And number 9 is David Puckett, Thats Puckett with a P chirped the announcer at Upton Park   

When David Puckett made his first team starting debut at the aforementioned West Ham away game in September of 1981 it wasnt the first time he had pulled on a Saints shirt, he had made several appearances as sub earlier in the season and indeed off the bench in seven of the last eight games of the previous season as Saints had hauled themselves into a UEFA Cup spot, indeed when you look at the illustrious company he found himself in for a spot in the Saints attack, Keegan, Channon, George, Moran even Phil Boyer, it was a wonder that he even got a chance off the bench in those days of one substitute only.

Born in Southampton on 29th October 1960, Puckett went to Merry Oak school and joined Saints as an apprentice in the summer of 1977 on leaving school, he was in the same year as Steve Moran, although Moran chose to remain at college rather than become a footballer initialy and so Puckett must have thought he would be in the pecking order, so it was he was well over 20 before he made his debut after biding his time in the reserves.

In fact it would be as a substitute that David made his mark becoming the first ever Saints player to reach 50 apearances off the bench as the subs role started to become more tactical than just replacing injured players.

The 81/82 season would see him make 8 starts and another 9 off the bench in the league and he would score 3 times, his first two coming in a 3-1 demolition of Arsenal at the Dell just before Xmas 81

In 82/83 with the departure of Keegan & Channon he would make 17 starts with another 7 off the bench again scoring 3, but it was clear that Lawrie McMenemy perhaps felt that he lacked a little something to be first choice striker and with Moran still going strong and the emergence of Danny Wallace plus a plethora of other youngsters in the queue with the likes of Baird, Foyle & George Lawrence he must have felt that his days were perhaps numbered.

83/84 saw him start only 7 games (11) and weigh in again with his now traditional three goals, but by now his future did look elsewhere, he almost went to QPR in the summer of 83 and did go to Forest on loan in the autumn, but already he was being overtaken in the pecking order.

84/85 saw only 6 starts(7) for 1 goal as Joe Jjordan, Steve Moran, Alan Curtis, Danny Wallace and even George Lawrence  were allin font of him dependent on how McMenemy wanted the side to line up.

It was therefore somewhat of a shock then to find him leading the line in the opener of 85/86 and even scoring the Saints goal in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle and the debutant Paul Gascoigne, it would be something of an indian summer for the now 25 year old striker starting 13(2) and scoring four times however it would be his last for Saints and at the end of the season he was off To AFC Bournemouth.

At Dean Court he suffered a serious knee injury but he was fairly prolific scoring 14 times in 35 appearances also spending time at both Stoke and Swansea on loan,

In January 1989he went to Aldershot on loan subsequently joining them permamently, and 50 goals in 133 appearances showed that he had the goalscoring touch but had possibly been in the right place at the wrong time at the Dell at a time when Saints not only had some really outstanding youngsters coming through but could also attract big names as well.

A short return to Dean Court followed , and then as he approached his mid 30's he went into non league, Woking, Weymouth, Newport, Salisbury, Havant, Wokingham, Bashley, Eastleigh and finally BAT as he went on a tour of the whos who of the Southern non league scene.

In 2003 he returned as coach in the Saints academy working with the 12-16 year olds.

Undoubtablt Puckett with a P played a big part in his five yer first team career at the Dell in all competitions he made 59 starts (52) and netted 16 times, given the number of sub appearances and time on the pitch thats not a bad record, at another time he might well have got an extended run in the team and really made his mark as did Steve Moran, sadly for Dave, he didnt quite get the breaks at his home town club, but did show his class over a long career in the game.    

Photo: Action Images via Reuters