AN INTRODUCTION TO SOUTHAMPTON FOOTBALL CLUB

SFC Crest



When were Southampton Football Club formed?
1885

Why are they called the Saints?
Because they were formed by members of St. Mary's Church Young Men's association (in fact, the club was originally called Southampton St. Mary's).

How many FA Cup finals have Southampton appeared in?
Four. They lost the first two (in 1900 to Bury and in 1902 to Sheffield United) but won the third, a magnificent 1-0 victory over hot favourites Manchester United in 1976, with the only goal scored by the late Bobby Stokes. They appeared in their fourth final on May 17th 2003 and narrowly lost 1-0 to Arsenal.

Have Southampton been in any other cup finals?
In 2010 they won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final at Wembley, beating Carlisle United 4-1. They reached the final of the League Cup in 1979 and 2017, losing the first to Nottingham Forest and the second to Manchester United. They were also ZDS Cup finalists in 1992, with Forest again narrowly beating them.

In what leagues have Southampton played?
1894-1920: Southern League
1920-1921: Division 3 (Founder members)
1921-1922: Division 3 South (Promoted as champions 1922)
1922-1953: Division 2 (Relegated 1953)
1953-1960: Division 3 (Promoted as champions 1960)
1960-1966: Division 2 (Promoted as runners-up 1966)
1966-1974: Division 1 (Relegated 1974)
1974-1978: Division 2 (Promoted as runners-up 1978)
1978-1992: Division 1
1992-2005: Premiership (Founder members. Relegated 2005)
2005-2009: Championship (Relegated 2009)
2009-2011: League 1 (Promoted as runners-up 2011)
2011-2012: Championship (Promoted as runners-up 2012)
2012-present: Premier League

What is Southampton's highest league finish?
Division One runners-up in the 1983-1984 season

What is Southampton's record victory?
League: Div 2 (old) - 9-3 v Wolverhampton Wanderers 18th September 1965
Cup: FA Third Round - 7-1 v Ipswich 7th Jan 1961
Saints last scored eight goals (Prem.) on 18th October 2014 with an 8-0 victory over Sunderland

What is Southampton's record defeat?
Premier League - 0-9 v Leicester 25th October 2019 & v Man United 2nd February 2021

What is Southampton's record attendance?
31044 Div 1 v Manchester United 8th October 1969 (at The Dell). This was surpassed in the first game at the new St Mary's Stadium on 25th August 2001 when 31107 saw Saints lose 2-0 to Chelsea. The present St Mary's record attendance is 32363 (Coventry, Apr 2012).

Which player has made the most appearances for Southampton?
Terry Paine, who made 815 appearances between 1956 and 1974

Which Southampton player has scored the most goals (career)?
Mick Channon, with 228 goals in two spells, 1966-77 and 1979-82.

Which Southampton player has scored the most goals (season)?
Derek Reeves, with 44 goals in Southampton's Division 2 championship-winning season 1959-60. That season, Reeves scored 39 league goals as Southampton netted a magnificent 106 times.

How many managers have Southampton since 1955?
Twenty eight. The full list (not including caretaker) is:
1955-1973: Ted Bates
1973-1985: Lawrie McMenemy
1985-1991: Chris Nicholl
1991-1994: Ian Branfoot
1994-1995: Alan Ball
1995-1996: Dave Merrington
1996-1997: Graeme Souness
1997-2000: Dave Jones
2000-2001: Glenn Hoddle
2001-2001: Stuart Gray
2001-2004: Gordon Strachan
2004-2004: Paul Sturrock
2004-2004: Steve Wigley
2004-2005: Harry Redknapp
2005-2008: George Burley
2008-2008: Nigel Pearson
2008-2009: Jan Poortvliet
2009-2009: Mark Wotte
2009-2010: Alan Pardew
2010-1013: Nigel Atkins
2013-2014: Mauricio Pochettino
2014-2016: Ronald Koeman
2016-2017: Claude Puel
2017-2018: Mauricio Pellegrino
2018-2018: Mark Hughes
2019-2022: Ralph Hasenhuttl
2022-2023: Nathan Jones
2023-: Ruben Selles

Who are Southampton's most capped players (post-war)?
England: Peter Shilton (49)
Wales: Mark Hughes (72, with 16 goals)
Scotland: Joe Jordan (52, with 11 goals)
N.Ireland: Iain Dowie (59, with 11 goals)
Rep.Ireland: Alan McLoughlin (42, with 2 goals)

What are Southampton's record transfers?
Paid: Kamaldeen Sulemana GBP22,000,000 fee paid to Rennes
Received: Received: Virgil van Dijk GBP75,000,000 fee received from Liverpool

How many ex-Saints' players are currently playing in the Premiership (* loan)?
Amongst others, Jack Stephens* (Bournemouth), Adam Lallana (Brighton), Nathanial Clyne (Crystal Palace), Harrison Reed, Cedric Soares (Fulham), Ryan Bertrand (Leicester), Virgil Van Dyke, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Liverpool), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Matt Targett (Newcastle Utd), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Fraser Forster (Tottenham H), Michail Antonio, Danny Ings (West Ham Utd)

How many ex-Saints' players are currently playing elsewhere (* loan)?
Amongst others: Championship: Sam Gallagher (Blackburn R), Jack Cork, Jay Rodriguez, Nathan Tella* (Burnley), Bartosz Bialkowski (Millwall), Shane Long (Reading), Billy Sharp (Sheffield Utd), Will Smallbone* (Stoke C). Overseas: Dejan Lovran (Lyon), Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich).

How many ex-Saints' players and managers* are currently league managers?
Nigel Pearson* (Bristol C), Mark Hughes (Bradford C), Graham Potter (Chelsea)

How have Southampton fared in European club competitions
European Fairs Cup (1)
1969-70 Reached Third Round, beat Rosenborg & Vitoria Guimaraes but beaten by Newcastle
UEFA Cup (5)
1971-72 Reached First Round, beaten by Atletico Bilbao
1981-82 Reached Second Round, beat Limerick but beaten by Sporting Lisbon
1982-83 Reached First Round, beaten by Norrkoeping
1984-85 Reached First Round, beaten by Hamburg
2003-04 Reached First Round, beaten by Steaua Bucharest
European Cup-Winners Cup (1)
1976-77 Reached Quarter-Final, beat Marseille & Carrick Rangers but beaten by Anderlecht
Europa League (2)
2015-2016 Reached Fourth Qualifying round, beat Vitesse Arnhem but beaten by FC Midtjylland
2016-2017 Eliminated in group stage (Sparta Praha 3-0/0-1, Happoel Be'er Sheva 1-1/0-0, Inter Milan 2-1/0-1)

Please let me know if you believe that any of the above information is incorrect.





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