PU PREVIEW 59: SOUTHAMPTON

OUR NEAREST, AND NOT SO DEAREST, RIVALS

Our nearest, and not so dearest, rivals in English football, Southampton FC was founded in November 1885 at St Mary's Church by the church's Young Men's Association. Having been known as St Mary's Young Men's Association FC, St Mary's FC (from 1887) and Southampton St Mary's FC (from 1894, on joining the Southern League), they were renamed as Southampton FC in 1897, also becoming a limited company. Southampton moved to The Dell in 1898, a ground they would retain for 103 years. Two defeats in FA Cup finals followed in 1900 (4-0 v Bury) and 1902 (2-1 v Sheffield United in a replay). The club joined the newly formed Football League Third Division in 1920 and were promoted in 1922. A unique record was achieved in the 1922-23 season, when the club finished with 14 wins, 14 draws and 14 defeats. In 1940, a bomb landed on The Dell pitch and damaged a culvert which caused flooding, forcing Southampton to use Portsmouth's ground, Fratton Park, for a brief period. The club finally reached the First Division in 1966 and stayed there until 1974. Southampton took part in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in the 1969-70 season and its successor the UEFA Cup in 1971-72, losing to Newcastle United and Athletic Bilbao respectively. In 1976, the club won the FA Cup 1-0 against Manchester United with a late goal from Bobby Stokes, and entered the following season's Cup Winners' Cup, losing in Round 3 to Belgian side Anderlecht. Southampton returned to the First Division in 1978 and reached the final of the League Cup in 1980, losing 3-2 to Nottingham Forest. Then European Footballer of the Year and future England manager Kevin Keegan signed for the club in 1980, remaining at The Dell for two years. The club achieved its highest League finish of 2nd in 1984. Matthew Le Tissier and Alan Shearer both played for Southampton, with Le Tissier staying at the club from 1985 until his retirement in 2002. Shearer, like Le Tissier, went on to play for England, breaking the English transfer record when he was sold to Blackburn in 1992 for more than £3million. Southampton became founding members of the Premier League in 1992. The club was given permission in 1999 to build a new 32,000 seater stadium in the St Mary's area of the city, and moved into their new home for the start of the 2001-02 season. They finished runners-up in the FA Cup in 2003, losing 1-0 to Arsenal. Harry Redknapp was controversially appointed manager in December 2004, shortly after resigning as Portsmouth boss, but he was unable to prevent relegation at the end of the season. Redknapp rejoined Portsmouth in November 2005. In April 2009, Southampton's parent company was placed in administration and the club was subsequently relegated to League One. Markus Liebherr became the new owner and the club won the Football League Trophy in 2010, defeating Carlisle United in the final. Mr Liebherr died in August 2010, but he had made plans to secure the club's future prior to his death. Southampton returned to the Championship in 2011 and won the title the following season, securing a return to the Premier League. In 2015, Sadio Mane scored the fastest ever hat-trick in the Premier League, in just 176 seconds. Southampton lost 3-2 to Manchester United in the League Cup final in 2017.

Southampton finished 16th at the end of the 2018-19 Premier League season. They are known as The Saints and currently managed by Ralph Hasenhuttl. 

Pompey and Saints have met on 70 occasions, the first meeting coming in April 1900 when both clubs were still in the Southern League. 

Southern League: Pompey 12 wins, Saints 15 wins, 5 draws (32 games)

Football League inc. Premier League: Pompey 8 wins, Saints 14 wins, 10 draws (32 games)

FA Cup: Pompey 1 win, Saints 4 wins (5 games)

League Cup: Saints 1 win (1 game)

(Information via Wikipedia and www.11v11.com)