The 1985–86 Southampton F.C. season was the club's 85th season of competitive football and their 16th in the First Division of the Football League. Following the departure of Lawrie McMenemy in the summer, 1985–86 was the first season to feature former player Chris Nicholl as manager. The Saints had a disappointing first campaign with Nicholl, finishing 14th in the First Division table – their joint lowest position since their 1979 promotion to the top flight. Outside the league, the club reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the second time in three seasons and the fourth round of the League Cup. The team were due to compete in the UEFA Cup, but English sides were banned following the Heysel Stadium disaster. In its place, Southampton played in the only incarnation of the Super Cup, but failed to make it out of the group stage.
Southampton's squad at the start of the 1985–86 campaign remained much the same as the previous season, with full-back Mick Mills the only major departure in the summer. Nicholl signed a number of youth players before the season started, including Matt Le Tissier, and brought in Glenn Cockerill, Jon Gittens and Gerry Forrest later in the season. He also signed goalkeeper Tim Flowers on loan towards the end of the campaign, with the deal made permanent the next summer. The team's league performance was poor throughout most of the season, as they picked up just 12 wins and suffered 20 defeats, failing to climb past 13th in the table and ultimately finishing one place lower – their worst performance since 1978–79. The campaign also included one of the club's heaviest league defeats, as they lost 0–7 to Luton Town.
Outside the league, Southampton performed well in the FA Cup, reaching the semi-finals for the second time in three seasons. After easing past Middlesbrough and Wigan Athletic, the Saints beat Millwall and Brighton & Hove Albion 2–0 in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively. In the semi-finals, they faced First Division title hopefuls (and eventual winners) Liverpool, losing 0–2 thanks to two goals in extra time. Liverpool went on to win the tournament, beating local rivals Everton in the final. In the League Cup, the Saints edged past Millwall and Birmingham City (after penalties and a replay, respectively), before facing elimination at the hands of Arsenal in the fourth round, again after a replay. In the Super Cup, Southampton were eliminated in the group stage after finishing bottom of their group, with no wins, one draw and three defeats.
Southampton used 27 players during the 1985–86 season and had 13 different goalscorers. Their top scorer was David Armstrong, who scored 16 times in all competitions. Danny Wallace was the club's second-highest scorer with 15 goals, followed by Steve Moran on ten in all competitions. Armstrong featured in the most games during the campaign, missing just one fixture in the league. Goalkeeper Peter Shilton played in all but five league games, and at the end of the season became the first player to win the Southampton F.C. Player of the Season award for a second (and second consecutive) year. The average attendance at The Dell in 1985–86 was 15,034 – a significant drop from the previous year. The highest attendance was 19,784 against Liverpool; the lowest was 12,500 against Nottingham Forest.
Background and transfers
The summer transfer window ahead of the 1985–86 season was relatively quiet for Southampton. The sole departure was 36-year-old full-back Mick Mills, who left the Saints to take on the role of player-manager at Stoke City. Joining the Saints squad were three youth players. First to join was 16-year-old attacking midfielder Matt Le Tissier, who moved from Vale Recreation in May and signed as an apprentice. He was followed by two 16-year-old left-backs, Allen Tankard and Andy Cook, in June and July, respectively, both of whom joined as part of the Youth Training Scheme. In August, striker Stuart McManus was briefly loaned out to Third Division side Newport County.
In October, with the club having struggled in the league thus far, Southampton signed midfielder Glenn Cockerill from Second Division side Sheffield United for £200,000 and defender Jon Gittens from Midland Combination side Paget Rangers for £5,000. Towards the end of the season, goalkeeper Tim Flowers was brought in on a short-term loan from Third Division strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers until the end of the season, with the deal made permanent come the summer. Phil Kite was loaned out at the same time to Middlesbrough in the Second Division, while striker Alan Curtis spent a month on loan at Stoke City, under new manager Mills.
Players transferred in NameNationalityClubDateFeeRef.Matt Le Tissier Vale RecreationMay 1985FreeAllen Tankardnone (free agent)June 1985FreeAndy Cooknone (free agent)July 1985FreeGlenn Cockerill Sheffield UnitedOctober 1985£200,000Jon Gittens Paget RangersOctober 1985£5,000Gerry Forrest Rotherham UnitedDecember 1985£100,000Phil Parkinsonnone (free agent)December 1985Free
Players transferred out NameNationalityClubDateFeeRef.Mick Mills Stoke CityMay 1985Free
Players loaned in NameNationalityClubDate fromDate toRef.Tim Flowers Wolverhampton WanderersMarch 1986End of season
Players loaned out NameNationalityClubDate fromDate toRef.Stuart McManus Newport CountyAugust 1985September 1985Alan Curtis Stoke CityFebruary 1986March 1986Phil Kite MiddlesbroughMarch 1986End of season
Notes
Pre-season friendlies Prior to the start of the 1985–86 season, Southampton played seven friendlies. The first three were as part of a short West Indies tour, during which they beat domestic league rivals Manchester United 1–0, the Trinidad and Tobago under-21 team 7–3, and local side Trintoc 4–0. Upon their return to England, the Saints thrashed Alliance Premier League side Weymouth 6–0 in a testimonial match and faced three Third Division sides – beating Bristol Rovers 2–0, losing 0–1 to Brentford, and holding Plymouth Argyle to a goalless draw.
First Division
Southampton started their first season under Chris Nicholl poorly, picking up just four points from their first six games and immediately dropping down the table close to the relegation zone. Points were gained in a 1–1 draw on the opening day with Newcastle United, a goalless draw at home to Aston Villa, and consecutive 1–1 draws against Ipswich Town and West Ham United, both of whom had finished within two points of the relegation zone the previous year. David Armstrong quickly established himself as the club's lead goalscorer during the fixtures, scoring four of their first six goals in the league. The team's first win came in September, when they beat the recently promoted Manchester City 3–0 at The Dell, after which Nicholl praised the performance of his defenders. By mid-October, the South Coast side had only picked up one more victory: a 3–1 win over Watford in which Steve Moran scored his fourth league hat-trick for the club (only Ron Davies had scored more in the top flight, with five First Division hat-tricks). A subsequent 0–1 loss at title challengers Liverpool had left the club 17th in the table, after which Nicholl brought in midfielder Glenn Cockerill and defender Jon Gittens to bolster the struggling squad.
After Cockerill and Gittens' arrivals, Southampton faced their heaviest defeat of the season, losing 0–7 to Luton Town at Kenilworth Road. Despite the heavy defeat, the club bounced back with three wins and a draw from their next four games, including a 3–0 victory over Queens Park Rangers, a 1–0 win over last season's third-placed side Tottenham Hotspur, and a 1–0 edging of strugglers Birmingham City. The end of November saw Southampton mark the club's centenary at home to defending league champions Everton, which ended in a close-fought 2–3 loss in which the visitors overturned a 1–2 disadvantage over the last 15 minutes to secure the win. At the beginning of December, Gerry Forrest was signed and the Saints beat Arsenal 3–0 at home, with goals coming from Kevin Bond, Armstrong and Moran. After the last few games of 1985 – two away defeats and a 3–1 win over Nottingham Forest – Southampton had reached a season-high position of 13th in the First Division table.
1986 started with two wins and a draw from four fixtures, including a New Year's Day 3–1 victory over bottom-placed West Bromwich Albion and a 1–0 win over fellow strugglers Ipswich Town. However, it took until mid-March for the Saints to pick up their first win on the road in the league, defeating Queens Park Rangers 2–0 at Loftus Road thanks to goals from debutant Stuart McManus and Cockerill; this would be one of only two away league wins during 1985–86, the other coming five weeks later at Birmingham City who by that point had almost confirmed their relegation to the Second Division. Several marginal 0–1 defeats in the final stages of the season – including against Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United – saw Southampton unable to make it above 14th in the league again, with their position confirmed by defeats against title chasers Everton (1–6) and mid-table side Tottenham Hotspur (3–5) in the final two games of the campaign (during which Keith Granger and Mark Blake made their first team debuts).
List of match results
Final league table
Results by matchday
FA Cup
Southampton entered the 1985–86 FA Cup in the third round against Middlesbrough, who were struggling in (and later relegated from) the Second Division. The top-flight side dominated possession and chances early in the game, with Danny Wallace opening the scoring after 11 minutes. Don O'Riordan equalised for the hosts, before Wallace doubled his tally and put the Saints back ahead on 40 minutes from a Glenn Cockerill assist. The visitors continued to apply most of the pressure after the break, with Wallace finally completing a hat-trick and securing his team's first away win in 10 months after 89 minutes.
In the fourth round, Southampton hosted Wigan Athletic, who were vying for promotion from the Third Division. After a first half which saw chances for both sides to break the deadlock, it was the Saints who struck first in the 68th minute through Cockerill, who headed in a cross from David Armstrong to put the top-flight side 1–0 up. It was the season's leading goalscorer Armstrong himself who converted next, first scoring a rebound from a penalty less than five minutes from full-time, then adding a third for his side in the last minute when he headed in a corner from Mark Dennis.
Another home tie followed in the fifth round, this time against Second Division opponents Millwall, past whom the Saints had edged on penalties after two goalless legs in the League Cup just a few months earlier. Like its predecessors, the game ended 0–0 despite being "fiercely contested", with neither side able to convert a chance on goal. In a replay played just over two weeks later at The Den, Southampton finally scored a single goal to beat Millwall and advance to the sixth round – Wallace scored the only goal of the game in the 16th minute, following a "stunning move" involving numerous players.
In their fourth FA Cup quarter-final in ten years, Southampton travelled to face another Second Division side, Brighton & Hove Albion, just five days after the victory over Millwall. Despite the hosts dominating the opening of the game, the Saints scored against the run of play through Steve Moran, who scored for the first time since December after just 14 minutes. The visitors took control of the game after their opening goal, with Cockerill doubling their lead five minutes before half-time. Despite chances aplenty for either side in the second 45 minutes, the score remained 2–0 and Southampton progressed.