List of Southampton F.C. seasons explained

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.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.

Competitions

The club has participated in the following leagues:

• The Southern League (from 1894–95 to 1919–20)
• The Football League (from 1920–21 to 1991–92, from 2005–06 to 2011–12 and 2023–24)
• The Premier League (from 1992–93 to 2004–05, from 2012–13 to 2022–23 and since 2024–25)

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

• FA Cup (since 1891–92)
• Southern Professional Floodlit Cup (from 1957–58 to 1959–60)
• EFL Cup (since 1960–61)
• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (in 1969–70)
• UEFA Cup / Europa League (in 1971–72, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85, 2003–04, 2015–16, 2016–17)
• Texaco Cup (in 1974–75)
• Community Shield (in 1976)
• Anglo-Italian League Cup (in 1976)
• European Cup Winners' Cup (in 1976–77)
• Super Cup (in 1985–86)
• Full Members Cup (from 1986–87 to 1991–92)
• Football League Trophy (from 2009–10 to 2010–11)

Key

bgcolor=gold	1st or W	Winners
2nd or RU	Runners-up
↑	Promoted
↓	Relegated

• 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

• Div 1 – Football League First Division
• Div 2 – Football League Second Division
• Div 3 – Football League Third Division
• Div 3(S) – Football League Third Division South
• Prem – Premier League
• Champ – EFL Championship
• Lge 1 – EFL League One
• SL Div 1 – Southern League Division One

• 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	Europe / Other	Manager(s)	Top goalscorer(s)		Most league appearances		Average attendance
	Division	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Pos			Player(s)		Goals	Player(s)	Apps.
1891–92	N/A									2Q					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	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	bgcolor=Gold	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	bgcolor=Gold	1st	SF				Ernest Arnfield	Robert Buchanan	16	George Clawley Harry Haynes Samuel Meston	22
1898–99		24	15	5	4	54	24	35	bgcolor=Gold	1st	R2					Abe Hartley Harry Wood	16	Jack Robinson Harry Wood	24
1899–1900		28	17	1	10	70	33	35	3rd	RU				Alf Milward		28	Alf Milward	28
1900–01		28	18	5	5	58	26	41	bgcolor=Gold	1st	R1					Edgar Chadwick	15	Samuel Meston Alf Milward George Molyneux	28
1901–02		30	18	6	6	71	28	42	3rd	RU				Albert Brown		29	Tommy Bowman Bert Lee George Molyneux	27
1902–03		30	20	8	2	83	20	48	bgcolor=Gold	1st	R1					Fred Harrison	17	Bert Lee	29
1903–04		34	22	6	6	75	30	50	bgcolor=Gold	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	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	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	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	bgcolor=Gold	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	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
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	bgcolor=Gold	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		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
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 ↑	R5	R1			Russell Martin	Adam Armstrong	21	Adam Armstrong	46	28,642

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: 40
• Seasons spent at Level 3 of the football league system: 11
• Seasons spent at Level 4 of the football league system: 0

Notes and References

1. Web site: Southampton St Mary's. Football Club History Database . https://web.archive.org/web/20080614003538/http://www.fchd.info/SOUTHASM.HTM. 14 June 2008 . live . 18 November 2012 .
2. Web site: Southampton . Football Club History Database . https://web.archive.org/web/20080614003533/http://www.fchd.info/SOUTHAMP.HTM . 14 June 2008 . 18 November 2012 . live .
3. Web site: Southampton History 1918 to 1945 . statto.com . 18 November 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130327062148/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/southampton/history/post-ww1 . 27 March 2013 . dmy-all .
4. Web site: Southampton History 1945 to 1975 . statto.com . 18 November 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150301094645/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/southampton/history/post-ww2 . 1 March 2015 .
5. Web site: Southampton History 1975 to date . statto.com . 18 November 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150301104100/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/southampton/history/modern . 1 March 2015 .
6. Web site: The FA Cup Archive . . 18 November 2012 . Individual seasons accessed via dropdown menu.