Southampton

The club formed in 1885 as a church team, earning them the nickname Saints, and they played in the old Southern League until World War I. In 1920 they made the Football League and have been there ever since. In 1922-23 they did something mildly interesting: they won 14, lost 14, drew 14, scored 40 goals, and conceded 40 goals, which added up to 42 points from 42 games. Guess where they finished in the table.

They first made the top flight in 1966 and spent eight years there, finishing as high as seventh, making some minor European competitions, and going out in the early rounds. They got their only FA Cup win in 1976 while in the Second Division, when they beat Manchester United, who had just finished third in the First Division. It’s considered one of the bigger Cup final upsets.

They made it back up in the late 1970s and spent 27 years there, during which they made the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) a few times but didn’t get far, and once finished as high as second in the league. In the late 1980s, their academy produced two of the great natural scorers of all time: Matt Le Tissier and Alan Shearer. The latter was sold to Blackburn in 1992 for a national record (read more about him in the Newcastle United profile), but Le Tissier stuck around for his whole career, through 2002, scoring 161 goals in 443 games. He converted 47 of his 48 penalty kicks and scored the last goal at their old stadium, a late winner in a 3–2 triumph over Arsenal. During all that time, the Saints stayed up but never finished higher than seventh.

In 2005 they were relegated, and financial troubles came along. By 2009 they were in League One, but new ownership arrived. They won the League Trophy while down there and got back to the Championship in 2011 and then to the Premier League in 2012. In the summer of 2014, they got something of a reputation by selling many of their best players: Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana to Liverpool; Calum Chambers to Arsenal; and Luke Shaw to Manchester United. Their manager, Mauricio Pochettino, also left for Spurs. In the next few years, they would also sell Sadio Mané and Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool. Gareth Bale came through their youth system as well.

But their system worked: During that time they had two top-10 finishes in the Premier League and made (and lost) an FA Cup semifinal and a League Cup final. They also made the semifinals and quarterfinals of the 2021 and 2022 FA Cups.

And then it didn’t work: in 2022–23, the bottom fell out; they finished dead last and were relegated to the Championship. They went back for last season, then finished bottom of the league last season-barely avoiding the record for lowest points haul ever. So they are now in yo-yo mode.

2024–25 SEASON: 20th in the Premier League (relegated), 4th Round FA Cup, Quarterfinals League Cup

2025–26 SEASON: Championship (relegated in 2025)

They share the South Coast derby with Portsmouth, and it’s one of the more bitter rivalries around. The most recent meeting was a 4–0 Southampton League Cup win at Portsmouth in 2019, but they haven’t been in the same league since 2012. Buckle up for this season, then!

This is a little confusing, but the club “withdrew their support” for the women in 2005 after the men’s team was relegated out of the Premier League. Lame. Now the club has started up a new one called Southampton FC Women, who play in the FA Women’s Championship at tier 2; home games are also at St. Mary’s Stadium. The website is southamptonfc.com/women.

Meanwhile, one of the more successful women’s clubs in the country is in town—confusingly called Southampton Women’s FC. Never affiliated with the men’s club, they were formed in 1970 and have won the FA Women’s Cup eight times, second only to Arsenal. They are now in the 4th tier. See southamptonwomensfc.co.uk for more on this team.

As one might imagine, the main one is “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

St. Mary’s Stadium, which replaced the 15,000-seat Dell in 2001, holds 32,505 in perhaps the epitome of the modern, rectangular stadium. It’s surrounded by industrial sites and is hardly in the most romantic location, but inside it’s perfectly nice and spacious. The away fans will be in the north end.

The statue outside is of Ted Bates, known as “Mr. Southampton” after he played and managed there, served on the board, and was president. The statue itself has an interesting story. This is a replacement of the first one, which lasted exactly one week amid protests that its arms were too short and it looked more like the chairman of Portsmouth.

TOURS: Tours are available on non-match days for £20. Book well ahead for match-day tours.

GETTING THERE: There is usually a shuttle bus from the main train station (call the club or ask at the station to confirm), which is nice because it’s a half-hour walk. You can cut that time in half by grabbing bus 18 from the Civic Center and then walking from the Britannia Road stop. It should be less than £10 in a cab.

PUBS: The main action near the ground is along St. Mary Street, just west of the stadium. There, you’ll find the Kingsland Tavern and The Joiners packed with home fans. Same for The Chapel Arms south of the stadium, on Marine Parade. In town there are some neat older options like The London Hotel on very cool Oxford Street. We had a nice postgame hangout at the Duke of Wellington in a restored 15th-century building on Bugle Street in the medieval quarter.

GRUB: There’s nothing out by the stadium, so eat in town. Most of your options will be along the high street, including a decent Indian buffet at Coriander and an old-school Greek diner called George’s on St. Michael’s Street.

AROUND TOWN: Southampton has been a big port for years and is now mainly associated with the cruise industry. White Star Line (of Titanic fame) was here, and now Cunard is. It has also been something of a spa town since the 18th century. Its history goes back to Roman days, and like many port cities, it was heavily bombed during World War II, so there aren’t too many older buildings around.

The high street is also known as the Queen’s Mile and leads down to the waterfront; this begins about a 10-minute walk from the station. There are still some of the medieval walls around and a small quarter of medieval buildings around the Tudor House and Garden.

If you’re into the Titanic at all, this is where it made its last stop, and there’s a great section of the SeaCity Museum all about it. Hundreds of locals were hired on as ship staff and died in the disaster. Southampton is also the home port of the Queen Mary II, a massive cruise ship that might be down at the docks; if so, go and have a look at it.