Neville Southall (born 16 September 1958) is a Welsh former international
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
. He has been described as one of the best
goalkeepers of his generation and won the
FWA Footballer of the Year
The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...
award in 1985.
He joined
Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
from
Winsford United
Winsford United Football Club are a football club based in Winsford, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1883 and are nicknamed ''The Blues''. The club is currently a member of the , with home matches played at The Barton Stadium. Thei ...
for a £6,000 fee in 1980, and turned professional in his early 20s after a number of years as a semi-professional and amateur player. During his teenage years he worked as a binman, waiter and
hod carrier
A brick hod is a three-sided box for carrying bricks or other building materials, often mortar. It bears a long handle and is carried over the shoulder. A hod is usually long enough to accept 4 bricks on their side. However, by arranging the br ...
. He moved on to
Everton for £150,000 in 1981 and established himself as the club's first-choice goalkeeper by the 1983–84 season. He went on to make a club record 578 appearances in the
English Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...
and
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
(750 in all competitions); his honours with the club consist of a
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
medal in
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, a
First Division championship medal in
1984–85 and
1986–87, an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
winners medal in
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
and
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
, and an
FA Charity Shield
The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...
winners medal in
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
,
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, and
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
. He also played in the
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
and
1989 FA Cup finals, the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
final in
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
, and helped Everton to a second place in the league in 1985–86. After leaving Everton in 1998, he became
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
's regular goalkeeper for two years. He also made a handful of appearances for numerous other clubs.
Southall played internationally for
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, winning 92
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
between 1982 and 1998, though he did not feature in any major international competitions. As an individual, he was named on the
PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...
four consecutive times, and was listed as one of the world's top ten goalkeepers by the
International Federation of Football History & Statistics
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...
on four occasions. He is a member of the
Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame
Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame celebrates the men who have contributed to the history of English association football, football club Everton F.C., Everton. Everton's ground, Goodison Park, is on Gwladys Street in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpoo ...
. He has been named as one of the 100 'Greatest Players of the 20th Century' by ''
World Soccer'' magazine. In the
1996 Birthday Honours
Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supple ...
, he was appointed a Member of the
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(MBE) for his services to football.
Since his retirement as a player, Southall has briefly managed
Dover Athletic
Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...
,
Hastings United and
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...
, and has coached at numerous clubs as well as the Welsh national youth teams. He has also worked extensively with disadvantaged children, and set up his own educational consultancy.
Southall is also known for his political activism. He is an international officer for his branch of the
UNISON
In music, unison is two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves, usually at the same time. ''Rhythmic unison'' is another term for homorhythm.
Definition
Unison or per ...
trade union, endorsed
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
for the
2017 UK general election
The 2017 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 8 June 2017, two years after the previous general election in 2015; it was the first since 1992 to be held on a day that did not coincide with any local elections. The governing C ...
, endorses
LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , 33 ...
and has spoken at multiple events advocating for
Welsh independence
Welsh independence ( cy, Annibyniaeth i Gymru) is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom.
Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward I of England following the ki ...
.
Club career
Early years
Born and raised in
Llandudno
Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...
to Fred and Rose Southall, he was the middle child of three boys. Southall played youth football for his school team and the Llandudno Swifts, where he played alongside
Joey Jones
Joseph Patrick Jones (born 4 March 1955) is a Welsh former international football full-back who most notably played for Liverpool, with whom he won two European Cups.
Club career
Wrexham
Jones was born in Llandudno, and joined Wrexham in 19 ...
.
He was educated at
Ysgol John Bright
Ysgol John Bright is a secondary school on Maesdu Road, Llandudno in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It was founded with money and support from the social reformer John Bright, whose son died in Llandudno in 1864. Until 1969 the school was a select ...
,
though left without any qualifications at age 16. At age 14 he toured Germany with the Llandudno Swifts and was offered a chance to play for the youth team of
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
outfit
Fortuna Düsseldorf
Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...
, but decided against the move to Germany. The Swifts were a poor side that were regularly beaten heavily, though the near constant barrage of shots he faced enabled Southall to improve on his shot-stopping skills.
As a teenager, Southall had unsuccessful trials at
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
,
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
and
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
.
He aspired to be a postman, and never believed that he would make a living playing football. He then worked as a
binman,
waiter and
hod carrier
A brick hod is a three-sided box for carrying bricks or other building materials, often mortar. It bears a long handle and is carried over the shoulder. A hod is usually long enough to accept 4 bricks on their side. However, by arranging the br ...
and therefore entered the game relatively late. He played for
Llandudno Town at age 15, before joining
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...
side
Bangor City
Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...
on £10 a week as a semi-professional the following year. Bangor manager
Dave Elliott regularly selected veteran goalkeeper
Peter Eales ahead of Southall.
Everton asked Elliot permission to take Southall on trial, but Elliot left the club shortly after and no trial took place.
With Bangor in financial trouble the paid playing staff began to leave the club, and Southall left Bangor and went on to accept an offer of £3 a week to play for
Conwy United.
He moved on to
Cheshire County League club
Winsford United
Winsford United Football Club are a football club based in Winsford, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1883 and are nicknamed ''The Blues''. The club is currently a member of the , with home matches played at The Barton Stadium. Thei ...
at the age of 20. The club won the
Cheshire Senior Cup
The Cheshire County Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Cheshire Senior Cup, is a football knockout tournament founded in the 1879–80 season and involves teams from Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, England. It ...
in 1980, and Southall was voted the club's Player of the Year.
Bury
Southall's performances attracted the attention of
Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
and
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
, and he was convinced to sign with Bury after he was personally approached by manager
Dave Connor. Bury paid Winsford £6,000 and would later pay another £25,000 after he was sold on.
However, he never played for Connor as he was replaced by
Jim Iley
James Iley (15 December 1935 – 17 November 2018) was an English football player and manager. He made nearly 550 appearances in the Football League playing as a left half. He was a brother-in-law to Jack and Colin Grainger.
Career
Born in Sout ...
before the start of the
1980–81 season; despite this managerial change he was still seen as the future replacement to club stalwart
John Forrest
Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister i ...
. He received specialist goalkeeping coaching from
Wilf McGuinness
Wilfred McGuinness (born 25 October 1937) is an English former football player and manager, who played twice for England in his short playing career. He succeeded Sir Matt Busby as manager of Manchester United in 1969.
Following his tenure at ...
. He made his first team debut against
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
on 20 September, in a 2–1 victory. The "Shakers" had an indifferent league campaign in the
Fourth Division, though they managed to reach the Third Round of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
and beat
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
in the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
. Southall kept 15 clean sheets after conceding 50 goals in his 44 domestic appearances, and was named as Bury's Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year.
Everton
Southall was bought by
Everton manager
Howard Kendall
Howard Kendall (22 May 1946 – 17 October 2015) was an English footballer and manager.
Kendall joined Preston North End as an apprentice and stayed with the club when he turned professional. He was a runner-up in the 1964 FA Cup with Preston, ...
for £150,000 in the summer of 1981.
To win a first team place he had to compete with
Jim McDonagh
Seamus Martin McDonagh (born 6 October 1952), known as Jim McDonagh, is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made more than 400 appearances in the English leagues. Born in England, he won 25 caps for Ireland. He then ...
(a
Gordon Lee Gordon Lee may refer to:
*Gordon Lee (comic store owner) (1958–2013), American comic book store owner charged with distributing obscene materials
*Gordon Lee (congressman) (1859–1927), U.S. congressman from Georgia
*Gordon Lee (footballer) (193 ...
signing who would soon leave the club),
Jim Arnold (also a new signing), and
Martin Hodge
Martin Hodge (born 4 February 1959 in Southport, Lancashire) is an English former professional footballer. He played as a goalkeeper for Plymouth Argyle, Everton, Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester City, Hartlepool United and Rochdale. His career ...
(who was injured throughout his time at Everton). He made his debut in a 2–1 win over
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
in October, after Arnold picked up an injury.
He returned to the first team in December, and he kept a clean sheet against
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
and remained an ever-present throughout the rest of the
1981–82 season.
Kendall described Southall as the best goalkeeper in the
First Division "outside the big three" of
Ray Clemence
Raymond Neal Clemence, (5 August 1948 – 15 November 2020) was an England international football goalkeeper and part of the Liverpool team of the 1970s. He is one of only 31 players to have made over 1,000 career appearances, and holds the r ...
,
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
His 30-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the distinction of playing over 1,000 league games, including in ...
and
Joe Corrigan
Joseph Thomas Corrigan (born 18 November 1948) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the Football League for Manchester City, Brighton & Hove Albion, Norwich City and Stoke City as well as the England nat ...
. However, he began to suffer from
ulcerated
An ulcer is a discontinuity or break in a bodily membrane that impedes normal function of the affected organ. According to Robbins's pathology, "ulcer is the breach of the continuity of skin, epithelium or mucous membrane caused by sloughing o ...
toes, which gave him severely swollen feet and caused him pain and discomfort throughout matches.
On 6 November 1982, he conceded five goals in a 5–0 defeat to
Mersey rivals Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
at
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...
. Kendall then dropped Southall as part of a shake-up at the club.
He spent January and February on loan at
John McGrath's
Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...
, and played nine Fourth Division games. McGrath was impressed and tried to take Southall to
Vale Park
Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950.
The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...
on a permanent basis, but was rebuffed by Kendall. Back at Everton he played the last four games of the
1982–83 season after Arnold picked up an injury.
Arnold was the preferred choice in goal at the start of the
1983–84 season, before Southall was recalled on 1 October against
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...
. Everton had a poor start to the league campaign, but excelled in cup competitions, reaching the final of both the League Cup and the FA Cup. Southall's first appearance at
Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
was in the
League Cup final against Liverpool, and he kept a clean sheet in a goalless draw.
The replay was held at
Maine Road
Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest atte ...
, and Liverpool won the tie 1–0 with a
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit.
A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...
goal.
He was rarely called into action in the
1984 FA Cup Final, and kept a clean sheet as Everton claimed the trophy with a 2–0 victory over
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
.
Southall kept a clean sheet at Wembley in the
1984 FA Charity Shield
The 1984 FA Charity Shield (also known as the FA Charity Shield sponsored by General Motors for sponsorship reasons) was the 62nd Charity Shield, a football match contested by the holders of the Football League First Division and FA Cup. This edi ...
, as Everton beat Liverpool 1–0 to take home the first silverware of the
1984–85 season. They then lost the opening two league games of the season, before losing only three of their next 37 league games to win the First Division title by a 13-point margin. Over the course of the season they beat Liverpool both at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...
and at Goodison, and recorded a 5–0 win over
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
. Southall made one particularly crucial save from a point-blank
Mark Falco
Mark Peter Falco (born 22 October 1960) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for a number of clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, Watford, Rangers and Queens Park Rangers.
Career
Falco was born in Bethnal Green, ...
header in a 2–1 win over title chasers
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
at
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...
on 3 April. In the
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
, Everton beat
UCD (Ireland),
Inter Bratislava
FK Inter Bratislava () is a football club based in Bratislava, Slovakia, temporarily playing its home matches in Stupava.
History
Inter Bratislava was founded in 1940 by the Apollo refinery (later renamed Slovnaft). Following the end of World Wa ...
(Czechoslovakia),
Fortuna Sittard
Fortuna Sittard (; li, Fortuna Zitterd ) is a football club in Sittard, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was established through a merger ...
(Netherlands), and
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
(Germany) in two-legged encounters, and Southall conceded just one goal (from
Dieter Hoeneß
Dieter Hoeneß (born 7 January 1953) is a German former professional football player and executive. A forward in his playing career, Hoeneß was mainly associated with Bayern Munich. After retiring, he stayed connected with football, working ...
) over the course of all eight matches. They then beat Austrian club
Rapid Wien
Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...
3–1 in
the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
at
De Kuip
Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the Feijenoord district in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same na ...
to win the first European title in the
club's history. Three days later Everton played in the
1985 FA Cup Final
The 1985 FA Cup Final was the 104th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 18 May 1985 at Wembley Stadium, and was contested by Manchester United and holders Everton. United won by a single goal, scored in extra time by Norman Whiteside, when h ...
, but lost 1–0 to Manchester United after a
Norman Whiteside
Norman Whiteside (born 7 May 1965) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and striker.
Whiteside began his career at Manchester United, signing professional forms in 1982 at the age of 17 and quickly be ...
goal in extra-time. At the end of the season Southall was named as the
FWA Footballer of the Year
The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...
, becoming the first Everton player, second Welshman and fourth goalkeeper to win the award.
Though Everton had won a place in the
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
, English clubs were banned from European competitions following the
Heysel Stadium disaster
The Heysel Stadium disaster ( it, Strage dell'Heysel ; german: link=no, Katastrophe von Heysel ; french: Drame du Heysel ; nl, Heizeldrama ) was a crowd disaster that occurred on 29 May 1985 when mostly Juventus fans escaping from a breach by ...
. Southall remained bitter over this, blaming
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
for the tragedy and stating that the ban was a convenient way to break up English dominance of European competitions. Limited to domestic competitions, Everton won the
FA Charity Shield
The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...
with
a 2–0 win over Manchester United; during the celebrations Southall wore a T-shirt saying "I Love My Wife" as a symbolic gesture following tabloid stories of an alleged affair. After getting sent off against
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
at
Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to:
* Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England
** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066
* Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge
* Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...
in October, Kendall criticised Southall in the press by saying he "let the lads down". Despite this set-back, he agreed to sign a six-year contract in December, which was then the longest contract the club had ever issued. However, he twisted his ankle ligaments on international duty with ten league games left to play. In his absence, his deputy
Bobby Mimms took his place, and Everton lost both the league title and the
1986 FA Cup Final
The 1986 FA Cup Final was the 105th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 10 May 1986 at Wembley Stadium and was a Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton. The match was played seven days after Liverpool had secured the league title, ...
to Liverpool.
Sidelined through injury at the start of the
1986–87 season, he returned to the first team against Watford in October. He was the club's Player of the Month in February, and won
man of the match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
awards in wins over
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
and Chelsea as Everton claimed another league title. Comparing the two title wins (1985 and 1987), Southall said that the latter success was "more rewarding and satisfying" as it had proved to be "more of a struggle" compared to the ease in which the title was won in the former campaign.
After Kendall left Merseyside to coach
Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...
, his assistant
Colin Harvey
James Colin Harvey (born 16 November 1944 in Liverpool, England) is an English former footballer who is best known for his time as a player, coach and manager with Everton.
Playing career
Harvey was born in Liverpool and joined Everton as ...
took charge at Goodison; Southall responded well to the change, as he believed Harvey "understood my obsessive and relentless desire to be the best".
Everton finished fourth in
1987–88, conceding a
club record low of 27 goals in 40 league games, and reached the semi-finals of the League Cup.
Southall had missed the opening stages of the season after undergoing knee surgery.
Harvey had failed to adequately replace some of Everton's departing star players, and Southall noted how "the mediocrity became habitual" as the club coasted to an eighth-place finish in the
1988–89 season. He kept goal in the final of the
Full Members Cup
The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992.
Th ...
(a largely unsuccessful tournament inspired by the ban on European football), as Everton were beaten 4–3 by
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
. More significantly, he kept goal against Liverpool in the
1989 FA Cup Final after conceding only two goals in the seven games en route to the final. In an emotional match in the aftermath of the
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...
in the semi-final encounter with Nottingham Forest, Liverpool won the cup with a 3–2 extra-time victory.
Everton were leading the division at the start of the
1989–90 season, but their title challenge fell away after a televised 6–2 defeat to
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
. Southall was later told he needed surgery that would keep him out of action for eight months, but he instead sought out a back specialist who told him he simply had a "bad back" and found that the problem corrected itself.
Southall requested a transfer before the start of the
1990–91 season. He famously sat down during a "sulking session" against a goalpost at half-time of the season opener whilst his teammates were still in the changing rooms while two goals down to newly promoted
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
(a game Everton eventually lost 3–2); Southall was fined two weeks wages despite denying it was a protest and that he simply did it to clear his head. He then received a phone call from
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
manager
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...
, but Southall's hostile phone manner put Ferguson off the idea of signing him, and Ferguson instead bought Danish goalkeeper
Peter Schmeichel
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
. Howard Kendall returned as Everton manager in November, with Colin Harvey being demoted to his assistant, and led the club out of relegation trouble to secure a ninth-place finish. They also reached the final of the
Full Members Cup
The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992.
Th ...
at Wembley, losing 4–1 to
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
, though Southall refused to collect his runners-up medal as he did not value the competition.
Everton were a declining force, and finished 12th in the league in
1991–92 whilst exiting both the FA Cup and League Cup at the Fourth Round. They then finished 13th in the
1992–93 season in the newly created
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
, just four points above the relegation zone. Kendall resigned mid-way through the
1993–94 campaign and was replaced by
Mike Walker – Southall later described Walker as a man who loved his
suntan more than football. Walker oversaw a run of bad results and Everton only escaped relegation with a final day victory over
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
, winning 3–2 after turning round a 2–0 deficit. Southall saw that his teammates were reluctant to take a penalty in the match and so took the ball himself before
Graham Stuart plucked up the courage to take the ball from him and convert the penalty.
Everton picked up four points from their opening 12 league games of the
1994–95 season, and Southall received death threats after being confronted by an Everton fan during a match at Goodison Park. Walker was sacked and replaced by
Joe Royle
Joseph Royle (born 8 April 1949) is an English football manager and former footballer. In his playing career as a striker, he debuted for Everton at the age of 16 and went on to play for Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, and the ...
, who led the club to a 2–0 win over Liverpool in his first match in charge – this game also marked a record 35th Merseyside derby appearance for Southall. It was also the second match of seven consecutive games Everton went without conceding a goal – another club record. Southall then conceded just one goal (a penalty) in five games en route to the
1995 FA Cup Final
The 1995 FA Cup Final was a football match played at Wembley Stadium in London on 20 May 1995 to determine the winner of the 1994–95 FA Cup. The 50th FA Cup Final to be played at Wembley since the Second World War, it was contested by Everton ...
against Manchester United. Everton won the game 1–0, with Southall making a double save from
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football coach, pundit, former player, and co-owner of Salford City. He spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 ...
; the victory left Southall as the most decorated Everton player in the club's history.
In the summer of 1995 Southall was given a
testimonial match
A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...
against
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
as well as an
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
– during the ceremony
the Queen
In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to:
* Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death
The Queen may also refer to:
* Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...
asked Southall "what will you do now that you're retired?". He went on to keep a clean sheet in the
1995 FA Charity Shield, as Everton beat
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
1–0. He remained an ever-present in the
1995–96 season, though Royle then tried to sign Crystal Palace goalkeeper
Nigel Martyn
Antony Nigel Martyn (born 11 August 1966) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
He notably played in the Premier League for Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Everton, having initially playe ...
. He tried to sell Southall to
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
, but cancelled the deal after becoming concerned over the pre-season form of touted replacement
Paul Gerrard
Paul William Gerrard (born 22 January 1973) is an English football goalkeeping coach and retired player. He is currently employed by Football League Two side Carlisle United as a goalkeeping coach, having previously been employed as a player-go ...
, and instead doubled Southall's wages to £6,000 a week with a new two-year contract. Despite this, Royle dedicated an entire chapter of his 2005 autobiography to decrying Southall as a "potential weak link".
After a promising start to the
1996–97, Everton were beaten six times in a row after Christmas and Southall resorted to ringing up a phone-in radio show to defend manager Joe Royle from unhappy supporters. Royle dropped Southall from the team despite the show of support, though he rejected a transfer offer from Chelsea, who were prepared to double Southall's wages. Caretaker-manager
Dave Watson
David Watson (born 20 November 1961) is an English football manager and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a defender from 1980 to 2001. He played his entire career for Norwich City and Everton. With the Toffees he played in ...
restored Southall to the starting line-up after Royle's resignation, and steered the club away from relegation.
Howard Kendall returned again to manage Everton for the
1997–98 season and initially dropped Southall. However, Southall regained his place and had a memorable match playing against
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
on 25 October; Southall was "in inspired form" and kept a clean sheet. Southall played in the Everton goal for the final time on 29 November, in a 2–0 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur.
Thomas Myhre
Thomas Harald Myhre (born 16 October 1973) is a Norwegian football manager and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the manager of Moss. The last club he played for before his retirement was Kongsvinger, ha ...
took his place in goal, and Southall rejected a coaching role at the club in order to search for first team football elsewhere.
In December 1997, Southall went to
Alvin Martin
Alvin Edward Martin (born 29 July 1958) is an English football manager, former professional footballer and pundit.
As a player, he was a defender, playing most of his footballing career for West Ham United he appeared in 598 games for them, s ...
's
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...
of the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
on loan. He made 9 appearances in a brief stay at
Roots Hall
A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients.
Root or roots may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...
.
He joined
Chris Kamara
Christopher Kamara (born 25 December 1957) is an English former professional football player and manager who worked as a presenter and football analyst at Sky Sports from 1992 to 2022.
As a player, he was known as a tough-tackling midfielder. H ...
's First Division
Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
in February 1998.
Kamara resigned two months later, and caretaker-manager
Alan Durban
William Alan Durban (born 7 July 1941) is a Welsh former international footballer and manager, whose career was at its peak between the 1970s and 1990s. He played in the Football League for Cardiff City, Derby County and was player-manager of ...
pulled Southall aside on his first day in charge to say "I'll let you manage the reserves, so long as you keep your head down, do whatever I tell you, and I won't tell everybody you're a bad influence".
Southall was shocked by Durban's words and could not explain his attitude.
Both Southend and Stoke would end the season bottom of their respective divisions and Everton only avoided relegation on the last day of the season. He left the
Britannia Stadium
The Bet365 Stadium (stylised as ''bet365 Stadium'') is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was ...
in the summer, and later said "one of the worst episodes of my life had drawn to a close".
Later years
Former teammate
Ian Snodin
Ian Snodin (born 15 August 1963) is an English football manager, former professional player and sports analyst.
As a player he was a midfielder, notably playing in the top flight for Leeds United and Everton, appearing in the Premier League f ...
invited him to join
Conference
A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic.
Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...
side
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
on a short-term deal at the start of the
1997–98 season.
He signed with
Wes Saunders
Wesley Saunders (born 23 February 1963) is an English former professional football player and manager, who played as a central defender. He played for Newcastle United, Bradford City, Carlisle United and Torquay United in the Football League and ...
's
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
of the
Third Division in December 1998.
He saved a penalty on his debut at
Plainmoor
Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National League, the fifth tier of E ...
, in a 2–0 win over
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
and signed a contract lasting until the end of the
1998–99 campaign. He was named as Torquay's Player of the Year at the end of the season.
However, on 29 January 2000, he picked up a concussion in a 2–1 defeat to
Chester City at the
Deva Stadium
Deva Stadium is an association football stadium which is the home of Chester F.C., the effective successor club to the liquidated Chester City F.C., Chester City. The stadium straddles the England-Wales border at Sealand, Flintshire, Sealand, o ...
, and was substituted.
Though he recovered from his injury after the match, he left the club not long afterwards.
Southall made a return to the Premier League by signing with
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
as a player-coach, helping to coach
Aidan Davison
Aidan John Davison (born 11 May 1968) is a football coach and former professional footballer who is goalkeeping coach of National League side Wrexham.
As a player, he played as a goalkeeper from 1987 until 2008. Having started his career with n ...
,
Matt Clarke and
Gary Walsh
Gary Walsh (born 21 March 1968) is an English football coach and professional former footballer who was most recently head goalkeeping coach at EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion.
As a player, he was a goalkeeper from 1985 to 2006, not ...
.
All three goalkeepers picked up injuries, leaving manager
Paul Jewell
Paul Jewell (born 28 September 1964) is an English football manager and former player, who was most recently director of football at Swindon Town.
Jewell began his playing career with Liverpool, continued at Wigan Athletic and concluded in a t ...
no choice but to play Southall at
Valley Parade
Valley Parade, known as the University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Built in 1886, it was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they c ...
on 12 March 2000, against
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
.
At the age of 41 years and 178 days he became the fourth oldest player in Premier League history.
Leeds won 2–1, and Southall was criticised in the media for being too overweight to play professionally.
He left Bradford at the end of the
2000–01 season after falling out with new boss
Jim Jefferies.
International career
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
manager
Mike England
Harold Michael England (born 2 December 1941) is a Welsh former footballer and manager.
Playing career
Playing as a central defender, England began his career at Blackburn Rovers in 1959, before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in July 1966, ultimat ...
preferred
Dai Davies in goal as Southall began to play first team football at
Everton, and Southall only got a run of games once Davies retired. His first cap came against
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
at the
Racecourse Ground
The Racecourse Ground ( cy, Y Cae Ras) is a football stadium in Wrexham, Wales. It is the home of Wrexham A.F.C.
It is the world's oldest international football stadium that still hosts international matches, having hosted Wales' first home i ...
,
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
on 27 May 1982 in the
1982 British Home Championship, Wales won 3–0.
Wales came close to qualifying for the
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...
despite losing their opening
qualifying games away to
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. Wales then beat Iceland at
Ninian Park
Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixture ...
, before recording a surprise 1–0 win over
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
at
Hampden Park
Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...
with a single
Ian Rush
Ian James Rush (born 20 October 1961) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward. At club level Rush played for Liverpool from 1980–1987 and 1988–1996. He is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, having scored a to ...
goal. A 3–0 win over Spain at the Racecourse Ground meant that Wales could secure qualification by beating Scotland in
their final qualification game at Ninian Park, though a draw would not be enough. The game ended in a 1–1 draw after a late
Davie Cooper
Davie is a surname and a form of the masculine given name David.
It can refer to:
Surname
* Alan Davie (1920-2014), Scottish painter and musician
* Alexander Edmund Batson Davie (1847-1889), Canadian politician and eighth Premier of British Col ...
penalty cancelled out
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City.
During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...
's opener; Southall got a hand to the penalty, but could not keep it out. However, the result of the game was put into perspective when Scotland manager
Jock Stein
John "Jock" Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967. Stein also guided Celtic to nine successive Scottish ...
suffered a heart attack at the end of the game and died shortly afterwards.
Wales came close to qualifying for
UEFA Euro 1988
The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA.
The tournament crowned Netherlan ...
, which would have been the first
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
in the nation's history. Going into the final two games of qualifying, Wales led
their group. Southall was injured, and so missed the match against
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, which ended in a 1–0 defeat with
Eddie Niedzwiecki in goal.
Southall returned to play the final game, a 2–0 defeat to
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
which left Wales two points short of group winners Denmark.
Manager Mike England was then replaced by
Terry Yorath
Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine).
People
Male
* Terry Albritton (1955–2005), A ...
, who also made Southall a virtual ever-present in the Wales goal.
In
qualifying for the
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being Me ...
, Wales faced
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
and
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. They failed to win a game and finished bottom of the group, though Southall did get the chance to play against some of the world's best players in
Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a defender, midfielder or forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all t ...
,
Marco van Basten
Marcel "Marco" van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch football manager and retired professional player, who played for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team, as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...
,
Frank Rijkaard
Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Rijkaard played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and AC Milan and represented the Netherlands national team side ...
,
Rudi Völler
Rudolf "Rudi" Völler (; born 13 April 1960), nicknamed "''Tante Käthe''" ("Aunt Käthe"), is a German former professional football player and manager who serves as the sporting director for Bayer Leverkusen.
A forward, Völler won the FIFA W ...
,
Andreas Möller
Andreas Möller (born 2 September 1967) is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is the head of the youth department at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Club career
At club level, Möller played for Eintrach ...
,
Andreas Brehme
Andreas "Andy" Brehme (; born 9 November 1960) is a German football coach and former football defender. At international level, he is best known for scoring the winning goal for Germany in the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final against Argentina from a ...
, and
Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann (, born 30 July 1964) is a German professional football manager and former player. Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bayern Munich. He ...
.
In qualifying for
UEFA Euro 1992
The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA.
Denmark won the 1992 championship, having qualifi ...
, Wales were placed in the
same group as World Champions Germany, and finished just one point behind the Germans after conceding just six goals in their six games. Wales beat Germany 1–0 at the
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...
on 5 June 1991, and three months later beat
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
in a friendly by the same scoreline. The game which settled the qualifying group came in
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
on 16 October 1991, and Wales lost 4–1 to the Germans, ending Southall's
Wales record run of 385 minutes without conceding an international goal.
Wales were seen to have their best chance in reaching a major tournament after
their group was selected for qualification for the
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...
. However a
Gheorghe Hagi
Gheorghe "Gică" Hagi (; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner and manager of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one of ...
-inspired
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
defeated Wales 5–1 in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
to open the Wales campaign.
Victories over the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
and
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and two draws with the
Representation of Czechs and Slovaks put Wales back on track, and a victory over Romania in Cardiff in the last game of the tournament would be enough to secure a place in the World Cup.
However Southall allowed a 25-yard strike from Hagi slip under his body and into the net and was nutmegged by
Florin Răducioiu
Florin Valeriu Răducioiu (born 17 March 1970) is a Romanian former football striker, who played for Dinamo București, A.C. Milan, Brescia Calcio, West Ham United, RCD Espanyol, VfB Stuttgart and AS Monaco.
He played for Romania at the 1990 FI ...
as Wales were beaten 2–1.
Once again a death put Welsh footballing hopes into perspective, as Southall attended the funeral of retired postman John Hill, who was killed after being struck by a flare released at the end of the match.
Manager Terry Yorath was replaced by
John Toshack
John Benjamin Toshack (born 22 March 1949) is a Welsh former professional football player and manager.
He began his playing career as a teenager with his hometown club Cardiff City, becoming the youngest player to make an appearance for the ...
, who stuck with Southall but resigned after just 48 days after falling out with the
Football Association of Wales
The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the Governing bodies of sports in Wales, governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Wales national football team, Welsh national foo ...
. Results went badly under new boss
Mike Smith, despite a 2–0 victory over
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
in the first game of
qualifying for
UEFA Euro 1996
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
. An embarrassing 3–2 defeat to
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...
was followed by a heavy 5–0 loss to
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. Two defeats to
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
ended faint hopes of qualification and cost Smith his job.
Southall applied for the vacant position, but Bobby Gould was chosen instead, who in turn named Southall and Ian Rush as his assistants. He tried
Danny Coyne
Daniel Coyne (born 27 August 1973) is a Welsh football coach and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a goalkeeper who played between 1992 and 2018. He came through the youth ranks at Tranmere Rovers during the 1992–93 season. ...
,
Andy Marriott and
Tony Roberts in goal in friendly games, but selected Southall for the
World Cup qualifying wins over
San Marino
San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...
.
A month away from his 39th birthday, he won his final cap against
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
on 20 August 1997; the Turks won 6–4.
Southall only played the first half as Gould blamed him for the three goals he conceded – his replacement
Paul Jones went on to concede three himself in the second half. Southall's 92
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
were a national record until surpassed by
Chris Gunter
Christopher Ross Gunter (born 21 July 1989) is a Wales, Welsh Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for AFC Wimbledon and the Wales national football team, Wales national team. An attacking D ...
in November 2018. Southall conceded 126 goals, an average of 1.34 per match.
The
1958 FIFA World Cup
The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the sixth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country.
Brazil be ...
was the only time until the end of his career that Wales qualified for a major tournament and the
British Home Championship
The British Home Championship
* sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp
* gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta
* cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...
was played for the final time in
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
, therefore the majority of Southall's caps came in
friendlies or qualifying games.
Style of play
Southall was renowned for his shot-stopping ability, particularly in dealing with one-on-one situations, quickly coming off his line to intimidate the onrushing forward and relying on his instinctive reactions to save the ball. He would spend hours reading books about boxing and golf to improve his balance and spring, and would focus on improving minor pieces of kit and behaviour, saying that "If I changed 100 things and got 1% better because of one of them, then it was worth it".
Coaching and management career
Southall was appointed caretaker manager of
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, alongside Mark Hughes, following the resignation of
Bobby Gould
Robert Hewitt Gould (born 12 June 1946) is an English former footballer and manager.
Early life
Gould was born in Wyken, Coventry, Warwickshire on 12 June 1946. He is the son of Henry Gould and Helen McKellar Gould (née Morton). He spent h ...
after a 4–0 defeat against
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
on 5 June 1999.
In his only game in charge Wales lost 2–0 to
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...
on 9 June 1999, and Mark Hughes was appointed as manager on a full-time basis.
During his time playing for
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
he also worked as a goalkeeping coach at
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
and
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
.
He later became a player-coach at
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
,
Rhyl
Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Flintshire (historic), Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at ...
,
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
and
Dagenham & Redbridge.
He was appointed manager of Conference club
Dover Athletic
Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...
in December 2001. His managing stint at the Kent club was short and he was sacked in March 2002, after only a few months in charge, after the club's new owners decided to promote his assistant
Clive Walker. He later made cameo appearances as a player at
Canvey Island
Canvey Island is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office ...
. He also began teaching young people from deprived backgrounds how to coach in a community scheme called ''Soccer Skills'', and later worked in the
special education
Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...
sector. He set up his own educational consultancy that specialised in working with
NEET
NEET, an acronym for "Not in Education, Employment, or Training", refers to a person who is unemployed and not receiving an education or vocational training. The classification originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s, and its use has ...
s, in partnership with
Brooklands College
__NOTOC__
Brooklands College is a further education college in Weybridge and Ashford, England.
In August 2007 Brooklands merged with Spelthorne College in Ashford. The Weybridge campus is in the grounds of Hugh F. Locke King's historic mansio ...
.
He had a spell as Wales under-19 coach, but quit his post in November 2004, claiming he was treated with "a total lack of respect" and that the coaching was compromised because "...as always, it's about money."
FAW management committee chairman Ken Tucker issued a rebuke, saying: "Nev is making comments on things he knows little about. It is sad when people make comments without any knowledge of the finances of the FAW."
A month after resigning from the national scene, Southall returned to management with
Hastings United. However just one year on he was sacked, with the Hastings chairman saying that "there have recently been an increasing number of issues on which Neville and I have disagreed and it had got to the point where our working relationship had broken down, beyond the point of repair, as far as I was concerned".
In November 2008,
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...
manager Terry Yorath appointed Southall as his assistant in the
Isthmian League
The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs.
Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...
. In September 2009, he became the caretaker-manager after Yorath resigned as manager.
Personal life
Southall married Eryl Williams in June 1980. The couple had a daughter, Samantha, in 1987. He admitted to having affairs over the course of the 18-year marriage, and left Eryl for another woman, an
aromatherapist
Aromatherapy is based on the usage of aromatic materials including essential oils and other aroma compounds, with claims for improving psychological and physical well-being. It is offered as a complementary therapy or as a form of alternative me ...
named Emma, in 1998. In addition to the daughter from his first marriage, he and his second wife also act as foster parents: a 2018 interview reported that they were looking after two children.
Southall is a
teetotaller
Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...
; this fact, coupled with his shy personality and dedication to football gave him a reputation as something of a loner.
In August 2012, his autobiography ''The Binman Chronicles'' was released. It was the sixth best selling football book of 2012.
In 2014 Southall started working as a teaching assistant at Canolfan Yr Afon, the
Pupil Referral Unit
In the UK, a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) (previously known as Pupil Re-integration Unit by some Local Education Authorities) is an alternative education provision which is specifically organised to provide education for children who are not able to ...
for
Blaenau Gwent, based in
Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr con ...
, helping pupils with their job seeking and soft skills, and liaising with local businesses to arrange work placements. He had previously worked in a similar role in London.
Political activism
He is a member of the trade union
UNISON
In music, unison is two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves, usually at the same time. ''Rhythmic unison'' is another term for homorhythm.
Definition
Unison or per ...
and serves as international officer for his branch.
In May 2017, Southall endorsed
Labour Party leader
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
in the
2017 UK general election
The 2017 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 8 June 2017, two years after the previous general election in 2015; it was the first since 1992 to be held on a day that did not coincide with any local elections. The governing C ...
. He was impressed by Labour's plans to commit 5% of Premier League football's £8.3 billion broadcasting revenue back into the grassroots game, among other reasons.
He subsequently said the following year: "Jeremy Corbyn's done all right. Whether you like him or hate him, he sticks to what he says."
He is active on social media as a supporter of various charitable causes and LGBT rights, and has handed over his
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account to people from marginalised groups and organisations that work to support them, in order to give them a platform to answer questions from the public, including members of the LGBT community, a drugs helpline, a suicide bereavement charity, and a sex workers' collective.
Southall is a prominent supporter of
Welsh independence
Welsh independence ( cy, Annibyniaeth i Gymru) is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom.
Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward I of England following the ki ...
and has spoken at multiple events advocating for it.
Career statistics
Club
:A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the
Anglo-Scottish Cup
The Anglo-Scottish Cup was a tournament arranged for teams in the English and Scottish football leagues during the summer for several years during the 1970s. It was created in 1975 as a new incarnation of the Texaco Cup, with a similar format t ...
,
FA Charity Shield
The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...
,
Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...
,
Full Members Cup
The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992.
Th ...
,
Football League Centenary Trophy
The Football League Centenary Trophy (also known as the Mercantile Credit Centenary Trophy for sponsorship reasons) was an English football tournament held during the 1988-89 season to celebrate the 100th birthday of The Football League. The com ...
,
Super Cup.
International
Honours
In December 2004 he was voted as Everton's all-time cult hero. He holds numerous
Everton club records, including: most league appearances (578), most
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
appearances (70), most
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
appearances (65), and most clean sheets (269). He is named on the
Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame
Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame celebrates the men who have contributed to the history of English association football, football club Everton F.C., Everton. Everton's ground, Goodison Park, is on Gwladys Street in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpoo ...
. In 1998, he was named as one of the
Football League 100 Legends
The Football League 100 Legends is a list of 100 great association football players who played part or all of their professional career in English Football League and Premier League football. The players were selected in 1998 by a panel of journa ...
. In 1999, ''
World Soccer'' magazine named him joint 95th (with
László Kubala
László Kubala ( sk, Ladislav Kubala, es, Ladislao Kubala, 10 June 1927 – 17 May 2002) was a Hungarian-Slovak professional footballer who also had Spanish citizenship. He played as a forward for Ferencváros, Slovan Bratislava, Barcelona, ...
) in the 'Greatest Players of the 20th Century'. In the
IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper
The IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper is a football award given annually since 1987 to the best goalkeeper of the year as voted by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). The votes are cast by IFFHS's editorial staff ...
rankings he was listed fifth in 1987, seventh in 1988, ninth in 1989, and fourth in 1991. He was voted
FWA Footballer of the Year
The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...
in 1985, making him the last goalkeeper to be given the award.
He was voted
BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year
The BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year is a televised sporting competition, broadcast on BBC Two every year; and the most prestigious annual Sport in Wales, sport award in Wales. It was first awarded in 1954, and is currently organise ...
in 1995.
References
Specific
General
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southall, Neville
1958 births
Living people
People from Llandudno
Sportspeople from Conwy County Borough
People educated at Ysgol John Bright
Welsh footballers
Wales international footballers
Association football goalkeepers
Llandudno F.C. players
Conwy Borough F.C. players
Bangor City F.C. players
Winsford United F.C. players
Bury F.C. players
Everton F.C. players
Port Vale F.C. players
Southend United F.C. players
Stoke City F.C. players
Doncaster Rovers F.C. players
Torquay United F.C. players
Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players
Bradford City A.F.C. players
York City F.C. players
Rhyl F.C. players
Shrewsbury Town F.C. players
Dover Athletic F.C. players
Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players
Canvey Island F.C. players
Northern Premier League players
Premier League players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Cymru Premier players
Isthmian League players
Association football coaches
Association football goalkeeping coaches
Huddersfield Town A.F.C. non-playing staff
Tranmere Rovers F.C. non-playing staff
Shrewsbury Town F.C. non-playing staff
York City F.C. non-playing staff
Welsh football managers
Dover Athletic F.C. managers
Hastings United F.C. managers
Margate F.C. managers
National League (English football) managers
Isthmian League managers
Members of the Order of the British Empire
English Football Hall of Fame inductees
British autobiographers
Labour Party (UK) people
FA Cup Final players