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Last Successful Big Name Signing


paulwantsapint
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Those were the days, I still remember how I felt on hearing the news KK had signed - awesome! That's when Saints were on the up........

 

So do I. Even my non-footballing-supporting brother's jaw hit the floor. Mine shattered completely and had to be rebuilt using the latest technology, and I was visited in hospital by KK.

 

Lawrie signing KK wasn't the best thing he ever did, but as a message of intent, it was head and shoulders over anything else any subsequent Saints manager ever did - including Strachan's achievements in the Prem. Because it meant that Saints went from a small club to a big club overnight. Sadly, that has all been reversed.

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So do I. Even my non-footballing-supporting brother's jaw hit the floor. Mine shattered completely and had to be rebuilt using the latest technology, and I was visited in hospital by KK.

 

Lawrie signing KK wasn't the best thing he ever did, but as a message of intent, it was head and shoulders over anything else any subsequent Saints manager ever did - including Strachan's achievements in the Prem. Because it meant that Saints went from a small club to a big club overnight. Sadly, that has all been reversed.

 

We also became a lot of people's second team. That kind of good will is/was invaluable. But these days no-one outside of Bitterne could give a sh!t. That is Lowe's worst legacy no matter what good things he might have done.

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none of those were big names when we signed them.

 

I'm assuming the OP was meaning big names in terms of our club as otherwise we've only ever made about 1 really big name signing and that was Kegan.

 

Crouch was a reasonably big name with a couple of pretty big money transfers behind him, he'd just fallen off the Radar a little after not really hitting the heights at Villa. He was certainly well known amongst the fans even of most were not convinced.

 

The other two are a bit different as they came from oiutside England allthough Niemi must have been reasonably well known or Utd wouldn't have been interested and I've always felt Killer would have signed for a bigger club than us years before if he'd been blessed with a little more pace.

 

Since relegation I'd say the two biggest names we've signed are Rasiac and John both of whom for me were resounding successes who were let down by the club not the other way round as is so common. Before that your probably looking at Kevin Phillips.

 

Obviously the list of failures is long and distinguished with the stand outs for me being David Hirst, Stuart Ripley and Andrei Kanchelskis.

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So do I. Even my non-footballing-supporting brother's jaw hit the floor. Mine shattered completely and had to be rebuilt using the latest technology, and I was visited in hospital by KK.

 

Lawrie signing KK wasn't the best thing he ever did, but as a message of intent, it was head and shoulders over anything else any subsequent Saints manager ever did - including Strachan's achievements in the Prem. Because it meant that Saints went from a small club to a big club overnight. Sadly, that has all been reversed.

 

Don't forget KK was at the time the current European Footballer of the Year. His signing was Big Mac's biggest coup and announced our arrival among the elite. Every time I drive past the Potters Heron at Ampfield (where KK was revealed to a stunned media) I think there should be one of those blue plaques on a wall.

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In money terms, doesn't it go something like:

 

Keegan, Armstrong, Delgado, Delap as record signings??

 

Anyone care to correct me - please!!!!

 

OK

 

I think you have to put Delgado as a higher price than Delap. Although officially Delgado was 3.5m and Delap was 4m, as part of the deal we had to take Chala for 1m even though we clearly didn't want him and had no use for him. So the real price we paid for Delgado was 4.5m making him our record signing.

 

I think Phillips and Le Saux were our only signings in years who were already big names. You could say Kanchelskis was a big name, but you can't really include players who were completely washed up.

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Don't forget KK was at the time the current European Footballer of the Year. His signing was Big Mac's biggest coup and announced our arrival among the elite. Every time I drive past the Potters Heron at Ampfield (where KK was revealed to a stunned media) I think there should be one of those blue plaques on a wall.

 

I really enjoyed your little section on this in "In That Number" too. Thanks for that.

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Don't forget KK was at the time the current European Footballer of the Year. His signing was Big Mac's biggest coup and announced our arrival among the elite. Every time I drive past the Potters Heron at Ampfield (where KK was revealed to a stunned media) I think there should be one of those blue plaques on a wall.

 

Didn't the unveiling take place at the Botleigh Grange?

 

Or am I suffering from another 'senior moment'?

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Stuart Ripley was a definite failure, though I would say that David Hirst was a qualified success in that he had an important influence in our solid season of 97-98. He was badly missed the next season and if he failed it was due to his susceptability to injury rather than his quality. Andrei Kanchelskis came on a free transfer at the start of 2002/3 as backup cover so can't really be judged as a success or failure, although his record is played 2 (as sub) won 2.

 

How about Mark Hughes? According to his agent at the time of his signing 'Southampton have never signed a player like Mark Hughes before' - totally oblivious to the fact that, as other have already said, in KK we signed the current European footballer of the year. On an alleged £15K a week, Hughes was perhaps one of the greatest wastes of resources Saints have ever had. Signed as a striker he was so ineffective he had to be moved into midfield to accommodate him in the side - again allegedly his deal insisted he had to play if fit. It didn't take Glennda long to show him the door when he took over.

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Talking of KK it's amazing recalling the names of big name players that Lawrie Mac did sign: KK, Shilton, Dave Watson, Charlie George, Peter Osgood, Mick Mills........

 

Lawrie really was an awesome manager.

 

Frank Worthington not sure anyone has mentioned him.

 

And Phil Boyer, Ted MacDougall, Alan Ball, the list goes on.

 

As to the Potter's Heron. I might as well dig this out from my Youtube library:

 

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=oBIMD8N0kts

 

Listen to the commentary and it mentions that KK had been voted EFotY for the second successive year. That's how much better he was than anyone else.

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