About Me
Southampton Football Club (originally St. Mary's YMA) is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints. Based in the city of Southampton in Hampshire, the team was formed in November 1885. In 1898 the team moved into The Dell, the ground which was to be their home for over 100 years. However, as a result of a limited stadium capacity, the team moved to St Mary's Stadium in 2001. The current stadium is more than double the size of its predecessor, and has staged England internationals. The club's parent company is Southampton Leisure Holdings PLC.Their finest hour was their FA Cup win in 1976, when they beat Manchester United 1-0. They also were the runners-up in 2003 against Arsenal and runners-up in the 1979 League Cup final against Nottingham Forest. Southampton also finished runners-up in the Football League Championship to Liverpool in 1983/84.Following the departure of manager Harry Redknapp on December 7, 2005, George Burley was appointed to the position of Head Coach on December 22, 2005. They have since sold 17-year-old Theo Walcott, arguably their best home grown player since Matt Le Tissier, to Arsenal.Southampton reached their first F.A Cup final in 1900, losing to Bury, but had to wait until 1976 to win the trophy - beating Manchester United 1-0 at Wembley. In 1984 they finished second in the league to claim their highest-ever league finish. They were founder members of the Premier League in 1992 and competed in its first 13 seasons before finally being relegated in 2005.Significant former managers of the Saints include Gordon Strachan, Glenn Hoddle, Alan Ball, Graeme Souness, Lawrie McMenemy and Ted Bates. Significant former players include Terry Paine, Matthew Le Tissier, Kevin Keegan, Mick Channon, Alan Shearer, Wayne Bridge, Peter Shilton and Antti Niemi.
