Graeme Le Saux

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Greame le Saux hands Jack Walker the Premierleague trophy. Have to go with Graeme Le Saux, an absolute star for Rovers and continued that form at Chelsea before they developed a penchant for vodka. Le Saux was an exceptional player, one of the finest left-backs to have played in the Premiership since its inception. His attacking strengths perhaps outweighed his by no means meagre defensive capabilites, but Le Saux was a great all-round full-back who fitted the bill precisely as the sort of left-back Rovers championship chasing side needed. Capable of whipping in top quality crosses for the lethal aerial strike force of the time, Le Saux was also capable of contributing to the scoresheet directly, notching up seven goals in 154 appearances for Blackburn. Would even go so far as to say that Southampton got the best of the Wayne Bridge deal with the Russian in the bottle shop. Despite rating the 24 year old Bridge extremely highly and the fact that he has got more than a few more years left in his legs than Le Saux at 35, an extra seven million on a left-back who thought himself bigger than the club has got to be seen as an intelligent piece of transfer dealing by Strachan. Almost certainly finished as an international player Le Saux played 36 times for his country, scoring just a solitary goal, but what a goal it was, spectacularly volleying past World Cup winner Claudio Tafferel in the Brazilian goal at Wembley during the Umbro Cup in 1995. A goal so good that it completely overshadowed a certain Mr. Ronaldo's first goal for the Brazilian national team. Constantly derided by the precursors of the chav and other such grubby illiterate oiks due to his middle-class background, the married Le Saux on the whole showed good grace through the constant jokes about his sexuality and wasn't above having a laugh at his own expense. The low-point of Le Saux's career came on a Moscow pitch in 1995, as he rained punches down on David Batty, but lets face it, Batty probably deserved it, even if Le Saux's timing left a bit to be desired. Dr Rich