

6 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Not unlikely at all. I'm fully supportive of matt hoodwinking you and living in your head 24/7 via twitter. Go Matt. 

well hes succeeding cos hes trending on twitter where the common opinion is great footballer but absolute knob. 

As Official Club Ambassador I bet the powers that be at St Mary's are delighted by it 

[hypochondriac]

Just now, beatlesaint said:

well hes succeeding cos hes trending on twitter where the common opinion is great footballer but absolute knob. 

As Official Club Ambassador I bet the powers that be at St Mary's are delighted by it 

Probably worth pointing out to the club that twitter isn't real life. 

[Matthew Le God]

1 minute ago, hypochondriac said:

Probably worth pointing out to the club that twitter isn't real life. 

If it isn't 'real life' what is it? A dream?... the Matrix?... what?

[Ekelund24]

20 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

I reckon mlt is trolling a load of you on twitter and all you mugs are falling for it. Well played matt. 

He is winding people up, people don't think on Twitter they just rush in and try to be funny and insult others. 

 

5 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

If it isn't 'real life' what is it? A dream?... the Matrix?... what?

According to Twitter, Tom Hanks is dead and Obama eats babies, also Wayfair imports babies and sells them as cupboards!!

You can't claim it is entirely real life. 

[hypochondriac]

Just now, Ekelund24 said:

He is winding people up, people don't think on Twitter they just rush in and try to be funny and insult others. 

 

According to Twitter, Tom Hanks is dead and Obama eats babies, also Wayfair imports babies and sells them as cupboards!!

You can't claim it is entirely real life. 

Correct. 

[beatlesaint]

10 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Probably worth pointing out to the club that twitter isn't real life. 

oh so thats why a seemingly perfectly normal, decent person can turn into a twat on there is it ? ok whatever.

[Matthew Le God]

Just now, Ekelund24 said:

According to Twitter, Tom Hanks is dead and Obama eats babies, also Wayfair imports babies and sells them as cupboards!!

You can't claim it is entirely real life. 

Twitter has not said those things. People on Twitter have said those things. Le Tissier has a role representing the club.

[hypochondriac]

Just now, beatlesaint said:

oh so thats why a seemingly perfectly normal, decent person can turn into a twat on there is it ? ok whatever.

If you'd swallowed everything on twitter then someone like corbyn would have won the last election by a landslide and not been destroyed. There's now a well established history of people being surprised by things that happen in the real world because they get all their opinions from twitter and think that's somehow a reflection of real life. 

[beatlesaint]

Just now, hypochondriac said:

If you'd swallowed everything on twitter then someone like corbyn would have won the last election by a landslide and not been destroyed. There's now a well established history of people being surprised by things that happen in the real world because they get all their opinions from twitter and think that's somehow a reflection of real life. 

Its not a case of swallowing everything on twitter in the slightest. The truth is Le Tissier is saying these things, its not a fake account, its him. So brush it off as Twitter is shite but bottom line is he is typing his bizzare theories and has been since lockdown began back in March. Bloody hell he even had a twitter row with Benali's son, someone who has known him since he was a little kid. Thats beyond winding up the masses.   

[Ekelund24]

2 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Twitter has not said those things. People on Twitter have said those things. Le Tissier has a role representing the club.

If Twitter is quoted as the source then it has a responsibility to check the facts and close the accounts that have as it can be used as a media outlet (albeit Social Media)

If he has wound up a few bell ends on there I don't think it shows the club in a bad light. They are not the views of the clubs

[Ex Lion Tamer]

I went to school with Wayne Bridge. He was a couple of years older so my only memories are him winning the 100m at sports day and him kicking our ball over the fence one time.

I realise that makes him look bad so i'll say he didnt have a particular reputation as a bully or anything

[hypochondriac]

25 minutes ago, beatlesaint said:

Its not a case of swallowing everything on twitter in the slightest. The truth is Le Tissier is saying these things, its not a fake account, its him. So brush it off as Twitter is shite but bottom line is he is typing his bizzare theories and has been since lockdown began back in March. Bloody hell he even had a twitter row with Benali's son, someone who has known him since he was a little kid. Thats beyond winding up the masses.   

I know. Sad supporters on here have been going on and on about it for ages. Hilarious that people seem to care so much about what mlt says for a laugh on social media. Get a life. 

Edited 24 July, 2020 by hypochondriac

[LuckyNumber7]

I've met Le Tiss a couple of times and he's a lovely bloke. Really couldn't care less what he says on Twitter and not sure why anyone else would.

Once saw Delgado in La Margherita on a night out. Me and my mate went and said hi and shook his hand, but due to his lack of English there wasn't much conversation to be had!

Met and chatted with Paul Telfer a couple of years ago in a work capacity. When I told him I was a Saints fan he said I must really dislike him so he certainly had a sense of humour and was very down to earth. He was just off to do some coaching in the States.

[beatlesaint]

15 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Get a life. 

says someone with over 30,000 posts on a football forum 🙄

[hypochondriac]

2 minutes ago, beatlesaint said:

says someone with over 30,000 posts on a football forum 🙄

Yes works out about five posts a day on average which doesn't really take up much time at all but I enjoy posting on this forum. Infinitely preferable to obsessing over what mlt has decided to post on twitter that some of you are so fixated with. 

Edited 24 July, 2020 by hypochondriac

[beatlesaint]

2 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Yes works out about five posts a day on average which doesn't really take up much time at all but I enjoy posting on this forum. Infinitely preferable to obsessing over what mlt has decided to post on twitter that some of you are so fixated with. 

thats good, dont take it to heart, after all its a form of social media and nothing on social media is real 😁

[hypochondriac]

Just now, beatlesaint said:

thats good, dont take it to heart, after all its a form of social media and nothing on social media is real 😁

Odd thing for you to believe but go ahead. 

[Dorchester Saint]

I met Marian Pahars at Chessington World of Adventures around 2002 he was with his two kids so I just said “Hello Marian, I hope you’re fit again soon” he thanked me but seemed quite shy. 

[steve green]

It must've been around 1980 I was given free match tickets for most of the season in return for working in the players bar after the game. My sister's boyfriend's dad (keep up) was the head steward or something so we ended up running to and fro supplying the players with a steady supply of free liquid refreshment.

I met most of the 1st team at that time, all were polite and modest on the whole. Dave Watson's wife was a snob though, even the sight of me seemed to cause her pain. I do remember Rossi and Parfitt from Status Quo were their guests on one occasion. My most vivid memory was Ivan Golac, incredibly nice chap. He would sit with his silent spouse (built like a tank) drink his half a lager then quietly leave, always politely thanking me as he did so.

 

Players Bar eh? Different times indeed.

[NorthLondonSFC]

I was standing on a platform at Peterborough station waiting for a train back to Finsbury park after we beat them 3-1. It was quite late so there was only a few people on the Platform - one of them was Jack Cork. I was wearing colours (In my teens) so it was pretty obvious I was a Saints fan. We both looked at each other for a second. I walked over to talk to him and he turned his back to me and walked further up the platform.

Edited 24 July, 2020 by NorthLondonSFC
Spelling

[Fitzhugh Fella]

MLT is an utter gentleman, polite, helpful, courteous at all times etc etc etc but he has poor judgement at times. His backing of Pinnacle even after it was obvious to everyone else they were not genuine had the potential to scupper the Liebherr take over. Even now if you were brave enough to ask him he would insist their credentials were fine.

[Nordic Saint]

27 minutes ago, NorthLondonSFC said:

I was standing on a platform at Peterborough station waiting for a train back to Finsbury park after we beat them 3-1. It was quite late so there was only a few people on the Platform - one of them was Jack Cork. I was wearing colours (In my teens) so it was pretty obvious I was a Saints fan. We both looked at each other for a second. I walked over to talk to him and he turned his back to me and walked further up the platform.

   😄 He was obviously a man ahead of his time: practising social distancing long before the rest of us had even heard of it.

I've met a lot of Saints' players over the years and even knew a couple of them quite well. Mick Channon's sister-in-law was our next door neighbour and as he knew I was a Saints fan, he came round and offered me  free tickets in the Upper West Stand at the Dell but I said no thanks as I liked to stand behind the goal. He was very friendly though. Terry Gennoe lived in our street and I became quite friendly with him. The two of us celebrated Saints' League Cup semi-final together in the local pub. I knew Steve Moran quite well before he broke into Saints' first team. He was the teenage football superstar in the area but still a modest character. I met Alan Ball several times and my uncle chatted to him regularly, as they were neighbours. One of the times I met Alan Ball was in an Italian restaurant in Southampton, just after he'd become Pompey's manager. He was with John and Kevin Bond. We chatted about his new job and we all ended up singing OWTS. 

Edited 24 July, 2020 by Nordic Saint

[Badger]

33 minutes ago, Nordic Saint said:

  One of the times I met Alan Ball was in an Italian restaurant in Southampton, just after he'd become Pompey's manager. He was with John and Kevin Bond. We chatted about his new job and we all ended up singing OWTS. 

If only we'd had social media for that to be posted at the time... would have gone down well in Skatesville

Edited 24 July, 2020 by Badger

[ecuk268]

Met MLT at the launch of the first SFC website at the University. There were loads of Junior Saints there and he was very patient signing endless autographs.

Met Frannie at a funeral and Steve Baker in the local chippy. Also Mark Dennis in a local shop.

Chatted with Barry Horne on a train to Waterloo. He was off to Harley Street to get his knee looked at.

Had a long chat with Andrew Cowan about building St Marys and, to digress, met Eric Cantona while waiting for the Eurostar.

[SaintsLoyal]

48 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

MLT is an utter gentleman, polite, helpful, courteous at all times etc etc etc but he has poor judgement at times. His backing of Pinnacle even after it was obvious to everyone else they were not genuine had the potential to scupper the Liebherr take over. Even now if you were brave enough to ask him he would insist their credentials were fine.

He doesnt seem to realise hes trashing his reputation pumping out misleading misinformation from conspiracy theorists.

Damn shame and its all become an embarrassment for us fans.

For someone in the public eye like him you dont throw all your aces on the table at once and dont have to tell social media every grain of detail that you think.

 Looks like hes been mocked all day today on twitter as his name has been trending for hours.

 

 

[CB Fry]

MLT getting absolutely rinsed on twitter today. Twitter is not real life but it's disappointing to see him showing how he is spectacularly thick.

I'd worry that next time Sky Sports review their roster he might find himself elbowed. After all, London based media types that make these decisions are on Twitter.

[Turkish]

David Prutton goes to the same gym as me and is a decent enough chap,  his son is often there wearing a Saints top. We also have a mutual friend  he spends quite a bit of time with so get to hear some bits of info from them. He's just a normal bloke, normal house, car etc. Gareth Southgate is also a gym member and he is a very nice bloke,  spoken to my son a few times and always give me "the nod" when we see each other, two masters of their industry showing mutual respect. Another none Saints player is Danny Mills who plays at the same golf club as a i do and also owns the building my companies office is in,  he's not a bad guy either. Kenny Dalglish was at a business golf trip i was on in Spain a couple of years ago, again a perfectly decent guy.

In the past i've met quite a few saints players and generally they are sound, Mrs Turkish worked at the club for seven years so got to see a lot of them at her work dos or out and about round town. As others have said MLT and Frannie are lovely blokes, Hassan Kachloul was another really lovely fella. Kevin Davies, Gary Monk, Wayne Bridge, Mark Draper and Beattie used to go in the rhino a fair bit back in the day when i was in there a lot, Beattie was a bit of a bellend although i think he's grown up a bit since those day,  just a bit cocky and full of himself, the others were all pleasant enough. Had a great night drinking whisky with Jimmy Case, he was a good guy, just stood at the bar for a couple of hours chatting. 

I used to see Kevin Bond and Stuart Gray in the Corriander Lounge a lot when i lived in Southampton, both always friendly enough. Cortese was also a regular until he got banned and he was not. I think the nicest one i ever met (outside of MLT and Frannie) was Kevin Moore, he was a real gentlemen. When i was about 12 we did a school trip to the Dell and he was there doing some extra training, completely unprompted he signed some autographs and gave us a talk about what you need to do to be a pro football, that wasn't part of the day, we were meant to be just shown around by Alan Smith and one of the youth team but everyone loved it. 

Generally as long as you're not a weirdo stalker freak doing things like gawping at them in your saints shirt like nutcase and you dont go on and on, talking about tactics and money etc like some oddballs do then they are okay, they're just normal lads at the end of the day and dont really want to talk about work or be bothered by weirdos when they're relaxing, completely understandable. 

 

 

 

 

Edited 24 July, 2020 by Turkish

[The Cat]

Jimmy Case also used to hang out in the Alex a bit, normally looking scruffier than the students that drank in there. 

Mark Dennis was the regular postman who came to deliver parcels for a while when I worked at Nintendo and would always be up Northlands Road watching the cricket after work. Seemed a decent chap. 

When my son was about 3 he got told off by Beattie in a lift in West Quay for crying about the colour of the balloon he had, haha. 

[hypochondriac]

3 hours ago, SaintsLoyal said:

He doesnt seem to realise hes trashing his reputation pumping out misleading misinformation from conspiracy theorists.

Damn shame and its all become an embarrassment for us fans.

For someone in the public eye like him you dont throw all your aces on the table at once and dont have to tell social media every grain of detail that you think.

 Looks like hes been mocked all day today on twitter as his name has been trending for hours.

 

 

No he isn't. 

[benjii]

3 hours ago, Turkish said:

David Prutton goes to the same gym as me and is a decent enough chap,  his son is often there wearing a Saints top. We also have a mutual friend  he spends quite a bit of time with so get to hear some bits of info from them. He's just a normal bloke, normal house, car etc. Gareth Southgate is also a gym member and he is a very nice bloke,  spoken to my son a few times and always give me "the nod" when we see each other, two masters of their industry showing mutual respect. Another none Saints player is Danny Mills who plays at the same golf club as a i do and also owns the building my companies office is in,  he's not a bad guy either. Kenny Dalglish was at a business golf trip i was on in Spain a couple of years ago, again a perfectly decent guy.

In the past i've met quite a few saints players and generally they are sound, Mrs Turkish worked at the club for seven years so got to see a lot of them at her work dos or out and about round town. As others have said MLT and Frannie are lovely blokes, Hassan Kachloul was another really lovely fella. Kevin Davies, Gary Monk, Wayne Bridge, Mark Draper and Beattie used to go in the rhino a fair bit back in the day when i was in there a lot, Beattie was a bit of a bellend although i think he's grown up a bit since those day,  just a bit cocky and full of himself, the others were all pleasant enough. Had a great night drinking whisky with Jimmy Case, he was a good guy, just stood at the bar for a couple of hours chatting. 

I used to see Kevin Bond and Stuart Gray in the Corriander Lounge a lot when i lived in Southampton, both always friendly enough. Cortese was also a regular until he got banned and he was not. I think the nicest one i ever met (outside of MLT and Frannie) was Kevin Moore, he was a real gentlemen. When i was about 12 we did a school trip to the Dell and he was there doing some extra training, completely unprompted he signed some autographs and gave us a talk about what you need to do to be a pro football, that wasn't part of the day, we were meant to be just shown around by Alan Smith and one of the youth team but everyone loved it. 

Generally as long as you're not a weirdo stalker freak doing things like gawping at them in your saints shirt like nutcase and you dont go on and on, talking about tactics and money etc like some oddballs do then they are okay, they're just normal lads at the end of the day and dont really want to talk about work or be bothered by weirdos when they're relaxing, completely understandable. 

 

 

 

 

You just reminded me that I met Prutton in a casino once and he was very nice.

[benjii]

I've also just remembered I bumped into Jan Poortvliet and he was also a nice bloke.

That episode gets more mental the more you think about it.  Anyone remember the mysterious European chap with the glasses who seemed to be advising Lowe at the times?

[whelk]

4 hours ago, The Cat said:

Jimmy Case also used to hang out in the Alex a bit, normally looking scruffier than the students that drank in there. 

Mark Dennis was the regular postman who came to deliver parcels for a while when I worked at Nintendo and would always be up Northlands Road watching the cricket after work. Seemed a decent chap. 

When my son was about 3 he got told off by Beattie in a lift in West Quay for crying about the colour of the balloon he had, haha. 

Mark Dennis must have had some therapy then. Was always a psycho pikey

[whelk]

I always thought this place was full of oldies on Desktop computers but hey everyone is on Twitter looking at whats trending. Get over to TikTok kiddos 

[hypochondriac]

I was collecting for charity outside the ground once and Leon Crouch put a load of money in my bucket. Legend. 

[Turkish]

8 hours ago, NorthLondonSFC said:

I was standing on a platform at Peterborough station waiting for a train back to Finsbury park after we beat them 3-1. It was quite late so there was only a few people on the Platform - one of them was Jack Cork. I was wearing colours (In my teens) so it was pretty obvious I was a Saints fan. We both looked at each other for a second. I walked over to talk to him and he turned his back to me and walked further up the platform.

I’m not at all surprised. I’ve seen the state of our fans at train stations and I tend to avoid them as well. 

Edited 24 July, 2020 by Turkish

[Behind Enemy Lines]

8 minutes ago, Turkish said:

I’m not at all surprised. I’ve seen the state of our fans at train stations and I tend to avoid them as well. 

No judgement zone? 😂

[Matthew Le God]

18 minutes ago, Turkish said:

I’m not at all surprised. I’ve seen the state of our fans at train stations and I tend to avoid them as well. 

Yet again... making judgements despite what your avatar claims! 🤔

[View From The Top]

Alan Ball was a friend of my late fathers and was one of the nicest fellas you could ever wish to meet but I was always rather starstruck as a lad.

Hughie Fisher too, for those old enough to remember him, was a great bloke, also a friend of my dads.

Andrew Surman and his wife and friends and neighbours of my sister. He's a good bloke too.

Of the non Saints players I've met over the years then Matt Murray is an utter gent and Brian Little, who I got to know quite well as our lads played football together. He's just a dead nice, honest fella.

I have, for my sins, spent quite a lot of time at Stoke in recent years and Peter Crouch and Jack Butland and good value. Butland does loads in the community, even when he doesn't have to. He chooses to do it and I admire him for that. 

 

[rallyboy]

It's nice to read that most people have had positive experiences and the majority of players over the years have been fairly sensible.

A few decades back I had a workman round and he was telling me about doing work at Nick Holmes' place.

He said that Nick was big-headed, arrogant, and was just banging on about how great he was.

Which immediately told me that the workman was full of shit - because Nick was a lovely bloke and the last one in that team to come across like that.

As an aside, I worked with Steven Gerrard briefly and we were in an area which was crowd-free, just me and him.

I politely (always important) asked him to sign something for, which he did without hesitation, as I thanked him and congratulated him on some recent triumph.

But we were together for maybe two minutes and in that time he didn't respond or utter a single word, just quietly signed, and ignored me, it was a bit unusual....

I've also witnessed some appalling behaviour from the general public towards celebs so I can understand why some forget their role and treat people with disdain.

 

[Lord Duckhunter]

On 24/07/2020 at 08:03, hypochondriac said:

 

Have met Peter Rodrigues at games and he's a very sweet old man. 

 

A couple of years ago he was staying at a holiday park in Wareham and used to go in a pub my daughter worked in. believe he stayed regularly over the past few years as the landlord knew him quite well. I was in there with the SD, & the landlord knowing I was a saints fans introduced him to me. He said the most amazing & humble thing a famous person could say to a fan, “ if you’ve got a minute we could have a  chat”, he said this to ME...... If I had a minute!!!! me a nobody, I had all day to talk Saints with a legend.
 

We had a brief chat, as you say, lovely man.