Man Who Would be King Posted 3 June 2011 Posted 3 June 2011 "During the Brian Little days, Mike Whitlow was the main left-back and he was more of a traditional defensive full-back. He had a lot more grit and determination and was great when you were up against it. He was solid, had a decent left foot and did a good job for Brian Little at the time. He scored a few important goals and was solid by the side of me. It was the first time that I’d played alongside a proper left-back that could hold their own. He was good for that team and had an outstanding game when we beat Derby County 2-1 in the 1994 play-off final. He nearly scored on the day with a long-range effort from the angle, which just went wide. We had a good understanding and knew each other well. He didn’t mind a bollocking and he was a good solid player. He’s right up there but with Guppy being part of the more successful side under Martin O’Neill and the fact I’ve gone for wing-backs, Mike just misses out." For more read... www.soarmagazine.co.uk/2011/06/03/steve-walsh-blog-my-greatest-eleven-left-wing-back
Man Who Would be King Posted 10 June 2011 Author Posted 10 June 2011 From today's blog... "We went away to Sweden and Germany and had one or two really good lads’ nights out, like all the Leicester teams did during my time at the club. It was unbelievable really, we went off to Sweden with Bryan Hamilton, who was in charge with Gordon Milne at the time. I remember on the first trip, when a lot of the young apprentices went, Gordon Milne made them all carry a bottle of brandy through customs for him! I also remember one night when we were allowed out, I was rooming with Ian Banks who had these massive mosquito bites all over him, and when we got back to the room and in the early hours of the morning someone was knocking on the window and climbing through, and it was Gordon Milne! He stumbled through and said, “Walshy, say nothing. You’ve not seen me!” They were different characters back then. When young players first broke through into the team or signed for the club there was an area at the back of the bus that you just didn’t go up to. There were lads like Paul Ramsey, Bobby Smith, Mark Bright, Ian Banks – all characters, but they all took me into their clique. I was right at the back of the bus from the start which is where you wanted to be and I felt pretty good at the club right from the start." For more see www.soarmagazine.co.uk/2011/06/10/steve-walsh-blog-my-greatest-eleven-centre-back
Man Who Would be King Posted 17 June 2011 Author Posted 17 June 2011 "One story I remember from playing with Matt is during the 1997 League Cup Semi Final against Wimbledon when Simon Grayson scored that crucial away goal to send us to Wembley. Wimbledon striker Mick Harford was on the bench and he kept shouting on the sidelines that he was going to come on and slap a few people. "I was left side and Matt was right side and when Harford came on as sub he ran straight over to Matt and slapped him right across the face! It was unbelievable. Elliott panicked and just shouted, “Wal, f***ing sort him out!” Obviously it was down to me then so I had a quiet word with Mick. He should’ve got sent off as he did the same to me, right in front of their fans. I went down to try and get him sent off but the referee didn’t do anything. But it was so funny, Matt Elliott melting and shouting across to me to sort it out. I met Mick Harford at a golf day the other week and we were talking about it and laughing. He’s a really nice bloke but you wouldn’t think it from looking at him! "Matty went on to play international football for Scotland as well. I went to watch him at the France 1998 World Cup with Neil Lennon, when Scotland were playing Brazil. Matt was on the bench, but me and Lenny had a mad trip out there. To be honest, I don’t know about that Scottish business with Matt, that’s got to be dodgy!" For more see www.soarmagazine.co.uk/2011/06/17/steve-walsh-blog-my-greatest-eleven-centre-back-2
I am Rod Hull Posted 17 June 2011 Posted 17 June 2011 From today's blog... I remember on the first trip, when a lot of the young apprentices went, Gordon Milne made them all carry a bottle of brandy through customs for him!
Clive Redman Posted 17 June 2011 Posted 17 June 2011 Steve Walsh is selecting his dream team of the players he played alongside during his glittering City career. This week it's the second central defender of the back three... Matt Elliott. Walshy's line-up so far is... 1. Kevin Poole 2. Simon Grayson 3. Steve Guppy 4. Russell Osman 5. Matt Elliott Next week, he'll be naming his 3rd centre back. Walshy on Matt Elliott... "Immediately it stood out that me and Matt would be playing alongside each other, with the size of us both, and you could tell he had something about him straight away. He could pass and play and we fitted in nicely together. I was the one to sort the trouble out and again I was partnered up with somebody who could play. He had that little turn between his legs and he used to do it every time a forward closed him down, seemingly wrong-footing them every time. I always give Matt about of stick about that. "He was great for me and ended up a room mate as well. Many a time he’d be sat by the hotel window smoking at 10pm, so that was a nightmare. I couldn’t sleep and then he’d be snoring his head off straight after his cigarette, a few of the lads liked a smoke then. "We used to go for our meals together and there are no bigger eaters than me and Matt and we both finished up at 15 stone 10 pounds. When we got weighed we were always trying to delay it and get each other to get on the scales first before laughing at the size of us. We must’ve been the heaviest centre halves in the league! You’d never have that these days." For more see... http://www.soarmagazine.co.uk/2011/06/17/steve-walsh-blog-my-greatest-eleven-centre-back-2/
Clive Redman Posted 24 June 2011 Posted 24 June 2011 In his latest blog, Walshy opts for Gerry Taggart to complete his back 3... "Taggs scored his fair share of goals as well and took over my mantle a bit in that respect. I like to think that I helped him with that and he saw the way I attacked the ball in the box and he soon became really dangerous from set pieces. He was brave and not afraid to put his head in where it hurt. Teams had to worry about the three of us attacking the ball. We used to stand on the edge of the box before the ball came in and then split up like the red arrows and attack the ball. The opposition didn’t know what to do and there was allsorts going on; blocks, pushing, slaps… everything. "Opting to have an aerial battle was the wrong game to play against us and Wimbledon found that out because that was all they could do. I believe that we finished the crazy gang off because we completely stopped them from playing to their strengths. "On away trips I remember Gerry and Matt Elliott smoking cigarettes one after another and with the three of us the drink culture at the club was as big as it’s ever been. It was unbelievable really. We were a pub team but the best pub team in the land." For more see... http://www.soarmagazine.co.uk/2011/06/24/steve-walsh-blog-my-greatest-eleven-centre-back-3/
Clive Redman Posted 8 July 2011 Posted 8 July 2011 From Walshy's latest blog... "One thing that stands out with Muzzy is that I’ve never seen anybody of his size and build run through brick walls and go through anybody that was in front of him to get the ball. He’d go through players three-times his size and was unbelievably brave. "He was also very skilful and agile with a low centre of gravity. If he fell over, he was up in a second and if he lost the ball, he’d get back in and get it. He had an amazing talent and his guile and vision was so vital to the team at that time. Muzz worked well with feeding Emile Heskey as well and he helped Emile a lot with the passes played through and also the runs he made off the ball to create space for the big man. Muzz was one of the best players I played with technically, with his first touch, vision and awareness." For more see... http://www.soarmagazine.co.uk/2011/07/08/steve-walsh-blog-my-greatest-eleven-%e2%80%93-central-midfield/
accessory Posted 8 July 2011 Posted 8 July 2011 From Walshy's latest blog... "One thing that stands out with Muzzy is that I’ve never seen anybody of his size and build run through brick walls and go through anybody that was in front of him to get the ball. He’d go through players three-times his size and was unbelievably brave. "He was also very skilful and agile with a low centre of gravity. If he fell over, he was up in a second and if he lost the ball, he’d get back in and get it. He had an amazing talent and his guile and vision was so vital to the team at that time. Muzz worked well with feeding Emile Heskey as well and he helped Emile a lot with the passes played through and also the runs he made off the ball to create space for the big man. Muzz was one of the best players I played with technically, with his first touch, vision and awareness." For more see... http://www.soarmagazine.co.uk/2011/07/08/steve-walsh-blog-my-greatest-eleven-%e2%80%93-central-midfield/ A revelation along the lines of "Pope confirmed as a Catholic".
Clive Redman Posted 15 July 2011 Posted 15 July 2011 In his latest blog about the greatest Leicester City eleven he ever played alongside, Steve Walsh selects his third and final central midfielder... "At City you could tell he used to get frustrated with players that weren’t on the same wavelength as him and couldn’t spot what he was trying to do. "He was great player. He worked hard in matches but his ability on the ball seemed effortless. He used to play it right to your feet with a fantastic weight of pass, he produced great free-kicks and he was an extremely valuable player, something he proved when he went on to have a great career after leaving the club." Click here to see who Walshy's talking about... http://www.soarmagazine.co.uk/2011/07/15/steve-walsh-blog-my-greatest-eleven-midfield/
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