Looking through the list it appears that most people seem to think that the club did not exist before 1970! I am amazed that someone like Charlie Wayman's name is missing from the proposals. I would agree with Lawrie and Ted Bates being proposed for a Saint's Mount Rushmoor but let's throw in some curved balls. What about Charles Miller, the former Saint who took football to Brazil ? I also think that I am correct in thinking that the first "modern" goalkeeper was a Southampton player. I have been unable to recall his name. I never saw Terry Paine play for Saints (saw him turn out for Hereford) but amongst the very best Saints players I have seen are Channon, Ball, Le Tissier, Golac, Le Tissier and Lambert. However I think that the most talented player I have seen turn out for us was Kevin Keegan but not sure his two seasons would merit a place on Rushmoor.
I’m not sure we can give it to some unknown bloke who was a first modern keeper Ian that made such an impact we don’t remember his name On Keegan, it depends on the definition of talent. I am a huge Keegan fan (the player) and loved him and especially his two years with us. In terms of footballing talent in my eyes, Le Tiss is streets ahead of him. Keegan’s desire, work rate, ability to lift a team, in field charisma, achievement and impact on the game as a whole, puts him above most. Legend as a player.
Found him ! The goalkeeper was Jack Robinson who played for Saints between 1898 and 1903. He is generally credited with being the goalkeeper who first dived to make saves. He also wrote one of the first accounts of how a goal keeper should function in the modern game. Worth while pointing out that in the Victorian era, goalkeepers had largely functioned as a modern day sweeper. I would recommend Jonathan Wilson's excellent "The outsider" which explains the origins of goalkeeping. I had never heard of Robinson before but he was highly respected in the turn of the last century and an important player in the evolution of football. In the evolution of the game, Robinson appears to have been an important player in transforming the sport from it's Victorian origins to how football is recognised today. I think this is an excellent thread but as someone who also loves history, I would suggest that there are players before the 1960's who are largely unfamiliar to current fans who would have been regarded as highly as those proposed by more recent Saints and would realistically have to be considered, hence my suggestion to throw Charlie Wayman's name in to the discussion. Any Mount Rushmore would therefore have to at least consider the merits of all players who had played for us since 1885. I am surprised that no one has mooted C.B. Fry albeit I think that he had such wide ranging achievements that I would tend to discount him. His pro-Nazi views in the 1930's also make his inclusion objectionable. Miller's significance in football is massive and I would suggest that he would have to be considered given the importance of Brazilian football. My argument would therefore be does the Mount Rushmore candidate have to be someone appreciated by the fans or someone of historical significance to the game as a whole. If you broadened the discussion, I would be interested to reads who people would suggest for a Mount Rushmore of British footballers or people associated with the game. Who would you suggest , for example, for candidates between Charles W Alcock in the 1870's and Sir Stanley Matthews ? This would perhaps be an even more interesting debate ?
I believe that Chiver's departure was acrimonious but can see what his name would be suggested even if he was only with us briefly, If you want to list important Saints who went on to enjoy successful careers, surely Ted Drake's name needs to be included ?
Jose was at one point having his image chipped into the rock. Then he met Mendes. Then he became a dick. Now he’s gone. Shame.
Me too. Shame how it went toward the end but the good times far outnumber the bad. Dropped a league to bring us up two leagues and secure us as best of the rest in the PL. Club legend in my eyes.
Wouldn't put him as worthy of Mount Rushmore....too many others....but he is a legend. Miserable end to his career here, but he did very well for us. Came down to a lower league and brought us up. Saints was good for Fonte and vice versa. And he wished us luck before the Swansea game.
At one point we were hoping he would end his career here and become a coach with us. I don't really blame him for filling his coffers at the tail end of his football playing career, just the way it all broke down is a shame. He'll have probably made more in his subsequent years at WH and in China than he did in his whole time with us.
Can't quite rid myself of the memory of the Spammers singing "he left cos you're ****..." I mean West Ham ffs?
I think West Ham and deluded will always go hand in hand. A guy at my work 'supports' them and said to me recently that everyone loves Mark Noble. I did correct him and say that literally only West Ham fans love him and everyone else thinks he's a cock. He also trouted out the old lines of 'we won the world cup' and 'we have the best academy'...once apon a time perhaps.
