1992–93 Southampton F.C. season

Southampton F.C.
1992–93 season
Chairman	Guy Askham
Manager	Ian Branfoot
Stadium	The Dell
FA Premier League	18th
FA Cup	Third Round
League Cup	Third Round
Top goalscorer	League: ; Matthew Le Tissier (15); All: ; Matthew Le Tissier (18)
Highest home attendance	19,654 vs Tottenham Hotspur (15 August 1992)
Lowest home attendance	League:; 10,827 vs Oldham Athletic; (31 October 1992); Overall:; 6,764 vs Gillingham; (7 October 1992)
Average home league attendance	League: 15,148; Overall: 14,519
	← 1991–92 1993–94 →

The 1992–93 Southampton F.C. season was the club's first season in the Premier League, and their 23rd season in the top division of English football. As co-founders of the Premier League, the club looked to retain their status as one of the top clubs in the country by ensuring a 16th consecutive season in the top flight. Southampton finished 18th in the league, just one point above the relegation zone – their worst top division finish since their relegation in 1974. They also reached the third round of the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Southampton were relatively inactive in the 1992 summer transfer window, making only three purchases before the start of the season – striker Kerry Dixon for £575,000 and defender Ken Monkou for £750,000, from Chelsea and winger Perry Groves from Arsenal. A number of players were sold by the club, most notably striker Alan Shearer who moved to Blackburn Rovers in July for a British transfer fee record of £3.6 million, with David Speedie moving the other way as part of the deal. Later in the year, Frankie Bennett and Derek Allan were brought into the club, both for nominal fees, while David Lee was sold to Bolton Wanderers and new arrival Dixon left on a free transfer for Luton Town.

At the end of the season Southampton finished 18th in the Premier League table with 13 wins, 11 draws and 18 losses, just two positions and one point above the relegation zone. Matthew Le Tissier was the club's top scorer, with 15 goals in the league and 18 in all competitions. Goalkeeper Tim Flowers was named Southampton Player of the Season, becoming only the second player (after Peter Shilton) to win the award twice (and twice in a row). At the end of the season, strikers Perry Groves and David Speedie were released from the club. It was also the last full season for Flowers, who left the club in November 1993, as well as Glenn Cockerill who departed the club in December 1993.

FA Premier League

Southampton's first season in the newly formed Premier League did not get off to a positive start, as the club won only two of their first ten games, overcoming Middlesbrough and Coventry late to win 2–1 on both occasions. Between 31 October and 12 December 1992 the team progressed up the table as they went unbeaten for six games, including wins against Oldham Athletic, Nottingham Forest, and Arsenal. Over the Christmas period Southampton were less fortunate, losing three out of four of their matches in late December and early January and dropping back down to the relegation zone as a result.

Throughout the rest of January, February and March though, Southampton were one of the more consistent sides in the league, winning a total of seven matches out of 11. Wins included a comfortable 3–0 against Norwich City (their best result of the season), a 2–1 edging of Liverpool at home, and a dramatic 4–3 triumph over Ipswich Town in which Matthew Le Tissier scored a last-minute goal to claim the three points for the home side. One of their losses, 2–4 against Tottenham Hotspur, saw the Saints sacrifice a 1–0 lead to concede four goals from the hosts in a single five-minute period, with a consolation goal scored by Richard Hall later on. During this period, the Hampshire side made it to a peak of ninth in the table.

After three losses in a row though, Southampton were again struggling to regain a respectable position in the league table, although did pick up a 1–0 win over Chelsea late in the campaign. The final run of games started with a disappointing 2–5 loss to Sheffield Wednesday, followed by a goalless draw with Everton and frustrating losses against Manchester City and Oldham Athletic. Despite the team losing 3–4 in the final match of the season, Le Tissier established himself as a key part of the Saints side when he scored a hat-trick at Oldham to bring his league tally up to 15.

15 August 1992 1	Southampton	0–0	Tottenham Hotspur	Southampton
				Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 19,654 Referee: Vic Callow

19 August 1992 2	Queens Park Rangers	3–1	Southampton	London
	Ferdinand 58', 86' Bardsley 70'		Le Tissier 31'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 10,925 Referee: Ray Bigger

22 August 1992 3	Aston Villa	1–1	Southampton	Birmingham
	Atkinson 64'		Adams 79'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 17,894 Referee: Kelvin Morton

24 August 1992 4	Southampton	0–1	Manchester United	Southampton
			Dublin 89'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,623 Referee: Ray Lewis

29 August 1992 5	Southampton	2–1	Middlesbrough	Southampton
	Le Tissier 80' (pen.) Banger 83'		Wilkinson 75'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 13,003 Referee: Rodger Gifford

1 September 1992 6	Liverpool	1–1	Southampton	Liverpool
	Wright 60'		Dixon 51'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 30,024 Referee: Robbie Hart

5 September 1992 7	Norwich City	1–0	Southampton	Norwich
	Robins 87'			Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 12,452 Referee: Keith Hackett

12 September 1992 8	Southampton	1–2	Queens Park Rangers	Southampton
	Le Tissier 11'		Sinton 53' Channing 56'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 14,125 Referee: Alan Gunn

19 September 1992 9	Southampton	1–1	Leeds United	Southampton
	Groves 43'		Speed 83'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 16,229 Referee: Alf Buksh

26 September 1992 10	Crystal Palace	1–2	Southampton	London
	Young 54'		Dowie 44', 88'	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 13,829 Referee: Jim Borrett

3 October 1992 11	Sheffield United	2–0	Southampton	Sheffield
	Whitehouse 4' Littlejohn 26'			Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 15,842 Referee: Ken Redfern

17 October 1992 12	Southampton	2–2	Wimbledon	Southampton
	Dowie 57' Groves 83'		Cotterill 50', 67'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 11,221 Referee: Keren Barratt

24 October 1992 13	Manchester City	1–0	Southampton	Manchester
	Sheron 74'			Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 20,089 Referee: Philip Don

31 October 1992 14	Southampton	1–0	Oldham Athletic	Southampton
	Hall 58'			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 10,827 Referee: Paul Durkin

7 November 1992 15	Ipswich Town	0–0	Southampton	Ipswich
				Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 15,722 Referee: Roger Dilkes

22 November 1992 16	Southampton	1–1	Blackburn Rovers	Southampton
	Le Tissier 22'		Moran 38'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 16,626 Referee: Martin Bodenham

28 November 1992 17	Nottingham Forest	1–2	Southampton	Nottingham
	Clough 43'		Le Tissier 21' Adams 63'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 19,942 Referee: David Elleray

5 December 1992 18	Southampton	2–0	Arsenal	Southampton
	Maddison 16' Dowie 53'			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 17,286 Referee: John Key

12 December 1992 19	Southampton	2–2	Coventry City	Southampton
	Maddison 9' Dowie 61'		Quinn 6', 25'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 12,306 Referee: Bob Nixon

19 December 1992 20	Everton	2–1	Southampton	Liverpool
	Beardsley 11' (pen.) Rideout 36'		Le Tissier 5'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 14,051 Referee: Mike Peck

26 December 1992 21	Chelsea	1–1	Southampton	London
	Newton 89'		Dowie 2'	Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 18,344 Referee: Alan Gunn

28 December 1992 22	Southampton	1–2	Sheffield Wednesday	Southampton
	Monkou 80'		Sheridan 12' (pen.) Hirst 63'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 17,426 Referee: Roger Milford

9 January 1993 23	Leeds United	2–1	Southampton	Leeds
	Fairclough 50' Speed 72'		Dixon 19'	Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 26,071 Referee: Ron Groves

16 January 1993 24	Southampton	1–0	Crystal Palace	Southampton
	Maddison 50'			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 13,397 Referee: Philip Don

26 January 1993 25	Middlesbrough	2–1	Southampton	Middlesbrough
	Mohan 24' Wilkinson 71'		Le Tissier 58'	Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 13,918 Referee: Peter Foakes

30 January 1993 26	Southampton	2–0	Aston Villa	Southampton
	Banger 39' Dowie 63'			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 19,087 Referee: Philip Wright

7 February 1993 27	Tottenham Hotspur	4–2	Southampton	London
	Sheringham 54', 59' Barmby 56' Anderton 57'		Dowie 21' Hall 66'	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 20,098 Referee: Ken Redfern

10 February 1993 28	Southampton	3–0	Norwich City	Southampton
	Hall 9' Adams 25' Banger 79'			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 12,969 Referee: Joe Worrall

13 February 1993 29	Southampton	2–1	Liverpool	Southampton
	Maddison 23' Banger 73'		Hutchison 60'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 17,216 Referee: Alf Buksh

20 February 1993 30	Manchester United	2–1	Southampton	Manchester
	Giggs 82', 83'		Banger 77'	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 36,257 Referee: Ray Lewis

27 February 1993 31	Southampton	3–2	Sheffield United	Southampton
	Moore 2' Kenna 5' Dowie 39'		Gayle 37' Bryson 83'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 13,814 Referee: Jim Borrett

6 March 1993 32	Wimbledon	1–2	Southampton	London
	Holdsworth 22'		Le Tissier 33' Moore 73'	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 4,534 Referee: Alan Gunn

9 March 1993 33	Blackburn Rovers	0–0	Southampton	Blackburn
				Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 13,556 Referee: Stephen Lodge

13 March 1993 34	Southampton	4–3	Ipswich Town	Southampton
	Hall 17' Le Tissier 65' (pen.), 90' Kenna 84'		Linighan 13' Goddard 35' Kiwomya 87'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,428 Referee: David Elleray

20 March 1993 35	Arsenal	4–3	Southampton	London
	Linighan 15' Merson 16' Carter 20', 79'		Dowie 4' Adams 30' Le Tissier 50'	Stadium: Arsenal Stadium Attendance: 24,149 Referee: Keren Barratt

24 March 1993 36	Southampton	1–2	Nottingham Forest	Southampton
	Le Tissier 72'		Clough 5' Keane 45'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 18,005 Referee: Mike Reed

3 April 1993 37	Coventry City	2–0	Southampton	Coventry
	Quinn 7' (pen.) Williams 80'			Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 10,463 Referee: Keith Cooper

10 April 1993 38	Southampton	1–0	Chelsea	Southampton
	Banger 49'			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,135 Referee: Keith Burge

12 April 1993 39	Sheffield Wednesday	5–2	Southampton	Sheffield
	Bright 37' Bart-Williams 43', 71', 80' King 50'		Dodd 68' Dowie 86'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 26,183 Referee: Kelvin Morton

17 April 1993 40	Southampton	0–0	Everton	Southampton
				Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 16,911 Referee: Martin Bodenham

1 May 1993 41	Southampton	0–1	Manchester City	Southampton
			White 41'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 11,830 Referee: T. Lloyd

8 May 1993 42	Oldham Athletic	4–3	Southampton	Oldham
	Pointon 29' Olney 44' Ritchie 54' Halle 63'		Le Tissier 34', 66', 84'	Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 14,597 Referee: Howard King

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Ground	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A
Result	D	L	D	L	W	D	L	L	D	W	L	D	L	W	D	D	W	W	D	L	D	L	L	W	L	W	L	W	W	L	W	W	D	W	L	L	L	W	L	D	L	L
Position	13	17	17	20	17	17	18	19	20	15	18	18	19	19	19	17	16	13	15	16	15	17	19	17	17	15	17	14	12	14	12	11	11	9	10	13	14	14	14	14	15	18

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

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
16	Ipswich Town	42	12	16	14	50	55	−5	52
17	Leeds United	42	12	15	15	57	62	−5	51
18	Southampton	42	13	11	18	54	61	−7	50
19	Oldham Athletic	42	13	10	19	63	74	−11	49
20	Crystal Palace (R)	42	11	16	15	48	61	−13	49	Relegation to Football League First Division

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

FA Cup

As a Premier League club, Southampton entered the 1992–93 FA Cup in the Third Round. They were drawn against Nottingham Forest, who defeated the Saints at the City Ground 2–1 with goals from Roy Keane and Neil Webb (Matthew Le Tissier scoring for Southampton).

3 January 1993 Round 3	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Southampton	Nottingham
	Keane Webb		Le Tissier	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 13,592

League Cup

As a Premier League club, Southampton entered the 1992–93 Football League Cup in the Second Round. They were drawn against Gillingham, with whom they shared a goalless draw in the first leg, before winning comfortably 3–0 in the second. In the Third Round they faced Crystal Palace at home, but were beaten 0–2 thanks to goals from Eddie McGoldrick and John Salako.

23 September 1992 Round 2 First Leg	Gillingham	0–0	Southampton	Gillingham
				Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 7,488

7 October 1992 Round 2 Second Leg	Southampton	3–0	Gillingham	Southampton
	Dowie Le Tissier (pen.)			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 6,764

28 October 1992 Round 3	Southampton	0–2	Crystal Palace	Southampton
			McGoldrick Salako	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 9,060

Squad statistics

Pos.	Nat.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total		Discipline
Pos.	Nat.	Name	Apps.	Goals	Apps.	Goals	Apps.	Goals	Apps.	Goals
DF		Micky Adams	38	4	1	0	3	0	42	4	6	1
DF		Derek Allan	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0
GK		Ian Andrews	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW		Nicky Banger	10(17)	6	0(1)	0	1	0	11(18)	6	0	0
MF		Neal Bartlett	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0
DF		Francis Benali	31(2)	0	1	0	1(2)	0	33(4)	0	5	1
FW		Frankie Bennett	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF		Matthew Bound	1(2)	0	0	0	0	0	1(2)	0	0	0
MF		Glenn Cockerill	21(2)	0	1	0	2	0	24(2)	0	2	0
DF		Jason Dodd	27(3)	1	1	0	3	0	31(3)	1	1	0
FW		Iain Dowie	34(2)	11	0	0	2	1	36(2)	12	9	0
GK		Tim Flowers	42	0	1	0	3	0	46	0	1	0
FW		Perry Groves	13(2)	2	0(1)	0	2	0	15(3)	2	2	0
DF		Richard Hall	28	4	1	0	1	0	30	4	5	0
MF		David Hughes	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
MF		Terry Hurlock	30	0	0	0	3	0	33	0	6	1
DF		Jeff Kenna	27(2)	2	1	0	0	0	28(2)	2	0	0
MF		Matthew Le Tissier	40	15	1	1	3	2	44	18	5	0
MF		Neil Maddison	33(4)	4	1	0	1	0	35(4)	4	0	0
FW		Craig Maskell	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF		Ken Monkou	33	1	1	0	3	0	37	1	4	0
FW		Paul Moody	2(1)	0	0	0	0	0	2(1)	0	1	0
DF		Kevin Moore	18	2	0	0	1	0	19	2	3	0
MF		Lee Powell	0(2)	0	0	0	0	0	0(2)	0	0	0
FW		David Speedie	11	0	0	0	1	0	12	0	1	0
MF		Martin Thomas	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
MF		Tommy Widdrington	11(1)	0	0	0	0(1)	0	11(2)	0	3	0
DF		Steve Wood	4	0	0	0	1	0	5	0	0	0
Players with appearances who left before the end of the season
FW		Kerry Dixon	8(1)	2	1	0	2	0	11(1)	2	0	0
FW		David Lee	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0

Most appearances

	Pos.	Nat.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Strt.	Sub.	Strt.	Sub.	Strt.	Sub.	Strt.	Sub.	Total
1	GK		Tim Flowers	42	0	1	0	3	0	46	0	46
2	MF		Matthew Le Tissier	40	0	1	0	3	0	44	0	44
3	DF		Micky Adams	38	0	1	0	3	0	42	0	42
4	MF		Neil Maddison	33	4	1	0	1	0	35	4	39
5	FW		Iain Dowie	34	2	0	0	2	0	36	2	38
6	DF		Ken Monkou	33	0	1	0	3	0	37	0	37
6	DF		Francis Benali	31	2	1	0	1	2	33	4	37
8	DF		Jason Dodd	27	3	1	0	3	0	31	3	34
9	MF		Terry Hurlock	30	0	0	0	3	0	33	0	33
10	DF		Richard Hall	28	0	1	0	1	0	30	0	30
10	DF		Jeff Kenna	27	2	1	0	0	0	28	2	30

Top goalscorers

	Pos.	Nat.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	GPG
1	FW		Matthew Le Tissier	15	40	1	1	2	3	18	44	0.40
2	FW		Iain Dowie	11	36	0	0	1	2	12	38	0.31
3	FW		Nicky Banger	6	27	0	1	0	1	6	29	0.20
4	DF		Richard Hall	4	28	0	1	0	1	4	30	0.13
	MF		Neil Maddison	4	37	0	1	0	1	4	39	0.10
	DF		Micky Adams	4	38	0	1	0	3	4	42	0.09
7	FW		Kerry Dixon	2	9	0	1	0	2	2	12	0.16
	FW		Perry Groves	2	15	0	1	0	2	2	18	0.11
	DF		Kevin Moore	2	18	0	0	0	1	2	19	0.10
	DF		Jeff Kenna	2	29	0	1	0	0	2	30	0.06

Transfers

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Club	Fee
19 July 1992	FW	Kerry Dixon	Chelsea	£575,000^[1]
24 July 1992	FW	David Speedie	Blackburn Rovers	£400,000^[1]
21 August 1992	DF	Ken Monkou	Chelsea	£750,000^[1]
24 August 1992	FW	Perry Groves	Arsenal	£750,000^[1]
1 October 1992	MF	Paul Sheerin	Alloa Athletic	£65,000^[1]
24 February 1993	FW	Frankie Bennett	Halesowen Town	£5,000^[1]
16 March 1993	DF	Derek Allan	Ayr United	£75,000^[1]
Players transferred out
Date	Pos.	Name	Club	Fee
1 July 1992	MF	Barry Horne	Everton	£675,000^[1]
24 July 1992	FW	Alan Shearer	Blackburn Rovers	£3,600,000^[1]
27 July 1992	DF	Jon Gittens	Middlesbrough	£350,000^[1]
29 July 1992	DF	Neil Ruddock	Tottenham Hotspur	£750,000^[1]
30 December 1992	MF	David Lee	Bolton Wanderers	£275,000^[1]
Players loaned out
Date	Pos.	Name	Club	End date
19 February 1993	FW	Kerry Dixon	Luton Town	End of season^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. pp. 224–227. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.