Considering Manny Andruszewski made exactly 100 appearances for Saints ask any fan around in the 70s in what game would he best be remembered and the answer would likely be unanimous. In 1979 Saints reached the League Cup Final beating Birmingham away 5-2 in the second round.

Manny’s effective shackling of Trevor Francis was considered the epitome of a perfect man-marking performance (click on cutting) and, although the player who would later that season be the country’s first million pound player scored the Blues second goal, the hour belonged to the uncompromising Saints defender. He repeated the act against Leeds United’s Tony Currie in the semi-final home leg before being substituted, but there was no starting place for him in the Final or even on the bench.

Manny had effectively now become a victim of being a specialist defender for certain occasions.

His omission was one of Lawrie’s McMenemy’s toughest ever decisions, he admitted in 2005, but

Which is probably one of the reasons he next ventured to the States on a £150,000 transfer, before illness brought him back to England. Surprisingly, apart from a spell at Aldershot he never featured in the Football League again and hardly played past his 30^th birthday. Based in Chandlers Ford he worked for a while at Peter Green’s furniture outlet before setting up his own garden maintenance business in 2005. A popular and enthusiastic visitor to St Mary’s he can often be found as a guest in one of the hospitality suites.