Jump to content

Random Times you’ve bumped into a Footballer

Turkish

By Turkish
in The Saints

 Share

Recommended Posts

Polaroid Saint

Polaroid Saint

Posted
Posted

James Ward Prowse in Tesco Car Park, Aldershot.

He was a rather nervous and shy lad - must of only just passed his driving test at the time so I wasn't too surprised by his slightly naff and beat-up looking red Fiesta (or similar small hatch).

I then (completely by coincidence as we were obviously leaving the car park at the same time and heading in the same direct) proceeded to follow him, first slowly round the car park before exiting, equally slowly round the roundabout, and then quite closely for about three miles down winding country road towards Fleet.

He was driving somewhat erratically.

Although, that might have had something to do with the overly enthusiastic waving and constant thumbs-up coming from the grinning idiot driving the car behind him.

  • Haha 3
die Mannyschaft

die Mannyschaft

Posted
Posted
17 hours ago, OldNick said:

I used to play tennis with Chris Nicholl there and at other venues

Wow, brilliant.  Chris Nicholl one of the best players Saints have had and in the quality packed 77-78 squad. I played a few tennis matches for Fleming Park at Hampshire tennis club and Saints players were always in there. I did some tennis coaching for Reg Wilkinson in 90s and had some tickets for the players' lounge. 

die Mannyschaft

die Mannyschaft

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, OldNick said:

I played six a side with him , I ribbed him a lot for missing a penalty in a game lol

I went to a 50th party and Dave Peach was there. Great bloke chatted to him for a while. 

  • Like 1
Secret Site Agent

Secret Site Agent

Posted
Posted
On 15/06/2025 at 07:44, Tamesaint said:

Aston Villa on a plane going to Hong Kong for pre season. I was going there for work. 

Aston Villa on a plane going to Philadelphia one year later. They were going for pre season. I was going there for work. 

In Hong Kong the team was whisked through immigration. In Philadelphia they had to queue like everyone else in one of those long customs snake like queues. Paul Lambert, the manager at the time, spent most of his time waiting on the phone. 

I'm just wondering.

Do you work for the Aston Villa Pre-Season backroom squad?

  • Like 2
OldNick

OldNick

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, die Mannyschaft said:

Wow, brilliant.  Chris Nicholl one of the best players Saints have had and in the quality packed 77-78 squad. I played a few tennis matches for Fleming Park at Hampshire tennis club and Saints players were always in there. I did some tennis coaching for Reg Wilkinson in 90s and had some tickets for the players' lounge. 

Was Reg , Chris Wilkinsons and Martins father. I played against their mum on a few occasions when she played for Plesseys (?) at Eastleigh 

die Mannyschaft

die Mannyschaft

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, OldNick said:

Was Reg , Chris Wilkinsons and Martins father. I played against their mum on a few occasions when she played for Plesseys (?) at Eastleigh 

Yes that's right. I used to play at Fleming park for 1 hour to go over to Bishopstoke tennis club for hour. At evening mix in Chris used to turn up sometimes. Martin was also a very good player. 

Leighsterrr

Leighsterrr

Posted
Posted

I was ice skating at Brighton, early 80s and Jimmy Case was there, the only other person on the ice with my mate and I!

 

Met the Wimbledon 88 cup winning squad when they played at my local club who I regularly watched back then. Vinny Jones got sent off that day and it made the big papers 😂

 

Also bumped into Neil Ruddock at West Quay a few years ago too

 

We had Chris McMenemy stay at our hotel when he was doing summer school sessions on the Isle of Wight

 

I was also good mates with Lee Probert the former referee but that was always worth a mention as nobody liked him when he was on the pitch and it usually got me a load of swear words! 😂

derry

derry

Posted
Posted (edited)

I sometimes flew Saints teams to matches like Norwich and a pre season friendly in Amsterdam. Lawrie got a Peter East History of Saints signed by everybody including Keegan etc. Often saw Saints players at airports.

Friendly with Ian White played with him at Stoneham. George O'Brien, Chris Nicholl, Dave Merrington, at Wellow, Played with David Peach the day after he had a snip. We laughed our way round as he was walking like a jockey. Ball and Keegan at Stoneham.

Dean Saunders then at Liverpool at Manchester. I was flying a full aircraft to Orlando, annoyingly we had some late passengers. Dean Saunders and family entourage. They thought they were VIPs. His mother in law was kicking off because they thought their seats were reserved so checked in late and weren't sitting together. I told the handling agent to tell them to either sit where they were allocated or get off. I didn't believe in delaying nervous passengers who'd made the effort to be early. They sat down but were a bloody entitled nuisance most of the flight. About an hour out I got a request for Dean Saunders to sit in one of the jump seats for the landing. My response was tell him to F*** off. I don't think they repeated it.

Over the years I carried or met lots of interesting people.

Edited by derry
  • Like 6
franniesTache

franniesTache

Posted
Posted

i've met loads of footballers down the years and got to know some of the Saints players relatively well, but of the most random ones i'd say mine is probably playing pool and hanging out with the early 90's Barcelona squad managed by Johan Cruyff

  • Like 1
Ivan Katalinic's 'tache

Ivan Katalinic's 'tache

Posted
Posted (edited)

I saw Georginio Rutter in a Tesco outside Brighton recently. He was with his girlfriend but wasn’t contributing much help (other than the £££, I imagine). At one point she tried to engage him in conversation about floor wipes but he put his earphones in, pulled up his hood over his head and went on his phone instead.

On a more Saints related note, I saw Willy Caballero at Gatwick airport going through check in when he was still on our books. He was thoroughly unimpressed in having to put his shoes through the scanner when he had no socks on. My son wanted to shout “Willy” across the airport to have a selfie with him but we thought better of shouting that word out in front of security with guns… 😂

Edited by Ivan Katalinic's 'tache
  • Haha 1
Behind Enemy Lines

Behind Enemy Lines

Posted
Posted
On 19/06/2025 at 13:10, Secret Site Agent said:

I'm just wondering.

Do you work for the Aston Villa Pre-Season backroom squad?

I’ll be meeting an Aston Villa player on Monday. I’ll ask him if he knows of any Saints fans working at the club 😂 

maysie

maysie

Posted
Posted

In my youth I was in Icon and Diva on a Thursday night and wasted, kicked open a cubicle in the toilet and James Beattie was having a shit.

Not sure why he didn’t lock it or if (as probably was the case) the lock was busted didn’t do the decent thing and lean his hands against the door. Then again that approach is always dodgy when it comes to wiping.

  • Haha 2
BarryVenisonsHair

BarryVenisonsHair

Posted
Posted

MLT numerous times growing up in the city. First time at the old Blockbusters in Portswood. I was so shy that I forgot his name and called him Man. Also at David Hughes testimonial at Eastleigh. Had a photo in the Silverlake car park and we were nearly run over by Lawrie Mac steaming in to the car park. 

Paul Williams at the bowling Alley. I had only really just become a Saints fan at this point and thought he was a real legend so I got his autograph and had it framed.. 

Sam McQueen in West Quay Elevator. 

Idiakez and Viafara at a megastore signing. Neither spoke a lick of English and Viafara was late. 

Seen Boruc nearly get run over by the Red Funnel terminal. 

westmidlandsaint

westmidlandsaint

Posted
Posted

Monday January 27th 1992, I was 9 years old day before my dad's birthday, for his birthday we were going to watch Saints v Man Utd in the FA Cup. It was a big deal as it was a school night only being 9 and it was Man Utd.

We went to pick my mum up from work and as we we're waiting for her Kevin Keegan parked next to us he was picking his daughter up from La Sagesse Convent School in Romsey. We spoke to him for a bit and he asked me if we were going to the game and what I thought the score would be. He predicted a draw and that we'd win in the replay. Even as a 9 year old I thought he was being optimistic.

We drew 0-0 on the night and won on penalties at Old Trafford the game where Tim Flowers ran the length of the pitch after saving the deciding kick (from I think Ryan Giggs)

 

  • Like 1
bpsaint

bpsaint

Posted
Posted

Bumped into many around town, shopping or on the piss over the years in Southampton, the only place I wasn’t expecting to see a player was MLT in B&Q Swaythling.

Was in Reflex one night and the entire Everton squad walked in for their Xmas piss up after an away game at Pompey, Beatts was there so figured he organised it.

Hamwic

Hamwic

Posted
Posted

No particular order but, the likes of Paine, Chivers, etc Al after games in pubs around the Dell. Shilton in the Clump and some photo shoot in Watford. Peter Rodrigues in the King Rufus, Iain Turner with Keiron Baker, same place. David Peach at the Clock Filling Station. Channon and his missus in an Indian restaurant. Beattie in the concourse at St Mary's. 

 

Yorkshire Saint

Yorkshire Saint

Posted
Posted (edited)

Quite a few stories I could share here.. two that stick out though include camping in Dorset in the 80's and getting chased by some lads who were going to give a mate and I a thump we jumped  under a random awning on the side of a caravan to hide. Turned out it belonged to Gary Birtles and he was in the caravan. I still have some signed programs that he gave me. 

Another one was walking around a place called Pugneys lake in Wakefield and Bruce Grobbelar was walking the other way with his wife, I introduced myself with an up the Saints and he was happy to chat. Although he looked a little uncertain what to say when I said I had never bought the Sun since the allegations of match fixing came out. 

One other, spent an afternoon sat next to John Charles about 25 years ago, lovely chap, but having only just arrived in Yorkshire - I had not a clue who I was talking too, just some random old guy as far as I knew until someone told me later. 

Oh..and there was the time Darren Huckerby wanted to give me a pissed up slap in a toilet but Gary Kelly and Ian Harte intervened. Category A prick (Huckerby) Top lad (Kelly) 

 

Edited by Yorkshire Saint
  • Like 1
gsweet87

gsweet87

Posted
Posted
On 16/06/2025 at 10:30, Paul Chuckle said:

Between 99-01 when I worked part time in a shop I used to regularly serve Jim Joyce and Steve Wigley. Wigley was at Forest at the time and I asked him if David Platt was coming to Southampton (after Hoddle left) to which he replied "you don't need him, you already have a good manager at Southampton (Stuart Gray)".

Also used to serve Brian O'Neil, not sure if he's still around? 

Used to see lots of Southampton players in Jumping Jacks. Kevin Gibbons used to walk around in there thinking he was David Beckham. 

Martin Caceras walking round Market Street in Eastleigh with his mum was a random one.

Ryan Bertrand regularly at Cobham Services.

I used to be mates with Jim's daughter and knew Steve Wigleys son and Stuart Grays kids too (we were all at the same school, Jim Floods kids went there too and I was mates with his eldest son, his youngest is a keeper coach at Saints now). Stuarts wife used to work at my primary school too. My brother was very close mates with his youngest boy, so used to see him about quite a lot.

Also Neil Maddison lived down my road and once joined in when we were having a kick about at the park. Saw MLT looking at house to buy a few doors away too, gutted that never happened!

  • Like 2
AlexLaw76

AlexLaw76

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 16/06/2025 at 10:30, Paul Chuckle said:

Between 99-01 when I worked part time in a shop I used to regularly serve Jim Joyce and Steve Wigley. Wigley was at Forest at the time and I asked him if David Platt was coming to Southampton (after Hoddle left) to which he replied "you don't need him, you already have a good manager at Southampton (Stuart Gray)".

Also used to serve Brian O'Neil, not sure if he's still around? 

Used to see lots of Southampton players in Jumping Jacks. Kevin Gibbons used to walk around in there thinking he was David Beckham. 

Martin Caceras walking round Market Street in Eastleigh with his mum was a random one.

Ryan Bertrand regularly at Cobham Services.

Kevin Gibbons lived round my way when he was younger/broke into the team.

He used to be out in the lash a lot, and particularly loved it when there was a story about him in the Daily Sport (or what ever it was).

threw any chance of a good football career away for the sake of pissing up (a lot) in the week

Edited by AlexLaw76
  • Like 2
Gloucester Saint

Gloucester Saint

Posted
Posted
32 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Kevin Gibbons lived round my way when he was younger/broke into the team.

He used to be out in the lash a lot, and particularly loved it when there was a story about him in the Daily Sport (or what ever it was).

threw any chance of a good football career away for the sake of pissing up (a lot) in the week

Tranmere FA Cup replay *shudders*

Interesting that was his last professional game, and only two games on loan at Stockport on loan late 90s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Gibbens

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


×
×
  • Create New...