The 1992–93 Southampton F.C. season was the club's 92nd season of competitive football, their 23rd in the top flight of English football, and their first in the FA Premier League following its replacement of the First Division as the top flight. After a poor first season with manager Ian Branfoot in which the club finished 16th in the final year of the old First Division, the Saints faired even worse in the inaugural Premier League campaign, finishing 18th and avoiding relegation by a single point. Outside the league, the club were knocked out of both the FA Cup and the League Cup in only the third round.
After a final season in which he finished as the club's top scorer, striker Alan Shearer joined Blackburn Rovers, who had been newly promoted to the top flight, for a British record fee of £3.6 million. Neil Ruddock, Jon Gittens and Barry Horne also left in the summer, with Branfoot signing David Speedie, Kerry Dixon, Ken Monkou and Perry Groves to replace them. Southampton's inaugural FA Premier League campaign started in much the same form as their final First Division season had gone, with the club sitting in or just above the relegation zone for much of the first half of the year. A stronger run of form after Christmas saw the Saints climb as high as ninth in the table, which ultimately saved them from the drop ahead of six defeats from their last eight games.
In the FA Cup, Southampton were eliminated in the third round by Nottingham Forest, another club who were struggling against the risk of relegation from the FA Premier League (they would ultimately drop to the First Division, after finishing bottom of the league table). In the League Cup, the Saints beat fourth-flight side Gillingham in the second round (winning the second leg 3–0 after a goalless draw), before facing elimination at the hands of Crystal Palace who, like Nottingham Forest, would later be relegated from the FA Premier League. Along with the club's worst top-flight league finish since their relegation in 1973–74, this marked Southampton's worst FA Cup performance since 1988–89 and their worst League Cup performance since 1987–88.
Southampton used 25 players during the 1992–93 season and had 12 different goalscorers. Following Shearer's departure, Matt Le Tissier returned to his spot as the club's top scorer, with 18 goals across all competitions. Iain Dowie was second on 12 goals. Tim Flowers made the most appearances during the season, as the only player to feature in all 46 matches; Le Tissier followed on 44 appearances. The goalkeeper was also named Southampton F.C. Player of the Season, following Peter Shilton to become only the second player to win the award on two occasions. The average league attendance at The Dell during 1992–93 was 15,148. The highest attendance was 19,654 against Tottenham Hotspur in August and the lowest was 6,764 against Gillingham in October.
Background and transfers
Ahead of the 1992–93 season, Southampton received numerous offers for striker Alan Shearer, who had finished the last year as the club's top scorer and recently made his debut (and scored) for the England national team. Despite interest from Manchester United, he opted to move to Blackburn Rovers (who had been recently promoted to the FA Premier League) in July for a fee of £3.6 million, surpassing Liverpool's purchase of Dean Saunders a year earlier for £2.9 million. Saints manager Ian Branfoot wanted to sign Mike Newell in part-exchange for Shearer, but instead saw the arrival of David Speedie for an additional £400,000; Speedie himself was described as "reluctant" to move, claiming in later years that he felt "forced" into the transfer. Shearer has cited Blackburn's management team – including former England under-21 coach Ray Harford – as his main reason for joining.
Also leaving in the summer were centre-back Neil Ruddock, who was signed by Tottenham Hotspur for a tribunal-determined fee of £750,000; midfielder Barry Horne, who moved to Everton for £675,000; and Jon Gittens, who made his loan move to Middlesbrough permanent in a £350,000 deal. Branfoot's first signing of the 1992–93 transfer window was striker Kerry Dixon, who joined from Chelsea for a fee of £575,000, reuniting with former teammate Speedie when he joined the following week. In August, the manager signed another Chelsea player, Dutch international centre-back Ken Monkou, for whom they paid £750,000. The final addition of the summer came in the form of Arsenal winger Perry Groves, who joined a few days after Monkou for the same fee, despite "nursing an Achilles problem" which would ultimately end his professional playing career within a year.
Despite only joining in the summer, Speedie was put up for transfer by Southampton during the early stages of the season, after reportedly falling out with Branfoot, as well as teammates including Glenn Cockerill and Terry Hurlock. He subsequently spent short periods out on loan at Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion, before finishing the season with West Ham United and helping the Hammers win promotion to the top flight. Dixon was also loaned out towards the end of the season, joining Luton Town in February 1993 and making the deal permanent early the next season. Other loan deals included defender Kevin Moore spending a month at Bristol Rovers in late-1992, midfielder David Lee joining Bolton Wanderers for a month in November, before joining permanently in December, and striker Paul Moody moving to Reading over the Christmas period. Alloa Athletic midfielder Paul Sheerin, Halesowen Town striker Frankie Bennett and Ayr United defender Derek Allan all joined Southampton during the course of the 1992–93 season for small fees.
Players transferred in NameNationalityClubDateFeeRef.Kerry Dixon Chelsea19 July 1992£575,000David Speedie Blackburn Rovers27 July 1992£400,000Ken Monkou Chelsea21 August 1992£750,000Perry Groves Arsenal24 August 1992£750,000Paul Sheerin Alloa Athletic1 October 1992£65,000Frankie Bennett Halesowen Town24 February 1993£5,000Derek Allan Ayr United16 March 1993£75,000
Players transferred out NameNationalityClubDateFeeRef.Barry Horne Everton1 July 1992£675,000Jon Gittens Middlesbrough27 July 1992£350,000Alan Shearer Blackburn Rovers27 July 1992£3,600,000Neil Ruddock Tottenham Hotspur29 July 1992£750,000David Lee Bolton WanderersDecember 1992Unknown
Players loaned out NameNationalityClubDate fromDate toRef.Kevin Moore Bristol RoversOctober 1992November 1992David Lee Bolton WanderersNovember 1992December 1992David Speedie Birmingham CityNovember 1992December 1992Paul Moody ReadingDecember 1992January 1993David Speedie West Bromwich AlbionJanuary 1993February 1993Kerry Dixon Luton TownFebruary 1993End of seasonDavid Speedie West Ham UnitedMarch 1993End of season
Pre-season friendlies Ahead of the 1992–93 league campaign, Southampton played ten pre-season friendlies. The first two, which took place in May just after the end of the previous season, saw Southampton travel to Grand Cayman to compete in the Hampsteads International Cup alongside two national sides: Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. The Saints beat Jamaica 2–0 in the first game and drew 1–1 with the Cayman Islands in the second. After the summer break, in July the club faced Scottish First Division side Ayr United, which they lost 1–0. Later in the month, the Saints completed a tour of Sweden which included six friendlies in nine days: an 8–1 win over Trollhättan, a 2–1 win over Västra Frölunda, a 12–0 win over Värnamo (in which new signing Kerry Dixon scored five goals and Neil Maddison added a hat-trick), a 6–0 win over Gällstads, a 5–2 win over Vinninga, and a 5–1 win over Yngsjö. Back in the UK, Southampton beat Second Division side Swansea City 3–2 at Vetch Field eight days before the start of the league season.
FA Premier League
The 1992–93 season saw the introduction of the FA Premier League, which replaced the First Division of the English Football League as the top flight of football in England. The league was created primarily to allow clubs in the top flight to secure broadcasting deals independently of the Football League, in order to maximise revenue for the clubs and attract more talent to the division. The inaugural outing of the new league featured 22 clubs determined by the results of the previous season (19 First Division clubs and three promoted from the Second Division), with Southampton one of the founding members.
The season started poorly for Southampton. A goalless draw with Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day was followed by a 3–1 loss at Queens Park Rangers during which Micky Adams was sent off, although the left-back was involved more positively three days later when he scored the visitors' goal in a 1–1 draw at Aston Villa. After a late 1–0 loss at Manchester United courtesy of a penultimate-minute goal from new signing Dion Dublin, the Saints picked up their first win of the season at home to Middlesbrough, who had been recently promoted to the FA Premier League after finishing as runners-up in the Second Division; all three goals in the 2–1 affair were scored in the last 15 minutes of the game, with a Matt Le Tissier penalty and a Nicky Banger header securing the hosts' first victory of the campaign. 1–1 draws with FA Cup champions Liverpool and league champions Leeds United (featuring debut goals for Kerry Dixon and Perry Groves, respectively) flanked two more defeats, against league leaders Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers.
Following the Leeds game, Southampton sat 20th in the FA Premier League table, in the first of three relegation spots. The team's second win of the season came against Crystal Palace the next week, with Iain Dowie scoring both of the visitors' goals either side of half-time. The next week's 2–0 loss at Sheffield United marked the final appearance of summer signing David Speedie, who had fallen out with Branfoot and other players, and was subsequently loaned out to various clubs during the rest of the season. Following a 2–2 draw at home to Wimbledon and a 1–0 loss at Manchester City, the Saints started a six-game unbeaten run with a 1–0 win over strugglers Oldham Athletic, marking their best run of results of the whole season. The spell included a 2–1 win over bottom-placed Nottingham Forest and a 2–0 defeat of title hopefuls Arsenal.
After climbing as high as 13th in the table following the win over Arsenal, a run of three defeats and two draws over Christmas and new year saw them drop back down to 19th, just above the relegation zone. In January, the club picked up key wins over Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, the latter of whom were second in the table before the game. February brought a pair of wins over Norwich City, who were still challenging for the title, and Liverpool, which was followed by a narrow defeat at league leaders Manchester United. A run of four games unbeaten from late-February to mid-March saw the club climb into the top half of the table for the first time during the season, peaking at ninth following a hard-fought 4–3 win over Ipswich Town in which Le Tissier scored the winner in the last minute of the game, after a goal for each side within the closing ten minutes.