1994–95 Southampton F.C. season

Southampton F.C.
1994–95 season
Chairman Guy Askham
Manager Alan Ball
Stadium The Dell
FA Premier League 10th
FA Cup Fifth Round
League Cup Third Round
Top goalscorer League:
Matthew Le Tissier (19)
All:
Matthew Le Tissier (29)
Highest home attendance 15,210 v Queens Park Rangers (15 April 1995)
Lowest home attendance League:
12,876 v Norwich City
(2 November 1994)
Overall:
12,032 v Huddersfield Town (5 October 1994)
Average home league attendance League: 14,685
Overall: 14,547
Home colours
← 1993–94 1995–96 →

The 1994–95 Southampton F.C. season was the club's third in the Premier League, and their 25th in the top division of English football. Having narrowly avoided relegation from the league the previous season, the club were looking to improve their performances in order to remain in the top flight for another year. After finishing 18th in the division for two consecutive seasons, Southampton managed to finish 10th in the Premier League, their best top-flight finish since 1990. They also reached the fifth round of the FA Cup, and the third round of the League Cup.

Southampton acted conservatively in the 1994 summer transfer window, although did make notable signings in the form of Zimbabwean goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar from Liverpool and Danish midfielder Ronnie Ekelund from Barcelona. After Christmas the spending was increased, with strikers Neil Shipperley and Gordon Watson moving to Southampton from Chelsea and Sheffield Wednesday respectively, both for fees in excess of £1 million. Notable departures included striker Iain Dowie halfway through the season, and defender Jeff Kenna near the end of the campaign.

At the end of the season Southampton finished 10th in the Premier League table with 12 wins, 18 draws and 12 losses, although only nine points above the relegation zone. Matthew Le Tissier was the club's top scorer with 19 goals in the league, making him the seventh best goalscorer in the league that season. Le Tissier also won the Southampton Player of the Season award, surpassing Peter Shilton and Tim Flowers as the first player to win the award a third time.

FA Premier League

Southampton's start to the third Premier League season saw the Hampshire side pick up just two points from their first four games, all in August, including a 5–1 thrashing at the hands of Newcastle United. The following month was much more positive for the club, who picked up four wins out of five games, including a late win at Tottenham Hotspur and 3–1 wins against Coventry City and Ipswich Town. The Saints lost their next three games, and won only one of their November fixtures, a tightly-fought 1–0 victory over Arsenal. The run-up to Christmas was similarly difficult, with Southampton picking up only one win from a possible three.

Saints hosted Wimbledon on Boxing Day 1994, and eventually lost 3–2 after a close match-up between the sides. It took the Saints almost three months to win a match again, during which time the club dropped to 20th in the table. Between 28 December 1994 and 18 March 1995, Southampton took part in an amazing nine draws, including late losses of leads against Manchester City and Norwich City, and lost their other two matches at Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest.

Luck changed for the Saints after this poor run of results, as they picked up important victories against high-profile opponents Newcastle United (in which Southampton's three goals were scored within the last four minutes) and Tottenham Hotspur, and later against Chelsea and a number of other teams. Despite winning only one of their final five fixtures, the club remained in 10th position in the Premier League come the end of the season, with just ten points between themselves and the relegation zone.


Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142
GroundHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Result D D L L W D W W W L L L D D W D L L W L D D D D D D D L D D L W W L W W W D W D L D
Position 9 13 17 17 15 14 13 8 7 10 10 12 13 12 9 11 13 13 12 14 14 15 15 14 14 15 15 17 18 20 20 19 17 17 14 13 11 11 10 10 10 10

Source: statto.com
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Pos Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
8Queens Park Rangers 42179166159+260
9Wimbledon 421511164865–1756
10Southampton 421218126163–254
11Chelsea 421315145055–554
12Arsenal 421312175249+351

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

FA Cup

As a Premier League club, Southampton entered the 1994–95 FA Cup in the Third Round. They were drawn against First Division side Southend United, who the Saints defeated comfortably 2–0 to move onto the Fourth Round. In the next match against Luton Town the sides drew 1–1, but Southampton asserted their dominance in the replay with a 6–0 home win. In the Fifth Round, against Tottenham Hotspur, a replay was required again after another 1–1 draw, but it was Spurs who enjoyed the spoils when they defeated the Saints 6–2 in the second game, with Ronny Rosenthal scoring a hat-trick.

League Cup

As a Premier League club, Southampton entered the 1994–95 Football League Cup in the Second Round. They were drawn against Second Division side Huddersfield Town, whom they eliminated with 1–0 and 4–0 wins, all goals coming from Matthew Le Tissier. Fellow FA Premier League side Sheffield Wednesday were the opposition in the Third Round, and a goal from Chris Bart-Williams was enough to eliminate the South Coast side from the competition.

Squad statistics

No. Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup League Cup Total Discipline
Apps. Goals Apps. Goals Apps. Goals Apps. Goals
1 GK Zimbabwe Bruce Grobbelaar 300 50 30 380 10
2 DF England Matthew Robinson 0(1)0 00 00 0(1)0 00
3 DF England Francis Benali 32(3)0 40 30 39(3)0 110
4 MF Northern Ireland Jim Magilton 426 51 30 507 30
5 DF England Richard Hall 36(1)3 40 20 42(1)3 60
6 DF Netherlands Ken Monkou 311 41 20 372 120
7 FW England Matthew Le Tissier 4119 55 35 4929 60
8 FW England Craig Maskell 2(4)0 10 00 3(4)0 10
9 FW England Neil Shipperley 194 42 00 236 30
10 MF England Neil Maddison 353 40 20 413 20
11 MF England Paul Allen 110 00 20 130 20
12 MF England Neil Heaney 21(13)2 52 2(1)0 28(14)4 30
13 GK England Dave Beasant 12(1)0 00 00 12(1)0 00
14 DF England Simon Charlton 251 10 2(1)0 28(1)1 10
15 DF England Jason Dodd 24(2)2 30 10 28(2)2 50
16 FW England Gordon Watson 123 00 00 123 10
17 DF Scotland Derek Allan 00 00 00 00 00
18 MF England David Hughes 2(10)2 0(4)1 00 2(14)3 10
19 DF Scotland Paul McDonald 0(2)0 00 00 0(2)0 00
21 MF England Tommy Widdrington 23(5)0 50 10 29(5)0 40
23 GK England Neil Hopper 00 00 00 00 00
24 FW England Frankie Bennett 00 00 0(1)0 0(1)0 00
27 DF England Peter Whiston 0(1)0 00 00 0(1)0 00
28 MF England Paul Tisdale 0(7)0 0(1)0 0(1)0 0(9)0 00
33 MF England Matt Oakley 0(1)0 00 00 0(1)0 00
Players with appearances who left before the end of the season
2 DF Republic of Ireland Jeff Kenna 280 50 20 350 10
9 FW Northern Ireland Iain Dowie 175 00 30 205 20
16 FW England Nicky Banger 42 00 00 42 00
24 MF Denmark Ronnie Ekelund 15(2)5 00 2(1)0 17(3)5 10

Most appearances

Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup League Cup Total
Starts Subs Starts Subs Starts Subs Starts Subs Total
1 MF Northern Ireland Jim Magilton 420 50 30 50050
2 FW England Matthew Le Tissier 410 50 30 49049
3 DF England Richard Hall 361 40 20 42143
4 DF England Francis Benali 323 40 30 39342
MF England Neil Heaney 2113 50 21 281442
6 MF England Neil Maddison 350 40 20 41041
7 GK Zimbabwe Bruce Grobbelaar 300 50 30 38038
8 DF Netherlands Ken Monkou 310 40 20 37037
9 DF Republic of Ireland Jeff Kenna 280 50 20 35035
10 MF England Tommy Widdrington 235 50 10 29534

Top goalscorers

Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup League Cup Total
1 FW England Matthew Le Tissier 19 5 5 29
2 MF Northern Ireland Jim Magilton 6 1 0 7
3 FW England Neil Shipperley 4 2 0 6
4 FW England Iain Dowie 5 0 0 5
MF Denmark Ronnie Ekelund 5 0 0 5
6 DF England Richard Hall 4 0 0 4
MF England Neil Heaney 2 2 0 4
8 MF England Neil Maddison 3 0 0 3
FW England Gordon Watson 3 0 0 3
MF England David Hughes 2 1 0 3

Transfers

Players transferred in
Date Pos. Name Club Fee
10 August 1994 DF England Peter Whiston England Exeter City £30,000
11 August 1994 GK Zimbabwe Bruce Grobbelaar England Liverpool Free
15 September 1994 MF Denmark Ronnie Ekelund Spain Barcelona Loan
6 January 1995 FW England Neil Shipperley England Chelsea £1,250,000
17 March 1995 FW England Gordon Watson England Sheffield Wednesday £1,200,000
31 March 1995 MF England Christer Warren England Cheltenham Town £40,000
Players transferred out
Date Pos. Name Club Fee
30 August 1995 FW Scotland Colin Cramb Scotland Falkirk Undisclosed
5 September 1994 GK England Ian Andrews England Bournemouth £20,000
27 October 1994 DF England Matthew Bound England Stockport County £100,000
4 November 1994 FW England Nicky Banger England Oldham Athletic £250,000
18 November 1994 FW Northern Ireland Rory Hamill England Fulham Free
2 December 1994 MF England Neal Bartlett England Fareham Town Free
13 January 1995 FW England Iain Dowie England Crystal Palace £400,000
15 March 1995 DF Republic of Ireland Jeff Kenna England Blackburn Rovers £1,500,000
Players loaned out
Start date Pos. Name Club End date
9 December 1994 MF England Paul Allen England Luton Town 19 January 1995
20 January 1995 MF England Paul Allen England Stoke City End of season
Players released
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Join date
31 May 1995 MF England Craig Davidson Unknown 23 December 1995

References

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