‘Chelsea-onSea’ offer to buy Le Tiss

MATT LE TISSIER nearly played for Chelsea-on-Sea!

Eurosport named Le Tissier the Best Premier League Player of All Time earlier this year in recognition of his performances for Southampton during his 443-game career.

Not even boyhood team Spurs, Manchester United or Chelsea could tempt the midfield magician away from the South coast.

“Tottenham were the only club I talked to,” said Le Tissier (below). “They were the team I supported as a boy.

“The late Chelsea vice-chairman Matthew Harding was a big fan of mine around 1995. He was keen to get me to Stamford Bridge.

“He had a conversation with Southampton boss Lawrie McMenemy and said, ‘We want to buy Matt Le Tissier’.

“Lawrie said, ‘He’s happy where he is, you’re wasting your time. The only way you will get him as a player is if you buy the club’.

“Matthew said, ‘I will do that – and I will change its name to Chelsea-on-Sea!’

“The figure they were talking about was £7million and, a couple of days later, Lawrie got a cheque in the post for £7m with ‘Chelseaon-Sea’ on it!”

Le Tissier spent his entire 16-year playing career with the Saints.

He explained: “I was always very grateful to the supporters for taking me to their hearts since I was a boy and the club for granting me my wish to become a professional footballer.”

Le Tissier showed his gratitude by using his wonderful touch and eye to score 161 goals, many of them fine solo efforts that even opposing fans had to applaud.

The total included 47 penalties.

“The important thing was that I looked forward to taking penalties,” said Le Tissier, on The British Football Podcast.

“When a penalty was awarded, I got excited and I had to calm myself down and go through my technique.”

Only once did Le Tissier’s nerve fail him – against Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup fifth-round replay in 1996.

“Forest keeper Mark Crossley timed his decoy dive well,” he remembered.

“As I was about to hit it, he dived to my favourite corner, I chan changed my mind an and he flung himself the other way.

“He palmed it straight b back to me and fro from eight yards out I put it over the bar – I was in shock that he saved it.”

To the surprise and disappointment of his many admirers, Le Tissier got only eight England caps.

“I only started three matches and one of those was abandoned after 27 minutes (against Ireland in Dublin in 1995),” he said. “The other two were about three years apart, so I never had a run in the team.

“To not be given a run, given the goals I was scoring, was very frustrating.

“At the same time, I’m very proud to have eight caps. As a kid growing up in Guernsey, I would tell everyone, ‘I’m going to be a professional footballer and play for England’.

“Most people said, ‘You’re just a kid from Guernsey, you’ve got no chance’.”