Matt Le Tissier signed 10 x 8 colour photo

Le Tissier was born in Guernsey, crown dependency. He played youth football on the island with Vale Recreation - story has it that he "regularly" scored from corner kicks. He was an attacking midfielder playing just behind the strikers. On leaving school in 1985, he had a trial at Oxford United, but they rejected him for being overweight, so he signed for Southampton instead. Le Tissier played his first professional game on September 2, 1986 and went on to play 443 league games for Southampton, 52 League Cup games, 33 FA Cup games and 12 other official games, making a total of 540. He scored 209 goals for his club including 48 out of 49 penalties (the one save came from Mark Crossley). His top scoring season was 1993-94, when he scored 30 goals, made more remarkable due to his struggling side. The following season he won the coveted Match Of The Day Goal of the Season award for his drifting 40-yard lob against Blackburn Rovers. Already well established in Southampton folk-lore, he scored the last goal in the final competitive match played at The Dell on May 19, 2001 against Arsenal. After being out most of the season due to injury, he was brought on as a substitute near the end of the match to the delight of the fans, and sticking to a "boys-own" script, he scored a spectacular left-footed volley on the turn from outside the penalty box to earn The Saints a 3-2 win; this turned out to be Arsenal's last away defeat for over a year.As a Channel Islander, he was eligible for any of the Home Nations teams; at one point he was rumoured to have been linked with Scotland, although this was denied both by the Scottish Football Association and by Le Tissier himself. He played 8 times for England from 1994 to 1998 without scoring. He was widely overlooked by then England manager Terry Venables, who received criticism for not picking Le Tissier. Le Tissier himself has claimed that had he been French or Italian, he would have won many more international caps. His crowning international moment was his hat-trick for the England B team in a game against Russia in which he also hit the crossbar twice, prior to the 1998 World Cup Finals. Despite his sterling performance, in a bitter-sweet end to his international career manager Glenn Hoddle failed to select Le Tissier for the full World Cup squad, or even the preliminary 30 man squad. Le Tissier could use both of his feet equally to pass or shoot, which when combined with his loyalty made him a Southampton fans' favourite. His renown spread worldwide as a regular scorer of spectacular goals, often seemingly created "from nothing", and often when Southampton were in trouble of relegation. For this ability he became known as "Le God" among Southampton supporters. In one famous incident, the television commentator responded to one of his most skilful efforts with the single word "Unbelievable!", which later became the title for a successful "video autobiography" of the player. Critics condemned Le Tissier as a 'luxury player' whose talent was hampered by not covering enough of the pitch, in an era when "work rate" was much respected. In retrospect, it is probably more accurate to see Le Tissier as a more "continental" style of player, relying on his natural skills to compensate for his "lazy" style of play, and to what was undoubtedly a persistent weight problem. His commitment to a financially less-well-off club like Southampton was unusual in the money-driven world of football. In his autobiography he told of rejecting moves to AC Milan and Chelsea FC, (the latter having been managed at the time by Glenn Hoddle, who later rejected him as an England player), and tore up a contract he signed with Tottenham Hotspur F.C. in 1991.Honours post-retirement Le Tissier has been honoured by receiving the freedom of the city of Southampton and has also had one of the luxurious hospitality suites at the St Mary's Stadium named after him. An apartment block built on the old site of The Dell is also named after him.