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Saints Greatest XI - Nominations For Best LB.


St Landrew

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Had to chuckle at the earlier comment that 'we were short of LB's'; LB must be one of our strongest positions historically?

 

Damn it, we could field a whole team of them:

 

.......... Bale ....... Statham ............

 

Bridge ... Pycho .... S Mills ...... Holmes

 

Peach ... Hollywood.. Benali ..... M Mills

 

...................... Vignal ....................

 

Not the most balanced team you ever saw but they would probably beat the current lot, hands down.

 

I've seen all of these play; it's Steve Mills for me, but I'd take almost any of the others in his stead.

 

No Graeme le Saux ? :D

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Mark Dennis? You folk can not be serious, he was a psycho case not a proper player...Mick Mills from the glory days for me, a class above the others he once lined up alongside four other England captains in the side: Keegan, Ball, Channon and Watson, hard to believe now

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Back in the day, I remember Benali and Charlton vying for the slot, with Jeff Kenna filling in when needed. Since then, aside from the successes of Bridge and Bale, we've had some crud.

 

Best LB in my memory was Bridge, though if this was a poll for my fave it would be Benali.

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Mark Dennis? You folk can not be serious, he was a psycho case not a proper player...Mick Mills from the glory days for me, a class above the others he once lined up alongside four other England captains in the side: Keegan, Ball, Channon and Watson, hard to believe now

 

Its not hard to believe it,just an impossibility to have happened.

 

Mills joined after certainly Channon and Keegan had left the club,and probably Watson as well.He was in the Saints team with Shilton,and Ball after he returned.

 

I respect your vote for Mills,but I think your judgement of Mark Dennis is as flawed as your memory.His disciplinary issues might have detracted from the claim to greatness, but on his day he was a commited and class defender.In my book only David Peach as lb can hold a candle to him.Young pretenders such as Bridge and Bale are a fraction of the player Dennis was.Steve Mills,we will never know.

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tough one.

Bridge probably the most talented , also very consistent, which puts him above mark Dennis, who had immense talent but had his "moments". Anyone remember the job he did on Craig johnson in the League cup semi at the Dell?

 

Peach a real favourite, and gave us 3 great moments (Luton away and The cup semi from the spot and the goal against Forest at wembley.)

 

Some other good ones, but for a best ever Saints team Nick Holmes HAS to be in , and as midfield is going to be very tough competition, he gets my LB slot.be interesting to see how many games he played there, my recollection is that he had a good few seasons.

 

Anyway, Holmes for me.

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Franny Benali must have done something right in training & on the pitch because every manager decided play him in 17 years of saints service in some role from left wing/ midfield, midfield enforcer, left back , center back or man marker

Also Fran gave us fans the guessing game of will the cross make its target?

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Franny Benali must have done something right in training & on the pitch because every manager decided play him in 17 years of saints service in some role from left wing/ midfield, midfield enforcer, left back , center back or man marker

Also Fran gave us fans the guessing game of will the cross make its target?

 

Nick Holmes told me that when he was on the coaching staff at The Dell, he told Nichols that he shouldn't pick Benali as he keeps kicking the ball into the crowd when passing forward. Nichols replied, "I know but when I don't pick him, we lose!"

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Steve Mills would have been Fantastic Mark Dennis-if he could have kept his temper under control the original psycho. Bridge & bale for the younger generation are all worthy candidates. but for me It has to be David Peach he defended reliably, was good going forward, good crosser of the ball & had a great (if not the best) penalty record at the time. All round quality for the left back position.

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How many games did Nick Holmes play at left back?

 

I think its important in stuff like this that you keep a historical perspective on things rather than saying Bridge / Bale just cos you saw them play.

 

I never saw Dennis Hollywood play - but looking at ITN he played more games at left back than anyone in the post-war era, so he deserves a mention.

 

I certainly hope we can find some room for some of Saints great Edwardians, it was after all, the most successful time in our history.

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How many games did Nick Holmes play at left back?

 

I think its important in stuff like this that you keep a historical perspective on things rather than saying Bridge / Bale just cos you saw them play.

 

I never saw Dennis Hollywood play - but looking at ITN he played more games at left back than anyone in the post-war era, so he deserves a mention.

 

I certainly hope we can find some room for some of Saints great Edwardians, it was after all, the most successful time in our history.

 

Dennis Hollywood was playing for Saints as I began my era of watching them in '66. A good solid, hard as nails LB, and pretty reliable too. You'll have to appreciate that, as a kid back then, I used to see the team as a team and didn't really think of individuals that stood out, unless they were Ron Davies, Chivers, Channon, or Paine. LBs don't tend to stand out anyway. Just a tiny bit short of David Peach, Mark Dennis, and Wayne Bridge in my book.

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Dennis Hollywood was playing for Saints as I began my era of watching them in '66. A good solid, hard as nails LB, and pretty reliable too. You'll have to appreciate that, as a kid back then, I used to see the team as a team and didn't really think of individuals that stood out, unless they were Ron Davies, Chivers, Channon, or Paine. LBs don't tend to stand out anyway. Just a tiny bit short of David Peach, Mark Dennis, and Wayne Bridge in my book.

 

Well said, and I'll take your word for it - at least you appreciate the historical angle I was coming from.

 

For example, Benali was far from being the most technically accomplished footballer but the fact he was one of ours, gave 100% and wore his heart on his sleeve made him a legend. You knew he could make the odd arse up (such as the horrific backpass vs Coventry and diving header o.g. vs Oldham which nearly got us relegated) but you let him get away with it.

 

I've still got the Sky Sports Cup Final 03 on video and when studio guest Sourness sees Benali and Dodd coming up the stairs in their suits he says something like: "Theres two boys you'd want in the trenches with you..."

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Steve Mills, great player, career cut short by injury, life cut short by illness.

 

I'm totally with you there Teddy. I think we've had some great ones there (Peach, Bridge and Bale for a start obviously) but Stevie Mills was just utter class in everything he did.

 

Were it not for the tragic circumstances I have no doubts he would have been amongst the all time legends and a regular England international. I suppose he can't win because of the shortness of his career but for me he was the best left back I've ever seen in a Saints shirt.

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...I certainly hope we can find some room for some of Saints great Edwardians, it was after all, the most successful time in our history.

 

Well, when the RB thread starts up someone could nominate CB Fry, from that famous Southern League era, and [sir] Alf Ramsey from the 1940s. :)

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I'm totally with you there Teddy. I think we've had some great ones there (Peach, Bridge and Bale for a start obviously) but Stevie Mills was just utter class in everything he did.

 

Were it not for the tragic circumstances I have no doubts he would have been amongst the all time legends and a regular England international. I suppose he can't win because of the shortness of his career but for me he was the best left back I've ever seen in a Saints shirt.

 

Correct, so fast that he made greyhounds look like donkeys, probably harder in the tackle than Pyscho as well,but it was usually pretty clean.

A great loss, now he is consigned to the memories of very very few.

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Correct, so fast that he made greyhounds look like donkeys, probably harder in the tackle than Pyscho as well,but it was usually pretty clean.

A great loss, now he is consigned to the memories of very very few.

 

For those people with absolutely no idea of who Steve Mills was, here's a Wiki link:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mills

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So when I come to count up the nominations and build the thread for Saints Greatest [footballing] LB, do you honestly think I should include Francis Benali..? ;)

 

Abso-bl00dy-lutely :cool:

 

If you want a poll about Saints Cult Heroes then by all means start one. However, we are talking about footballing excellence here, and as much as I like Francis Benali, there are several [or substitute many] Saints LBs in front of him on the quality front. However, it looks like he'll be included merely by the amount of nominations he's received.

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