14th October 1968

Footballer Matt Le Tissier was born

Matt Le Tissier is one of the most successful footballers Guernsey has ever produced. He started playing for Vale Recreation but made his professional debut for Southampton, playing against Norwich. Le Tissier’s team unfortunately lost that game.

However, that was just the start of a good season for the player. He scored six goals before it came to an end, including two in a single game against Manchester United and three facing Leicester City.

Le Tissier remained loyal to Southampton through much of his professional career and is credited with helping the club maintain its position in the league. He was frequently one of its top goal scorers and was the first midfielder to score 100 Premiership goals.

International action

He played for England eight times but wasn’t in the team sent to compete at 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. This was despite him scoring a hat trick against Russia in the run-up.

After Southampton, he played two seasons for Eastleigh before retiring in 2004. Retirement didn’t see him turn his back on football, though, and he is regularly employed as a guest and expert commentator by a variety of broadcasters.

He also appeared on Channel 4 words and numbers quiz, Countdown. He guested several times in Dictionary Corner, and appeared four times as a contestant, scoring over 100 on two occasions. Unfortunately, his fourth appearance was less successful as he scored only 51 against his opponent’s 102.

Quoted in a press release from Channel 4, Le Tissier claimed to have been “a massive fan ever since watching the very first episode of Countdown back in 1982”. He’d said that he was “really looking forward” to being a contestant.