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 .
Southampton league performance from 1920 to 2024 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 2023–24 season , the club have spent 46 seasons in the top division of English football, 40 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.
The club has participated in the following leagues:
The club has participated in the following other first-team tournaments:
Pld – Matches played W – Matches won D – Matches drawn L – Matches lost GF – Goals for GA – Goals against Pts – Points Pos – Final position 2Q – Second qualifying round 3Q – Third qualifying round PO – Play-off round GS – Group stage R1 – First round R2 – Second round, etc. QF – Quarter-finals SF – Semi-finals
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. Season League record[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] [ 4] [ 5] FA Cup [ 6] EFL Cup [ a] Europe / Other Manager(s) Top goalscorer(s)[ b] Most league[ c] Average[ d] Division Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pos Player(s) Goals Player(s) Apps. 1891–92 N/A 2Q[ e] 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 [ f] 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 [ g] 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 [ h] 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 [ i] 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[ j] 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[ j] 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 42 17 10 15 72 67 44 9th 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[ k] 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[ l] 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[ m] 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 2023–24 Champ 46 26 9 11 87 63 87 4th [ n] R5 R1 Russell Martin Adam Armstrong 21 Adam Armstrong 46 28,642
[ edit ] Seasons spent at Level 1 of the football league system : 46 Seasons spent at Level 2 of the football league system: 40 Seasons spent at Level 3 of the football league system: 11 Seasons spent at Level 4 of the football league system: 0 ^ The EFL Cup competition started in the 1960–61 season. ^ Includes goals scored in the Southern League , The Football League and the Premier League and the other first-team tournaments as listed above. ^ Includes substitute appearances. Bold indicates "ever-present". ^ League matches only (including Southern League, Football League and Premier League). ^ Reached Second qualifying round, where they defeated Reading 7–0 but were disqualified for fielding ineligible players. ^ Founder member of the Southern League . ^ Southampton's first appearance in the Cup Final, a 4–0 defeat to First Division side Bury . ^ Southampton's second appearance in the Cup Final, a 2–1 replay defeat to First Division side Sheffield United . ^ The 1939–40 season was abandoned in early September and all results annulled. ^ a b Lowest League finish. ^ Highest League finish. ^ 2001–02 season was the inaugural season at St Mary's Stadium .^ 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 . ^ Won in the play-off final to Leeds United , 1–0
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