Southampton Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Southampton, Hampshire. Founded in 1885 as St Mary's Y.M.A. and later known as Southampton St Mary's, [1] they became a professional club in 1891, [2] and co-founded the Southern League in 1894. [3] [4] Southampton won the Southern League championship six times between 1896 and 1904, [4] [5] [6] and were later elected to the Football League in 1920 as co-founders of the Third Division. [6] [7] The Saints finished as runners-up in their first season, [8] and the following year received promotion to the Second Division as Third Division South champions. [6] [9] The club first entered the First Division in 1966, [10] and currently play in its modern-day counterpart, the Premier League. [6] Southampton won the FA Cup in 1976, [11] reached the final of the League Cup in 1979 and 2017, [12] [13] and won the League Trophy in 2010. [14]
Southampton's first team have competed in a number of regionally and nationally contested leagues. Their record against each club faced in these competitions is listed below. The club's first league match was against Chatham Town, their first Football League match was against Gillingham, and they met their 117th and most recent different league opponent, Wigan Athletic, for the first time in the 2012–13 season. The team that Southampton have met most often in league competition is Tottenham Hotspur, who they first played in the 1896–97 Southern League season; the 66 defeats from 154 meetings is more than they have lost against any other club. Coventry City tie with Tottenham Hotspur for most league draws against Southampton, with 39 in 122 meetings. The club have recorded more league victories against Queens Park Rangers than against any other club, having beaten them 53 out of 120 attempts.
William James Gay"Lachie"Thomson was an English professional footballer who played as a defender for Stoke in the Football League before joining Southampton St Mary's for the inaugural Southern League season in 1894.
Frederick George Hollands as an English professional footballer who played as an outside-forward for Millwall Athletic and Southampton St Mary's in the 1890s.
The 1894–95 season was the tenth since the foundation of Southampton St. Mary's F.C. and their first in league football, being founder members of the Southern League.
The 1895–96 season was the eleventh since the foundation of Southampton St. Mary's F.C. and their second in league football, as members of the Southern League. They finished the league season in third place behind the previous season's champions, Millwall Athletic, and Luton Town. In the FA Cup they reached the first round proper for the second consecutive season, where they were defeated by The Wednesday, of the Football League.
The 1896–97 season was the twelfth since the foundation of Southampton St. Mary's F.C. and their third in league football, as members of the Southern League. The season was the most successful yet, with St. Mary's claiming the Southern League title for the first time and reaching the Second Round Proper of the FA Cup. It was the start of the most successful period in the club's history — in a period of eight years, they were Southern League champions six times and reached the final of the FA Cup twice.
Cardiff City Football Club is a professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded in 1899, the club competed in local amateur leagues before turning professional in 1910, moving into the English football league system by joining the Southern Football League. Ten years later, they were elected into the Second Division of the Football League, winning promotion to the First Division in their first season. They achieved their highest ever position during the 1923–24 season, finishing in second place of the First Division but lost the league title on goal average to Huddersfield Town. They were relegated from the First Division in 1929. Since then, they have spent a further nine seasons in the top tier; the most recent return was a one-year spell in the 2018–19 season.
Southampton Football Club is an English association football club based in Southampton, Hampshire. Founded in 1885 as St Mary's YMA, they became a professional club in 1891, and co-founded the Southern League in 1894. Southampton won the Southern League championship six times between 1896 and 1904, and were later elected to the Football League in 1920 as co-founders of the Third Division. The Saints finished as runners-up in their first season, and the following year received promotion to the Second Division as Third Division South champions. The club first entered the First Division in 1966, and currently play in its modern-day counterpart, the Premier League. Southampton won the FA Cup in 1976, reached the final of the League Cup in 1979 and 2017, and won the League Trophy in 2010.
The first match played by what is now Southampton Football Club, from Southampton in southern England, was by a team from St. Mary's Young Men's Association (YMA) on 21 November 1885. Since then, the club established themselves as a major force in local and regional football before moving up to national level, winning the FA Cup in 1976 and being founder members of the Premier League in 1992.
1886–87 was the second year since St. Mary's Y.M.A., based in Southampton in Southern England, started playing association football. This was a year of consolidation before the club entered its first local cup tournament in the following season. All the matches played during the season were friendly matches.
The 1899–1900 season was the 15th since the foundation of Southampton F.C. and their sixth in league football, as members of the Southern League.
The 1920–21 season was the 26th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's first in the Football League. At the end of the previous season, Southampton were one of a host of Southern League clubs elected to make up the new Third Division, finishing second in the inaugural season behind champions Crystal Palace. The Saints began the season strongly, winning seven of their first ten games to begin a lengthy run at the top of the league table until the end of the year. The club began to lose against several teams lower in the table in December, dropping a position as Palace continued to win the majority of their games. Southampton finished the season in second place with 19 wins, 16 draws and seven losses, four points behind the champions and one point ahead of third-placed Queens Park Rangers.
The 1921–22 season was the 27th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's second in the Football League. After finishing second in the league the previous season, Southampton achieved promotion to the Second Division as champions of the newly regionalised Third Division South. Following a false start to the campaign, the Saints quickly asserted their dominance in the league when they went on a club record 19-game unbeaten run until the end of 1921. The club also remained unbeaten at The Dell for the entirety of the league season, as well as conceding a Football League record low 21 goals in 42 games, which remained in place until the 1978–79 season. Southampton finished atop the league table with 23 wins, 15 draws and four losses, ahead of runners-up Plymouth Argyle only on goal average.
The 1926–27 season was the 32nd season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's fifth in the Second Division of the Football League. After having their worst year in the division the previous season, Southampton began the 1926–27 league campaign in strong fashion and found themselves in amongst the promotion hopefuls by the end of the year, just two points off front-runners Middlesbrough. However, following a lengthy run in the FA Cup the club's form began to deteriorate, ending with a series of 13 games which included just one win. The Saints dropped from as high as the top six of the Second Division table to a mid-table position, ending the season in 13th place with 15 wins, 12 draws and 15 losses – just one position and four points higher than their 14th-place finish the previous season.
The 1927–28 season was the 33rd season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's sixth in the Second Division of the Football League. The season was the club's worst in the division to date, as they finished in 17th place just two points above Fulham in the first relegation spot. After a poor start in which they lost their first four games of the campaign, the Saints continued to drop points against teams throughout the Second Division, remaining in the bottom six positions for most of the year. A number of wins in the second half of the season over fellow mid-table sides helped to offset notable losses against those aiming for promotion, ensuring that the club avoided returning down to the Third Division South. Southampton finished the season in 17th place with 14 wins, seven draws and 21 losses.
The 1929–30 season was the 35th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's eighth in the Second Division of the Football League. After finishing fourth in the Second Division the previous season – their highest position in the league to date – Southampton continued their efforts towards achieving promotion to the First Division, but finished three places lower in seventh. The club struggled at the beginning of the league campaign, remaining in the bottom half of the table due to a run of poor results. A period of form including six wins in eight games followed between September and November, enabling the Saints to move up as high as third place. The team remained in the top half of the Second Division table for most of the rest of the season, finishing in seventh place with 17 wins, 11 draws and 14 losses.
The 1931–32 season was the 37th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's tenth in the Second Division of the Football League. After finishing in the top half of the Second Division league table for the past three seasons, the Saints struggled to challenge in 1931–32 and ended up finishing in 14th place, closer to relegation than promotion. Southampton's first season with manager George Kay started strongly, as the team picked up four wins in their first five matches and reached the top of the Second Division league table for the first time in the club's history. Form quickly deteriorated, however, and the club was briefly involved in a fight for survival in the new year. After picking up a few more wins, Southampton secured their safety and finished in 14th place with 14 wins, 14 draws and 14 losses.
The 1932–33 season was the 38th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's 11th in the Second Division of the Football League. It was another disappointing campaign for the Saints, who finished mid-table and rarely competed for promotion to the First Division. After a slow start to the season, the club had established themselves in the top half of the table by October with a string of victories. By the end of the calendar year, Southampton had dropped as low as 14th in the Second Division table – the position in which they finished the previous season – after a period of poor form in December. Wins were hard to come by in the second half of the season, but a strong run of results in April meant that the side finished 12th with 18 wins, five draws and 19 losses, seven points above the first relegation place.