The 1993–94 Southampton F.C. season was the club's 93rd season of competitive football, their 24th in the top flight of English football, and their second in the FA Premier League. The season was another difficult one for the Saints, who finished 18th in the league – the same position as they had managed the year before – and were knocked out of both the FA Cup and the League Cup at the first hurdle – the first time this had happened to them in over ten years. It was the last season to feature manager Ian Branfoot, who was sacked halfway through the season with the club in the relegation zone. Dave Merrington briefly took over as caretaker manager, before Alan Ball was appointed as Branfoot's official replacement and saw out the rest of the campaign.
After buying them in the wake of Alan Shearer's sale just a year before, Branfoot released both David Speedie and Kerry Dixon at the beginning of the 1993–94 season. Other high-profile departures included Tim Flowers, who left in a record deal for a goalkeeper, and long-term midfielder Glenn Cockerill. Signings were made throughout the campaign, with arrivals including left-back Simon Charlton, goalkeeper Dave Beasant, and midfielder Jim Magilton. Southampton's league performance was disastrous, as they lost eight of their opening nine games and spent most of the first half of the season in the relegation zone. Results improved slightly following Ball's arrival as manager, although the club still struggled and ultimately only survived the drop by a single point.
Southampton's form outside the league was equally poor. For the first time since the 1981–82 season, the club were eliminated from both the FA Cup and the League Cup in the first rounds in which they competed. In the former, they were eliminated in the third round by Football League Second Division side Port Vale, who won a home replay 1–0 after holding the Saints to a 1–1 draw at The Dell (Branfoot's last game as manager of the club), despite a difference of two divisions between the clubs. In the latter, the top-flight side were eliminated in the second round by even lower-ranked opponents, facing a 2–1 aggregate defeat to Third Division side Shrewsbury Town after the Shrews overturned the Saints' narrow 1–0 home win with a 2–0 second leg victory.
Southampton used 31 players during the 1993–94 season and had 11 different goalscorers. Matt Le Tissier finished as the season's top scorer for the second consecutive (and fourth overall) season with 25 goals, all in the FA Premier League – making him the joint-third highest scorer in the division. Neil Maddison made the most appearances during the campaign, playing in all but one of the club's 46 matches (he missed just one league game). Le Tissier won the Southampton F.C. Player of the Season award for the second time, becoming the third player to do so. The average league attendance at The Dell in 1993–94 was 14,751. The highest attendance was 19,105 against Blackburn Rovers in April; the lowest was 5,038 against Shrewsbury Town in September.
Background and transfers
Ahead of the 1993–94 season, three of Southampton's major signings were released after just a year in the squad – winger Perry Groves, who had signed from Arsenal for £750,000 the previous August, retired from professional football due to an ongoing Achilles injury, joining young Conference side Dagenham & Redbridge in the summer of 1993; striker David Speedie, who had been "reluctantly" brought in from Blackburn Rovers for £400,000 and as part-exchange for Alan Shearer, joined Leicester City in August after several loan spells during 1992–93; and Kerry Dixon, another striker who was signed for £575,000 from Chelsea to help replace Shearer but spent much of his debut season out on loan, joined Luton Town on a free transfer in October after a brief loan spell. Also signed during the summer were Simon Charlton, who made the step up from Second Division club Huddersfield Town to take over as first-choice left-back; and youngsters Colin Cramb and Paul McDonald, who joined for a combined fee of £150,000 from Scottish side Hamilton Academical.
Manager Ian Branfoot continued to strengthen Southampton's squad throughout the first half of the season. After failing to re-sign Danny Wallace from Manchester United, as well as add right-back Tim Breacker and midfielder Ian Bishop from West Ham United, he eventually signed Paul Allen from Tottenham Hotspur in September for £500,000. Early the next month, the Saints brought in 37-year-old midfielder Peter Reid, who had just been sacked as player-manager at Manchester City. In November, after approaches from multiple clubs, the team sold Tim Flowers to Blackburn Rovers for £2.4 million – a new world record transfer fee for a goalkeeper. He was replaced the same day in the Southampton squad by Dave Beasant, who signed from Chelsea for £300,000. Two weeks before Christmas, veteran midfielder Glenn Cockerill left on a free transfer to Leyton Orient.
Just after the new year, Branfoot was sacked as Southampton manager and replaced by former player Alan Ball. Reid, who had only been with the club for four months, left on a free transfer for Notts County just after Branfoot's departure. Shortly after his arrival, Ball spent £850,000 on re-signing former Saints apprentice Craig Maskell from Swindon Town and adding Northern Irish midfielder Jim Magilton from Oxford United. He also offloaded several players from Branfoot's era, with Paul Moody sold to Oxford United for £60,000 and Terry Hurlock (to Millwall), Micky Adams (to Stoke City), Martin Thomas (to Leyton Orient), and Lee Powell (to Hamilton Academical) all released on free transfers. The last signing of the season was winger Neil Heaney, who joined from FA Premier League title challengers Arsenal in a £300,000 deal at the end of March.
Players transferred in NameNationalityClubDateFeeRef.Simon Charlton Huddersfield Town8 June 1993£250,000Colin Cramb Hamilton Academical8 June 1993£150,000Paul McDonaldMatt OakleyAcademyJuly 1993FreePaul Allen Tottenham Hotspur16 September 1993£500,000Peter Reid Manchester City1 October 1993FreeDave Beasant Chelsea4 November 1993£300,000Shayne BradleyAcademyDecember 1993FreeCraig Maskell Swindon Town7 February 1994£250,000Jim Magilton Oxford United11 February 1994£600,000Neil Heaney Arsenal22 March 1994£300,000
Players transferred out NameNationalityClubDateFeeRef.Kerry Dixon Luton TownOctober 1993FreeTim Flowers Blackburn Rovers4 November 1993£2,400,000Glenn Cockerill Leyton Orient10 December 1993FreePeter Reid Notts County2 February 1994FreePaul Moody Oxford United19 February 1994£60,000Terry Hurlock Millwall25 February 1994FreeMicky Adams Stoke City24 March 1994FreeMartin Thomas Leyton Orient24 March 1994FreeLee Powell Hamilton AcademicalMarch 1994Free
Players loaned out NameNationalityClubDate fromDate toRef.Matthew Bound Hull City27 August 199327 September 1993Kerry Dixon Luton TownAugust 1993October 1993
Players released NameNationalityDateSubsequent clubRef.Perry GrovesStart of season Dagenham & RedbridgeDavid SpeedieStart of season Leicester City
Players retired NameNationalityDateDetailsRef.Stuart GrayNovember 1993Retired due to an ongoing injury, moved into coaching
Pre-season friendlies Ahead of the 1993–94 campaign, Southampton played seven pre-season friendlies. Like the previous season, the club started their pre-season preparations with a short tour of Sweden, playing five games against local opposition over the course of eight days. After a 2–3 loss at Kalmar, the Saints picked up wins over Vessigebro (5–0, including a goal for new signing Paul McDonald), Örby (9–1, including five goals for Nicky Banger and three for Paul Moody), Växjö (2–1), and Bankeryd (4–3). The last two fixtures during the pre-season period were as part of the Memorial Pier Cesare Baretti, an Italian friendly tournament which served as a tribute to sports journalist Pier Cesare Baretti. Southampton lost both matches against Serie A opponents Juventus and Torino.
FA Premier League
Southampton had a worse start to the second FA Premier League season than any other team in the division, losing their first three games and dropping to the bottom of the table. After an opening day 0–2 loss at home to Everton described by the Southern Daily Echo as "humiliating and desperately worrying", the Saints also lost away to Ipswich Town (0–1) and Queens Park Rangers (1–2). Despite this poor start, the side then picked up their first win (and biggest of the season) when they beat top-flight newcomers Swindon Town 5–1 at The Dell, with a first-half Matt Le Tissier goal followed by four more in the second half courtesy of Le Tissier again, Jeff Kenna, Iain Dowie and Neil Maddison.
The club's time out of the drop zone was short-lived, however, as they soon returned to the relegation spots with a run of five consecutive defeats (for the first time since 1989). The dry spell included three away and two home defeats, during which time the Saints scored just one goal and conceded nine. The Saints' one goal during this period came in the first defeat at home to defending league champions Manchester United, when Neil Maddison scored a consolation after two of United's three goals. This was followed by a 0–1 defeat at Wimbledon, a 0–2 loss hosting Leeds United, another 0–2 loss at Sheffield Wednesday, and a 0–1 defeat at title challengers Arsenal. Amongst these fixtures, Southampton fans arranged protests against Ian Branfoot remaining as manager of the club, in response to which chairman Guy Askham assured that he would see out the season.
Following the run of six defeats, Southampton picked up their first point in over a month in a 3–3 draw with fellow strugglers Sheffield United. After leading 1–0 at half-time through Ken Monkou, the Saints received another advantage just after the break when the visitors went down to ten men; despite this, however, the hosts sacrificed a 3–1 lead in the last ten minutes of the game, when Jostein Flo scored twice to secure his side a share of the points. A 1–1 draw with Coventry City was followed by the South Coast club's second win of the campaign, 2–1 against high-flyers Newcastle United, in which Matt Le Tissier scored both goals through "two moments of sheer magic" according to club historians. The club's leading goalscorer picked up another brace a week later, when the Saints lost 2–4 to Liverpool at Anfield, in a game which marked the final appearance of Tim Flowers.
Two more wins in their next three games saw Southampton climb out of the relegation zone for the first time since September. After the Liverpool defeat, the Saints picked up a narrow 1–0 win over a struggling Tottenham Hotspur side, with Maddison scoring the only goal of the game on the hour mark, heading in a chipped assist by Le Tissier. After a 0–2 loss at Blackburn Rovers in which former Saint Alan Shearer scored both goals, the team beat Aston Villa by the same scoreline thanks to another pair of goals from Le Tissier. The win over Villa saw Southampton move up to 19th in the table for the first time in almost three months. The club's safety was short-lived, however, as they lost their next five games and dropped back to second-from-bottom in the league table, suffering defeats at the hands of Everton (0–1), Ipswich Town (0–1), Queens Park Rangers (0–1), and bottom-placed Swindon Town (1–2) in the run-up to Christmas. In the days after Christmas, Southampton picked up four points from a possible six, beating Chelsea 3–1 at home and drawing 1–1 with Manchester City at Maine Road, with Iain Dowie scoring in both games (his first goals in any competition since August).