Franny Benali

1 week ago | dailyecho.co.uk | Franny Benali

Saints V Leicester. Benali celebrates his goal. (Image: Echo) I HAVE many memories of playing against Leicester City in my career, but one sticks out a lot more than the others. I only ever scored one goal in my career at Southampton, and it came against Leicester on December 13, 1997. Matt Le Tissier, a close friend and teammate for many years, found me in the box with a lovely free-kick delivery, and I beat Kasey Keller with a header.

2 weeks ago | dailyecho.co.uk | Franny Benali

Southampton interim manager Simon Rusk and interim assistant boss Adam Lallana (Image: PA) SIMON Rusk and Adam Lallana have both done a good job in their interim role, and winning a late point at West Ham was testament to the improvements they have made. While the football might not be as thrilling, Rusk has stripped us back to the basics, giving us a chance to claim points from any games - a feeling lost this season.

3 weeks ago | dailyecho.co.uk | Franny Benali

Johannes Spors outlined the importance of Southampton's academy. (Image: Stuart Martin) Looking at Southampton's current situation, I feel sympathy for new group technical director Johannes Spors. The German will have wanted to use our early relegation to get a head start on rebuilding our squad for the Championship. But he has inherited a club in the grey zone. We are without a permanent manager, and we aren't sure which players will still be here beyond the summer window.

1 month ago | dailyecho.co.uk | Franny Benali

Saints legend Franny Benali would like the club to employ someone with experience of winning promotion as Ivan Juric's replacement (Image: Stuart Martin) IF someone told me that Saints would have dismissed as many managers as they have won Premier League games by this stage of the season, I would have laughed. I cannot say I am surprised that Ivan Juric has left the club. Speaking as a fan, there is no way you can dress up the results we got during his brief and unsuccessful reign.

1 month ago | dailyecho.co.uk | Franny Benali

Saints earned their first Premier League point in over two months in Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace (Image: Stuart Martin) IT'S been a busy one for me since writing my last column. Last Saturday night, I had a great evening with my former teammates and friends. Matt Le Tissier, James Beattie and I got together, and it was lovely to see so many Saints fans at Central Hall. We had a fantastic night together.