Matt's great send-off on night to remember

Tuesday at St Marys was a night to remember. I can't ever recall a player having such a fantastic send off.

It was a tribute not only to the ability of Matthew Le Tissier but also his character and good nature that the night went so well.

The crowd were up for it. I think they were delighted that so many truly great players had made the effort to be there on the night.

While some of the speed may have gone from their legs, there were enough little cameos of flicks, dummies and incisive passes to keep them talking in the bars for a few weeks to come.

If you ask any professional what he misses about the game they will usually say the patter, the one-liners, the dressing room buzz and, of course, the game itself.

I, along with Alan Ball, Kevin Keegan and a lovely surprise visitor in Mick Channon, had 17 ex-international players in a room - all of us delighted to be part of it again if only for just one night.

I haven't been to the stadium very often and had never been down in the dressing-room area.

I was delighted on arrival to be pulled into the trainers room, which is usually the nerve centre of any club, by Gordon Strachan and it was great to soak up that special atmosphere again.

I told him that I thought he was doing an excellent job and that he was with a great club with a terrific following.

But I think he already knows that and the crowd gave him as a good a welcome as anyone on the night. And on the same note thank you all so much for the great reception you gave me. It meant a lot, believe me.

I thought Mike Osman did a good job, although we found it difficult to hear what he was saying being so close to him on the microphone.

Mike truly is a Saints supporter through and through and a close friend of Matt. He is a hugely successful national entertainer but never fails to turn up at fundraising events in his own area to help many worthy causes.

The England dressing room was full of laughter from the minute we entered and, as if there weren't enough comedians already, Jim Davidson, who also loves his football but sadly supports Charlton Athletic, came in to tell us one or two stories which unfortunately can't be repeated in this family column.

I was supposed to be one of a management team of three and when someone asked what our respective roles were, Ballie and Keegan, as one, said if things went well it was down to them. Otherwise it was down to me!

I had to be the one to tell Ian Wright and Chris Waddle that they wouldn't be starting the game and, while everything was light-hearted, the pride of course is still in there and everyone wanted to play.

They all put in a special effort to be there, especially Peter Beardsley, who works for Newcastle with the under-17 team who he saw win their league in Newcastle on Monday night then drove himself down to Southampton which took five hours.

He tried to snatch a little sleep in the afternoon but still managed to stay on the pitch for 85 minutes, covered every blade of grass then proceeded to drive the five-hour journey back home again because his young team were leaving for Holland the following morning.

This not only says a lot for the esteem they all hold Matthew in, but also for Peter himself.

The half-time entertainment in the dressing room would have made a good video.

Ian Wright, stripped to the waist, was telling us to look at him and see what a magnificent specimen he was and how he was ready for it.

"Come on, Lawrie, set me free, turn me loose, get me on there," he crowed as he went through all of the stretching, skipping and dancing movements. I commented on his diamond ear-ring. Did he or Beckham have one first?

The look of shock and horror on his face was a picture as he scornfully said: "Come on Lawrie, I'm the style guru. The Beckhams followed me!"

It was a great act and I'm sure the crowd really enjoyed the way he performed when I eventually let him loose.

The little cameo when Matt's son, Mitchell, picked the ball off the six-yard line where Ian had put it for the penalty then placed it on the right spot and scored was a classic.

Ian chided me: "I was disappointed that you didn't start with me. I'm going to come off bench and show what I can do."

Then Gazza chipped in saying to Ian "You should be used to coming off the bench. Remember, I've seen you play a few times."

As you know I think the world of Gazza, who along with one or two others had played the night before at Reading for Phil Parkinson, another Geordie boy.

What Gazza and Chris Waddle didn't realise was that Phil was one of my original youngsters at The Dell.

Parky didn't quite make it but carried on as many of the others did to make a good living in the lower divisions.

I'm delighted that Reading got promoted and also that nearly 20,000 turned up for his game on Monday night.

I could write a book about the whole of Tuesday night from meeting up at the De Vere Hotel at four o'clock to parting company with people like Kevin and Trevor Mitchell in the early hours.

One of my main memories was the performance of surely another future star of the Le Tissier family, Matt's young son Mitchell, pictured below.

He sat beside me on the bench coolly waiting for his chance. He looks quite a serious minded little boy with his glasses but watching him play and react to the whole evening put my mind back many years to a similar unlikely looking youngster with glasses called Dennis Law.

Matt must have been so proud to be stood in the middle of the pitch with nearly 32,000 adoring supporters with a cavalcade of top names from the game looking on from the sidelines and his two brothers, his son and then his father joining him on the pitch. It was fantastic.

I stood surrounded by luminaries like Ball and Keegan, Waddle, Barnes, Wright and Gascoigne and we watched open-mouthed at the quality of the goals as they were replayed against the background of Sinatra singing My Way - the whole show superbly and painstakingly put together by Mike Osman himself.

We all agreed Matt has done it his way and that noone could have done it better.

We all wish him well whatever he does. He has been an absolute credit to the game of football but particularly to Southampton Football Club.