Tim Flowers' Perfect XI: "Le Tissier wasn't the fittest but he could make a ball sit up in bed!"

Tim Flowers had a great career, all in all. Moving from Southampton to Blackburn with Alan Shearer, the goalkeeper won a title at Ewood Park, played for England at wound up at Leicester City.

FourFourTwo sat down with him to ask what a team of his best-ever teammates would look like. 

Flowers's Perfect XI first appeared in the April 2020 issue of FourFourTwo magazine. Subscribe today and get 13 issues a year delivered straight to your door.

Tim Flowers' Perfect XI – Goalkeeper: Peter Shilton

“Anyone who’s won 125 England caps deserves to get in – he was a fantastic shot-stopper and massive presence in goal. I was a teenager when I signed for Southampton, so to be around him at my age was a brilliant experience.”

Right-back: Henning Berg

“Henning morphed into a centre-back later in his career, but he was a seven or eight out of 10 every week. He didn’t make many mistakes at Blackburn and was one of those guys you knew would be a steady Eddie: never beaten in the air, never done for pace, never beaten one-on-one and very good on the ball.”

Centre-back: Colin Hendry

“Just a head on a stick! Anything that went in the penalty area, his great big blond head would just come out of the pack and either clear or block it. Colin was brilliant at getting his body in the way to stop the ball reaching me, time and time again.”

Centre-back: Matt Elliott

“A really top player at Leicester. A huge man who had a huge presence in the air – and he was useful upfront as well. Matt may not have been the quickest defender, but he never got beaten for pace because he was so clever and judged his distances right. He was a good lad to have around and was intimidating for opponents.”

Left-back: Graeme Le Saux

“He became England’s left-back for a period of time and was more modern in his style – Graeme got forward, overlapped his wideman and delivered quality crosses into the penalty area. He had pace and was good one-on-one, plus he had a few clubs in his bag so could hit a range of passes.”

Right midfield: Matt Le Tissier

“Le Tiss could do things with a ball that others couldn’t. He wasn’t the fittest or quickest but could make a ball sit up in bed if he wanted. He didn’t do tap-ins and scored so many unbelievable goals, including a couple against me that he never stops gloating about...”

Centre-midfield: Tim Sherwood

“Tim captained the Blackburn side that won the league. He could pass, tackle and score, but he got back to defend as well – an all-round central midfielder.”

Centre-midfield: Paul Gascoigne

“The nearest thing to genius I’ve seen. I played with so many great midfielders in my career: Jimmy Case, Neil Lennon, Robbie Savage, David Batty… but Gazza was something else. What he could do with a ball was incredible.”

Left midfield: Jason Wilcox

“Jason had a wand of a left foot and didn’t need to beat his man – he’d just whip the ball in if you stood off him. A master of the cross into the corridor of uncertainty. Alan Shearer got umpteen goals nicking those beyond the keeper.”

Forward: Alan Shearer

“Alan was absolute dynamite at Blackburn; the best striker in the world – unplayable. Even when he started out with Southampton, he was a really motivated, driven individual and never doubted that he’d be England’s No.9.”

Forward: Chris Sutton

“Sutton and Shearer were so good together, and the perfect foil for each other. When Chris joined Blackburn, he was class. He was also a goalscorer and the SAS – as they were called – were a nightmare to play against.”

Managers: Kenny Dalglish and Martin O'Neill

“Joint-managers, but both were incredible. Kenny was loved by everyone at Blackburn; Martin had a great eye for players and his man-management style at Leicester was fantastic.”

Substitutes

David Batty

Rod Wallace

Emile Heskey

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