Graeme Souness

Infobox Football biography
playername = Graeme Souness


fullname = Graeme James Souness
height =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1953|5|6
cityofbirth = Edinburgh
countryofbirth = Scotland
currentclub =
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1970-1972
1972
1972-1978
1978
1978-1984
1984-1986
1986-1991
clubs = Tottenham Hotspur
Montreal Olympique
Middlesbrough
West Adelaide
Liverpool
Sampdoria
Rangers
Total
caps(goals) = 000 0(0)
010 0(2)
176 (22)
006 0(1)
247 (38)
056 0(8)
050 0(3)
539 (73)
nationalyears = 1974-1986
nationalteam = Scotland
nationalcaps(goals) = 054 0(4)
manageryears = 1986-1991
1991-1994
1995-1996
1996-1997
1997
1997-1999
2000-2004
2004-2006
managerclubs = Rangers
Liverpool
Galatasaray
Southampton
Torino
SL Benfica
Blackburn Rovers
Newcastle United

Graeme James Souness (pronEng|ˈsuːnɨs) (born 6 May, 1953 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. He is perhaps best known as the former captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, and as a manager notably with Rangers, Liverpool, Benfica, Galatasaray, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.

Career as a player

Early career

Souness was born on the same day (6 May 1953) and in the same city (Edinburgh) as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He was raised in the Saughton Mains area of Edinburgh. As with other tough-tackling Scottish midfielders such as Dave Mackay and Billy Bremner, journalists have regularly attributed Souness's rumbustious playing style to his modest upbringing. As a teenager Souness played for local boys club North Merchiston.

Souness's career began as an apprentice at Tottenham Hotspur under Bill Nicholson. He signed professional forms as a 15 year-old in 1968. Frustrated at a lack of first team opportunities, the teenage Souness reputedly informed Nicholson that he was the best player at the club. Souness made one solitary appearance for Spurs in the UEFA cup as a substitute.

During the summer of 1972, Souness played in the North American Soccer League for the Montreal Olympique. He appeared in 10 of his team’s 14 games, and was named in the league’s All-Star team for that season.

Back in England, Souness had played just once for Spurs prior to a £30,000 move to Middlesbrough in 1972. His debut came on 6 January 1973 in a 2-1 league defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage. His first goal came on 11 December 1973 in a 3-0 league victory over Preston North End at Ayresome Park.

Souness's tenacious style began to garner increasing acclaim during his time at Middlesbrough. His first season saw Middlesbrough finish fourth, two places and 14 points short of promotion. In May 1973, the recently retired Jack Charlton was appointed to his first managerial post. Promotion as champions of the Second Division followed. Souness's growing influence was demonstrated in a hat-trick in the season's final fixture, an 8-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday.

Liverpool

Souness's playing career is best remembered for his seven seasons at Liverpool, where he won five League Championships, three European Cups and four League Cups.

His time at Anfield began in 1978 as a replacement for veteran Ian Callaghan. After winning a first European Cup in 1977, Liverpool manager Bob Paisley sought reinforcements by signing three Scottish players, all of whom were to contribute substantially to further success. Central defender Alan Hansen arrived from Partick Thistle for £110,000. Kenny Dalglish - an established Scottish international - signed from Celtic for a then British record fee of £440,000. Souness formed the final part of the Scottish triumvirate, leaving Middlesbrough in acrimonious circumstances for a club-record fee of £350,000 on 10 January 1978.

Souness's Liverpool debut came in a 1-0 league victory over West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on 14 January 1978. His first goal - a characteristic volley just inside the penalty box, eventually awarded fans' goal of the season - came in a 3-1 win over bitter rivals Manchester United at Anfield on 25 February 1978.

Souness played a critical role in Liverpool's retention of the European Cup against FC Bruges at Wembley, providing the pass for Dalglish to score the game's only goal.

Sustained success followed. Souness's first League title medals were won in seasons 1978-79 and 1979-80. A second European Cup medal for Souness arrived in 1981 with a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid - the culmination of a campaign in which Souness scored a hat-trick in the quarter-final against CSKA Sofia.

This burst of success prompted Paisley to award Souness the club captaincy for season 1981-82, to the chagrin of the incumbent Phil Thompson. Under Souness's captaincy, two trophies followed as Liverpool regained the League championship and retained the League Cup - trophies that were successfully defended in season 1982-83. Souness relinquished his right as captain to lift the League Cup at Wembley after the 2-1 win over Manchester United in 1983, insisting that Paisley collected the trophy in his retirement season.

In 1983-84, Souness lifted three trophies as Liverpool again retained the League title and League Cup. The European Cup was regained after a penalty shoot-out win over AS Roma.

Souness's Liverpool career ended in 1984 after 358 appearances and 56 goals.

Career in Italy

Souness left Liverpool in 1984, joining Unione Calcio Sampdoria SpA for a fee of £650,000. Souness and England international Trevor Francis - a player at the Genoa-based club since 1982 - added experience to an emerging group of future Italian internationals, including Roberto Mancini, Pietro Vierchowod and Gianluca Vialli. In his first season, Sampdoria won the Coppa Italia with a 3-1 victory over Serie A rivals AC Milan, securing the trophy for the first time in the club's history.

Souness's career in Italy ended in 1986 as he took up the position of player-manager at Rangers.

International career

While a Middlesbrough player, Souness received his first international cap for Scotland on 30 October 1974 in a 3-0 friendly victory over East Germany at Hampden Park. By the time Souness was selected by manager Ally McLeod for the Scotland squad for the World Cup in Argentina in 1978, however, he had been awarded only six caps. His move to Liverpool, and a greatly increased profile, saw growing demands for the award of regular place.

A defeat and a draw in Scotland's first two World Cup group games against Peru and Iran saw calls for Souness, recovered from injury, to play in the critical final group match against the Netherlands. Replacing an established midfield, Souness contributed to a 3-2 victory that nevertheless saw Scotland eliminated from the tournament on goal difference.

Souness played in two further World Cups. The first, in 1982 in Spain, saw Souness play all three group games. His first international goal arrived in the final match prior to elimination, a 2-2 draw with USSR in Malaga.

A final World Cup appearance came in 1986 in Mexico, at a time when Souness had already been appointed Rangers player-manager. Souness played in defeats to Denmark and West Germany. He was omitted by caretaker manager Alex Ferguson for Scotland's final game against Uruguay.

Souness's Scotland career ended after the World Cup after 54 appearances and four goals in almost 12 years.

Managerial career

Rangers

Souness was appointed Rangers' first player-manager in April 1986, signing from Sampdoria for a fee of £300,000 and succeeding Jock Wallace. Financed initially by the club's then owner, Lawrence Marlborough, Souness and club chairman David Holmes embarked upon a bold strategy of reclaiming the footballing ascendancy that Rangers had periodically enjoyed in Scotland. Souness's appointment came after several years of under-performance. The league championship had last been won in season 1977-78, and the early 1980s saw Scottish football dominated by the 'New Firm' of Aberdeen and Dundee United, together with Celtic.

What came popularly to be termed the 'Souness Revolution' began with a slew of major signings from English clubs. Significantly, this reversed the historic pattern of Scotland's most able footballers playing in England. Souness's first season saw the arrival of players such as Terry Butcher, captain of Ipswich Town and an established England international, and Chris Woods of Norwich City, England's second-choice goalkeeper. Subsequent seasons saw the arrival of other English internationals, such as Trevor Steven, Gary Stevens, Trevor Francis and Ray Wilkins. Souness was able to offer the lure of European club competition, at a time - 1985-90 - when English clubs were banned from Europe in the wake of the Heysel Stadium disaster. Rangers profited from this by embarking upon a signing policy which drew on their relative wealth to compete, for the first time, directly with England's most powerful clubs.

Souness's revitalised Rangers quickly began to dominate Scottish football. In his first season, 1986-87 they won the Championship and the League Cup, beating Celtic 2-1 in the Final. Two more Championships were to follow, this time in successive seasons (1988-89 and 1989-90), and a further two League Cup victories, over Aberdeen 3-2 in 1988-89 and Celtic 2-1 in 1990-91. Souness left Rangers, to take over as manager of Liverpool, in 1991, replaced by his assistant, Walter Smith, four games prior to the end of what was to become another championship-winning season.

Souness's time at Ibrox was marked by persistent controversy. His most noteworthy act was the controversial signing of Mo Johnston in 1989. Rangers - historically a team supported by Protestants - were widely held to have implemented for most of the twentieth century a policy of refusing to sign Roman Catholics. Although several previous Rangers players came from Catholic backgrounds (including, at the time of Johnston's signing, John Spencer), their religious background was not made public and none of them were high-profile players. Johnston's arrival at Ibrox was significant because it signaled a very public end to a discriminatory signing policy. It was also significant because Johnston, a former Celtic player and coveted Scottish international, had days earlier at a press conference at Celtic Park publicly announced his decision to return to his former club.

Further controversy centred on Souness's dealings with the Scottish Football Association and Scottish League hierarchies. A succession of confrontational after-match comments pitched Souness regularly at loggerheads with both organisations, prompting touchline bans which Souness circumvented in characteristically provocative fashion by naming himself as a substitute, allowing access as a player to the dugout. Souness was later to claim that conflict with officialdom was one of the principal factors precipitating his departure from Ibrox.

Souness's appointment as Rangers' manager garnered most attention, but his arrival as a player was also of significance. Souness arrived at Ibrox with a reputation as one of Europe's leading midfielders - a view evidenced by his success at Liverpool and, to a lesser extent, with Sampdoria. His signing was unusual in that Scottish clubs had rarely been able to sign top-quality internationals, including Scots, from other leagues.

Souness's playing career at Ibrox began inauspiciously. His competitive debut - in the opening game of the 1986-87 season, against Hibernian in his hometown of Edinburgh - saw him sent off after two yellow cards in the first 34 minutes. Souness later self-deprecatingly argued that his second booking, for a foul on George McCluskey, had been awarded because "my boot ran up his leg!". Disciplinary problems - something that had recurred periodically throughout Souness's career - resurfaced on a number of occasions during his time as a player at Rangers.

Souness made 49 appearances for Rangers. Much of his time as player was blighted by injury. His final appearance as a player was at Ibrox in a 2-0 victory over Dunfermline Athletic in Rangers' last home game of the 1989-90 season, when he brought himself on for the final 20 minutes.

In 1990, when Rangers visited McDiarmid Park to take on St. Johnstone, the Glasgow club left their dressing room in such a state that St. Johnstone tea-lady Aggie Moffat was moved to ask, "Would you leave your home like that?" [cite web| title = Football: Ferguson fit of pique extends tradition of managerial spats| publisher = "The Independent"| url =http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20030218/ai_n12672391| accessdate = 2007-06-19] This led to Souness enquiring as to Moffat's ability to tidy up. A verbal ear-bashing from Moffat ensued.

Liverpool

The four years which followed were uneventful for Souness and disastrous for Liverpool. There was little success on the field, with only a 2-0 victory in the 1992 FA Cup final over Second Division Sunderland, but poor tactics, ill-judged transfer dealings and poor man management caused the decline of one of the greatest football clubs in Europe.

Rumours about squabbles in the dressing room between the players and Souness were rife, with Ian Rush famously telling a Sky Sports interviewer that 'teacups being thrown' were nothing new. Souness' only consolation at this time was the fact that he had blooded several new prodigious young talents like Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler allowing them to play and develop in the first team as compared to all the other senior players whom Souness accused of lacking heart.

Ironically, it was his own heart that literally was under stress. Souness had major heart surgery in 1992, and led his players out at Wembley for the FA Cup final just days after leaving hospital. But there had been controversy over the semi-final against Portsmouth

The game itself went to a replay and then a penalty shoot-out, and in the event of a victory, an interview was due to be published in The Sun, a British tabloid, with Souness celebrating the win and his own successful surgery. The photograph which accompanied the interview was of Souness, in his hospital ward, kissing his girlfriend with joy at his own recovery and his team's win.

The interview was due to go in alongside the match report on 14 April 1992 but the late end to the game meant that the deadline for publication was missed and the report, with interview and photograph, went in on 15 April instead - the third anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

Liverpool fans reacted with fury after seeing that the interview was conducted with "The Sun" - a newspaper which had been boycotted by many people on Merseyside for the intervening years over its reporting of the events at Hillsborough. Although he apologised profusely at the time, Souness has since said that he probably should have resigned.

He made a full recovery from his heart operation and stayed at Liverpool until January 1994. He quit after an FA Cup defeat against Bristol City and was replaced by Roy Evans.

Galatasaray

He went to manage Galatasaray in Turkey, and again managed to court controversy with local issues - nearly sparking a riot after placing a large Galatasaray flag into the centre circle of the pitch of hated rivals Fenerbahçe after Galatasaray had beaten them in the Turkish Cup final on 24 April, 1996. The iconic image of the victor planting the flag drew comparisons with Turkish hero Ulubatli Hasan, who was killed as he planted the Ottoman flag at the end of the Siege of Constantinople. This earned Souness the nickname 'Ulubatlı Souness' [cite web| title = Ulubatli Souness (In Turkish)| publisher = www.cimbombom.8k.com| url =http://www.cimbombom.8k.com/ulubatli.html| accessdate =2007-06-19] .

outhampton

Souness then returned to England to manage Southampton, but after one season he resigned, citing differences with chairman Rupert Lowe. Probably his most memorable moment was signing Senegalese player Ali Dia, supposedly on the recommendation of former FIFA World Player of the Year and former Liberian striker George Weah. This proved to be a hoax, as when Ali Dia played his only game in the English Premiership as a substitute for Matt Le Tissier, he performed amazingly poorly, and was later substituted himself.

Torino Calcio

After his stint at Southampton, Souness went back to Italy to become the coach at Torino Calcio.When he arrived it was clear he would have no say in what players he could buy or sell.The owner made those decisions. Souness lasted just four months before being fired.

Benfica

In 1997, Souness was signed by SL Benfica's new chairman Vale e Azevedo, who promised to return the club to its old glories. The Scottish manager brought several British players from the Premier League (defenders Steve Harkness and Gary Charles, midfielders Michael Thomas and Mark Pembridge and forwards Dean Saunders and Brian Deane). After two unsuccessful seasons, Souness was sacked. All of Benfica's British footballers (including the previously signed left-back Scott Minto) would also leave the club.

Blackburn Rovers

He then became manager of Blackburn Rovers, earning promotion back to the Premiership in his first full season. During his four year spell at Blackburn he initially got the very best out of talented youngsters such as Damien Duff, David Dunn and Matt Jansen; he also brought Andy Cole, Brad Friedel, Dwight Yorke and Lucas Neill to the club. Cole and Jansen scored in Blackburn's 2-1 League Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur in 2002.

He then guided Blackburn to a top 6 finish before a disappointing final season in 2003-2004 in which the club struggled, although they avoided relegation. After less than one month of the following season many Blackburn fans had begun to express grave doubts in Souness' handling of the club. His authoritarian methods had led to the alienation or departure of Yorke, Cole and Dunn. He could not be blamed for the long term loss of Matt Jansen to a motorbike accident or Damien Duff's departure to Chelsea. None of these players however were sufficiently replaced. Vratislav Gresko, Lorenzo Amoruso and Corrado Grabbi were all flops, whilst Steven Reid and Brett Emerton were also disappointing - although both shone for Blackburn after Souness' departure. Fans also became increasingly confused by Souness' tactical decisions. In spite of his undoubted successes at Ewood Park he is regarded with little fondness by some sections of Blackburn supporters.

Newcastle United

Souness left Blackburn in 2004 to become manager of Newcastle United. His appointment was controversial as he replaced local hero, Sir Bobby Robson, who had been sacked by the club.

Souness quickly fell out with a number of players including Welsh international Craig Bellamy who left the club to join Souness's former employers, Blackburn, after being farmed out on loan to Celtic. Laurent Robert, Olivier Bernard and Jermaine Jenas are also believed to have left the club on bad terms with Souness. The team finished 14th in the league and despite making it to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup and the FA Cup, Souness found himself under mounting pressure from Toon supporters.

Newcastle began the 2005-06 season in poor form but Souness was hoping that the purchase of Michael Owen from Real Madrid on 30 August for an estimated club-record fee of £17 million would help to turn the club's fortunes around. Newcastle recorded a win in the Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland (3-2), and went on to win their next three games keeping three clean sheets. Souness seemed to be tightening-up Newcastle in defence, with six clean sheets in Newcastle's first 12 games of the season (as many as the whole of the preceding campaign).

Souness's decision to pair two of the best England strikers in Alan Shearer and Michael Owen initially appeared shrewd. However, to Souness's misfortune, Michael Owen cracked the fifth metatarsal of his right foot when he clashed with England team-mate Paul Robinson during a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham on 30 December 2005 and was out of action for three months, adding to the manager's injury woes.

Criticism of Souness's apparent lack of long term planning centred on a threadbare squad and a consequent vulnerability to injury. Expensive signings such as Jean-Alain Boumsong for £8 million and Albert Luque for £10 million failed to make an impression.

By the end of his reign as Newcastle boss, Souness was deeply unpopular with the Newcastle fans, as evidenced by the frequency and vociferousness of "Souness Out" chants. By the beginning of February 2006, Newcastle United were placed 15th in the Premiership league table and sliding dangerously towards a relegation battle, despite the spending of £50m since Souness's arrival. Despite club captain Alan Shearer's publicly voiced loyalty and confidence in Souness's management of the team, results were not going in United's favour and sports media consistently questioned his position at the club. On 2 February2006, Newcastle United announced Graeme Souness had been released from his manager position by Chairman Freddy Shepard and replaced by United's Youth Academy Director Glenn Roeder.

In the club's DVD season review for the 2005–06 season, goalkeeper Shay Given and defender Robbie Elliott, acknowledged that Souness was under pressure at the club as a result of injuries to the squad and admitted that some players were to blame for their lack of all round effort, but also admitted there was a bad atmosphere at the training ground, with Souness seeming to favour some players over others. Alan Shearer acknowledged that the fans never really accepted Souness, whilst after Souness's first eight games, injuries had damaged the team's confidence and morale. [ [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Newcastle-United-Season-Review-2005/dp/B000FA578K Newcastle United - Season Review 2005/2006 on www.amazon.co.uk] ]

tevens Enquiry

In the report of the Stevens inquiry into football corruption published in June 2007, Souness was criticised for an apparent lack of consistency:

"“There remains inconsistencies in evidence provided by Graeme Souness - a former manager of the club - and Kenneth Shepherd - apparently acting in an undefined role but not as a club official - as to their respective roles in transfer negotiations.”" [cite news | title = What Stevens said about each club | publisher = www.telegraph.co.uk| date = 2007-06-16| url =http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/sport/2007/06/16/sfnste116.xml
accessdate =2007-06-17]

Souness issued a statement denying any wrong-doing: "I cannot understand why my name features in this report. I volunteered full information to Quest as a witness and I have heard nothing further from them." [cite news | title = Stevens puts spotlight on the agents | publisher = www.telegraph.co.uk| date = 2007-06-16| url =http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml;jsessionid=4BZTTXB2IWKDBQFIQMFSFF4AVCBQ0IV0?xml=/sport/2007/06/16/sfnbon116.xml
accessdate =2007-06-17]

The Stevens enquiry then issued a clarification: "We wish to make it clear that inconsistencies did not exist within the evidence given by Graeme Souness to Quest concerning his role in transfers covered by the Inquiry during his time as manager of Newcastle United FC and neither the Premier League nor do Quest have any concerns in this regard" [ [http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport.cfm?id=980622007 Edinburgh Evening News ] ] .

In July 2007, Newcastle United was raided by the City of London Police intent on investigating transfer dealings involving Newcastle, Rangers and Portsmouth. The enquiries centre on two Souness transfers - Jean Alain Boumsong and Amady Faye.Fact|date=September 2007 The Boumsong deal in particular was so odd that it was widely commented upon at the time.Fact|date=September 2007 Four months after succeeding Sir Bobby Robson as manager, Graeme Souness was in his first transfer window as Newcastle manager. At £8.2m, Boumsong was his first big signing and Souness compared the Frenchman to John Terry and Rio Ferdinand in terms of what he might bring to Newcastle's notoriously fragile defence. The difficulty Souness and Newcastle had in persuading assessors of the worth of the deal was twofold. First, that no other club was known to be challenging Rangers to sign Boumsong and, second, that six months earlier Boumsong had left Auxerre for Rangers on a free transfer.

Newcastle were well aware of Boumsong prior to his departure from Auxerre because Robson had travelled to France to watch him. Robson declined the opportunity to sign the centre-half, even on a free transfer, and his doubts about Boumsong's suitability for British football were confirmed when Newcastle's England striker Alan Shearer was marked by Boumsong in a pre-season game against Rangers and came off to speak in dismissive terms about the Frenchman's lack of physicality.Fact|date=September 2007

Shearer, famous for guarded comments, even mentioned Boumsong's previous availability on a free transfer on television and when Boumsong made his Newcastle debut against Yeading in the FA Cup at Loftus Road, and was given a torrid time, doubts over the wisdom of the transfer mushroomed.Fact|date=September 2007 However when Boumsong was available for transfer under the Bosman ruling, Liverpool were interested in signing him [ [http://www.rte.ie/sport/2003/0513/liverpool.html RTÉ Sport: Liverpool to move for Auxerre duo ] ] .

The agent in the Boumsong and Faye transfers was Willie McKay. On 7 November 2007, Quest issued the following statement about McKay's dealings: "Further to the key findings from the final Quest report published on 15 June 2007 by the Premier League, Quest would like to emphasise that, in that report, it was clear that no evidence of irregular payments was found in the transfers in the inquiry period which involved the agent Willie McKay. Quest would also like to thank Mr McKay for his cooperation with the inquiry." [ [http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2207222,00.html Quest finds no irregular payments in McKay deals | News | Guardian Unlimited Football ] ]

Career after management

Possible returns to Management

In June 2006, the chairman of Crystal Palace, Simon Jordan claimed he wished to discuss with Souness a role in managing the club following the departure of Iain Dowie. [cite web |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/crystal_palace/5040426.stm |title=Jordan targets Souness for boss|Work=BBC Sport website|date=2006-06-02|accessdate=2008-10-03] His arrival however never materialised.

In January 2008, Souness announced he would be willing to return to Newcastle United as manager, following the departure of Sam Allardyce and the arrival of the club's new ownership and board. However, United only interviewed Harry Redknapp and Kevin Keegan for the position, with Kevin Keegan soon after being appointed with the job; Souness's interests has never been publicly acknowledged by the club. [cite web |url= http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/13012008/4/souness-keen-newcastle-return.html|title=Souness Keen on Newcastle Return|Work=Yahoo! UK & Ireland Sport website|date=2008-01-13|accessdate=2008-10-06] [cite web |url= http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11678_3044060,00.html|title=Souness keen on Toon Return|Work=Sky Sports Website|date=2008-01-13|accessdate=2008-10-06]

Media work

Souness is currently employed as a television analyst on Ireland's RTÉ, having been dismissed as manager of the English Premier League side Newcastle United on 2 February 2006. He also appears regularly as a pundit on Sky Sports, principally on coverage of the Champions League.

Potential career as a football club owner

Souness has been reportedly looking to purchase and run a football club. In January 2007, he was reported by the Daily Mirror to be heading a £20million consortium to take over Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club. He attended a Wolves game as a VIP guest, and made a formal offer for the club, asking to see the club's finances. Wolves' chief executive Jez Moxey initially denied this offer, but Souness insisted to the "Express & Star" newspaper that he had made an offer for the club. The bid was rejected by the Wolves board, who felt it undervalued the club. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wolverhampton_wanderers/6244319.stm|title=Souness makes written Wolves bid|work=BBC Sport website|date=2007-01-10|accessdate=2007-05-11] Souness did not make a repeat offer for the club and it was later sold to another investor.

Biographies

In 1985, Souness wrote an autobiography called "No Half Measures". In 1999 he wrote another book chronicling his post-playing career up to and including his spell at Southampton, entitled "Souness: The Management Years".

ouness's life and views outside football

Private life

Souness has been married to Karen Souness, his second wife, since 1994. Together, the couple have a son, James. Souness also has three children - Chantelle, Fraser, and Jordan - from his previous marriage and two stepchildren - Daniel and Lauren - from Karen's previous relationship. [cite web| title = The softer side of Toon's hardman| publisher = icnetwork.co.uk| date = 2004-11-04| url =http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/newcastleunited/news/tm_objectid=14834442&method=full&siteid=50081&headline=the-softer-side-of-toon-s-hardman-name_page.html
accessdate =2007-06-19] .

Political views

Souness's political views have, at various points in his career, generated comment.

In 1982, Souness and team-mate Sammy Lee made cameo appearances, as themselves, in an episode of the BBC's Liverpudlian drama series "Boys From The Blackstuff". Written by Alan Bleasdale, the series offered a critique of Thatcherism - and in particular the large-scale unemployment then evident in urban Britain - apparently at odds with Souness's own Conservative politics. [cite web|url=http://jss.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/26/1/6|title=Long Distance Love: Growing Up a Liverpool Football Club Fan|author=Grant Farred|work=Journal of Sport & Social Issues|volume=26|year=2002|accessdate=2007-05-11]

Souness is an opponent of independence for Scotland and a supporter of the Union with England. In 2007, in the lead-up to elections to the Scottish Parliament, Souness was one of 15 prominent current and former footballers named in a newspaper advertisement as opponents of independence. [cite web|url=http://politics.guardian.co.uk/scotland/story/0,,2063659,00.html|title=Scottish football stars urge voters to reject independence call|work=Guardian Unlimited|date=2007-04-23|accessdate=2007-05-11]

Club honours

Honours as player

flagicon|England Tottenham Hotspur

Winners
* 1968-69 FA Youth Cup

flagicon|England Middlesbrough

Winners
* 1973-74 Football League Second Division (Level 2)

flagicon|England Liverpool

Winners
* 1977-78 European Cup
* 1978-79 League Championship (Level 1)
* 1979-80 Charity Shield
* 1979-80 League Championship (Level 1)
* 1980-81 Charity Shield
* 1980-81 League Cup
* 1980-81 European Cup
* 1981-82 League Cup
* 1981-82 League Championship (Level 1)
* 1982-83 Charity Shield
* 1982-83 League Cup
* 1982-83 League Championship (Level 1)
* 1983-84 League Cup
* 1983-84 League Championship (Level 1)
* 1983-84 European Cup

Runner up
* 1977-78 League Championship (Level 1)
* 1978-79 European Super Cup
* 1981-82 Intercontinental Cup
* 1983-84 Charity Shield

flagicon|Italy Sampdoria

Winners
* 1984-85 Coppa Italia

Honours as manager

flagicon|England Liverpool

Winners
* 1991-92 FA Cup

Runner up
* 1992-93 Charity Shield

flagicon|Turkey Galatasaray

Winners
* 1995-96 Turkish Cup
* 1996-97 Turkish Super Cup

flagicon|Portugal Benfica

Runner up
* 1997-98 Portuguese First Division

flagicon|England Blackburn Rovers

Winners
* 2001-02 League Cup

Runner up
* 2000-01 Football League First Division (Level 2) Promotion

Personal honours as a player or manager

In 1998 Souness was included in the Football League 100 Legends list.

A poll of 110,000 Liverpool supporters - 100 Players Who Shook The Kop [cite web| title = 100 Players Who Shook The Kop - The definitive list |date = 2006-10-08 | publisher = www.liverpoolfc.tv|url =http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/archivedirs/news/2006/oct/8/N153706061008-0859.htm | accessdate =2007-06-19] , saw Souness placed the ninth most popular player in the club's history.

Souness was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2007 in recognition of his contribution to the game

Souness is one of 64 players elected to Rangers' official Hall of Fame.

Souness is one of 24 players qualifying for the Scottish national team Hall of Fame.

Managerial statistics

Footnotes

References

*cite book
author=Graeme Souness & Mike Ellis
title= Souness: The Management Years
publisher= Andre Deutsch
year=1999
id=ISBN 0-233-99738-5

*cite book
author=Graeme Souness & Bob Harris
title= No Half Measures
publisher= Grafton Books
year=1987
id=ISBN 0-586-07424-4

External links

* [http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/team/past_players/players/souness/ Official past players at Liverpoolfc.tv]
* [http://www.lfconline.com/news/loadfeat.asp?cid=EDB4&id=138732 LFC Online profile]
* [http://www.lfchistory.net/player_profile.asp?player_id=415 LFChistory.net Player profile]
* [http://www.lfchistory.net/managers_profile.asp?manager_id=13 LFChistory.net Manager profile]
*
*soccerbase (manager)|550|Graeme Souness (British)
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=22225 Middlesbrough Seasonal record (Part 1) 1972/73-1974/75 at Sporting-heroes.net]
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=22226 Middlesbrough Seasonal record (Part 2) 1975/76-1977/78 at Sporting-heroes.net]
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=22227 Liverpool biography (Part 1) 1978-79 at Sporting-heroes.net]
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=28907 Liverpool biography (Part 2) 1979-81 at Sporting-heroes.net]
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=22230 Liverpool biography (Part 3) 1981-83 at Sporting-heroes.net]
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=22231 Liverpool biography (Part 4) 1983-84 at Sporting-heroes.net]
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=22232 Liverpool league appearances 1977/78-1983/84 at Sporting-heroes.net]
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=22233 Rangers Seasonal record 1986/87-1990/91 at Sporting-heroes.net]

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