1994–95 Southampton F.C. season

Southampton F.C.

1994–95 season
Chairman	Guy Askham
Manager	Alan Ball
Stadium	The Dell
FA Premier League	10th
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Matt Le Tissier (19) All: Matt Le Tissier (29)
Highest home attendance	15,210 v Queens Park Rangers (15 April 1995)
Lowest home attendance	League: 12,876 v Norwich City (2 November 1994) Overall: 12,032 v Huddersfield Town (5 October 1994)
Average home league attendance	League: 14,685 Overall: 14,547
Home colours
← 1993–94 1995–96 →

The 1994–95 Southampton F.C. season was the club's third in the Premier League, and their 25th in the top division of English football. Having narrowly avoided relegation from the league the previous season, the club were looking to improve their performances in order to remain in the top flight for another year. After finishing 18th in the division for two consecutive seasons, Southampton managed to finish 10th in the Premier League, their best top-flight finish since 1990. They also reached the fifth round of the FA Cup, and the third round of the League Cup.

Southampton acted conservatively in the 1994 summer transfer window, although did make notable signings in the form of Zimbabwean goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar from Liverpool and Danish midfielder Ronnie Ekelund from Barcelona. After Christmas the spending was increased, with strikers Neil Shipperley and Gordon Watson moving to Southampton from Chelsea and Sheffield Wednesday respectively, both for fees in excess of £1 million. Notable departures included striker Iain Dowie halfway through the season, and defender Jeff Kenna near the end of the campaign.

At the end of the season Southampton finished 10th in the Premier League table with 12 wins, 18 draws and 12 losses, although only nine points above the relegation zone. Matthew Le Tissier was the club's top scorer with 19 goals in the league, making him the seventh best goalscorer in the league that season. Le Tissier also won the Southampton Player of the Season award, surpassing Peter Shilton and Tim Flowers as the first player to win the award a third time.

FA Premier League[]

Southampton's start to the third Premier League season saw the Hampshire side pick up just two points from their first four games, all in August, including a 5–1 thrashing at the hands of Newcastle United. The following month was much more positive for the club, who picked up four wins out of five games, including a late win at Tottenham Hotspur and 3–1 wins against Coventry City and Ipswich Town. The Saints lost their next three games, and won only one of their November fixtures, a tightly-fought 1–0 victory over Arsenal. The run-up to Christmas was similarly difficult, with Southampton picking up only one win from a possible three.

Saints hosted Wimbledon on Boxing Day 1994, and eventually lost 3–2 after a close match-up between the sides. It took the Saints almost three months to win a match again, during which time the club dropped to 20th in the table. Between 28 December 1994 and 18 March 1995, Southampton took part in an amazing nine draws, including late losses of leads against Manchester City and Norwich City, and lost their other two matches at Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest.

Luck changed for the Saints after this poor run of results, as they picked up important victories against high-profile opponents Newcastle United (in which Southampton's three goals were scored within the last four minutes) and Tottenham Hotspur, and later against Chelsea and a number of other teams. Despite winning only one of their final five fixtures, the club remained in 10th position in the Premier League come the end of the season, with just ten points between themselves and the relegation zone.

Southampton v Blackburn Rovers

20 August 1994 1	Southampton	1–1	Blackburn Rovers	Southampton
	Banger 15'		Shearer 60'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 14,209 Referee: Keith Cooper

Aston Villa v Southampton

24 August 1994 2	Aston Villa	1–1	Southampton	Birmingham
	Saunders 32'		Le Tissier 89'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 24,179 Referee: Philip Don

Newcastle United v Southampton

27 August 1994 3	Newcastle United	5–1	Southampton	Newcastle upon Tyne
	Watson 30', 37' Cole 40', 73' Lee 85'		Banger 53'	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 34,183 Referee: David Elleray

Southampton v Liverpool

31 August 1994 4	Southampton	0–2	Liverpool	Southampton
			Fowler 21' Barnes 77'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,190 Referee: Martin Bodenham

Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton

12 September 1994 5	Tottenham Hotspur	1–2	Southampton	London
	Klinsmann 6'		Le Tissier 75' (pen.), 89'	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 22,387 Referee: Alan Wilkie

Southampton v Nottingham Forest

17 September 1994 6	Southampton	1–1	Nottingham Forest	Southampton
	Le Tissier 54' (pen.)		Collymore 43'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 14,185 Referee: Mike Reed

Coventry City v Southampton

24 September 1994 7	Coventry City	1–3	Southampton	Coventry
	Dublin 2'		Dowie 34', 55' Ekelund 81'	Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 11,798 Referee: Kelvin Morton

Southampton v Ipswich Town

1 October 1994 8	Southampton	3–1	Ipswich Town	Southampton
	Maddison 53' Ekelund 65' Dowie 90'		Marshall 77'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 13,266 Referee: Gerald Ashby

Southampton v Everton

8 October 1994 9	Southampton	2–0	Everton	Southampton
	Ekelund 19' Le Tissier 72'			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,163 Referee: Brian Hill

Leicester City v Southampton

15 October 1994 10	Leicester City	4–3	Southampton	Leicester
	Blake 3', 53' Roberts 21' Carr 82'		Dowie 78', 90' Le Tissier 89'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,020 Referee: Robbie Hart

West Ham United v Southampton

22 October 1994 11	West Ham United	2–0	Southampton	London
	Allen 49' Rush 62'			Stadium: Boleyn Ground Attendance: 18,853 Referee: Joe Worrall

Southampton v Leeds United

29 October 1994 12	Southampton	1–3	Leeds United	Southampton
	Maddison 44'		Maddison 54' (o.g.) Wallace 83', 89'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,202 Referee: Rodger Gifford

Southampton v Norwich City

2 November 1994 13	Southampton	1–1	Norwich City	Southampton
	Le Tissier 89' (pen.)		Robins 49'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 12,876 Referee: Paul Durkin

Manchester City v Southampton

5 November 1994 14	Manchester City	3–3	Southampton	Manchester
	Walsh 50', 61' Beagrie 79'		Hall 26' Ekelund 62', 66'	Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 21,589 Referee: Mike Reed

Southampton v Arsenal

19 November 1994 15	Southampton	1–0	Arsenal	Southampton
	Magilton 60'			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,201 Referee: Roger Dilkes

Southampton v Chelsea

3 December 1994 17	Southampton	0–1	Chelsea	Southampton
			Furlong 89'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 14,404 Referee: Rodger Gifford

Blackburn Rovers v Southampton

10 December 1994 18	Blackburn Rovers	3–2	Southampton	Blackburn
	Atkins 6' Shearer 13', 74'		Le Tissier 65', 78'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 23,372 Referee: Alan Wilkie

Southampton v Aston Villa

19 December 1994 19	Southampton	2–1	Aston Villa	Southampton
	Hall 8' Le Tissier 90'		Houghton 79'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 13,874 Referee: Stephen Lodge

Southampton v Wimbledon

26 December 1994 20	Southampton	2–3	Wimbledon	Southampton
	Dodd 11' Le Tissier 43'		Holdsworth 20', 72' (pen.) Harford 38'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 14,603 Referee: Graham Poll

Queens Park Rangers v Southampton

28 December 1994 21	Queens Park Rangers	2–2	Southampton	London
	Barker 7' Gallen 49'		Dodd 14' Hughes 71'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 16,078 Referee: Keith Cooper

Southampton v Manchester United

31 December 1994 22	Southampton	2–2	Manchester United	Southampton
	Magilton 44' Hughes 74'		Butt 51' Pallister 78'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,204 Referee: Martin Bodenham

Sheffield Wednesday v Southampton

2 January 1995 23	Sheffield Wednesday	1–1	Southampton	Sheffield
	Hyde 19'		Le Tissier 70' (pen.)	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 28,424 Referee: Roger Dilkes

Arsenal v Southampton

24 January 1995 25	Arsenal	1–1	Southampton	London
	Hartson 21'		Magilton 74'	Stadium: Arsenal Stadium Attendance: 27,213 Referee: Dermot Gallagher

Southampton v Manchester City

4 February 1995 26	Southampton	2–2	Manchester City	Southampton
	Coton 24' (o.g.) Le Tissier 60'		Kernaghan 29' Flitcroft 88'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 14,902 Referee: Paul Durkin

Norwich City v Southampton

11 February 1995 27	Norwich City	2–2	Southampton	Norwich
	Newsome 37' Ward 90'		Hall 33' Magilton 36'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 18,361 Referee: Robbie Hart

Ipswich Town v Southampton

25 February 1995 28	Ipswich Town	2–1	Southampton	Ipswich
	Mathie 70' Chapman 77'		Maddison 38'	Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 15,788 Referee: Peter Jones

Southampton v West Ham United

15 March 1995 30	Southampton	1–1	West Ham United	Southampton
	Shipperley 48'		Hutchison 38'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,178 Referee: Keith Burge

Nottingham Forest v Southampton

18 March 1995 31	Nottingham Forest	3–0	Southampton	Nottingham
	Roy 38', 81' Collymore 64'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 24,146 Referee: Keith Cooper

Southampton v Newcastle United

22 March 1995 32	Southampton	3–1	Newcastle United	Southampton
	Heaney 86' Watson 89' Shipperley 90'		Kitson 18'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 14,666 Referee: Joe Worrall

Southampton v Tottenham Hotspur

2 April 1995 33	Southampton	4–3	Tottenham Hotspur	Southampton
	Heaney 13' Le Tissier 44', 58' Magilton 62'		Sheringham 17', 59' Klinsmann 59'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,105 Referee: Gary Willard

Liverpool v Southampton

5 April 1995 34	Liverpool	3–1	Southampton	Liverpool
	Rush 28', 50' Fowler 71' (pen.)		Hall 13'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 29,881 Referee: Stephen Lodge

Chelsea v Southampton

12 April 1995 35	Chelsea	0–2	Southampton	London
			Shipperley 10' Le Tissier 32'	Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 16,739 Referee: Alan Wilkie

Southampton v Queens Park Rangers

15 April 1995 36	Southampton	2–1	Queens Park Rangers	Southampton
	Shipperley 50' Watson 67'		Ferdinand 63'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,210 Referee: Peter Jones

Wimbledon v Southampton

17 April 1995 37	Wimbledon	0–2	Southampton	London
			Le Tissier 9' Magilton 30'	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 10,521 Referee: Gerald Ashby

Southampton v Crystal Palace

3 May 1995 39	Southampton	3–1	Crystal Palace	Southampton
	Wilmot 1' (o.g.) Watson 9' Le Tissier 86'		Southgate 26'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,151 Referee: Graham Poll

Manchester United v Southampton

10 May 1995 41	Manchester United	2–1	Southampton	Manchester
	Cole 21' Irwin 80' (pen.)		Charlton 5'	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 43,479 Referee: Paul Danson

Southampton v Leicester City

14 May 1995 42	Southampton	2–2	Leicester City	Southampton
	Monkou 21' Le Tissier 56'		Parker 58' Robins 89'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,101 Referee: Keith Burge

FA Cup[]

As a Premier League club, Southampton entered the 1994–95 FA Cup in the Third Round. They were drawn against First Division side Southend United, who the Saints defeated comfortably 2–0 to move onto the Fourth Round. In the next match against Luton Town the sides drew 1–1, but Southampton asserted their dominance in the replay with a 6–0 home win. In the Fifth Round, against Tottenham Hotspur, a replay was required again after another 1–1 draw, but it was Spurs who enjoyed the spoils when they defeated the Saints 6–2 in the second game, with Ronny Rosenthal scoring a hat-trick.

Southampton v Southend United

7 January 1995 Round 3	Southampton	2–0	Southend United	Southampton
	Le Tissier Heaney			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 13,003

Luton Town v Southampton

28 January 1995 Round 4	Luton Town	1–1	Southampton	Luton
			Shipperley 53'	Stadium: Kenilworth Road Attendance: 9,938

Southampton v Luton Town

8 February 1995 Round 4 Replay	Southampton	6–0	Luton Town	Southampton
	Le Tissier Monkou Heaney Magilton Hughes			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,075

Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton

18 February 1995 Round 5	Tottenham Hotspur	1–1	Southampton	London
	Klinsmann 20'		Le Tissier 21' (pen.)	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 28,091

Southampton v Tottenham Hotspur

1 March 1995 Round 5 Replay	Southampton	2–6 a.e.t.	Tottenham Hotspur	Southampton
	Shipperley 5' Le Tissier 40' (pen.)		Rosenthal 57', 59', 102' Sheringham 113' Barmby 115' Anderton 120'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,172

League Cup[]

As a Premier League club, Southampton entered the 1994–95 Football League Cup in the Second Round. They were drawn against Second Division side Huddersfield Town, whom they eliminated with 1–0 and 4–0 wins, all goals coming from Matthew Le Tissier. Fellow FA Premier League side Sheffield Wednesday were the opposition in the Third Round, and a goal from Chris Bart-Williams was enough to eliminate the South Coast side from the competition.

Huddersfield Town v Southampton

20 September 1994 Round 2 Leg 1	Huddersfield Town	0–1	Southampton	Huddersfield
			Le Tissier	Stadium: McAlpine Stadium Attendance: 13,814

Southampton v Huddersfield Town

5 October 1994 Round 2 Leg 2	Southampton	4–0	Huddersfield Town	Southampton
	Le Tissier (pen.)			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 12,032

Sheffield Wednesday v Southampton

26 October 1994 Round 3	Sheffield Wednesday	1–0	Southampton	Sheffield
	Bart-Williams			Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 16,715

Squad statistics[]

Appearances and goals[]

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total		Discipline
				Apps.	Goals	Apps.	Goals	Apps.	Goals	Apps.	Goals
1	GK		Bruce Grobbelaar	30	0	5	0	3	0	38	0	1	0
2	DF		Matthew Robinson	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0
3	DF		Francis Benali	32(3)	0	4	0	3	0	39(3)	0	11	0
4	MF		Jim Magilton	42	6	5	1	3	0	50	7	3	0
5	DF		Richard Hall	36(1)	3	4	0	2	0	42(1)	3	6	0
6	DF		Ken Monkou	31	1	4	1	2	0	37	2	12	0
7	MF		Matthew Le Tissier	41	19	5	5	3	5	49	29	6	0
8	FW		Craig Maskell	2(4)	0	1	0	0	0	3(4)	0	1	0
9	FW		Neil Shipperley	19	4	4	2	0	0	23	6	3	0
10	MF		Neil Maddison	35	3	4	0	2	0	41	3	2	0
11	MF		Paul Allen	11	0	0	0	2	0	13	0	2	0
12	MF		Neil Heaney	21(13)	2	5	2	2(1)	0	28(14)	4	3	0
13	GK		Dave Beasant	12(1)	0	0	0	0	0	12(1)	0	0	0
14	DF		Simon Charlton	25	1	1	0	2(1)	0	28(1)	1	1	0
15	DF		Jason Dodd	24(2)	2	3	0	1	0	28(2)	2	5	0
16	FW		Gordon Watson	12	3	0	0	0	0	12	3	1	0
17	DF		Derek Allan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	MF		David Hughes	2(10)	2	0(4)	1	0	0	2(14)	3	1	0
19	DF		Paul McDonald	0(2)	0	0	0	0	0	0(2)	0	0	0
21	MF		Tommy Widdrington	23(5)	0	5	0	1	0	29(5)	0	4	0
23	GK		Neil Hopper	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	FW		Frankie Bennett	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0(1)	0	0	0
27	DF		Peter Whiston	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0
28	MF		Paul Tisdale	0(7)	0	0(1)	0	0(1)	0	0(9)	0	0	0
33	MF		Matt Oakley	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0
Players with appearances who left before the end of the season
2	DF		Jeff Kenna	28	0	5	0	2	0	35	0	1	0
9	FW		Iain Dowie	17	5	0	0	3	0	20	5	2	0
16	FW		Nicky Banger	4	2	0	0	0	0	4	2	0	0
24	MF		Ronnie Ekelund	15(2)	5	0	0	2(1)	0	17(3)	5	1	0

Most appearances[]

	Pos.	Nat.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
				Starts	Subs	Starts	Subs	Starts	Subs	Starts	Subs	Total
1	MF		Jim Magilton	42	0	5	0	3	0	50	0	50
2	FW		Matthew Le Tissier	41	0	5	0	3	0	49	0	49
3	DF		Richard Hall	36	1	4	0	2	0	42	1	43
4	DF		Francis Benali	32	3	4	0	3	0	39	3	42
	MF		Neil Heaney	21	13	5	0	2	1	28	14	42
6	MF		Neil Maddison	35	0	4	0	2	0	41	0	41
7	GK		Bruce Grobbelaar	30	0	5	0	3	0	38	0	38
8	DF		Ken Monkou	31	0	4	0	2	0	37	0	37
9	DF		Jeff Kenna	28	0	5	0	2	0	35	0	35
10	MF		Tommy Widdrington	23	5	5	0	1	0	29	5	34

Top goalscorers[]

	Pos.	Nat.	Name	League	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW		Matthew Le Tissier	19	5	5	29
2	MF		Jim Magilton	6	1	0	7
3	FW		Neil Shipperley	4	2	0	6
4	FW		Iain Dowie	5	0	0	5
	MF		Ronnie Ekelund	5	0	0	5
6	DF		Richard Hall	4	0	0	4
	MF		Neil Heaney	2	2	0	4
8	MF		Neil Maddison	3	0	0	3
	FW		Gordon Watson	3	0	0	3
	MF		David Hughes	2	1	0	3

Transfers[]

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Club	Fee
10 August 1994	DF	Peter Whiston	Exeter City	£30,000
11 August 1994	GK	Bruce Grobbelaar	Liverpool	Free
15 September 1994	MF	Ronnie Ekelund	Barcelona	Loan
6 January 1995	FW	Neil Shipperley	Chelsea	£1,250,000
17 March 1995	FW	Gordon Watson	Sheffield Wednesday	£1,200,000
31 March 1995	MF	Christer Warren	Cheltenham Town	£40,000
Players transferred out
Date	Pos.	Name	Club	Fee
30 August 1995	FW	Colin Cramb	Falkirk	Undisclosed
5 September 1994	GK	Ian Andrews	Bournemouth	£20,000
27 October 1994	DF	Matthew Bound	Stockport County	£100,000
4 November 1994	FW	Nicky Banger	Oldham Athletic	£250,000
18 November 1994	FW	Rory Hamill	Fulham	Free
2 December 1994	MF	Neal Bartlett	Fareham Town	Free
13 January 1995	FW	Iain Dowie	Crystal Palace	£400,000
15 March 1995	DF	Jeff Kenna	Blackburn Rovers	£1,500,000
Players loaned out
Start date	Pos.	Name	Club	End date
9 December 1994	MF	Paul Allen	Luton Town	19 January 1995
20 January 1995	MF	Paul Allen	Stoke City	End of season
Players released
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date
31 May 1995	MF	Craig Davidson	Unknown	23 December 1995

References[]