Name: James Steele
Country:
ScotlandClub: Southampton F.C.
Position: ★CB, SWP, SB
Side: LF/LS
Age: 25-26 years (11/03/1950)
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 78 kg
Attack: 62
Defence: 78
Balance: 86
Stamina: 80
Top Speed: 78
Acceleration: 76
Response: 81
Agility: 72
Dribble Accuracy: 68
Dribble Speed: 68
Short Pass Accuracy: 72
Short Pass Speed: 74
Long Pass Accuracy: 74
Long Pass Speed: 75
Shot Accuracy: 64
Shot Power: 84
Shot Technique: 62
Free Kick Accuracy: 61
Curling: 60
Header: 86
Jump: 79
Technique: 71
Aggression: 64
Mentality: 74
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 69
Injury Tolerance: B
Condition: 6
Weak Foot Accuracy: 4
Weak Foot Frequency: 4
Consistency: 6
Growth Type: Standard/Peak
CARDS:
S08 - Slide Tackle
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Sliding
Attack/Defence Awareness: Defence Minded
INFO:
A tall, tough, hard, aggressive no holds barred attitude left sided defender, who boasted, almost paradoxically, a most cultured left foot. He was a versatile player and was able to play at left-back, as a sweeper or in the centre of defence. Man of the match on Wembley in 76'.
Dundee signed him as a 17-year-old. Even at this early stage in his career, he was considered a hard man and usually came out of a tackle with the ball, but his toughness was allied to skill. In 1972, Dens boss Davie White accepted an offer of £80,000 from Saints manager Ted Bates and Steele was off to The Dell (a club record fee at the time). Jim acclimatised in midfield for a few games before he was introduced to life as a First Division centre-back. The pinnacle of his career came in Southampton's 1976 FA Cup Final victory over Manchester United. His performance at the centre of Saints' defence, alongside Mel Blyth, earned him the man of the match award. This honour was the peak of his career, and after the first few games of the 1976-77 season, he was replaced by Malcolm Waldron. He was briefly loaned out to Rangers in November 1976, playing 5 games, including the Old Firm derby against Celtic but did not fit into Jock Wallace's plans and returned to The Dell. On 16 March 1977, Saints were playing Anderlecht in the European Cup-winners' Cup when Jim made a mistake in defence allowing Van der Elst to get past him to score the winning goal. This error, coupled with the sending-off, led to a falling-out with the manager Lawrie McMenemy, who was intent on a wholesale rebuilding of the team in order to gain promotion back to Division 1, and Jim made his final appearance for Saints away to Nottingham Forest on 22 March 1977.
In total he made 201 appearances for Southampton, scoring just 2 goals. He spent 3 years with Washington Diplomats in the NASL followed by a short spell at Memphis Rogues and the Chicago Sting
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