Joe Aribo can bounce back from a frustrating first season at Southampton, according to Saints legend Matt Le Tissier.
The Nigeria midfielder left Rangers on a high after winning the Premier League, and scoring in the Europa League final against Frankfurt. Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl shelled out £6m to take the player back to England, but he failed to set the heather on fire in his debut season.
Now, though, with Saints in the Championship after being relegated, Le Tissier - who spent his entire 16-year career at the Hampshire club - reckons Aribo can shine in the second tier. He said: “I still watch Southampton a lot and I was excited when I heard the club had signed Aribo from Rangers. He had enjoyed a lot of good times at Ibrox as Rangers won the Premier League and Scottish Cup. He then scored in the European final in Seville as Rangers came within a whisker of landing another European trophy.
“When he arrived at St Mary’s I was really looking forward to seeing him in action - and then he scored this unbelievable goal in pre-season. Everything seemed set up for him.
“But I suppose you’re judged on competitive performances and he just couldn’t get that early league goal, which can make such a massive difference. It must have been frustrating for him, and then in the second half of the season his opportunities were limited.
“I’d like to see him come out of the traps next season all guns blazing - and I’m sure he can still be a star in a Saints jersey.”
Le Tissier will be in action himself a week on Saturday when he guests for a Rangers Select in a charity match at Bury’s Gigg Lane. The match is in aid of the Lee Rigby Foundation and for the 54-year old footballing genius, it’ll be his third game in around a month.
He laughed: “I know my limitations, so I’ll listen to my body and if it tells me I can keep going then I definitely will. I was playing in a charity match at Doncaster last weekend and I was up against a good mate, Mark Crossley, the old Nottingham Forest keeper. We had a chat before the game and he reminded me that of the 48 penalties I’d taken, he was the only goalie to save one!
“Sadly I didn’t get on the scoresheet that day, but I did assist Paul Merson for one of his goals - so I’m bringing Merse up to Bury with me and he’ll also pull on the Rangers shirt!”
England international Le Tiss was a wanted man throughout his career, but consistently chose to stay put at Southampton - but insisted he didn’t miss out on hearing all about Rangers.
He explained: “I grew up in Guernsey, just over 100 miles south of England. I played with Guernsey under-15s and we toured Hampshire. I was offered a trial after we played Southampton and then won a scholarship a year later.
“I had always wanted to be a footballer and play for England, but I also loved tennis, cricket, snooker etc. I had good coordination, which helped.
“In my early days at Southampton I was a huge admirer of guys like Mark Hateley and Trevor Steven, and when we met up with England they would talk about Rangers - so I was well aware of how big they were.
“Graeme Souness managed me for a year at Saints and he also spoke about Ibrox and his love of Rangers. You could tell how much he loved his time there. We also talked about his flag-planting exploits in Istanbul!
“Walter Smith’s reputation also spread far and wide. But the Scottish game in general had a great reputation down here in the late 1980s and early 90s with so many top England players up there.
“I was always happy at Southampton. I had no need to move, but if my club had told me I was surplus to requirements then I would happily have played in Scotland. No problem at all.
“When I was growing up Rangers and Celtic were massive clubs, but the opportunity just never arose.”
Le Tiss grew up a Spurs fan and was thrilled when they won the 1984 UEFA Cup. He is now good friends with Graham Roberts - who played in the final against Anderlecht - and who never misses an opportunity to talk about Rangers.
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“Robby and I are big buddies,” said Le Tissier. “He organised a golf day with the 1984 Spurs side, and I was in my element, meeting all my heroes.
“And I remember my dad taking me to the 1981 FA Cup final at Wembley when we beat Man City 3-2 in a replay. I was 12 and recall Ricky Villa scoring twice and Ossie Ardiles running the show. I played golf with them at another of Robbo’s events years later and they didn’t disappoint.”
One thing Le Tissier will never tire of is watching players who entertain; those able to do something magical with a ball. Paul Gascoigne, he insists, was up there with the very best.
“Gazza was a great player,” he said. “I had so much admiration for Paul. He was just a stunning footballer and all he wanted to do was entertain people. We suffered dual disappointment, though, when we both missed out on the ‘98 World Cup finals, which many folk thought was a strange decision by manager Glenn Hoddle.
“But probably two of my favourite ever players were Liam Brady - yes, he played for Arsenal - and Hoddle. I just loved watching them. Football is an entertainment and so people who pay to watch should be entertained. That’s what I hope we can do at Bury in a fortnight.
“The Lee Rigby Foundation is a great cause and I hope we get a good crowd in. Then it’s down to us to put on a show. That’s all folk want.”
*Tickets for the Lee Rigby Memorial Cup, on Saturday, June 24, involving a Rangers Select v North West Superstars, are available from buryfcss.merlintickets.co.uk
The Rangers team includes favourites such as Sasa Papac, Nikica Jelavic, Trevor Steven, Marco Negri, Sergio Porrini, Roy Carroll, Alex Rae, Andy Little and many more.
Matt Le Tissier and Paul Merson will guest for Rangers.
