‘I told the players to sicken him with the ball because he is special. I told the others, “I know he is special and you know he is special” so they had to make sure they gave him the ball at every opportunity and “sicken him with it”—that was the key phrase. I said if he collapsed with exhaustion then Bally and I would walk on and carry him off. Then we worked on some set-pieces—two of which came off the next day at Newcastle. It was a great start and the beginning of a terrific run. Matt really enjoyed his football under Alan, who was his type of coach. He concentrated on ability, touch and vision far more than running which suited Matt down to the ground.
It’s a bit of a myth that we had as many offers for Matt as the press made out, but that was probably because clubs knew he was happy at Southampton. I remember the Chelsea director Matthew Harding once doing an interview in a national newspaper extolling the virtues of Matt and how he would love to have him. At a charity lunch he was collecting autographs and, as I signed his book, I said, “Can I give you a tip about being a director? Don’t tap up other people’s players in public.” I did it tongue-in-cheek but he was slightly embarrassed. I said, “If you like him so much I suggest you come to Southampton with a cheque for £7m and put it into our club then you can watch him every week.” He said that if he did that he’d have to rename the club Chelsea-on-Sea. At the end of the lunch he handed me a cheque for £7m made payable to Chelsea-on-Sea. I still have it.
I signed Matt as schoolboy after we got a call from a schoolteacher one day. He had brought a group of kids over from Guernsey. They had a few hours to kill so he asked if he could bring the kids to The Dell. I said yes and afterwards he wrote to thank me for the hospitality and said if there was anything he could ever do then to let him know. I wrote back and said if he ever had any promising players then he should let me know. The result was he sent over Matt and Graeme Le Saux. Graeme was homesick, which tended to be a feature of youngsters coming over from the Channel Islands. Matt is a very family-orientated man, very laid-back, grounded, down-to-earth and loyal, and that had a lot to do with him staying here.
Graeme eventually signed for Chelsea while Matt joined Southampton. By the time I returned to the club as Director of Football, Matt was an established top-quality player. He should have won more caps on ability—but you have to work closely with him to realize that. Having been an international manager, I can see both sides. If you only saw Matt now and again—and England managers only really saw him when Southampton were playing away to the big clubs—then it was hard to get the full picture of what he could do. But he had supreme natural ability and great self-belief.’
‘Matt was the jewel in a side full of great spirit. A lot of us weren’t the most talented and got by on work-rate, but he had the most unbelievable talent. Before training Francis Benali and I would go out early and do all the right stretches to warm up. Then, at one minute before 10am, Tiss would amble out of the dressing room looking as though he was off down the park for a kick about. Every day I would throw the ball to him out as he crossed the touchline and challenge him to hit the crossbar from there. And about eight times out of 10 he’d do it.
He really enjoyed his football. I remember one night when we’d both been dropped into the Reserves and a lot of players would not have fancied it. I remember flicking the ball for him to run clean through and, as the keeper came out, Matt flicked his head as though he was going to nod the ball at goal. The keeper bought it and dived only for Matt to chest the ball down and calmly roll it in the net. He just laughed.
He was a magnificent finisher but didn’t care if he missed. It never affected him or dented his immense self-belief. He was a big character who used to love the banter and having the mickey taken out of him. We had some hard drinkers in that team but he was quite happy with his Malibu.
Matt was very much a team player, though he isn’t given enough credit for that. Even when he scored a spectacular goal, he always gave credit for the assist. Everyone remembers the stunner he got against Newcastle; I gave him a crap flick-on but he made it good. The ball dropped behind him but he dug it out and scored a very special goal. He was the only player who could have a packet of crisps and a can of Coke on the way to a game and still be magnificent.
I have been fortunate to play with, and against, some top players in my time but I have never seen anyone strike a ball like him. Alan Shearer had unbelievable power but in terms of skill Matt was the most natural striker of a ball I have ever seen. He was second to none. It was almost like a golf shot off the tee because he’d hit the ball with bend and whip. He was also a good athlete. He could run well; he just chose not to.’
‘A lot of fans thought I didn’t appreciate Matt’s ability—that couldn’t be further from the truth. He is one of the most talented players I ever worked with. I just wanted him to work harder, not just for Southampton but for himself.
People would compare him with Alan Shearer. Matt had far more skill but Alan’s work-rate was incredible. He was a fantastic example and would put in so much effort chasing and closing down to defend as well as leading from the front. You have to ask why didn’t the top managers take Matt? Great players play for great clubs. I never had too many enquiries about him when I was manager.
I don’t have any regrets about the way I handled Matt, but if I had known then what I know now I would have played him in a different position. Part of the problem with Matt was that no-one knew what was his best position, and I think that was one of the things which stopped him winning as many England caps as his talent deserved. He was being played on the wing when I arrived at the club so I kept him there, but it wasn’t his strength. He was never going to provide any protection for the full back who must have hated having him in front of them. In hindsight I should have played him just off Alan Shearer playing more of a 4-4-1-1 formation. We could have got away with it because of Alan’s phenomenal work-rate which would have compensated for Matt.
I wouldn’t have built the team around him but I would have given him more of a free role. As long as you have 10 other players working hard you can get away with it. I did have players like Glenn Cockerill and Terry Hurlock coming to me complaining about Matt’s lack of effort and saying they were working their socks off while he wasn’t putting it in. That gave me a problem because they were honest lads and that was one reason I left him out before the Newcastle game.
Contrary to what he might think, I wasn’t going to sub him just before he scored that great goal and I was delighted that the kick up the backside had worked. As a character I had no problems with him at all. I just questioned his work-rate and ambition. Matt is a smashing lad and he chose to stay at Southampton where he knew he would be a regular and it was close to the Channel Islands. I think his upbringing had a huge effect on his character and, in many ways, he did well to break away and to establish himself as a top player. He had a very successful career and is still a big hero in and around Southampton. That was his choice and I can’t blame him for that.
I liked Matt as a person, there are a lot worse than him around. He was an intelligent lad, a nice lad—we just had very different ideas on the way the game should be played. He is bright and articulate with a good sense of humour which you can see on Sky Sports. That is the perfect job for him because it doesn’t require him to move. I was just frustrated that he had so much talent. I wanted him to play for England and to fulfil his potential. You don’t get a second chance in football, and I wanted him to be as big in the game as he could possibly be.
I do wonder if he ever regrets not doing what Shearer did, moving away to test himself at the top? I was desperately disappointed when the board decided to sell Shearer as I would have loved to have played them both together. I had no choice in the matter although I still smile at an approach from Manchester United. We had played them towards the end of the season on a Thursday night. They won 1-0 and at full time I went to shake Sir Alex Ferguson’s hand and he told me to eff off as he didn’t like the way we played. A few weeks later he rang me up wanting to buy Shearer. I said, “Alex, you remember what you said to me last time we met? Now you can eff off.” And we sold him to Blackburn.’
‘I always prided myself on my fitness, which I got because of Tiss. A lot of managers wanted to play him wide, to get him out of the way. That meant he was often playing in front of me on the left. Players would give him the ball and I would go flying past him on the over-lap. He used me as a decoy and would go on a run with the ball, and then I’d have to go chasing back.
He had fantastic natural ability, but he did practice as well. He worked at those skills to hone and perfect them. I remember Ian Bran-foot used to make us practice set-pieces for hours on a Friday. He’d make Matt take corners in a certain way and Tiss did everything he asked, raising an arm if it was going short or placing the ball down twice if it was going long or whatever code we had developed. And then on the Saturday he’d completely ignore all those instructions and shoot from the corner flag. He always reckoned he could score from a corner and he actually did it a few times. Now I am a manager that would drive me absolutely mad. But that was Tiss. He had such confidence in his ability to put the ball exactly where he wanted. If we got a penalty he would ask which bit of the net we wanted him to hit—and he always did it. He was the best player I ever saw, that’s for sure. His control and touch were unbelievable—but he did work at them.
He showed amazing loyalty by staying when he could have made a lot more money by moving. Southampton would have been relegated many years earlier if it hadn’t been for him. Fans might not like me saying this but I believe he should have left. I think it suited his home life at that time because there was a nice flight from Southampton to Guernsey for him and his wife. I know he had numerous offers to leave the club but I don’t think his wife wanted him to move. He enjoyed being in Southampton and it suited him, but I would like to have seen him test himself and have a real go at it at a bigger club. He would certainly have won more England caps.
I believe he was stitched up when Terry Venables picked him to play in the ill-fated game in Ireland. I think he thought it would be a physical game against a robust side, probably in the wind and rain and on long grass. And I think he thought Matt wouldn’t fancy it. He was under a fair bit of pressure to play Matt so I think he picked that match deliberately, setting him up to fail. That way he could say he had given him his chance and he could then leave Matt out. As it turned out the game was abandoned early on because of crowd trouble so no one really got a chance to show what they could do—yet Matt wasn’t even in the next squad.
There were times when he was a liability and I know Ian Branfoot got frustrated with him but, as players, we always forgave him because we knew he would get us a win bonus. At some point he would score a goal out of nothing and win us a match we didn’t expect to because he could do things no one else could do.’
‘I have won a Premiership medal, played for England and had a fairly decent career. But all anyone ever asks me about is THAT goal, the one that got Matt the 1994-95 BBC Goal of the Season at Ewood Park.
It was a complete fluke. I’m sure he was trying to chip a pass for someone else. I knew as soon as he hit it that I wasn’t getting near it. My heart sank as the ball flew in. I was devastated because I knew he would never let me forget it—and sure enough I looked up from the bottom of the net to see him abusing me from the halfway line. Even now, half his after-dinner speech is about that goal. That’s why I have saved my win bonus from the game just to remind him who came out on top.
But I don’t feel bad because he could beat any goalkeeper from anywhere. Some forwards you know will hit the ball with pace or bend but, with Tiss, you never knew what was coming. He could do you with any type of shot from the most powerful strike to a delicate chip, as Peter Schmeichel found out to his cost. To beat someone of 6ft 4in requires phenomenal skill. And his dead-ball delivery was tremendously accurate and he really should have played for England many more times than he did.
In fact he could do anything with any kind of ball—tennis, golf, cricket or snooker. He used to take me to the 147 Club and, in the end, I bought a pair of white gloves so I could dust the balls down while he potted them. He didn’t get to beat me at golf too often, simply because I never played. I have never been able to play that game so I just used to carry the bags on pre-season tours. I was persuaded to play once and as I drove off at the first tee the ball exploded. Tiss had swapped it for a trick one filled with talcum powder. I should have guessed with seven players all crowding round to watch me hit it. It frightened the life out of me while Tiss fell about laughing.
We got on really well. I enjoyed his company even though he was a bit of a weirdo. While everyone else was on the beer, he would be happy with a Coke. Some people can tell a wine by sniffing it, he could do the same with cola. He could tell by smelling it whether it was Coca-Cola or Pepsi or own brand or, God forbid, diet.
Diet wasn’t something he cared about. Before training he used to have a sausage and egg McMuffin, and still used to beat me from outrageous distances. I have no idea how he ate what he did and still play at the highest level. He should leave his body to medical science, or maybe just melt it down for chip fat.
He actually eats less now than he did when he was playing. Maybe it is a trick of the television cameras but he looks slimmer on Sky’s Soccer Saturday. And it is good to see that Just For Men is working. I am not surprised he has been such a success on that show because he has always been funny and eloquent and spoken a lot of sense—one of the few who does on that panel. He is honest and open and speaks his mind, and he has a lot to say. I’d never tell him but he is a real top man.’
‘Matt is the greatest player I have ever seen in a Saints shirt. I have been watching the club since 1964 and I have seen some magnificent players including Kevin Keegan, Mike Channon, Alan Ball, Peter Osgood, Frank Worthington, Terry Paine and many more. They were greats but Tiss was the best. I have never seen anyone dribble or pass or shoot like he did. He was the best crowd-pleaser of his generation.
If I went to a game and he got injured, I felt like going home. I only ever used to watch him. He has given me more pleasure than anyone else on earth—in a manly way. I would pay anything to see him play again now. He consistently kept Saints in the Premier League playing in what was often an average team. And you wouldn’t get his kind of loyalty now—it was unusual even then. I was with him on several occasions when he was offered big money to leave but he turned it down, time after time, to stay with Southampton.
As a business partner he was a mathematical genius. Unfortunately I always came bottom at maths which is why the nightclub went down the pan. Quite genuinely, he has said if he hadn’t been a footballer then he would probably have been an accountant. Maybe he should have been keeping an eye on the books at St Mary’s?’
‘He calls me thick? Well, how’s this? I had a big white Mitsubishi car which he nicknamed “The Ambulance” because that is what it looked like. I used to drive him from The Dell to the bookies at Bedford Place where we would place our bets. One day I had finished putting my bets on so I went to wait in the car. He came out and jumped in only to find it was the wrong one, and he was sitting alongside a very startled man with his wife and baby.
But he was an unbelievable player. Before I signed for Southampton I used to watch him on television and wonder if his goals were flukes—until I saw him do it day after day in training. He was a great player and a great character. He wasn’t big-time in any way. When I signed, he was the first one to come up and introduce himself and look after me.’
‘Goal-scoring was not my strong point so Heaven knows what possessed Matt to pick me out with that cross [against Leicester, in December 1997, for my only league goal]. Maybe he thought on the law of averages I had to score sooner or later. But it was really nice that he was the one to set up my one and only goal because we had come through the ranks together.
He was an inspiration to the rest of the youth team because he pretty much leapfrogged the Reserves and went straight to the first team which showed that it could be done. We had a strong youth setup at the time and he paved the way for others to follow. You could see even then that he was a bit special. He could do things which none of us could get near, no matter how hard we practised. He was an awesome player and I felt very privileged to be his teammate over many years and to see up close his special talent. He was a massive part of the club’s success in staying in the Premier League for so long. As the title of his DVD says, he was Unbelievable. He never used to score tap-ins—just spectacular strikes.
I cannot speak highly enough of him as a player or as a person because he had no airs and graces. He really mucked in and did his bit for the community and was always the first one to put himself forward when a presentation needed doing. He is a fantastic person and someone I have an awful lot of time for. He was a top player with wonderful ability—and a good friend.’
‘I grew up in Blackburn and supported them as a kid so I was in the stands the day Matt beat Tim Flowers from 35 yards. The goal might have been against my team but I couldn’t help applauding—along with the rest of the crowd. It was that good.
His DVD was called Unbelievable and rightly so because that’s what he was. His skill, touch and finishing were second to none in games and in training. It was ridiculous what he could do with a ball. I was delighted when I found out I was going to be playing alongside him, even though he was just starting to dip past his prime. He had pigeon-vision because he saw things so quickly. I knew if I made a run then he’d spot it and find me because he had the ability to put the ball wherever he wanted. I would love to have had more time alongside him, and I am proud to have played a part in him scoring the last ever goal at The Dell.
Matt was different class not just as a teammate but as a friend. He has that great ability to laugh at himself and not care what anyone else thinks of him.’
‘Matt is the most gifted player I have ever worked with. He did things in training that left you wondering how on earth he did it. If he had worked a bit harder on his fitness then he might have been an even better player.
People say he might not have been the same if he didn’t have that laid-back, devil-may-care approach. That might be true—but he might also have gone on to become one of the all-time greats. We’ll never know.
I remember we had a cup-tie at Brentford and it came in the middle of a very crowded fixture programme so I told him if he scored me a couple of goals, I would take him off for a rest. He promptly banged in two in the first 20 minutes—and asked to come off!
He didn’t look like your typical footballer—and I did ask for the stripes on our new kit to be made narrower so they suited him better. He could never have played for a team which wore hoops—especially if they were sponsored by Dunlop.
I perhaps didn’t pick him as much as some people would have liked because he was coming towards the end of his career and was starting to pick up a few knocks and, unfortunately, I was the manager who perhaps pushed him towards the end of his career.
I’d love to have managed him at his peak because he was an icon to the club. I enjoyed having him around the place because he is a great character and now a good friend.’
‘Only Matt could have scored that last goal at The Dell. I don’t think any of the other players would have been capable of finishing that chance the way he did. And it was so fitting that he got it. But it wasn’t sentiment that made me put him on. It was for a very specific purpose. I told him I wanted him to play as far forward as possible—and told him if he came back over the half-way line, I’d take him off. That must have been music to his ears.
When he put the ball in the net to give us a 3-2 win, I have never heard a noise like it. Dennis Rofe and I were half-way to the centre circle celebrating. It was a privilege just to be there for such a special moment. It still makes the hairs stand up on the back of the neck just thinking about it.
I had the privilege of playing alongside him and managing him, and he was an incredible talent, the most gifted player I ever worked or played with. I would stand looking in wonder at some of the things he did in training. He didn’t like the physical side but he knew he had to do it because he couldn’t rely solely on his amazing skill. To be fair, he was never one to miss training and often would embarrass his teammates with a finishing session. It might take them six or seven attempts to hit the target while he would do it every time. What he did for the club was fantastic, not just on the field but with his great loyalty. Even now, you can still see his passion for the club on Sky.
I felt for him when he was left out of the World Cup squad after he had got that hat-trick for the England B team. You see Fabio Capello picking David Beckham because of the quality of his set-plays and Matt is very much in the same vein. If you got a free kick anywhere near the 18 yard box, you knew it would go in or, at worst, hit the woodwork.
As a teammate, I was happy to be one of those who did his running for him because we knew if we could get the ball to him, he’d win the game for us—as he proved in that last match at The Dell.’
‘My goal [in Saints’ last home match against Newcastle, in Matt’s final season] was probably the sort Matt would have scored, only he’d have done it 10 times better and with more style. And people would have known he meant it. That probably should have been his moment because the plan was for him to come off the bench and it would have been a great way to finish his career.
I wish I had met and played with Tiss when he was in his prime because he was a fantastic player. He was in his last season when I joined Southampton but, even then, the things he did in training took the breath away. I have played a lot of golf with him and he is a top man off the field too. My only disappointment is that I didn’t see him at his best.’
‘Matt is a joy to work with in every respect. Being a football pundit may look easy but it is bloody difficult to find someone who has all the right qualities, but he fits the bill perfectly.
He came in as a direct replacement for Rodney Marsh who had been the kingpin of the show—spiky, opinionated and full of himself, which was just what we wanted. Matt had to fill his boots which was a tall order—but he did it just by being himself. He was still opinionated and still funny, but his humour was much more subtle. We had a few teething troubles in terms of his appearance. He came in looking like Worzel Gummidge dressed by a charity shop. The managing director personally went into Richmond to buy him some new shirts and ties—and after a couple of weeks Matt discarded them because he looked even worse dressed like that.
But the great thing about Tiss is that he can laugh at himself and he does not mind people poking fun at him about his work-rate as a player, his dress sense and his taste in music. He doesn’t care what people think about him. He’s very stubborn and refuses to change. We have a cast-iron rule that mobile phones are completely banned in the studio, even if they are on silent. But he always has his on. On one occasion there had been a lot of transfer speculation about James Beattie and Matt was fiddling under the desk as I got to him. I asked what he was doing and he said he was texting Beatts to see what he should say. I asked what the reply was and he said, “Tell them Eff all.”
But Matt gets away with it because of the character he is. He slots perfectly into the panel because he does not mind setting himself up to be mocked. It was the same when he revealed that he likes Shakin’ Stevens—that’s the singer not a hobby, by the way! I once said that West Brom hadn’t won old Trafford since 1984 when Shakin’ Stevens was Number One with ‘This Ol’ House’. Matt said, “I think you’ll find it was 1981.” I checked and, of course, he was right so I asked how he knew and he admitted that it was the first record he ever bought, and that he had seen Shaky in concert several times. He knew we’d give him merciless stick for that but he was up for it because he knew it would make good television.
The chemistry of the panel is so important and the others regard him as a mate. If they don’t like you then you won’t be coming back too often, but they all get on well with him. They like him as a person, respect his opinions and, of course, they admired him as a player. We have tried a lot of ex-pros on the panel but not too many can slot in, and certainly not as comfortably as Matt.
It isn’t as simple as just sitting there talking about the match. Yes, you’ve got to know the game but you need a quick wit, a good sense of humour, clarity of thought and the self-belief to stand up to three grizzled pros who jump on your every mistake. He has to be able to watch a match on a screen and talk to me and listen to the producer all at the same time, but he is as sharp on screen as he was on the field.
He was a terrific player who was admired by fans of all clubs. He wasn’t at a club that a lot of people hated, and he was the sort of player most fans wanted to be. He scored brilliant goals but he felt like one of them—very ordinary, a bit lazy and overweight but tremendously loyal. That counted for a lot in the game. Fans get very resentful if they see their best players leave for the sake of a few more quid when they are already very well paid. But Matt had an old-fashioned sense of allegiance to a small club. Southampton were never a threat to the big boys so opposition fans never hated him; they just enjoyed watching him play. And they enjoy watching him just as much now because he says what he thinks. A lot of ex-pros can be loathe to criticise while others can do it just for effect. Matt gets the balance just right. He is always willing to have a dig if it is required, and he has been very outspoken on Steve McClaren, Emile Heskey and (surprise, surprise) referees. But he never overdoes it, showing the same balance, composure and entertainment factor as he did as a player.’
‘Matt is the same in the studio as he was on the pitch—very laid-back but very sharp. People sometimes look at Matt and think he’s disinterested in the game, but nothing could be further from the truth. As a player he would appear casual and lazy, then suddenly he’d pounce on a half-chance and conjure something out of nothing. He’s the same as a panellist. He’s a real student of the game and really watches it. That might sound obvious but not everyone does it. And he has a great way of putting his point across.
He fits right in with the rest of us because he can laugh at himself, which is absolutely essential, and he has really added to the chemistry of the panel. We have some great banter—not least because we are both well blessed in the nose department. Matt must be delighted to have me in the studio with him. All through his career he got stick from fans for the size of his nose but he is only in the Championship compared to me. I’m in the Premier League when it comes to noses!
We both started to be regulars around the same time and I enjoyed getting to know him. I likened him to Alan Hansen in many ways because they were both players I looked at and thought they weren’t management material. But just like Alan, Matt has found his niche. His biggest asset is that he is not scared to give an opinion. If someone isn’t pulling his weight in a game then Matt will not hesitate to say so—even though he was hardly the hardest worker himself.
I remember when Liverpool were twice behind against Havant & Waterlooville in the FA Cup and Matt absolutely slaughtered me. Then Sky gave him the next round when Liverpool lost at home to Barnsley and he was screaming at me. Some of the Liverpool fans thought he had a down on the club but that wasn’t the case at all—it was just his way of having a dig at me. If it had been Arsenal losing to Barnsley he’d have made fun of Charlie Nicholas. It just made for good entertainment.
Sometimes though it is too intense for mickey-taking. I remember the last day of the 2007-08 season when Southampton were in danger of being relegated from the Championship. Matt went through hell that day. He had fought so hard for so long to keep them in the Premier League. When they came from behind to beat Sheffield United 3-2 you’d think they’d won the cup. He was absolutely DELIGHTED. Even though he had hung up his boots after a great career he still loves his club, even in the bad times.’
‘I should get danger money from Sky whenever I have to sit between Phil Thompson and Matt, with two of the biggest noses I have ever seen. They could take someone’s eye out if they suddenly turn round.
When Matt first joined the panel, Sky tried to smarten him up. But he isn’t that type of guy. Vic Wakeling was the Managing Director of Sky Sports, a really important guy but not too busy or important to take it upon himself to go shopping on Matt’s behalf. He bought him four shirts and four jackets because he couldn’t take any more of what Matt was wearing. In all my time in television, I have never seen anyone being told what to wear. But even he gave up trying to make Matt wear a tie, and rightly so because it just looks wrong on him.
A lot of footballers are very image conscious and spend a lot of time on their grooming but not Tiss. He is just very down to earth. He is very easy-going and seems embarrassed by any compliments he gets. And that is why he is so loved by the viewers. They know he was a terrific player and most of them loved to watch him even when he was scoring against their side. But despite his immense ability, he has never been flash or flamboyant.
He has dreadful taste in music, he has the worst ring-tones ever and he asks for girlie drinks whenever we go on a big night out with Sky. We will be on champagne and cocktails and he will ask for Malibu and Coke and never worries what people think.
He also scored some of the most spectacular goals I’ve ever seen. He was a genius with the ball and I’d admired him from afar but the first time I ever met him was at Paul Merson’s testimonial. He was magnificent that night with his control of the ball and the way he nutmegged household name players for fun. I wondered why he had stuck with Southampton all those years but he can be very stubborn and never felt a need to move. I think his talents would have been even more widely appreciated if he had been at a bigger club but what he did for Southampton has to be applauded. People there must think he is a God.’