[Archived] Souness

[den]

No, he’s not dead, but I always find him riveting to listen to. Good article here, worth reading.........

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5002144/Graeme-Souness-won-t-football.html

[AAK]

He says -

'We give statistics about the number of kilometres players cover. Here's my argument. At Blackburn I had two central midfielders. 

'Robbie Savage would cover every blade of grass — 12, 13 kilometres a game. Tugay would stand in the centre circle, the ball was like a magnet to him. He made cute and clever passes and probably covered seven kilometres. Who influenced the game more?

Souness did'nt have Savage at Rovers, not sure why he thinks he did lol - must mean Flitcroft

[den]

Yeah, Savage has picked him up on Twitter about that as well! Good insight though.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Great player in his day. In that final against Roma he mentions he gave one of the best exhibitions of midfield play I've ever seen. He was awesome that night against their three Brazilian midfielders. He signed off by banging in a penalty in the winning shoot out.

He also did great things for us in his day, sadly he lost the plot completely at the end.

[blueboy3333]

I think Souey is trying to wipe from history that he signed Barry Ferguson. Can't blame him.

In next weeks serialisation of his time at Rovers Souness Recalls how he turned Paulo Maldini (actually Dominic Matteo) into a world class central midfielder.

[Rover_Shaun]

Automatic Promotion. League Cup

2nd to Kenny in the best Rovers manager since 1928 list

[Mercer]

15 minutes ago, Rover_Shaun said:

Automatic Promotion. League Cup

2nd to Kenny in the best Rovers manager since 1928 list

That League Cup Final win against Spurs and all the odds was a fantastic day and locked firmly in the memory bank. 

[Dunnfc]

Wonder if the Ewood WMC lot could get him or Sutton to a Q&A night?

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

I'm sure Souey has an autobiography coming out anytime...will be interesting!

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Rover_Shaun said:

2nd to Kenny in the best Rovers manager since 1928 list

I'd have to go with Hughes.

Winning the League Cup and getting promoted under Souey was amazing and, admittedly, much more fun than at any time under Hughes, but I think Hughes was far more resourceful with the budget he had, and a better manager as the game changed. I think Souey's gripes with the game were already showing when he was here.

[scotchrover]

15 minutes ago, Phil T said:

I'd have to go with Hughes.

Winning the League Cup and getting promoted under Souey was amazing and, admittedly, much more fun than at any time under Hughes, but I think Hughes was far more resourceful with the budget he had, and a better manager as the game changed. I think Souey's gripes with the game were already showing when he was here.

Couldn’t agree more- Hughes rebuilt a poor squad which Souness left, with very little money in comparison to what other clubs had at that time. It seemed that after a good few years, Souness lost the plot with the signings of players like De Pedro and Amoruso. I remember being very happy when Newcastle gave us compensation for him. 

Having said all of that, Souness probably is the main reason why I’m Blackburn fan. I only started watching the season he took us up. That was some promotion squad! 

[Pedro]

4 hours ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

I'm sure Souey has an autobiography coming out anytime...will be interesting!

Especially the chapters about how he discovered pasteurization and his exploits on the moon.

[bazza]

7 hours ago, Rover_Shaun said:

 

2nd to Kenny in the best Rovers manager since 1928 list

Since 1928???

Are we forgetting Bob Crompton, Jackie Bestall, Johnny Carey, Gordon Lee, Howard Kendall and Mark Hughes?

[jim mk2]

Plus Jack Marshall's "misfits" of the early - mid 1960s - probably the best Rovers team I ever saw.

[Derby Blue]

6 hours ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

I'm sure Souey has an autobiography coming out anytime...will be interesting!

Came out this week, looking forward to reading it

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Graeme-Souness-Football-Life-Passion/dp/1472242521/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1508616430&sr=8-1&keywords=graeme+souness+autobiography

[47er]

4 hours ago, Phil T said:

I'd have to go with Hughes.

Winning the League Cup and getting promoted under Souey was amazing and, admittedly, much more fun than at any time under Hughes, but I think Hughes was far more resourceful with the budget he had, and a better manager as the game changed. I think Souey's gripes with the game were already showing when he was here.

Hughes best manager in my lifetime. Never forgive the Trust for failing to back him!

[tomphil]

Love Souness he was fantastic for us for a few years way exceeded what most expected of him and let's face it we were headed for where we are now before he came in Jack or no Jack although I know he was i'll at the time. Yes Souey lost the plot badly and needed to go but what a ride

Amazing how a guy in the later stages of a terminal illness can make the right appointment and back the club from his hospital bed when this selection of idiots, chancers and spivs can't get ONE thing right in 7 years.

Stinks ?  You bet it does !

[NinjaTattoo]

One of my favourite ppl in football, loved him at Liverpool ( i was a fan in 77 for a couple of years as with many football fans in those days, my step dad got me into Rovers 79 as he was a ST and would take me when he first stared dating my mum).

Loved his hard tackling and no nonsense approach as a player. Then when he became Rovers manager it was a dream come true ( after Dalglish). That worthington cup final was my world cup.

Even tho he did lose the plot near the end, I can always remember him saying about rub of the green lol, id have him back here to shake things up.

This typified him.

[den]

Thought some people would have picked up on his views about the coaching of players. He seems to be saying that basically the game is about players rather than tactics - and with that I agree. Good teams are built primarily around good players. Souness could “play”, with or without continual input from the games strategists. So could Bryan Douglas, George Best  or any of the best players you could mention.

so that isn’t to say coaching isn’t needed, because Souey would have had an amount of coaching, but would some of today’s players be better off just being left to do what they know they can do? Interesting.

[Commondore]

A few of them might improve their individual tallies by being left to their own devices, but I'd argue that their teams would suffer as a whole. The top teams today are so tactically astute that they'd easily  pick apart any opponent who came to them with a "let's just go out and play"-mentality. 

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

I was there at Deepdale the night we won promotion..I watched Souness kick every ball and head every header he was so involved on the touchline.

He danced and jigged with his players,he WAS one of those players for the 90 minutes....the wonderful Cardiff final was the same.

Friedal,Tugay,Cole,Hughes and the Ewood Trinity of Duff,Jansen and Dunn......the very best of times.The positives so outweigh the negatives of his tenure.

Just wish I had a Time Machine!

[Guest]

6 hours ago, NinjaTattoo said:

Imagine if he did that with a Rovers flag when we beat Burnley away! He'd be number one, no question about it.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, Phil T said:

Imagine if he did that with a Rovers flag when we beat Burnley away! He'd be number one, no question about it.

Weren't the Rovers fans chanting " Plant The Flag " after the game.

[gumboots]

He was in at the BBC last week and my daughter was so excited because Souness was the manager when she was in her teens and we followed Rovers all over the country. Then she was ill and the BBC wouldn't let her go in! 

[arbitro]

2 hours ago, Phil T said:

Imagine if he did that with a Rovers flag when we beat Burnley away! He'd be number one, no question about it.

He did it in the Millennium Stadium with a Rovers flag but it wasn't really newsworthy especially as all the Southern based hacks were crying at the time.