Southampton Football Club, an English association football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, was founded in 1885 as St. Mary's Y.M.A. For almost six years the club took no part in any official competitions at national level, playing only friendlies and local tournaments, including the Hampshire Senior Cup. St Mary's first entered the FA Cup in the 1891–92 season, and in 1894 under the name Southampton St Mary's joined the newly founded Southern Football League.

Chart of Southampton Performances

The club changed its name to simply Southampton at the start of the 1896–97 season, and quickly established themselves as the primary force in football in the South of England, winning the Southern League three times in a row. The club also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1898, losing the replay 2–0 to Nottingham Forest after a 1–1 draw. The Saints continued to dominate the league into the 20th century, claiming the championship again in 1901, 1903 and 1904, before joining the Football League Third Division as a founding member in 1920, following the absorption of the Southern League. Southampton were almost instantly promoted to the Second Division, completing the feat as champions in the 1921–22 season.

Southampton found life in the second flight of English football difficult, as they remained a mid-bottom table side throughout the seasons played before and immediately after the Second World War, before they were ultimately relegated back to the Third Division in 1953. Promoted as champions again in 1960, Southampton performed well in the following ten years, reaching the quarter-final stage in the newly created League Cup in 1961 and earning promotion to Division One in 1966 as division runners-up. The club received its first taste of continental football in the 1969–70 season when they competed in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, although were knocked out in the first round. Despite suffering relegation back to Division Two in 1974, Southampton achieved a surprise victory in the 1976 FA Cup Final against Manchester United to win the trophy for the first and only time in the club's history. This success was topped off two seasons later when the club regained its First Division place.

The 1983–84 season was Southampton's most successful in terms of league position, when the club finished second in the top flight to Liverpool, missing out on the championship by just three points. In the 1990s, the club largely struggled to get out of the bottom third of the table, although they reached the advanced stages of the FA Cup and League Cup on a number of occasions and also played in the Full Members Cup final in 1992. The club became founder members of the Premier League in 1992 but continued their disappointing performances, despite reaching the 2003 FA Cup Final against Arsenal and losing to a single goal. Southampton were relegated to the Championship in the 2004–05 season, and were quickly relegated again following off-the-pitch problems in 2009. In their first season in League One, Southampton won the League Trophy with an emphatic 4–1 win against Carlisle United. The following season, Southampton were promoted to the Championship as runners-up in League One.

As of the end of the 2022–23 season, the club have spent 46 seasons in the top division of English football, 39 in the second, and 11 in the third.

The table details their achievements in all national and international first team competitions, and records their manager, the top goalscorer, the player with the most league appearances and the average home league attendance, for each completed season since their first appearance in the FA Cup in 1891–92.

Competitions

The club has participated in the following leagues:

The club has participated in the following other first-team tournaments:

Key

1st or WWinners
2nd or RURunners-up
↑Promoted
↓Relegated
  • Top scorer shown in bold when player was also top scorer for the division. Appearance number shown in bold when player played in every league match of the season.
  • League results shown in italics for abandoned competition.

Seasons

Season League record[1][2][3][4][5] FA Cup[6] EFL Cup[lower-alpha 1] Europe / Other Manager(s) Top goalscorer(s)[lower-alpha 2] Most league
appearances[lower-alpha 3]		 Average
attendance[lower-alpha 4]
Division Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pos Player(s) Goals Player(s) Apps.
1891–92 N/A 2Q[lower-alpha 5] Jock Fleming
Ernie Nicholls		 3 N/A
1892–93 N/A 2Q Cecil Knight Bob Kiddle 3 N/A
1893–94 N/A 2Q Ernie Nicholls
Ernie Taylor
Herbert Ward		 1 N/A
1894–95 SL Div 1[lower-alpha 6] 16 9 2 5 34 25 20 3rd R1 Charles Baker 12 Alf Littlehales 16
1895–96 18 12 0 6 44 23 24 3rd R1 Charles Robson Jack Farrell 14 Charles Baker
Samuel Meston		 18
1896–97 20 15 5 0 63 18 35 1st R2 Alfred McMinn Jack Farrell 20 Robert Buchanan
George Clawley
Jack Farrell
William McMillan		 20
1897–98 22 18 1 3 53 18 37 1st SF Ernest Arnfield Robert Buchanan 16 George Clawley
Harry Haynes
Samuel Meston		 22
1898–99 24 15 5 4 54 24 35 1st R2 Abe Hartley
Harry Wood		 16 Jack Robinson
Harry Wood		 24
1899–1900 28 17 1 10 70 33 35 3rd RU[lower-alpha 7] Alf Milward 28 Alf Milward 28
1900–01 28 18 5 5 58 26 41 1st R1 Edgar Chadwick 15 Samuel Meston
Alf Milward
George Molyneux		 28
1901–02 30 18 6 6 71 28 42 3rd RU[lower-alpha 8] Albert Brown 29 Tommy Bowman
Bert Lee
George Molyneux		 27
1902–03 30 20 8 2 83 20 48 1st R1 Fred Harrison 17 Bert Lee 29
1903–04 34 22 6 6 75 30 50 1st R2 Fred Harrison 27 Tommy Bowman
George Molyneux		 34
1904–05 34 18 7 9 54 40 43 3rd QF Edgar Bluff 13 Bert Lee 33
1905–06 34 19 7 8 58 39 45 2nd QF Harry Brown
Fred Harrison		 14 Fred Mouncher 32
1906–07 38 13 9 16 49 56 35 11th R2 Fred Harrison 12 George Clawley 37
1907–08 38 16 6 16 51 60 38 11th SF Frank Costello 12 Frank Thorpe 35
1908–09 40 19 10 11 67 58 48 3rd R1 Arthur Hughes 15 Jack Eastham 37
1909–10 42 16 16 10 64 55 48 5th R2 Charlie McGibbon 20 Tom Burrows
Frank Jefferis		 41
1910–11 38 11 8 19 42 67 30 17th R1 Harry Brown
Martin Dunne		 9 Jack Eastham 34
1911–12 38 10 11 17 46 63 31 16th R1 George Swift Henry Hamilton 9 John Denby
Jim McAlpine		 33
1912–13 38 10 11 17 40 72 31 16th R1 Ernest Arnfield Percy Prince 11 Sid Ireland 38
1913–14 38 15 7 16 55 54 37 11th R1 Arthur Dominy 13 Len Andrews 37
1914–15 38 19 5 14 78 74 43 6th R3 Arthur Dominy 30 Arthur Dominy 37
The Southern League and FA Cup were suspended until after the First World War.
1919–20 SL Div 1 42 18 8 16 72 63 44 8th R3 Jimmy McIntyre Arthur Dominy 20 Joe Barratt
Arthur Dominy
Jimmy Moore		 41
1920–21 Div 3 42 19 16 7 64 28 54 2nd R3 Jimmy McIntyre Bill Rawlings 22 Fred Foxall
Jimmy Moore
Bill Turner		 42
1921–22 Div 3(S) 42 23 15 4 68 21 61 1st ↑ R2 Bill Rawlings 32 Tommy Allen
Bert Shelley
Fred Titmuss		 42
1922–23 Div 2 42 14 14 14 40 40 42 11th QF Arthur Dominy 17 Bert Shelley 42
1923–24 42 17 14 11 52 31 48 5th R3 Bill Rawlings 21 Tommy Allen
Bert Shelley		 42
1924–25 42 13 18 11 40 36 44 7th SF Jimmy McIntyre
George Goss		 Bill Rawlings 16 Bill Rawlings
Bert Shelley		 41
1925–26 42 15 8 19 63 63 38 14th R3 Arthur Chadwick Bill Rawlings 20 Stan Woodhouse 37
1926–27 42 15 12 15 60 62 42 13th SF Bill Rawlings 28 Tommy Allen
Michael Keeping		 42
1927–28 42 14 7 21 68 77 35 17th R3 Bill Rawlings 21 George Harkus 41
1928–29 42 17 14 11 74 60 48 4th R3 Willie Haines 16 Bert Shelley 41
1929–30 42 17 11 14 77 76 45 7th R3 Dick Rowley 26 Willie White 40
1930–31 42 19 6 17 74 62 44 9th R3 Willie Haines 15 Arthur Bradford
Bert Jepson		 39
1931–32 42 17 7 18 66 77 41 14th R3 George Kay Johnny Arnold 20 Bill Adams 42
1932–33 42 18 5 19 66 66 41 12th R3 Ted Drake 20 Bill Luckett 42
1933–34 42 15 8 19 54 58 38 14th R3 Ted Drake 23 Dick Neal 41
1934–35 42 11 12 19 46 75 34 19th R4 Laurie Fishlock 9 Fred Tully 40
1935–36 42 14 9 19 47 65 37 17th R3 Vic Watson 14 Charlie Sillett 42
1936–37 42 11 12 19 53 77 34 19th R3 George Goss
Tom Parker		 Jimmy Dunne 14 Billy Kingdon
Charlie Sillett		 41
1937–38 42 15 9 18 55 77 39 15th R3 Tom Parker Harry Osman 22 Harry Osman 40
1938–39 42 13 9 20 56 82 35 18th R3 Fred Briggs 14 Billy Bevis
Harry Brophy
Sam Warhurst		 37
1939–40 Div 2[lower-alpha 9] 3 1 0 2 5 6 2 17th N/A N/A N/A
The Football League and FA Cup were suspended until after the Second World War.
1945–46 The Football League was not resumed in 1945–46 due to planning difficulties from the war. R4 Arthur Dominy
Bill Dodgin		 Jack Bradley
Doug McGibbon		 2 N/A N/A
1946–47 Div 2 42 15 9 18 69 76 39 14th R4 Bill Dodgin Jack Bradley
George Lewis		 15 Bill Rochford 41 16,039
1947–48 42 21 10 11 71 53 52 3rd QF Charlie Wayman 19 Alf Ramsey 42
1948–49 42 23 9 10 69 36 55 3rd R3 Charlie Wayman 32 Eric Webber 42
1949–50 42 19 14 9 64 48 52 4th R3 Sid Cann Charlie Wayman 26 George Curtis
Eric Webber		 42
1950–51 42 15 13 14 66 73 43 12th R4 Eddy Brown 22 Joe Mallett 42
1951–52 42 15 11 16 61 73 41 13th R3 Sid Cann
George Roughton		 Eddy Brown 12 Eric Day 42
1952–53 42 10 13 19 68 85 33 21st ↓ R5 George Roughton Frank Dudley 15 Eric Day 42
1953–54 Div 3(S) 46 22 7 17 76 63 51 6th R1 Eric Day 27 Eric Day 46
1954–55 46 24 11 11 75 51 59 3rd R2 Eric Day 29 Tommy Traynor
Len Wilkins		 46
1955–56 46 18 8 20 91 81 44 14th[lower-alpha 10] R2 Ted Bates Eric Day 29 Eric Day 45
1956–57 46 22 10 14 76 52 54 4th R3 Derek Reeves 21 Pat Parker 46
1957–58 46 22 10 14 112 72 54 6th R2 Southern Floodlit Cup R1 Derek Reeves 35 Terry Paine 44
1958–59 Div 3 46 17 11 18 88 80 45 14th[lower-alpha 10] R3 Southern Floodlit Cup R2 Derek Reeves 17 Terry Paine 46
1959–60 46 26 9 11 106 75 61 1st ↑ R4 Southern Floodlit Cup SF Derek Reeves 45 Ron Davies
Terry Paine
Derek Reeves		 46
1960–61 Div 2 42 18 8 16 84 81 44 8th R4 QF George O'Brien 27 Terry Paine 42
1961–62 42 18 9 15 77 62 45 6th R3 R1 George O'Brien 30 Brian Clifton
Cliff Huxford
Tony Knapp		 42
1962–63 42 17 8 17 72 67 42 11th SF R2 George O'Brien 30 Tony Knapp
George O'Brien
Terry Paine		 42
1963–64 42 19 9 14 100 73 47 5th R3 R2 Martin Chivers
Terry Paine		 22 Cliff Huxford 42
1964–65 42 17 14 11 83 63 48 4th R4 R3 George O'Brien 37 Terry Paine 42
1965–66 42 22 10 10 85 56 54 2nd ↑ R3 R3 Martin Chivers 33 John Sydenham 41
1966–67 Div 1 42 14 6 22 74 92 34 19th R4 R3 Ron Davies 43 Martin Chivers
Jimmy Melia
Terry Paine		 42
1967–68 42 13 11 18 66 83 37 16th R4 R2 Ron Davies 28 Terry Paine 41
1968–69 42 16 13 13 57 48 45 7th R4 QF Ron Davies 24 Terry Paine 42
1969–70 42 6 17 19 46 67 29 19th R4 R2 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup R3 Mick Channon 21 Mick Channon
Jimmy Gabriel		 39
1970–71 42 17 12 13 56 44 46 7th R5 R2 Ron Davies 21 Mick Channon
Hugh Fisher
Joe Kirkup
Brian O'Neil		 42
1971–72 42 12 7 23 52 80 31 19th R3 R3 UEFA Cup R1 Mick Channon 17 Mick Channon
Eric Martin		 42
1972–73 42 11 18 13 47 52 40 13th R3 R3 Mick Channon 18 Hugh Fisher
Eric Martin		 42
1973–74 42 11 14 17 47 68 36 20th ↓ R5 R4 Ted Bates
Lawrie McMenemy		 Mick Channon 23 Hugh Fisher 42
1974–75 Div 2 42 15 11 16 53 54 41 13th R3 R4 Texaco Cup RU Lawrie McMenemy Mick Channon 24 Mick Channon
Peter Osgood		 40
1975–76 42 21 7 14 66 50 49 6th W R2 Mick Channon 25 Mick Channon 42
1976–77 421710157267449th R5 R2 FA Charity Shield RU Ted MacDougall 26 Mick Channon 40
European Cup Winners' Cup QF
1977–78 42 22 13 7 70 39 57 2nd ↑ R4 R3 Phil Boyer 19 Alan Ball
Phil Boyer
Mike Pickering		 41
1978–79 Div 1 42 12 16 14 47 53 40 14th QF RU Phil Boyer 16 Alan Ball
Phil Boyer
Malcolm Waldron		 42
1979–80 42 18 9 15 65 53 45 8th R3 R3 Phil Boyer 25 Phil Boyer 42
1980–81 42 20 10 12 76 56 50 6th R5 R2 Steve Moran 20 Mick Channon
Chris Nicholl		 42
1981–82 42 19 9 14 72 67 66 7th R3 R2 UEFA Cup R2 Kevin Keegan 30 David Armstrong
Kevin Keegan		 41
1982–83 42 15 12 15 54 58 57 12th R3 R4 UEFA Cup R1 Danny Wallace 13 Chris Nicholl 42
1983–84 42 22 11 9 66 38 77 2nd[lower-alpha 11] SF R3 Steve Moran 25 David Armstrong
Nick Holmes
Peter Shilton		 42
1984–85 42 19 11 12 56 47 68 5th R5 R4 UEFA Cup R1 Steve Moran 18 Mick Mills 42
1985–86 42 12 10 20 51 62 46 14th SF R4 Chris Nicholl David Armstrong 15 David Armstrong 41
1986–87 42 14 10 18 69 68 52 12th R3 SF Colin Clarke 22 Glenn Cockerill 42
1987–88 40 12 14 14 49 53 50 12th R4 R2 Colin Clarke 17 Colin Clarke 40
1988–89 38 10 15 13 52 66 45 13th R3 QF Rod Wallace 14 Rod Wallace 38
1989–90 38 15 10 13 71 63 55 7th R5 QF Matthew Le Tissier 24 Rod Wallace 38
1990–91 38 12 9 17 58 69 45 14th R5 QF Matthew Le Tissier 23 Barry Horne 38 15,413
1991–92 42 14 10 18 39 55 52 16th QF R4 Full Members Cup RU Ian Branfoot Alan Shearer 18 Tim Flowers
Alan Shearer		 41 14,070
1992–93 Premier League 42 13 11 18 54 61 50 18th R3 R3 Matthew Le Tissier 18 Tim Flowers 42 15,148
1993–94 42 12 7 23 49 66 43 18th R3 R2 Ian Branfoot
Alan Ball		 Matthew Le Tissier 25 Jeff Kenna
Neil Maddison		 41 14,751
1994–95 42 12 18 12 61 63 54 10th R5 R3 Alan Ball Matthew Le Tissier 29 Jim Magilton 42 14,685
1995–96 38 9 11 18 34 52 38 17th QF R4 Dave Merrington Neil Shipperley 12 Jason Dodd
Neil Shipperley		 37 14,820
1996–97 38 10 11 17 50 56 41 16th R3 QF Graeme Souness Matthew Le Tissier 17 Jim Magilton 37 15,099
1997–98 38 14 6 18 50 55 48 12th R3 R4 Dave Jones Matthew Le Tissier 14 Paul Jones 38 15,159
1998–99 38 11 8 19 37 64 41 17th R3 R2 Egil Østenstad 8 James Beattie 35 15,140
1999–2000 38 12 8 18 45 62 44 15th R4 R4 Dave Jones
Glenn Hoddle		 Marian Pahars 13 Dean Richards 35 15,132
2000–01 38 14 10 14 40 48 52 10th R5 R3 Glenn Hoddle James Beattie 12 Wayne Bridge
Claus Lundekvam		 38 15,115
2001–02 38 12 9 17 46 54 45 11th R3 R3 Stuart Gray
Gordon Strachan		 Marian Pahars 16 Wayne Bridge 38 30,633[lower-alpha 12]
2002–03 38 13 13 12 43 46 52 8th RU R3 Gordon Strachan James Beattie 24 James Beattie 38 30,680
2003–04 38 12 11 15 44 45 47 12th R3 QF UEFA Cup R1 Gordon Strachan
Paul Sturrock		 James Beattie 17 James Beattie
Paul Telfer		 37 31,716
2004–05 38 6 14 18 45 66 32 20th ↓ QF R4 Paul Sturrock
Steve Wigley
Harry Redknapp		 Peter Crouch 16 Rory Delap 37 30,609
2005–06 Champ 46 13 19 14 49 50 58 12th R5 R4 Harry Redknapp
George Burley		 Ricardo Fuller 9 Danny Higginbotham 37 23,613
2006–07 46 21 12 13 77 53 75 6th R4 R3 George Burley Grzegorz Rasiak 21 Chris Baird 44 23,556
2007–08 46 13 15 18 56 72 54 20th R5 R1 George Burley
Nigel Pearson		 Stern John 19 Stern John
Andrew Surman		 40 21,081
2008–09 46 10 15 21 46 69 45 23rd ↓ R3 R3 Jan Poortvliet
Mark Wotte		 David McGoldrick 14 Kelvin Davis
David McGoldrick		 46 18,149
2009–10 League 1 46 23 14 9 85 47 73 7th R5 R2 Football League Trophy W Alan Pardew Rickie Lambert 36 Rickie Lambert 45 20,108
2010–11 46 28 8 10 86 38 92 2nd ↑ R4 R2 Football League Trophy R1 Alan Pardew
Dean Wilkins
Nigel Adkins		 Rickie Lambert 21 Kelvin Davis 46 21,726
2011–12 Champ 46 26 10 10 85 46 88 2nd ↑ R4 R4 Nigel Adkins Rickie Lambert 31 Jack Cork 46 26,420
2012–13 Premier League 38 9 14 15 49 60 41 14th R3 R4 Nigel Adkins
Mauricio Pochettino		 Rickie Lambert 15 Rickie Lambert 38 30,874
2013–14 38 15 11 12 54 46 56 8th R5 R4 Mauricio Pochettino Jay Rodriguez 17 Adam Lallana 38 30,211
2014–15 38 18 6 14 54 33 60 7th R4 QF Ronald Koeman Graziano Pellè 16 Graziano Pellè 38 30,652
2015–16 38 18 9 11 59 41 63 6th R3 R5 Europa League PO Sadio Mané 15 José Fonte 37 30,750
2016–17 38 12 10 16 41 48 46 8th R4 RU Europa League GS Claude Puel Charlie Austin 9 Fraser Forster 38 30,936
2017–18 38 7 15 16 37 56 36 17th SF R2 Mauricio Pellegrino
Mark Hughes		 Charlie Austin
Dušan Tadić		 7 Dušan Tadić 36 30,793
2018–19 38 9 12 17 45 65 39 16th R3 R4 Mark Hughes
Ralph Hasenhüttl		 Nathan Redmond 9 Nathan Redmond 38 29,365
2019–20 38 15 7 16 51 60 52 11th R4 R4 Ralph Hasenhüttl Danny Ings 25 Danny Ings
James Ward-Prowse		 38 29,500
2020–21 38 12 7 19 47 68 43 15th SF R2 Danny Ings 13 James Ward-Prowse 38 N/A[lower-alpha 13]
2021–22 38 9 13 16 43 67 40 15th QF R4 James Ward-Prowse 10 James Ward-Prowse
Oriol Romeu		 36 29,884
2022–23 38 6 7 25 36 73 25 20th ↓ R5 SF Ralph Hasenhüttl
Nathan Jones
Rubén Sellés		 James Ward-Prowse 9 James Ward-Prowse 38 28,283

Overall (since 1920–21)

  • Seasons spent at Level 1 of the football league system: 46
  • Seasons spent at Level 2 of the football league system: 39
  • Seasons spent at Level 3 of the football league system: 11
  • Seasons spent at Level 4 of the football league system: 0

Notes

  1. ↑ The EFL Cup competition started in the 1960–61 season.
  2. ↑ Includes goals scored in the Southern League, The Football League and the Premier League and the other first-team tournaments as listed above.
  3. ↑ Includes substitute appearances. Bold indicates "ever-present".
  4. ↑ League matches only (including Southern League, Football League and Premier League).
  5. ↑ Reached Second qualifying round, where they defeated Reading 7–0 but were disqualified for fielding ineligible players.
  6. ↑ Founder member of the Southern League.
  7. ↑ Southampton's first appearance in the Cup Final, a 4–0 defeat to First Division side Bury.
  8. ↑ Southampton's second appearance in the Cup Final, a 2–1 replay defeat to First Division side Sheffield United.
  9. ↑ The 1939–40 season was abandoned in early September and all results annulled.
  10. 1 2 Lowest League finish.
  11. ↑ Highest League finish.
  12. ↑ 2001–02 season was the inaugural season at St Mary's Stadium.
  13. ↑ All league fixtures bar one of the 2020–21 season were played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.

References

  1. ↑ "Southampton St Mary's". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 14 June 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  2. ↑ "Southampton". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 14 June 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  3. ↑ "Southampton History 1918 to 1945". statto.com. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "Southampton History 1945 to 1975". statto.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  5. ↑ "Southampton History 1975 to date". statto.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  6. ↑ "The FA Cup Archive". The Football Association. Retrieved 18 November 2012. Individual seasons accessed via dropdown menu.
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