# 1990–91 Southampton F.C. season

The 1990–91 Southampton F.C. season was the club's 90th season of competitive football and their 21st in the First Division of the Football League. The season was a disappointing one for the Saints, who finished 14th in the league, marking Chris Nicholl's joint worst result as manager. Outside the First Division, the Saints reached the fifth round of both the FA Cup and the League Cup (the same as the season before), and the third round of the Full Members' Cup. 1990–91 was Southampton's final season to feature Nicholl as manager – he was sacked upon the season's end in June 1991.
Like the previous season, Southampton did not make any signings in the transfer window ahead of the 1990–91 campaign, although Graham Baker, Mark Blake and Gerry Forrest all left the club. Partway through the season, however, Nicholl did bolster the squad with the additions of Sergey Gotsmanov, Alan McLoughlin, Richard Hall, and the returning Jon Gittens. Southampton's league form was poor throughout most of the campaign, with the side generally remaining in the mid-table area and rarely threatening the higher positions. Their worst spell came between November and December, when they failed to pick up a win in six games, including suffering five defeats. A few key wins towards season end kept the Saints safe from the risk of relegation.
In the FA Cup, Southampton edged past Second Division side Ipswich Town in the third round and overcame top-flight rivals Coventry City in the fourth round after a replay. They were knocked out in the fifth round by Nottingham Forest, another First Division club, who went on to reach the final of the tournament (before losing in extra time). In the League Cup, they thrashed Rochdale of the Fourth Division in the second round, followed by wins over Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace, but faced elimination in the fifth round at the hands of Manchester United, who – like Forest in the FA Cup – went on to reach the final of the tournament. In their return to the Full Members' Cup, the Saints beat Queens Park Rangers before losing to Norwich City in the third round.
Southampton used 27 players during the 1990–91 season and had 12 different goalscorers. Like the previous season, their top two scorers were Matt Le Tissier and Rod Wallace, who scored 23 and 19 goals, respectively, in all competitions. Midfielder Barry Horne was the only Saints player to feature in all 51 games across the four competitions. Striker Alan Shearer, who finished third in the goal rankings with 14, won the 1990–91 Southampton F.C. Player of the Season award. The average league attendance at The Dell during 1990–91 was 15,413. The highest attendance was 21,405 against Tottenham Hotspur on 29 December 1990 and the lowest was 5,071 against Queens Park Rangers in the Full Members' Cup on 20 November 1990.

## Background and transfers

Having led Southampton to their highest league finish since his arrival as manager, Chris Nicholl opted not to make any new signings during the summer 1990 transfer window. However, there were several players who left the club ahead of the 1990–91 campaign, all moving to Third Division sides in August 1990: centre-back Mark Blake, who had been with the club since 1984 but struggled to establish his place in the first team, was sold to Shrewsbury Town for a fee of £100,000; midfielder Graham Baker, who had made just shy of 200 appearances for the Saints over two tenures totalling nine years, left on a free transfer for Fulham; and right-back Gerry Forrest, who had lost his place in the team following a serious injury in 1989, moved back to his former club Rotherham United on a free transfer. Sammy Lee was released to Bolton Wanderers in October.
Shortly after the start of the season, Nicholl made his first signing of the season, bringing in Soviet attacking midfielder Sergey Gotsmanov from Brighton & Hove Albion for £150,000. He was followed in December by another attacking midfielder, Republic of Ireland international Alan McLoughlin, who joined from Swindon Town in the Second Division for a Saints record fee of £1 million. The additions continued into the second half of the season – in February, promising young centre-back Richard Hall was signed from Fourth Division side Scunthorpe United for £200,000; in March, Jon Gittens returned from Swindon Town – to whom the Saints had sold the defender just under four years earlier – for a fee of £400,000; and the same month, Welsh midfielder David Hughes arrived from non-league side Weymouth as a trainee (he would turn professional at the beginning of the next season). Steve Davis and Paul Rideout spent the final few months of the season out on loan, at Notts County and Swindon Town, respectively (both would leave in the summer).
Players transferred in
| Name | Nationality | Pos. | Club | Date | Fee |
| Neal Bartlett | England | MF | none (free agent) | June 1990 | Free |
| Sergey Gotsmanov | Soviet Union | MF | Brighton & Hove Albion | September 1990 | £150,000 |
| Alan McLoughlin | Republic of Ireland | MF | Swindon Town | December 1990 | £1,000,000 |
| Richard Hall | England | DF | Scunthorpe United | February 1991 | £200,000 |
| Jon Gittens | England | DF | Swindon Town | March 1991 | £400,000 |
| David Hughes | Wales | MF | Weymouth | March 1991 | Free |
Players transferred out
| Name | Nationality | Pos. | Club | Date | Fee |
| Graham Baker | England | MF | Fulham | August 1990 | Free |
| Mark Blake | England | DF | Shrewsbury Town | August 1990 | £100,000 |
| Gerry Forrest | England | DF | Rotherham United | August 1990 | Free |
| Sammy Lee | England | MF | Bolton Wanderers | October 1990 | Free |
Players loaned in
| Name | Nationality | Pos. | Club | Date from | Date to | Ref. |
| Keith Granger | England | GK | Basingstoke Town | November 1990 | December 1990 | |
Players loaned out
| Name | Nationality | Pos. | Club | Date from | Date to | Ref. |
| Steve Davis | England | DF | Notts County | March 1991 | End of season | |
| Paul Rideout | England | FW | Swindon Town | March 1991 | End of season | |
Notes
* ↑ Neal Bartlett initially signed as an associate schoolboy in June 1990, before becoming a trainee in June 1991 and turning professional in July 1993.
* ↑ David Hughes initially signed as a trainee in March 1991, before turning professional that August.

## Pre-season friendlies

Ahead of the 1990–91 league campaign, Southampton played seven pre-season friendlies. The first of these was a 6–0 win over Weymouth of the Southern League in which Alan Shearer scored a hat-trick, which was played on the same day as an alternate squad won 8–1 over Slough Town of the Conference (Paul Rideout scored five times in this game). A few days later, the club completed a short tour of Norway which included a goalless draw against Tromsø and a 2–3 defeat at Rosenborg (who went on to win the Eliteserien that year). Back in England, Southampton's final three pre-season friendlies saw them beat Conference side Wycombe Wanderers 1–0, draw 0–0 with Southern League side Bashley, and lose 0–2 to Second Division side Wolverhampton Wanderers.

## First Division

Southampton started the 1990–91 league campaign slowly, picking up one draw (at last season's runners-up Aston Villa), one win (a narrow 1–0 victory over Norwich City) and two losses (against Luton Town and Nottingham Forest) in their first four fixtures. A 2–0 win over recently promoted Sheffield United was followed by two more losses on the road – at Manchester United and Everton – after which the Saints sat 15th in the First Division table. October brought similarly mixed fortunes – the month began with a "hectic, full-blooded" match at home to Chelsea, which ended in a 3–3 draw. This was followed by a 2–1 win over Coventry City and a 0–1 defeat at home to Derby County, who had only avoided relegation the season before by three points, after which Nicholl claimed that no one besides goalkeeper Tim Flowers "justified their place [in the team] or their wage packet".
After a 1–1 draw at Wimbledon and a "comfortable" 3–1 win over Queens Park Rangers, the Saints lost four games in a row and dropped as low as 17th in the league table. The first game in the spell saw the club suffer its heaviest defeat of the season, losing 0–4 to eventual title winners Arsenal. This was followed by a 2–3 home defeat to in-form Crystal Palace, a 1–2 loss at Leeds United in which the hosts scored two in first ten minutes of the game, and finally a 1–3 loss away to Norwich City. A home draw with Aston Villa in which record signing Alan McLoughlin debuted was followed by another away defeat, this time a 2–3 loss at defending champions Liverpool. 1990 ended with Southampton's first two wins in a row of the season, as they beat Manchester City 2–1 at home thanks to a late winner from Matt Le Tissier, and a few days later beat top-three side Tottenham Hotspur at The Dell in which Le Tissier scored a brace. Having picked up key points following their spell of four consecutive losses, the Saints ended the year 13th in the table.
1991 started with a defeat at Sunderland, which was followed by a hard-fought 4–3 win away at Luton Town, in which top scorers Le Tissier and Rod Wallace shared the goals equally. More poor form followed, as the team won just one of their next seven games (at home to Leeds United), and as a result dropped into the relegation zone for the first time. The Saints fought back in late March, picking up a 2–0 away win at Chelsea and responding three times to pick up a point at Manchester City. On 1 April, they unexpectedly beat back-to-back title hopefuls Liverpool 1–0 at home, with Le Tissier scoring the only goal of the game in just the fourth minute, which club historians report "knocked a massive dent in Liverpool's championship hopes". After a 0–2 loss at Tottenham Hotspur, the Saints held champions-elect Arsenal to a 1–1 draw at The Dell.
The last four First Division fixtures for Southampton included two home wins, over strugglers Sunderland and Coventry City, as the club pulled themselves free from any risk of relegation. In the penultimate game of the season, however, the Saints suffered a humiliating 2–6 defeat at Derby County, who had not won a game in over five months and sat bottom of the First Division table. The visitors were 0–2 down within 18 minutes and trailed 1–5 with just five minutes left to play, with Paul Williams having scored a first-half hat-trick; this marked the joint heaviest defeat of Southampton's season. The final game of the campaign saw the Hampshire side draw 1–1 with Wimbledon, with Jimmy Case scoring the only goal – his only league goal of the season.
Shortly after the season ended, manager Chris Nicholl was sacked by Southampton's board after six seasons, with first-team coach Dennis Rofe leaving with him.

### Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 12 | Queens Park Rangers | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 44 | 53 | −9 | 46 |
| 13 | Sheffield United | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 36 | 55 | −19 | 46 |
| 14 | Southampton | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 58 | 69 | −11 | 45 |
| 15 | Norwich City | 38 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 41 | 64 | −23 | 45 |
| 16 | Coventry City | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 42 | 49 | −7 | 44 |

### Results by matchday

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | H |
| Result | D | W | L | L | W | L | L | D | W | L | D | W | L | L | L | L | D | L | W | W | L | W | D | L | L | W | L | D | L | W | D | W | L | D | W | W | L | D |
| Position | 7 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 14 |

## FA Cup

Southampton entered the 1990–91 FA Cup in the third round against Second Division side Ipswich Town, with the game drawn at The Dell. The second-flight visitors opened the scoring early on through Jason Dozzell, before Alan Shearer headed in a corner from Matt Le Tissier to equalise. Just before half time, the roles were reversed as Shearer turned provider for Le Tissier, with the Saints going ahead on the stroke of the break. Within 15 minutes of the restart, the hosts were 3–1 up as Le Tissier scored his second of the game, converting a cross from Micky Adams. Shearer almost followed in doubling his personal tally, but it was Ipswich's Dozzell who struck again ten minutes from full-time, although Southampton held on for the win. In the fourth round, the Saints faced First Division opponents Coventry City. After a 1–1 draw at Highfield Road, the Saints progressed with a 2–0 replay win at home, with goals from Jimmy Case and Rod Wallace either side of half time giving them the victory.
The fifth round saw Southampton host Nottingham Forest, who they had failed to beat in the league in both fixtures of the campaign. The Saints went one up after just two minutes, when Neil Ruddock headed in a corner from Le Tissier, and continued to dominate the half when Glenn Cockerill came close twice and a Paul Rideout goal was disallowed due to offside. The home side continued to enjoy chances in the second half, with Cockerill coming close again, before Forest equalised in the 80th minute through Steve Hodge, forcing a replay. In the rematch at City Ground, Southampton came close to opening the scoring in the first few minutes, as Wallace hit the post and Ruddock saw his header cleared off the line by the Forest defence. Wallace did open the scoring in the 14th minute, but at half-time the teams were level after Nigel Jemson converted a penalty awarded for a "dubious" handball decision against Francis Benali. Jemson scored twice more after the break to complete his hat-trick and Southampton's elimination from the cup.

## League Cup

Southampton entered the 1990–91 League Cup in the second round against Fourth Division side Rochdale. The visiting Saints thrashed the hosts 5–0 in the first leg, with Alan Shearer scoring twice before Barry Horne, Rod Wallace and Neil Ruddock all added to the tally in the last ten minutes of the match. In the second leg at The Dell, the hosts added three more to their winning aggregate score, with Nicky Banger scoring a hat-trick on his debut for the club. Southampton beat Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace 2–0 in the third and fourth rounds, respectively, with leading scorers Matt Le Tissier, Rod Wallace and Shearer sharing the goals. In the fifth round, the Saints were held to a 1–1 draw at home by Manchester United, who then won the replay at Old Trafford 3–2 thanks to a second-half Mark Hughes hat-trick.

## Full Members' Cup

Southampton entered the 1990–91 Full Members' Cup in the second round, where they thrashed Queens Park Rangers 4–0 at home, with goals coming from Alan Shearer (two), Barry Horne and a Brian Law own goal. The Saints lost 1–2 at Norwich City in the third round, with a second-minute Rod Wallace goal cancelled out by two goals in quick succession just before half time.

## Other matches

Southampton played three additional matches during the final weeks of the 1990–91 season. In April, they beat Wessex League side Christchurch 5–0, with a hat-trick for Alan Shearer alongside goals for Matt Le Tissier and Rod Wallace. Two days after the end of the league, the Saints were hosted by Southern League club Poole Town for the testimonial of Tony Funnell, which the visitors won 5–3 thanks to goals from Shearer (two), Jimmy Case, Glenn Cockerill and Ray Wallace. Finally, three days later, they also beat Ryde Sports of the Wessex League 8–1, with goals including a Le Tissier hat-trick.

## Player details

Southampton used 27 players during the 1990–91 season, 12 of whom scored during the campaign. Five players made their debut appearances for the club, including three of their six new signings (Sergey Gotsmanov, Richard Hall, and Alan McLoughlin) and one player making the step up from youth to the first team (Lee Powell). Six players made their final appearances for the Saints during the campaign: Gotsmanov, Jimmy Case, Andy Cook, Steve Davis, Ray Wallace, and Rod Wallace. Midfielder Barry Horne made the most appearances for Southampton during 1990–91, playing in all 51 games across all four competitions; he was followed by goalkeeper Tim Flowers, who missed just one game each in the league and the Full Members' Cup. Matt Le Tissier finished as the season's top goalscorer for the second consecutive season with 23 goals in all competitions, followed by Rod Wallace on 19 goals. Alan Shearer won the Southampton F.C. Player of the Season award for the 1990–91 season.

### Squad statistics

| Name | Pos. | Nat. | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | FM Cup | FM Cup | Total | Total |
| Name | Pos. | Nat. | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals |
| Micky Adams | DF | | 29(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37(1) | 0 |
| Ian Andrews | GK | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Nicky Banger | FW | | 0(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1(6) | 3 |
| Francis Benali | DF | | 9(3) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 12(6) | 0 |
| Jimmy Case | MF | | 24(1) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31(1) | 2 |
| Oleksiy Cherednyk | DF | | 12(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16(3) | 0 |
| Glenn Cockerill | MF | | 28(4) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37(5) | 2 |
| Andy Cook | DF | | 5(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9(2) | 0 |
| Jason Dodd | DF | | 16(3) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25(3) | 0 |
| Tim Flowers | GK | | 37 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 0 |
| Jon Gittens | DF | | 7(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7(1) | 0 |
| Sergey Gotsmanov | MF | | 2(6) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8(6) | 0 |
| Richard Hall | DF | | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |
| Barry Horne | MF | | 38 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 51 | 3 |
| Jeff Kenna | DF | | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 |
| Matt Le Tissier | MF | | 34(1) | 19 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 42(1) | 23 |
| Neil Maddison | MF | | 1(3) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(4) | 0 |
| Alan McLoughlin | MF | | 22 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
| Kevin Moore | DF | | 19 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
| Russell Osman | DF | | 17(3) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26(3) | 1 |
| Lee Powell | FW | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 |
| Andy Rowland | FW | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Neil Ruddock | DF | | 32(3) | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 41(3) | 5 |
| Alan Shearer | FW | | 34(2) | 4 | 3(1) | 2 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 45(3) | 14 |
| Ray Wallace | DF | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Rod Wallace | FW | | 35(2) | 14 | 5 | 2 | 4(1) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 45(3) | 19 |
| Tommy Widdrington | MF | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players with appearances who ended the season out on loan |||||||||||||
| Steve Davis | DF | | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 |
| Paul Rideout | FW | | 14(2) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19(2) | 6 |

### Most appearances

| Rank | Name | Pos. | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | FM Cup | FM Cup | Total | Total | Total |
| Rank | Name | Pos. | Starts | Subs | Starts | Subs | Starts | Subs | Starts | Subs | Starts | Subs | Total |
| 1 | Barry Horne | MF | 38 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 0 | 51 |
| 2 | Tim Flowers | GK | 37 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 49 |
| 3 | Alan Shearer | FW | 34 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 3 | 48 |
| 3 | Rod Wallace | FW | 35 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 3 | 48 |
| 5 | Neil Ruddock | DF | 32 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 3 | 44 |
| 6 | Matt Le Tissier | MF | 34 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 1 | 43 |
| 7 | Glenn Cockerill | MF | 28 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 5 | 42 |
| 8 | Micky Adams | DF | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 1 | 38 |
| 9 | Jimmy Case | MF | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 32 |
| 10 | Russell Osman | DF | 17 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 3 | 29 |

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Pos. | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | FM Cup | FM Cup | Total | Total | Total |
| Rank | Name | Pos. | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | GPG |
| 1 | Matt Le Tissier | MF | 19 | 35 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 43 | 0.53 |
| 2 | Rod Wallace | FW | 14 | 37 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 48 | 0.40 |
| 3 | Alan Shearer | FW | 4 | 36 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 48 | 0.29 |
| 4 | Paul Rideout | FW | 6 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 21 | 0.29 |
| 5 | Neil Ruddock | DF | 3 | 35 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 44 | 0.11 |
| 6 | Nicky Banger | FW | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0.43 |
| 6 | Barry Horne | MF | 1 | 38 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 51 | 0.06 |
| 8 | Jimmy Case | MF | 1 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 0.06 |
| 8 | Glenn Cockerill | MF | 2 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 43 | 0.05 |
| 10 | Alan McLoughlin | MF | 1 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 0.04 |
| 10 | Kevin Moore | DF | 1 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 0.04 |
| 10 | Russell Osman | DF | 1 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 0.03 |