The 2000–01 Southampton F.C. season was the club's 100th season of competitive football, their 31st (and 23rd consecutive) in the top flight of English football, and their ninth in the FA Premier League. Having achieved a relatively comfortable 15th-place finish the previous season, the club built on this to finish in the top half of the league for the first time in six years, ending the season 10th in the table just as they had done in 1994–95. After leading the club for the second half of the 1999–2000 season, Glenn Hoddle remained Southampton manager for most of the 2000–01 campaign, although he left in March 2001 and was replaced by Stuart Gray, who saw out the year. This was also the last season the club played at The Dell before moving to St Mary's Stadium.
Having made numerous changes to the squad after his arrival in January 2000, Hoddle signed only three new players in the summer transfer window: German striker Uwe Rösler, midfielder Mark Draper, and Ivory Coast striker Patrice Tano. Later in the season, Argentine winger Adrian Caceres and Romanian right-back Dan Petrescu also joined the club. Outgoings included left-back Patrick Colleter, centre-back Richard Dryden, and attacking midfielder Trond Egil Soltvedt. The Saints struggled in the league early on, spending a few weeks in the relegation zone; by the new year, however, they had made it up to the mid-table region, with a string of five wins ahead of Hoddle's departure taking them as high as 8th. Form dipped somewhat under temporary manager Gray.
Outside the league, Southampton reached the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in five seasons, but only reached the third round of the League Cup. In the FA Cup, the Saints beat First Division clubs Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday in the third and fourth rounds, respectively, edging past United with a 1–0 win and eliminating Wednesday with a 3–1 victory. In the fifth round they faced another second-flight side, Tranmere Rovers, who beat the Saints 4–3 in a replay (after a goalless draw at The Dell) by overcoming a 0–3 half-time deficit with four second-half goals. In the League Cup, the club made it past Third Division side Mansfield Town 5–1 on aggregate over two legs, before losing 0–1 to Premier League strugglers Coventry City in the third round.
Southampton used 25 players during the 2000–01 season and had 14 different goalscorers. James Beattie finished as the club's top goalscorer for the first time with 12 goals – 11 in the league and one in the FA Cup. Wayne Bridge and Claus Lundekvam made the most appearances for the club during the campaign, both playing in all but one of the team's 45 games across all three competitions. Bridge won the Southampton F.C. Player of the Season award at the end of the season. The average league attendance at The Dell during 2000–01 was 15,115. The highest attendance was 15,252 against Arsenal in the final competitive game at the stadium on the closing day of the league in May; the lowest was 8,802 against Mansfield Town in the League Cup in September.
Background and transfers
With their new stadium St Mary's Stadium now being built, Southampton had a relatively quiet summer transfer period ahead of the 2000–01 season. At the beginning of July, they signed German striker Uwe Rösler on a free transfer from Tennis Borussia Berlin, after the club had gone into bankruptcy. In an interview with BBC Radio Solent, Rösler credited manager Glenn Hoddle's "big plans for the club" as an important factor in his decision to move back to England after two years back playing in Germany. Two days later, the club signed another striker on a free transfer, bringing in 18-year-old Ivory Coast forward Patrice Tano from French side Monaco after he spent a few days with the club during their pre-season preparations. The final signing prior to the season's start was midfielder Mark Draper, who joined from Aston Villa for a fee of £1.5 million. Initially priced at £2 million, Draper eventually moved for a reduced price of £1.25 million raising to £1.5 million based on appearances. Portuguese winger Luís Boa Morte was loaned out for the whole season to Fulham.
Shortly after the start of the league campaign, young striker Shayne Bradley moved to Third Division club Mansfield Town for a club record fee of £100,000, having failed to break into the top-flight side's first team. August also saw the retirement of three Saints players from professional football – left-back John Beresford was forced to leave due to a cruciate ligament injury suffered in the opening game of the 1998–99 season, since which he had only managed to make three substitute appearances for the club; attacking midfielder David Hughes was forced to step down after failing to recover from a knee injury suffered in a pre-season match ahead of the 1999–2000 season; and defensive midfielder David Howells left after nearly 18 months without an appearance, due to the recurrence of an old knee injury suffered prior to joining Southampton. In September, Argentine winger Adrian Caceres joined from Australian side Perth for £25,000, while centre-back Richard Dryden moved to Northampton Town for two months in the first of two loan spells during the season.
During October, Portuguese winger Dani Rodrigues spent a few weeks on loan at Bristol City in the Second Division, before breaking his ankle and being forced to return to Southampton for rehabilitation. The next month, French left-back Patrick Colleter left Southampton on a free transfer, having failed to establish himself in the first team. He moved to Cannes after a short trial, having been "openly critical" of Hoddle and being prevented from playing even for the reserve side as a result. Around the same time, new signing Patrice Tano was released due to issues with his passport and work permit, which forced him to move back to France. Stuart Ripley was loaned out to First Division side Barnsley until January, while Dryden started his second loan spell – this time at Swindon Town in the Second Division. Trainee Daniel Webb was sold to Southend United in December.
After Christmas, the club signed Romanian right-back Dan Petrescu from Premier League strugglers Bradford City, paying a "nominal fee" for the defender. Petrescu had originally planned to sign for the Saints from Chelsea at the beginning of the season after falling out with manager Gianluca Vialli, however an £800,000 deal fell through after the defender could not agree to personal terms. The eventual move reunited Petrescu with Hoddle, under whom he had played at Chelsea a few years earlier. In February, Richard Dryden finally made a permanent move away from Southampton, sold to Luton Town in the Second Division for free. Later that month, out-of-favour midfielder Trond Egil Soltvedt was sent out on loan to Sheffield Wednesday for a month, before he was signed permanently in March alongside loanee Stuart Ripley, who joined until the end of the season.
Players transferred in NameNationalityClubDateFeeRef.Uwe Rösler Tennis Borussia Berlin3 July 2000FreePatrice Tano Monaco5 July 2000FreeMark Draper Aston Villa17 July 2000£1,250,000Adrian Caceres Perth1 September 2000£25,000Dan Petrescu Bradford City12 January 2001Nominal
Players transferred out NameNationalityClubDateFeeRef.Shayne Bradley Mansfield Town22 August 2000£100,000Patrick Colleter CannesNovember 2000FreeDaniel Webb Southend United4 December 2000£10,000Richard Dryden Luton Town2 February 2001FreeMatthew Davies Woking2 March 2001FreeTrond Egil Soltvedt Sheffield Wednesday22 March 2001Nominal
Players loaned out NameNationalityClubDate fromDate toRef.Luís Boa Morte Fulham30 July 2000End of seasonRichard Dryden Northampton Town9 September 20009 November 2000Dani Rodrigues Bristol City2 October 200025 October 2000Stuart Ripley Barnsley8 November 200016 January 2001Richard Dryden Swindon Town21 November 200026 January 2001Trond Egil Soltvedt Sheffield Wednesday12 February 200121 March 2001Stuart Ripley Sheffield Wednesday22 March 2001End of season
Players released NameNationalityDateDetailsRef.Patrice TanoNovember 2000Released due to work permit issues, subsequently joined Belgian side Beveren
Players retired NameNationalityDateDetailsRef.John BeresfordAugust 2000Retired due to a cruciate ligament injury, later played for several non-league clubsDavid HughesAugust 2000Retired due to a knee injury, later worked as a coach and managerDavid HowellsAugust 2000Retired due to a knee injury, later played for several non-league clubs
Pre-season friendlies Ahead of the 2000–01 season, Southampton played seven pre-season friendlies. The first saw the Saints travel to Huish Park to face Conference side Yeovil Town in a testimonial for goalkeeper Tony Pennock. The top-flight visitors won the match 2–0, with Marians Pahars opening the scoring after 11 minutes with a header from a Matt Le Tissier cross, before James Beattie made it two just after the half-time break with a header from a Hassan Kachloul corner. Four days later, the club played another testimonial, for Bournemouth midfielder Russell Beardsmore. The Second Division hosts opened the scoring after just two minutes through guest player Ryan Giggs, before going 2–0 up within nine minutes through Chukki Eribenne. Ten minutes before the break, Beattie pulled one back for the Saints, before Kevin Gibbens scored after just five minutes on as a substitute to make it 2–2; the score remained level, although it was reported by the Southern Daily Echo that the Premier League side "could have had six in the second half".
In their third pre-season game, Southampton lost 1–3 at Second Division side Swindon Town. Beattie scored the only goal of the game for the visitors, taking his tally to three in three during pre-season. Against another third-flight side two days later, the Saints drew 1–1 with Reading at the Madejski Stadium. Home debutant Keith Jones opened the scoring in the 21st minute with a "spectacular volley", and it took the visitors until "virtually the last kick of the game" to equalise, with substitute Garry Monk tapping in from close range. Another draw followed in the next game against First Division side Gillingham, with goalkeeper Neil Moss making numerous saves – including a penalty – to keep a clean sheet in the goalless draw. The Saints picked up their first win over league opponents a few days later, beating First Division side Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1 at Molineux Stadium. After going behind within three minutes, the Saints responded in the 18th minute when Kachloul set up Pahars, before the Latvian returned the favour and set up the Moroccan just after the break for a second goal. The final pre-season game, and only one at The Dell, saw the Saints lose 1–2 to Spanish side Real Sociedad, with Pahars scoring the consolation for the hosts.
FA Premier League
Southampton's 2000–01 season started poorly, as they picked up just three points from their first five fixtures, starting second from bottom of the Premier League table. On the opening day, the club lost an early two-goal lead gained by a Hassan Kachloul brace to draw 2–2 with Derby County, with Kachloul coming close to completing a hat-trick in injury time. After losing 1–2 at home to Coventry City the next week, the Saints overcame a three-goal deficit against Liverpool to gain a point in a 3–3 draw, with goals from Tahar El Khalej and Marians Pahars in the last five minutes securing the point. A draw and a loss at Charlton Athletic and Leicester City, respectively, were followed by the side's first two victories, as they beat 3rd-place Newcastle United 2–0 at home (courtesy of a Pahars double) and Bradford City 1–0 at Valley Parade (courtesy of an own goal).