SOUTHAMPTON'S trip to Everton during the week had me reminiscing about one of the club's combined greats, Alan Ball.

Ball spent time at Saints and Everton during his playing career before returning to the south coast to manage in the '90s.

I really enjoyed my time working with him, even though we didn't spend too long together in the grand scheme of things.

The impact he had on Matt Le Tissier's career is well documented. The trust he instilled in Matt allowed him to become the player we all knew.

Matt responded to his confidence. He made it clear to all of us that he was the jewel in our crown.

He was our best player anyway, but to hear that from Bally took his game to the next level. We were told to just pass it to Matt and he could do the rest.


The gaffer changed my game too. He decided to use me as a man-marking centre-back in some games, which I relished.

I felt that role played into my strengths. The modern full-back is expected to do their bit providing assists and scoring goals.

My role was very different back in the day. I didn't venture forward too often - as my goalscoring record would suggest.

Although I lacked some of the height to play as a centre-half, I would usually play alongside Ken Monkou, a more traditional player for the position.

I relished the role of trying to stop a centre-forward from doing their job, whether it was Alan Shearer, Ian Wright or Eric Cantona.

I still remember the awe I felt when he first walked into the building. I remember thinking 'this is a World Cup winner.' I was immediately hit by his love and enthusiasm for the game.

It radiated from him, and that came across in how he always wanted to win and improve us as players. One of the first things he did when he came in was make me club captain.

Matt was the club captain and team captain at the time, so the decision was made to make me club captain to lessen his workload.

I was very proud to take on that responsibility and I'm still thankful to him for giving me the opportunity to take on that role at the club I love.


Bally's knowledge and passion for the game was incredible. I don't see how anybody could spend a day with him without it rubbing off on them.

There were times when things boiled over. I can remember team talks where things got a bit heated, but that is because of how competitive he was.

We saw that competitive spirit at its height when he would join us for small-sided games in training. Although his fitness had gone, his ability on the ball was incredible.

He was renowned for his one and two-touch football and that is what we saw in our games. His football brain was second to none.

On one occasion, he was playing on a five-a-side team that was getting quite the thumping. You could see him getting increasingly angry as the goals kept flying in.

In the end, he stopped the match, picked the ball up and walked in. He was so annoyed that he ended the game there and then.


You would always know he was angry by looking to see if he was still wearing his flat cap. In moments of anger and rage, his poor hat would get thrown to the ground.

Bally's connections and contacts also helped us on the recruitment front, in fact, we wouldn't have signed Ronnie Ekelund had it not been for his relationship with Johan Cruyff, then manager of Barcelona. 

A chance meeting between the two during our pre-season trip to Scandinavia in 1993 resulted in us singing Ronnie, who went on to be a great player for us that season.

I was gutted when Bally decided to go to Manchester City in July of 1995. It felt like a big blow because I wanted to continue working with him.