Souness - just a big softie!

[Peter]

This is a terrific effort from anyone, never mind a 70 year-old who would have found shutting his mouth every time he ducked a huge problem.  What a tremendous gesture.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-65944866

[hatler]

Yep, it's rather changed my view of him. He mostly comes across as miserable and sour, and my recollection of him as a footballer is as an uncompromising, overly hard and niggly defender who got away with too much. Ooo yes, and with a terrible haircut.

[Peter]

Yes, I'd forgotten about the haircut!  They all had them, Souness at Boro, Keegan at Newcastle.  Souness was hard but Keegan is only a little guy - I'm surprised he dared go it in it!

Anyway, enough banter.  Just as a sporting achievement that must be a very respectable time for crossing the channel if he actually swam it all.

I have a friend in the village who used to be Lead Nurse at Manchester Children's Hospital and he tells tales of hard-case footballers coming in to do their social duty and standing by the kids beds with tears streaming down their faces (Guardiola included).

[JellyLegs]

I am impressed by him taking this on at 70, especially as iirc he has had some serious health issues of his own that would have made this even more of a challenge.

Yes, he was a hard player but in professional sport you only get away with what you are allowed to get away with by the officials and the opposing players.  I don’t remember him imposing himself so much on players like Hunter, Bremner, Droy etc who he knew would give back as good as they got.

[Wowbagger]

Good for him.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Footballers have hearts shock!

[Cudzoziemiec]

Yes, I'd forgotten about the haircut!  They all had them, Souness at Boro, Keegan at Newcastle.  Souness was hard but Keegan is only a little guy - I'm surprised he dared go it in it!

Likely Lad:

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I can't link directly to this one, but I'm sure it's Borat:

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Now look, it's Borat playing footie. Are you sure about this?

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/the-football-haircut-xi--105342078754029852/

And in modern times, Monastic Vows:

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[Peter]

Cudzo, surely you know about spoilers?!

[Cudzoziemiec]

Fair point! Double bagging for Borat, I think.

[Peter]

 

[Peter]

Yes, I'd forgotten about the haircut!  They all had them, Souness at Boro, Keegan at Newcastle.  Souness was hard but Keegan is only a little guy - I'm surprised he dared go it in it!

Anyway, enough banter.  Just as a sporting achievement that must be a very respectable time for crossing the channel if he actually swam it all.

I have a friend in the village who used to be Lead Nurse at Manchester Children's Hospital and he tells tales of hard-case footballers coming in to do their social duty and standing by the kids beds with tears streaming down their faces (Guardiola included).

Suspicion confirmed.  Just watched local BBC News.  Souness was one of a six-man relay team, so even pro-rata (which is unlikely) he would have done 3.5 miles, in shifts.  But he did his main job which was to garner publicity and increase the amount raised.  As has been mentioned above, Graeme Souness has had serious heart problems, probably genetic, which include a heart attack as recently as 2015 and open heart surgery when he was only 38.  I think he may also have instigated this event and maybe even the charity itself.  So, all in all, a great effort.

[John Stonebridge]

It's a tremendous achievement even it is was a relay event.   

Any time GSs name gets mentioned as a Hard Man of football [TM] I'm reminded of the fact that a certain William John Bremner viewed Souness with great suspicion when the latter first joined the Scotland squad in the 70s due to his sartorial elegance / preening and referred to him as "a chocolate soldier".  A quick review of the 1970 FA Cup Final and the 1974 Charity Shield demonstrates that the threshold for "hard" was a bit higher back then.   

When GS came back to Scotland from Italy in the 1980s he lived initially in a house owned by David Holmes the Rangers Chairman in a quiet part of Falkirk near my parents.  Whilst the house had been chosen for its seclusion and security, I used to see GS out and about occasionally on foot and he was very pleasant without a shred of billy big boots about him though his airm of menace was sufficient for me not to ask about the Billy Bremner reference ^             

[Von Broad]

Footballers have hearts shock!

He's certainly had a shock to his in the past

[Peter]

@ John Stonebridge

Thought you might like this, John - I found it on wiki:-

His Liverpool team-mate Michael Robinson said of Souness in 2016: "I found him a very personal, cuddly chap who was actually quite vulnerable about being a human being with emotions. To this day, he still tries very hard not to be this lovely cuddly person, when really he is."[86]

[John Stonebridge]

@ John Stonebridge

Thought you might like this, John - I found it on wiki:-

His Liverpool team-mate Michael Robinson said of Souness in 2016: "I found him a very personal, cuddly chap who was actually quite vulnerable about being a human being with emotions. To this day, he still tries very hard not to be this lovely cuddly person, when really he is."[86]