Lawrie McMenemy left

Lawrie McMenemy left at the end of the 1984-85 season to be succeeded by Chris Nicholl, who was sacked after six years in charge despite preserving the club's top flight status. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTJ Battery

He was replaced by Ian Branfoot, who until the end of the 1990-91 season had been assistant manager to Steve Coppell at Crystal Palace.

By this stage a key player in the Southampton lineup was Guernsey-born striker Matthew Le Tissier, the best-loved player in Saints' recent history. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTQ Battery

He was votedPFA Young Player of the Year in 1990 and later made seven appearances for the England team—he finally retired in 2002 at the age of 33. During his time with the Saints, Le Tissier was approached more than once by several bigger clubs (including Manchester United) but chose to stick with the Saints despite never winning a major trophy or experiencing European football with them. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JVB/C Battery

From 1989 to 1992, Le Tissier was regularly partnered up front by another notable player - Alan Shearer, who as a 17-year-old had scored a hat-trick on his Saints debut against Arsenal in April 1988 and became a regular player in the 1989-90 season, and by 1991-92 was firmly established as one of the English league's highest rated strikers. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JVH/C Battery

After months of speculation that Shearer was going to join Manchester United, he was sold to Blackburn Rovers for a national record of £3.6million in July 1992. He went on to enjoy an illustrious career as one of English football's leading goalscorers of all time, as well as collecting a league title with Blackburn Rovers in 1995, Sony VAIO VGN-SR290NTB Battery

and becoming the world's most expensive footballer with his £15million move in July 1996 to Newcastle United, where he remained until his retirement as a player 10 years later. Shearer was also capped 63 times for England, scoring 30 goals.

Southampton were founding members of the Premiership in 1992-93, Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN/S Battery

having played in the top flight of English football since 1978. In May 2005 they were relegated to the 2nd tier of English football for the first time in 27 years.

Ian Branfoot was sacked in January 1994 with Southampton battling relegation. He was replaced by Exeter manager Alan Ball. Sony VAIO VGN-SR29XN/S Battery

Ball secured the Saints' survival for the 1993-94 season and guided them to a respectable tenth-place finish in the Premiership in 1994-95, with inspirational performances from Matthew Le Tissier. But Ball was lured to Manchester City in the summer of 1995 and Southampton turned to long-serving coach David Merrington to take charge of the team in 1995-96. Sony VAIO VGN-SR2RVN/S Battery

Southampton finished 17th with 38 league points, avoiding relegation on goal difference. Two important wins during the final weeks of the season did much to ensure that Saints and not Manchester City would achieve Premiership survival. First came a 3-1 home win over eventual double winners Manchester United, then came a 1-0 away win over relegated Bolton Wanderers. Sony VAIO VGN-SR390NAB Battery

Merrington was dismissed a few days after the end of the season and replaced by former Liverpool andRangers manager Graeme Souness.

Southampton fared little better in 1996-97 despite the arrival of Souness, whose track record included two Scottish league titles with Rangers and an FA Cup victory with Liverpool. Sony VAIO VGN-SR390NAH Battery

He resigned after just one season in charge, which had seen Southampton finish 16th in the Premiership, and Southampton's directors turned to Dave Jones—one of the most respected managers outside the Premiership who had won promotion to Division One with Stockport County as well as reaching the League Cup semi finals. Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P Battery

With such an inexperienced manager, Southampton were tipped by many observers to be relegated from the Premiership in 1997-98. But thanks to the addition of young striker Kevin Davies, and the acquisition of a few others, Southampton achieved a respectable 12th place finish in the table. Their form dipped in 1998-99 but they avoided relegation on the last day of the season. Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S Battery

In 1999 Southampton were given the go-ahead to build a new 32,000-seat stadium in the St Mary's area of the city, a welcome move after playing in the cramped Dell since 1898.

During the 1999-2000 season, Dave Jones quit as Southampton manager to concentrate on a court case after he was accused of abusing children at the children's home where he had worked during the 1980s. Sony VAIO VGN-SR49VN/H Battery

The accusations were later proved to be groundless but it was too late to save Jones's career as Southampton manager and he was succeeded by ex-England team manager Glenn Hoddle.

Glenn Hoddle helped keep Southampton well clear of the Premiership drop zone but having received an offer from another club, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur just before the end of the 2000-01 season. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/P Battery

He was replaced by first-team coach Stuart Gray, who oversaw the relocation to the St Mary's Stadium for the 2001-02 season. At the end of the 2000-01 season, in the last ever competitive match at the Dell, talismanic Matthew Le Tissier came on late to strike the last ever goal in sublime fashion. Southampton finished the match 3-2 against Arsenal, providing a fairy-tale ending to the days at The Dell. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/S Battery

But Gray was sacked after a disastrous start to the following season, and in came ex-Coventry manager Gordon Strachan as his replacement.

Gordon Strachan did much to revitalise Southampton during the 2001-02 season, and they finished in a secure 11th place in the final table. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF Battery

They did even better in 2002-03, finished eighth in the Premiership and coming runners-up in the FA Cup to Arsenal (after losing 1-0 at the Millennium Stadium).

Strachan resigned in March 2004 (to take a break from football) and was replaced by Paul Sturrock, who had been in the process of guiding Plymouth Argyle to their second promotion in three seasons. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/P Battery

However, rumours of player dissatisfaction and personal problems dogged Sturrock, and he was replaced just five months later by reserve team coach Steve Wigley. Wigley's tenure proved disastrous, with Southampton slipping further and further down the Premiership table. FrenchmanChristian Damiano was brought in to assist, but after a run of only one win in 14 games, both men's contracts were terminated. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/S Battery

Chairman Rupert Lowe risked the ire of Saints fans when he appointed Harry Redknapp as manager on 8 December 2004. The news shocked much of the football world, as Redknapp had resigned as manager of Saints' arch-rivals Portsmouth just days previously. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/W Battery

Lowe and Southampton continued to make headlines after former England Rugby World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward joined the club - eventually being appointed Technical Director.

Redknapp failed to rejuvenate the Saints, and on 15 May 2005, Southampton were relegated from the Premiership following a 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United, Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MR Battery

thus ending 27 successive seasons of top division football. Saints made a disappointing start to the season, with the emergence of young star Theo Walcott as a rare cause for optimism. Yet even more shocks were to await the fans.

On 24 November 2005, Portsmouth manager Alain Perrin, Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG Battery

the man who himself replaced Harry Redknapp at Southampton's arch-rivals, was sacked by chairman Milan Mandaric. Rumours gradually grew apace that Mandaric and Redknapp had resolved the dispute that caused Redknapp to walk out in the first place, and that he was poised to rejoin his former club. Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG/H Battery

With these rumours seemingly reaching breaking point in the media - not to mention the bookmakers - Redknapp walked out on Southampton on 3 December 2005. The two rival clubs found themselves at loggerheads over legal compensation, which threatened to leave Redknapp in limbo, but with the dispute eventually resolved, Redknapp rejoined Portsmouth on 7 December 2005. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21EF/S Battery

After three matches under caretaker manager Dave Bassett and assistant Dennis Wise, George Burley was unveiled as the club's new head coach on 22 December to work alongside Clive Woodward, who was promoted from Performance Director to Director of Football. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF Battery

In the wake of overwhelming calls for him to stand down, Lowe eventually resigned on 30 June 2006, a few days before an Extraordinary General Meeting that was predicted to see him removed from the club's board. He was replaced as Chairman by Jersey-based businessman Michael Wilde who had become the club's major shareholder. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF Battery

During the 2006-07 season, the board set about trying to secure new investment in the club. However, on 26 February 2007, it was announced that Michael Wildewould step down as chairman of the football club on 28 February, after failing to secure any inward investment into the company. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/W Battery

On 2 March it was announced that Leon Crouch would take the role of "acting Chairman" until the end of the current season, when the Board will re-assess the situation.

On 27 April 2007, it was rumoured that Paul Allen, the American entrepreneur who formed Microsoft with Bill Gates, may launch a takeover bid for the club. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF Battery

An apparent close source said "he believes there is long term investment value in UK Soccer. Southampton is a sleeping giant, a family-supported club with traditional values, and we see the value in taking the brand global."^[2]

Southampton's off-the-field controversy affected their on-the-field fortunes substantially during 2005-06, Sony VAIO VGN-NW31EF/W Battery

and at one point they were in real danger of a second successive relegation. But their form improved during the final weeks of the season and they finished a secure 12th.

The good form which secured Southampton's Championship status in 2005-06 was carried through to the start of the 2006-07 season, and the turn of the year saw the team in fourth place in the table. Sony VAIO VGN-NW31JF Battery

The new board of directors had spent a club record £6 million on transfers. Polish stikers Grzegorz Rasiak and Marek Saganowski and 17 year-old left back Gareth Bale have all had great runs in form. A drastic loss in the team's form overall, coupled with inept displays against fellow promotion hopefuls, saw the team drop to eighth place by mid-March 2007, Sony VAIO VGN-NW320F/B Battery

and rapidly losing touch with the promotion race. However, with other promotion rivals dropping points and a small run of form in late April, Southampton were able to reach 6th place, the last play-off position. They lost the home leg of their playoff semi-final to Derby County, and on 15 May achieved parity on aggregate but lost on penalties in a thrilling encounter. Sony VAIO VGN-NW320F/TC Battery

2007-08 initially looked to be an unremarkable campaign, with the club in mid-table for the first half of the campaign. Once again though, Southampton experienced a major loss of form in the spring, not helped by managerial instability caused by the resignation of George Burley followed by caretaker spells byJohn Gorman and then Nigel Pearson, Sony VAIO VGN-NW35E Battery

and were left in serious danger of relegation to League One on the last day of the season. Fortunately a win combined with some other favourable results ensured their survival for another year, but the enforced sale of most of their star players combined with the general inexperience of the remaining players and yet more changes in the managerial seat Sony VAIO VGN-NW380F/S Battery

(Pearson was replaced by Jan Poortvliet prior to the start of the season, before Mark Wotte took over midway through the campaign) led to a disastrous 2008-09 season, in which the club were never outside the bottom five at any point in the campaign, and never left the relegation zone after Christmas. Sony VAIO VGN-NW380F/T Battery

Southampton were told on 23 April 2009 that they would be deducted 10 points either in the 2008-09 season, should they finish outside the bottom three, or in 2009-10 in the event of them being relegated, due to their parent company going into administration a few weeks earlier.^[3] In the event, this deduction occurred in the 2009–10 season, Sony VAIO VGN-NW50JB Battery

when Southampton began playing in League One, as the club finished 23rd out of 24 at the end of the 2008-09 Championship season. 2009-10 represents the first time since 1960 that the club has played at the third tier of English league football. Alan Pardew was appointed as the Saints' new manager and turned their fortunes around, Sony VAIO VGN-NW51FB/N Battery

but the points deduction and a mediocre start to the season prevented them from truly mounting a promotion challenge, with the season ending in a 7th place finish. The following season started well, but Pardew was sacked barely a month into the season after an apparent fall-out with the club's board, and Nigel Adkins succeeded him as manager. Sony VAIO VGN-NW51FB/W Battery

Under his leadership, the Saints were promoted as runners-up.

Seven companies have sponsored the club, thus appearing on the player's shirts, over the course of its history. The first company to do so was photocopier manufacturer Rank Xerox who sponsored the club for three years from 1980. Sony VAIO VGN-NW70JB Battery

Air Florida briefly sponsored Southampton in 1983 before Draper Tools, who have a large factory in nearby Eastleigh sponsored the club for nine years between 1984 and 1993. Millbrook based company Dimplex, who produce electrical goods such as heaters were the next brand name to appear on the club's shirts and merchandise. Sony VAIO VGN-NW71FB/N Battery

They began sponsoring in 1993 before the deal ended in 1995. The Sanderson Group PLC took up the mantle, for four years from 1995, also sponsoring Sheffield Wednesday at the same time.

Investment company Friends Provident were the final sponsors of the club's time at The Dell. Sony VAIO VGN-NW71FB/W Battery

Their deal began in 1999 and was renewed shortly before the naming of St. Mary's Stadium, to which they also bought the naming rights. However they chose not to renew either deal in 2006, after which budget airline Flybe.comstepped in.

On 2 February 2010, Southampton announced that they would be without a main shirt sponsor for the 2010–11 season for the club's 125th anniversary. Sony VAIO VGN-NW91FS Battery

Nicola Cortese said Southampton could do this due their strong financial position.

In the summer of 2011, Southampton agreed a three year deal with aap3 to become the main club sponsor; the partnership with the Southampton based business and IT solutions provider started at the beginning of the 2011–12 season and run until June 2014. Sony VAIO VGN-NW91GS Battery

Southampton played in the Npower league championship where they quickly showed defiance so that by the end of the season after winning 4-0 to a relegated Coventry the Saints were back in the Premiership.Sony VAIO VGN-NW91VS Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-SR11M Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-SR11MR Battery