After relentless pursuing of Saints and Ex-Saints on twitter, I managed to get one of my favourites!
Former Saints striker Egil Østenstad wowed the Dell between 1996 and 1999, scoring some great goals and being part of that famous 6-3 victory over Manchester United in which he bagged a hat-trick (he doesn’t care what the dubious goals panel says, he’s got the match ball!).
So here it is 20 questions with Egil Østenstad!
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1. Best Saints Memory? ‘Among a lot of great ones; staying in the Premier League in my first season after being in desperate trouble. Great feeling. Also being voted Player of the season that same season, and scoring in front of the The Kop on my first visit to Anfield.’
2. Worst Saints memory? ‘Not being able to sort out a new and longer contract with Rupert Lowe.’
3. Favourite Manager? ‘I will always be very grateful towards Graeme Souness for giving my the chance to come to Southampton and the Premier League. At Southampton, in his eyes, I never did anything wrong. At Blackburn I never did anything right…’
4. Least favourite Manager? ‘Even though results were decent I thought Dave Jones had an old school approach to the game and a managerial outlook that I found difficult to like.’
5. Most talented team mate? ‘Le Tiss was the biggest British talent of his generation when it comes to pure football. His willingness to make the most out of his talent is a different story. Eyal Berkovic was a joy to play with.’
6. Biggest prankster in the dressing room? ‘Jim Magilton. Busy man…’
7. The Dell or St. Mary’s? ‘For me The Dell. I only played against Southampton at St Mary’s.’
8. Which member of the current team impresses you most? ‘Adam Lallana. Not just because of his ability. More so because of his attitude, loyalty and being a great ambassador for Saints.’
9. Hardest team mate? ‘Ulrich van Gobbel. Monster…’
10. Any Fratton Park abuse while playing for other clubs? ‘Loads whilst playing for Blackburn. Quite enjoyed that and scored the winning goal (0-1) on my first visit there. Great stuff!’
11. Derby Day memories? ‘Portsmouth were nearly as bad then as they are now when I was there.’
12. Toughest opponent? ‘Martin Keown.’
13. Favourite Away Ground? ‘Anfield.’
14. Favourite Saints kit? ’97/98 season Home shirt.’
15. Ever had a Benali curry? ‘Loads. Very good actually!’
16. Best friends from Saints days? ‘I appreciate the fact that I have met and occasionally spoken to Jason Dodd, Le Tiss, Franny Benali, Jim Magilton and Gordon Watson in the last years. I sometimes speak to Claus Lundekvam. It was a good group of players when I was there.’
17. Money in football. Gone too far or great for the game? ‘Too far. I really hope the rules of financial fair play will have the desired effect. Football is turning into too much of a toy for the wrong reasons.’
18. Pace or skill? ‘Average pace and average skill…’
19. Where will Saints finish this season? ‘Top 10. Which is a great achievement!’
20. And finally, you are stranded on Hayling Island (Portsmouth) what luxury item would you like to keep you sane? ‘Access to Spotify…’
….and a bonus question just for you as we have the same taste in music.
21. What song do you think best fits the Saints experience? ‘Smells like teen spirit…’
Many thanks to Egil for taking the time to answer these questions!
Chris