A manic Monday in the Premier League concluded with Southampton yet again losing, all but guaranteeing relegation. A 4-3 loss away at Nottingham Forest in a huge relegation six pointer looks like the final nail in the coffin for the Saints. Their winless run extends to 10 and leaves them 8 points behind the dotted line with three games to go.
Relegation will mark the end of a 11-year stay in the top flight. During this time, Southampton have delivered some exciting moments and built players other clubs are benefitting from. It’s time to take a look at their 11-year journey and look back at the highs they enjoyed in that period.
2012/13: Promotion back to Premier League
Southampton were the founding members of the Premier League and stayed for 13 seasons until 2005. Following a 7 year absence, they returned back to the league under manager Nigel Adkins. It was not an easy return with defeats to champions Man City, Man Utd and Arsenal in the opening four games.
Adkins didn’t last the whole season and was surprisingly sacked after a creditable 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. He was replaced by Mauricio Pochettino, and that marked the beginning of the golden era for Southampton. The Argentine engineered impressive wins over City, Liverpool and Chelsea en-route to a respectable 14th-placed finish.
2013-2017: Golden Period for Southampton
With a talented young squad boasting the likes of Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez and James Ward-Prowse, Southampton were ready to take on the Premier League. An early season 1-0 win at Anfield set the tone for a promising campaign. The Saints flirted with European places throughout the season and were as high as third in matchweek 11. They ended up finishing eighth, and only five teams finished with a better defensive record than Pochettino’s Southampton.
Having over-achieved, a mass exodus followed at St. Mary’s, including manager Pochettino, who left for Spurs. Ronald Koeman took over and instead of falling apart, Southampton built on the foundation laid by Pochettino. The south coast club ended the season with a +21 goal difference and were rewarded with a Europa League spot. The highlight of the season was an 8-0 thrashing of Sunderland. Sadio Mane also scored the quickest ever hattrick in Premier League history during a 6-1 route of Aston Villa.
The following season, it got even better. Under Koeman, they finished 6th, their highest ever finish. This campaign saw them pick up impressive wins at Chelsea, and other positive results against Man United, Man City and Liverpool. The 2016/17 season saw Ronald Koeman leave the club, and that marked the beginning of the downfall. Under replacement Claude Puel, the club did manage to finish eighth and reach the EFL Cup final, but things didn’t feel the same and the next season, they barely survived relegation.
2019-2021: Bouncing back from heavy defeats
After going through a few managers, Southampton once again found some stability with Ralph Hassenhuttl. But in the 2019/20 season, they suffered an embarrassing 9-0 defeat at home to Leicester. It remains the joint-heaviest defeat in the Premier League era. The Saints though recovered well from the disaster to finish 11th. Striker Danny Ings’s fine form helped the Saints to a strong finish.
They carried the momentum into next season and even topped the table briefly for a day. That run was ended very quickly and soon after, they suffered another 9-0 humiliation. This time it was Man United at Old Trafford. But Hassenhuttl’s team had enough to avoid a relegation scrap.
Overall, it has been a journey of more ups and downs for Southampton. They kept building an impressive team with the limited resources and produced world class players. It’s unfortunate for their run in the Premier League to come to an end, but hopefully they can be come back soon and stronger.