Sauzee and transfers

[HibeeMG]

Earlier on I was mulling over the type of players we need to bring in to help dig us out of the hole we find ourselves in. My mind, as it does, wandered to the period when Sauzee was king.

He is exactly the type of player we need but it got me thinking. Here was a guy who had a fantastic standing in the game and was certainly not past it. He had no connection with anyone at the club as far as I remember.

So, my question is, how on earth did we manage to attract someone like Le God to the club given the options he would have had available to him? I can't remember the details from when he signed.

[Hal Jordan]

Easy.
We had McLeish in charge and we offered him a ton of money.

[Green Mikey]

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Earlier on I was mulling over the type of players we need to bring in to help dig us out of the hole we find ourselves in. My mind, as it does, wandered to the period when Sauzee was king.

He is exactly the type of player we need but it got me thinking. Here was a guy who had a fantastic standing in the game and was certainly not past it. He had no connection with anyone at the club as far as I remember.

So, my question is, how on earth did we manage to attract someone like Le God to the club given the options he would have had available to him? I can't remember the details from when he signed.

Sadly I don't think that we could attract a player like Sauzee again to the club.

When Le God was signed we spent a lot on wages and were competitive in wage terms with the lower leagues in England and some smaller European teams - this isn't the case any more. Also, teams in the Middle East and America are very active in the the slightly over the hill quality player market nowadays. They offer a good wage and lifestyle for a player close to retirement who may not fancy a couple of seasoms grafting in the SPL for peanuts.

[Viva_Palmeiras]

In addition to above knew and respected mcleish having played against him - Scotland actually won!

Edinburgh is cultural and doesn't look to shabby either which can't have done any harm either.

Now players probably have more options towards retirement - US, Oz of China, Russia for silly money in time there will likely be the likes of was it Dubai that got the WC?

Scotlands standing in the game, ability, lack of money, weather and culture probably count against unfortunately which does make me wonder what if anything is the bigger vision for Hibs? British league ?
Planning permission and cheap costs aside why bother with the stand for a game dying on it's feet?

[The_Exile]

Put simply, he was Hibs class, and he knew it

[Andy74]

As noted above these type of players now find their way to the US, Middle East, China, Australia etc before they would consider Scotland.

There are, however still players out there like Killen, Shiels, Boozy, Jones, Murphy, Benji and Zemmama. We could do with some of those type of signings who were cheap but good quality.

[rainman]

McLeish signed a team of captains. You could've taken your pick of just about any one of them for captain and many of them captained us at one point in their Hibs career.

Colgan
Gary Smith
Fenwick
Sauzee
Laursen
Latapy
O'Neill
Jack
Mixu
Zitelli

[bawheid]

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McLeish signed a team of captains. You could've taken your pick of just about any one of them for captain and many of them captained us at one point in their Hibs career.

Colgan
Gary Smith
Fenwick
Sauzee
Laursen
Latapy
O'Neill
Jack
Mixu
Zitelli

Add in Archie Lovell and you have my favourite ever Hibs XI.

Those were the days.

[Leithenhibby]

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Easy.
We had McLeish in charge and we offered him a ton of money.

I thought we were actually in the "First Division" when we signed him.

Was his first game not at Brockville? McLeish was the man that got us the best team together since the 70's. Hopefully PF will get the job in hand done with slightly more success

[DC_Hibs]

As stated above those days are well gone but I was thinking the other day about the benefit of having an experienced player or two at Hibs who had played at a higher level (just not at the £5k a week level)

The likes of Fenwick and Smith came on a load by playing alongside Sauzee and the same can be said of John O'Neill who would have played alongside him in his spell in midfield initially and beside Russell as well. Think how much good it would do for the likes of Wotherspoon, Booth, Hanlon etc to be playing alongside better quality than some of the current and recent imposters.

Quality over Quantity approach would be needed to allow this in current budget but with our 900k loss and further drop in crowds it means this isnt going to happen.

Good to see Hibs legend Zitelli getting a mention in this thread. We should bring out a DVD of his Hibs goals (all 10 of them.... in 51 games). Derek Townsley was more prolific for us! A scorer of great goals rather than a great goal scorer certainly.

[Leithenhibby]

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Earlier on I was mulling over the type of players we need to bring in to help dig us out of the hole we find ourselves in. My mind, as it does, wandered to the period when Sauzee was king.

He is exactly the type of player we need but it got me thinking. Here was a guy who had a fantastic standing in the game and was certainly not past it. He had no connection with anyone at the club as far as I remember.

So, my question is, how on earth did we manage to attract someone like Le God to the club given the options he would have had available to him? I can't remember the details from when he signed.

Despite his success in France he is probably most highly regarded by the supporters of Scottish club Hibernian, for whom he was club captain from 1999 until the end of his playing career in 2002. Under his guidance as captain, Hibernian regained their place in the Scottish Premier League and reached the 2001 Scottish Cup Final. Hibs also finished third in the league in 2001, thereby qualifying for the UEFA Cup.
Sauzée is an Easter Road legend and is known as "Le God" and "Dieu" by the Hibs fans,[11] who voted him as their all time cult hero in a Football Focus poll carried out in 2005.[12] Sauzée particularly enjoyed Edinburgh derby matches against Hearts.[11] He scored in the 3–0 "Millennium derby" win at Tynecastle, and he also scored a headed goal in a 3–1 win while being knocked unconscious by an opponent's challenge.[11]
Irvine Welsh named Sauzée as his all time favourite Hibs player, despite having seen greats such as Pat Stanton, Joe Baker and George Best.[11] During his time as a player at Hibs, Sauzée was converted from a midfielder to sweeper.[11] Welsh describes his attributes as follows:[11]
“ At Hibs, his legs may have been heavier than of old, but like all gifted footballers easing into the veteran years, he made up for this with his incredible vision and anticipation. Sauzee invariably sensed exactly where the ball was going next and made everything look so easy. Instead of dictating from the midfield, he stepped back to do it from the sweeper's position, yet still loved to surge forward and was always a goal threat.
Striding on to the park like a casual colossus, his presence was simultaneously an inspiration and a calming influence on those around him, both on the field and in the stands. Some players often appear bigger than their chosen sport; they have a grace and presence that seems to throw aside the shackles of its limitations. Franck Sauzee possessed the bearing of a man who truly understood not just the beautiful game, but the world in general and his place in it.

[PatHead]

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Despite his success in France he is probably most highly regarded by the supporters of Scottish club Hibernian, for whom he was club captain from 1999 until the end of his playing career in 2002. Under his guidance as captain, Hibernian regained their place in the Scottish Premier League and reached the 2001 Scottish Cup Final. Hibs also finished third in the league in 2001, thereby qualifying for the UEFA Cup.
Sauzée is an Easter Road legend and is known as "Le God" and "Dieu" by the Hibs fans,[11] who voted him as their all time cult hero in a Football Focus poll carried out in 2005.[12] Sauzée particularly enjoyed Edinburgh derby matches against Hearts.[11] He scored in the 3–0 "Millennium derby" win at Tynecastle, and he also scored a headed goal in a 3–1 win while being knocked unconscious by an opponent's challenge.[11]
Irvine Welsh named Sauzée as his all time favourite Hibs player, despite having seen greats such as Pat Stanton, Joe Baker and George Best.[11] During his time as a player at Hibs, Sauzée was converted from a midfielder to sweeper.[11] Welsh describes his attributes as follows:[11]
“ At Hibs, his legs may have been heavier than of old, but like all gifted footballers easing into the veteran years, he made up for this with his incredible vision and anticipation. Sauzee invariably sensed exactly where the ball was going next and made everything look so easy. Instead of dictating from the midfield, he stepped back to do it from the sweeper's position, yet still loved to surge forward and was always a goal threat.
Striding on to the park like a casual colossus, his presence was simultaneously an inspiration and a calming influence on those around him, both on the field and in the stands. Some players often appear bigger than their chosen sport; they have a grace and presence that seems to throw aside the shackles of its limitations. Franck Sauzee possessed the bearing of a man who truly understood not just the beautiful game, but the world in general and his place in it.

How we could do with that now

[Leithenhibby]

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How we could do with that now

They just don't make them like this any more I'm afraid

[Andy74]

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They just don't make them like this any more I'm afraid

They do. They just steer clear of here now.

[Steve20]

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Add in Archie Lovell and you have my favourite ever Hibs XI.

Those were the days.

My favourite time watching Hibs.

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

There must have been a glut of defensive players at that time, if we were able to pick up bodies of the calibre of Fenwick and Gary Smith on freezers. IIRC, Fenwick came on a free from Greenock Morton?

[Northernhibee]

We never will, but if we could get Sol Bamba back in a season or two I don't think he'd be far off Sauzee class, perhaps even as good.

I never, ever understood the flack the man got from the fans, easily the best player I've seen in a Hibs shirt since Sauzee.

[Jamesie]

The days of an attack minded 3-5-2 - don't think I appreciated them enough!

I think the lure of £8k a week (reportedly) might have persuaded Sauzee to join us, but it was money well spent.

[blackpoolhibs]

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We never will, but if we could get Sol Bamba back in a season or two I don't think he'd be far off Sauzee class, perhaps even as good.

I never, ever understood the flack the man got from the fans, easily the best player I've seen in a Hibs shirt since Sauzee.

Bamba is the best centre half i have seen in a Hibs shirt, but Sauzee was miles ahead as a player and a person. Bamba and Sauzee really shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence imo.

[Northernhibee]

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Bamba is the best centre half i have seen in a Hibs shirt, but Sauzee was miles ahead as a player and a person. Bamba and Sauzee really shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence imo.

Given a few more years experience, he will be.

Having Bamba in our team disguised how ***** we were under Yogi, once he left and we were left with Dickoh and Thicot we seen how much influence big Sol had.

[weecounty hibby]

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The days of an attack minded 3-5-2 - don't think I appreciated them enough!

I think the lure of £8k a week (reportedly) might have persuaded Sauzee to join us, but it was money well spent.

And that is the difference between then and now. If you were to tally up the wasted money on some of the utter gash we have endured lately we could pay one or two salaries of this size to get the quality we need. I said on another thread that we are crying out for a Sauzee or an Archibald type signing. An experienced winner who the rest of the players would respect and hopefully learn from. And also someone who could get ALL of the fans on thier side and ALL backing them and the rest of the team

[DH1875]

Don't forget Dider Deschamps. If Sauzee had kept his job, Deschamps was on course to finish his career with us .

[thebakerboy]

Not that he is in the same class as Sauzee but think that Davie Weir could help our young defenders and the team in a similar way for half a season.

[Bayern Bru]

Fenwick and Gary Smith were fairly ordinary players but playing either side of Sauzee, they were superb. Just goes to show the influence certain types of Gods - sorry, players - can have on teammates.

[oldbutdim]

Wullie McCock had more to do with Le God joining Hibs than Judas did.

[Kato]

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Given a few more years experience, he will be.

Just to correct you there, no he won't.

[blackpoolhibs]

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Just to correct you there, no he won't.

[Wembley67]

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Given a few more years experience, he will be.

Having Bamba in our team disguised how ***** we were under Yogi, once he left and we were left with Dickoh and Thicot we seen how much influence big Sol had.

Sol wasn't half as bad as we made out but in a couple of years you reckon he will be in the same league as Sauzee??? Not a hope in hell!!

Bloody hope so but more chance of us winning the scottish cup than your vision coming true.

[Kaiser1962]

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The days of an attack minded 3-5-2 - don't think I appreciated them enough!

I think the lure of £8k a week (reportedly) might have persuaded Sauzee to join us, but it was money well spent.

In reality it was money we could not afford.

McLeish always wanted the East and both ends full of Hibs supporters with only the lower front of the West for visiting fans.

[Kato]

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Sol wasn't half as bad as we made out but in a couple of years you reckon he will be in the same league as Sauzee??? Not a hope in hell!!

Bloody hope so but more chance of us winning the scottish cup than your vision coming true.

By the time Sauzee was the age Bamba is now he had won two French League Championships, two French Cup Winners medals and was on teh verge of winning the European Cup. However much Bamba improves he will never match Sauzee as a player. Further than that he will never match him as person as the gulf in attitude, never mind skill and application, is huge.

Bamba as a player is "no bad". Sauzee was different class.