Danny Wallace

Southampton

Wallace was born in Greenwich, south-east London. As a youngster, his skills attracted scouts from many London clubs, including Millwall and Arsenal, but he was snapped up by Southampton, joining them as an associate schoolboy in February 1977. He turned professional in January 1982, although he had made his first team debut more than a year earlier. He made his debut aged only 16 years and 313 days on 29 November 1980 at Old Trafford, thus becoming the youngest player to be picked for Southampton – a record that would remain unbroken until Theo Walcott made his debut 25 years later. Over the next two seasons, his first-team appearances were limited, and he made only three starts (plus four substitute appearances) in the 1981–82 season. On 23 October 1982, he scored his first goal for the Saints in a 3–2 defeat at Swansea City. This was the start of a scoring spree of seven goals in ten games, which saw him finish the 1982–83 season with 12 goals from 35 appearances. Small, compact and explosive, Wallace delighted The Dell crowds with his pace and superb individual goals. Most First Division defences struggled to cope with his speed and ability. He burst to national prominence with both goals in the first match televised live from The Dell, against Liverpool on 16 March 1984, by which time Southampton were a major threat to Liverpool's bid for a third successive league title. His first goal was an overhead kick, while his second saw himself to head home a…

Wallace was capped by England at under-age levels, including 14 appearances for the under-21 team. He was selected in the England senior squad on 29 January 1986 for a friendly against Egypt in Cairo. He scored in a 4–0 win but was never selected for the England senior side again. He played in a B international in 1990.

The reason for his problems was discovered in 1996 when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and he was forced to retire from football. On 17 May 2004, St Mary's Stadium hosted a testimonial match for Wallace, featuring a Southampton XI vs an All-Star XI, organised by his former Southampton teammate George Lawrence. Other former Saints teammates playing in the match included Steve Williams, Steve Moran, Mark Wright and his two younger twin brothers, Rodney and Raymond. Manchester United were preparing for the FA Cup Final, to be played five days later, but several of Wallace's former United teammates also turned out, including Mark Hughes, Denis Irwin, Paul Ince, Paul Parker and Viv Anderson. In 2006, Wallace completed the 42.195-kilometre (26.219 mi) London Marathon in five-and-a-half days. His goal in completing the marathon was to raise money for the Danny Wallace Foundation, which provides aid for those with multiple sclerosis. He was greeted at the finish line by former boxer Michael Watson, who himself completed the marathon in seven days after suffering brain injuries in a 1991 boxing match.

Southampton

Football League First Division runner-up: 1983–84 Manchester United

FA Cup: 1989–90 FA Charity Shield: 1990 European Cup Winners' Cup: 1990–91