 Southern in 2010 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Keith William Southern | ||
| Date of birth | (1981-04-24)24 April 1981 (age 44) | ||
| Place of birth | Gateshead,Tyne and Wear, England | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–2002 | Everton | 0 | (0) |
| 2002 | →Blackpool (loan) | 16 | (1) |
| 2002–2012 | Blackpool | 314 | (24) |
| 2012–2014 | Huddersfield Town | 39 | (2) |
| 2014–2015 | Fleetwood Town | 2 | (0) |
| 2015 | →Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| Total | 377 | (27) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Keith William Southern (born 24 April 1981) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as acentral midfielder. He made 377 appearances in thePremier League and theFootball League, most notably representingBlackpool between 2002 and 2012.
Born inGateshead,Tyne and Wear, Southern started his career atEverton where in the 2001–02 season he captained the club's reserve team. After playing inthe Toffees' pre-seasonfriendlies againstWrexham andShrewsbury Town, on 6 August 2002 he was signed by then Blackpool managerSteve McMahon, initially on loan for one month at the start of the2002–03 season.[2][3] He made hisleague debut four days later in a 2–0 defeat toBristol City atAshton Gate.[4][5] He scored his first goal on 7 September in a 3–0 victory overTranmere Rovers at Bloomfield Road.[6][7]
He made a total of sixteen appearances during a three-month loan spell. Then in early November, Blackpool tried to sign him on a season-long loan deal, however, Everton blocked the move, preferring it to be made permanent.[8]
On 8 November Southern signed a two-and-a-half-year contract withthe Seasiders for an undisclosed fee.[9] On 22 March 2003 he was injured five minutes into a 2–2 draw withStockport County atEdgeley Park and missed the rest of the season.[10] He had an operation on his right knee in April,[11] then on 1 May he was named theBlackpool Gazette Player of the Year, jointly withMartin Bullock.[12]
He returned to action on 13 September in a 2–0 defeat toAFC Bournemouth.[13] On 9 December in aFootball League Trophy match against Stockport County, Southern collapsed midway through the second half and he needed keyhole surgery on his knee later that month which revealed he had a slight tear in the medial cartilage, which was removed.[14] He returned to action on 31 January 2004 as a 68th-minute substitute in a 2–2 draw withSwindon Town at Bloomfield Road.[15] When Blackpool won the Football League Trophy at theMillennium Stadium inCardiff on 21 March, Southern was left out of the squad by Steve McMahon, who chose his son,Stephen, ahead of him.[16]
"I have been totally out of favour ever since my gran's funeral before the cup final, he totally didn't want to know me really and he didn't want to play me. He must have his reasons, but I was as bewildered as everybody else. I didn't lose much sleep when I found out he was going, I was delighted to be honest, it is a fresh start for me in the summer."
— Southern in an interview on the club's official website, following McMahon's departure as manager in May.[17]
Later that year he needed another operation on his knee after going down in the warm up before a pre-season friendly againstBallymena United in Northern Ireland in July.[18] He returned to action on 2 November in a 6–3 win overHuddersfield Town in the Football League Trophy.[19]
After scoring seven goals in the2004–05 season, including both goals in a 2–1 win overBrentford on 22 March,[20] in April 2005 Southern signed a two-year extension to his contract withthe Seasiders.[21] On 28 April he was named theProfessional Footballers' Association (PFA) Player of the Year forLeague One in an online poll voted for by supporters.[22]
On 21 April 2007, Southern scored an 85th-minute winning goal as Blackpool beatCheltenham Town 2–1 to guarantee the club a play-off position in League One in the2006–07 season.[23][24]
Under the management ofSimon Grayson, he also scored in the second leg of the play-off semi-final as Blackpool beatOldham Athletic 3–1 at Bloomfield Road on 19 May.[25] He played in the play-off final atWembley as Blackpool beatYeovil Town 2–0 to secure promotion to theChampionship.
Southern scored Blackpool's winning goal on 11 August 2007 in their first match back in the second tier of English football for 29 years as they beatLeicester City 1–0 at theWalkers Stadium on the opening day of the2007–08 season.[26] On 1 December Southern suffered ankle ligament damage in a 1–0 win overQueens Park Rangers at Bloomfield Road, and had an operation later in the month.[27]
He was out for two months, returning on 12 February 2008 in a 0–0 home draw withWolverhampton Wanderers.[28]
Southern signed a new two-year contract with Blackpool on 6 April 2009.[29] He made his 200th league start forthe Seasiders in their first home match of the2009–10 season, a 1–1 draw withCardiff City on 15 August 2009 atBloomfield Road. In his 300th career appearance, on 23 January 2010, he scored as Blackpool beatWatford 3–2 at home.[30] On 22 May 2010 he was named Man of the Match in the2010 Football League Championship play-off final atWembley as Blackpool defeatedCardiff City 3–2 to secure promotion to thePremier League.[31]
After suffering a knee injury which ruled him out of the first round of Premier League fixtures, upon his return Southern found himself being used mainly as a substitute. He made his first start against his former club, Everton, on 6 November 2010.
During the first half of Blackpool's2011–12 campaign, Southern was diagnosed withtesticular cancer.[32] He was able to maintain his fitness during his treatment, and two months after his operation he returned to the side, as captain, on 28 January;[33] however, he had to leave the game before the hour mark after suffering a serious gash to his leg.
After 10 years atBloomfield Road, it was reported by the Blackpool Gazette andHuddersfield Examiner that Huddersfield Town and Blackpool had sealed a deal, thought to be around the £300,000 mark, on 25 July 2012. The terms allowed Southern to play the first and last 15 minutes of his testimonial match againstEverton on 5 August.[34] The transfer was confirmed by Huddersfield Town, the following day, as their sixth signing for the 2012–13 season.[35] Southern made his Huddersfield début in theLeague Cup first round 2–0 away defeat atPreston North End on 13 August 2012 playing the full 90 minutes.[36] He made his league début in the 1–0 defeat byCardiff City at theCardiff City Stadium on 17 August. He scored his first goal for the club in the 1–1 draw againstCrystal Palace atSelhurst Park on 22 December. He was released by the club at the end of the 2013–14 season.[37]
On 20 June 2014, he signed for newly promotedLeague One sideFleetwood Town for free.[38] He joined rival clubShrewsbury Town, on loan for the rest of the season inLeague Two on 19 January 2015.[39] After struggling to make the Fleetwood first team following the loan spell in 2015, Southern left the club by mutual consent early the following year. He retired from playing professional football soon after.[40]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Blackpool | 2002–03[41] | Second Division | 38 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 42 | 1 |
| 2003–04[42] | Second Division | 28 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4[a] | 1 | 36 | 5 | |
| 2004–05[43] | League One | 27 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 32 | 7 | |
| 2005–06[44] | League One | 42 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 1 | 46 | 3 | |
| 2006–07[45] | League One | 39 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[b] | 1 | 48 | 6 | |
| 2007–08[46] | Championship | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 3 | |
| 2008–09[47] | Championship | 35 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 3 | |
| 2009–10[48] | Championship | 45 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[c] | 1 | 50 | 3 | |
| 2010–11[49] | Premier League | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| 2011–12[50] | Championship | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 27 | 1 | |
| Total | 330 | 25 | 17 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 4 | 372 | 32 | ||
| Huddersfield Town | 2012–13[51] | Championship | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 1 |
| 2013–14[52] | Championship | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | |
| Total | 39 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 2 | ||
| Fleetwood Town | 2014–15[53] | League One | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 2014–15[53] | League Two | 6 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 377 | 27 | 18 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 16 | 4 | 422 | 34 | ||
Blackpool
Individual
