# 2005–06 Southampton F.C. season

During the 2005–06 English football season, Southampton Football Club competed in the Football League Championship after relegation from the premier league the previous season. It was their first season in the second tier since 1977–78.
Southampton endured a poor to largely indifferent season after relegation from the Premier League the previous season and finished in a lowly 12th place in the Championship. Although the south coast side started the season well, they ended up drawing too many games (19 games by the season's end) and a run of five wins from 35 games dragged them into the lower reaches of the table and put Southampton in danger of a second successive relegation. Manager Harry Redknapp, unable to establish consistency and unhappy with the appointment of former rugby coach Sir Clive Woodward to the coaching staff, had resigned in December, returning as manager of Southampton's archrivals Portsmouth. His replacement, former Ipswich Town manager George Burley, was unable to turn the club's form around until the back end of the season, with five wins from their last six games taking the team from 20th to 12th. The late run of form gave fans hope that next season Southampton could mount a sustained attempt at promotion.

## Kit

The season's kit was manufactured by the club's own brand, Saints. The kit was sponsored by English life insurance company Friends Provident.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 10 | Luton Town | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 66 | 67 | −1 | 61 |
| 11 | Cardiff City | 46 | 16 | 12 | 18 | 58 | 59 | −1 | 60 |
| 12 | Southampton | 46 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 58 |
| 13 | Stoke City | 46 | 17 | 7 | 22 | 54 | 63 | −9 | 58 |
| 14 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 39 | 46 | −7 | 56 |

## Results

Southampton's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Championship

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 6 August 2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–0 | 24,061 | |
| 9 August 2005 | Luton Town | A | 2–3 | 9,447 | Oakley, Jones |
| 13 August 2005 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–0 | 26,688 | Jones |
| 20 August 2005 | Norwich City | H | 1–0 | 23,498 | Quashie (pen) |
| 27 August 2005 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 2–0 | 20,792 | Belmadi, Quashie |
| 29 August 2005 | Coventry City | A | 1–1 | 23,000 | Fuller |
| 10 September 2005 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–1 | 25,744 | Higginbotham |
| 13 September 2005 | Ipswich Town | A | 2–2 | 22,997 | Powell, Wise |
| 18 September 2005 | Derby County | A | 2–2 | 22,348 | Ormerod, Fuller |
| 24 September 2005 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 0–0 | 26,331 | |
| 28 September 2005 | Reading | H | 0–0 | 24,946 | |
| 1 October 2005 | Preston North End | A | 1–1 | 15,263 | Davidson (own goal) |
| 15 October 2005 | Hull City | H | 1–1 | 23,810 | Oakley |
| 18 October 2005 | Leeds United | A | 1–2 | 18,881 | Walcott |
| 22 October 2005 | Millwall | A | 2–0 | 10,759 | Walcott, Fuller |
| 29 October 2005 | Stoke City | H | 2–0 | 24,095 | Walcott, Belmadi |
| 5 November 2005 | Leicester City | A | 0–0 | 21,318 | |
| 19 November 2005 | Leeds United | H | 3–4 | 30,173 | Pahars, Quashie (2, 1 pen) |
| 22 November 2005 | Hull City | A | 1–1 | 18,061 | Kosowski |
| 26 November 2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–0 | 24,628 | |
| 3 December 2005 | Burnley | H | 1–1 | 21,592 | Higginbotham (pen) |
| 11 December 2005 | Luton Town | H | 1–0 | 19,086 | Walcott |
| 17 December 2005 | Norwich City | A | 1–3 | 24,836 | Belmadi |
| 26 December 2005 | Watford | A | 0–3 | 16,972 | |
| 28 December 2005 | Sheffield United | H | 0–1 | 27,443 | |
| 31 December 2005 | Cardiff City | A | 1–2 | 13,377 | Blackstock |
| 2 January 2006 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 2–1 | 24,630 | Blackstock (2) |
| 14 January 2006 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–1 | 15,494 | |
| 21 January 2006 | Ipswich Town | H | 0–2 | 22,250 | |
| 25 January 2006 | Crystal Palace | H | 0–0 | 24,651 | |
| 31 January 2006 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 1–2 | 15,936 | Surman |
| 4 February 2006 | Derby County | H | 0–0 | 21,829 | |
| 10 February 2006 | Reading | A | 0–2 | 23,845 | |
| 15 February 2006 | Preston North End | H | 0–0 | 19,534 | |
| 25 February 2006 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 3–0 | 26,236 | Higginbotham, Rasiak, Jones |
| 4 March 2006 | Coventry City | H | 1–1 | 21,980 | Rasiak |
| 11 March 2006 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 1–1 | 6,588 | Madsen |
| 20 March 2006 | Watford | H | 1–3 | 19,202 | Madsen |
| 25 March 2006 | Sheffield United | A | 0–3 | 22,824 | |
| 28 March 2006 | Burnley | A | 1–1 | 10,636 | Bardsley (own goal) |
| 1 April 2006 | Cardiff City | H | 3–2 | 22,388 | Lundekvam, Fuller (2) |
| 8 April 2006 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 2–0 | 7,999 | Fuller, Chaplow |
| 15 April 2006 | Stoke City | A | 2–1 | 16,501 | Rasiak (2, 1 pen) |
| 17 April 2006 | Millwall | H | 2–0 | 22,043 | Jones (pen), Fuller |
| 22 April 2006 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–2 | 20,995 | Fuller |
| 30 April 2006 | Leicester City | H | 2–0 | 26,801 | Fuller, Surman |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 7 January 2006 | Milton Keynes Dons | H | 4–3 | 15,908 | Prutton, Quashie, Walcott, Kenton |
| R4 | 28 January 2006 | Leicester City | A | 1–0 | 20,427 | Jones |
| R5 | 18 February 2006 | Newcastle United | A | 0–1 | 40,975 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 22 August 2005 | Southend United | A | 3–0 | 6,358 | Blackstock, Dyer, Ormerod |
| R2 | 20 September 2005 | Mansfield Town | A | 0–1 | 3,739 | |

## First-team squad

Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 2 | DF | SWE | Alexander Östlund |
| 3 | MF | POL | Kamil Kosowski (on loan from Wisła Kraków) |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Darren Potter (on loan from Liverpool) |
| 5 | DF | NOR | Claus Lundekvam |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Darren Powell |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Matt Oakley |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Jermaine Wright (on loan from Leeds United) |
| 11 | DF | SWE | Michael Svensson |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Paul Smith |
| 14 | FW | JAM | Ricardo Fuller |
| 15 | FW | TRI | Kenwyne Jones |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Martin Cranie |
| 17 | FW | LVA | Marian Pahars |
| 18 | FW | POL | Grzegorz Rasiak (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Danny Higginbotham |
| 20 | MF | ENG | David Prutton |
| 21 | DF | NIR | Chris Baird |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Darren Kenton |
| 24 | FW | ENG | Dexter Blackstock |
| 26 | GK | ENG | Kevin Miller |
| 28 | GK | POL | Bartosz Białkowski |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Andrew Surman |
| 31 | MF | ALG | Djamel Belmadi |
| 33 | FW | ENG | Nathan Dyer |
| 34 | DF | CAN | Jim Brennan |
| 35 | FW | IRL | David McGoldrick |
| 36 | MF | ENG | Simon Gillett |
| 37 | DF | WAL | Gareth Bale |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | FIN | Antti Niemi (to Fulham) |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Dennis Wise (to Coventry City) |
| 7 | DF | POL | Tomasz Hajto (to Derby County) |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Brett Ormerod (to Preston North End) |
| 9 | FW | DEN | Peter Madsen (on loan from Cologne) |
| 10 | MF | SCO | Neil McCann (to Hearts) |
| 12 | MF | SCO | Nigel Quashie (to West Bromwich Albion) |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Richard Chaplow (on loan from West Bromwich Albion) |
| 18 | MF | IRL | Rory Delap (to Sunderland) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 23 | MF | FRA | Yoann Folly (on loan to Sheffield Wednesday) |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Matthew Mills (to Manchester City) |
| 27 | FW | IRL | Leon Best (on loan to Sheffield Wednesday) |
| 28 | GK | NIR | Alan Blayney (to Doncaster Rovers) |
| 29 | MF | FRA | Fabrice Fernandes (to Bolton Wanderers) |
| 29 | MF | FRA | Léandre Griffit (to Elfsborg) |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Theo Walcott (to Arsenal) |
| 34 | FW | URU | Marcelo Tejera (to Peñarol) |
| 37 | GK | SCO | Andrew McNeil (to Hibernian) |

## Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 25 | GK | ENG | Danny Brice |
| 40 | MF | SWE | Joseph Larrson |
| 42 | DF | HUN | Yirhan Zolvavcs |

## Transfers in

| Date | Position | Player | Club From | Fee |
| 27 June 2005 | MF | Dennis Wise | Millwall | Free |
| | MF | Djamel Belmadi | Al-Kharitiyath | |
| 1 July 2005 | DF | Darren Powell | Crystal Palace | Free |
| 29 July 2005 | FW | Ricardo Fuller | Portsmouth | £90,000 |
| 29 July 2005 | DF | Tomasz Hajto | Nurnberg | Free |
| 6 January 2006 | GK | Bartosz Białkowski | Górnik Zabrze | Nominal |
| 26 January 2006 | MF | Darren Potter | Liverpool | Loan |
| 27 January 2006 | DF | Jim Brennan | Norwich CIty | Free |
| 30 January 2006 | DF | Alexander Östlund | Feyenoord | Undisclosed |
| 30 January 2006 | FW | Peter Madsen | 1. FC Koln | Loan |
| 8 February 2006 | MF | Richard Chaplow | West Bromwich Albion | Three-month Loan |
| 8 February 2006 | FW | Grzegorz Rasiak | Tottenham Hotspur | Loan |
| 8 February 2006 | MF | Jermaine Wright | Leeds United | Loan |
| | GK | Kevin Miller | Bristol Rovers | Free |
| | MF | Kamil Kosowski | Wisla Krakow | Loan |

## Transfers out

| Date | Position | Player | Club To | Fee |
| | DF | Graeme Le Saux | None | Retirement |
| | DF | Jamie Redknapp | None | Retirement |
| 29 June 2005 | FW | Kevin Phillips | Aston Villa | £1,000,000 |
| 30 June 2005 | DF | Jelle Van Damme | Werder Bremen | Loan |
| 1 July 2005 | FW | Jo Tessem | Lyn | Free |
| 19 July 2005 | DF | Andreas Jakobsson | Helsingborg | Undisclosed |
| 20 July 2005 | FW | Peter Crouch | Liverpool | £7,000,000 |
| 22 July 2005 | DF | Paul Telfer | Celtic | Free |
| 1 August 2005 | MF | Mikael Nilsson | Panathinaikos | €700,000 |
| 31 August 2005 | MF | Fabrice Fernandes | Bolton Wanderers | Free |
| 1 September 2005 | DF | Olivier Bernard | Rangers | Free |
| | DF | Tomasz Hajto | Derby County | |
| 7 January 2006 | GK | Alan Blayney | Doncaster Rovers | £50,000 |
| 10 January 2006 | GK | Antti Niemi | Fulham | £1,000,000 |
| 17 January 2006 | MF | Neil McCann | Hearts | Free |
| 19 January 2006 | MF | Dennis Wise | Coventry City | Free |
| 20 January 2006 | FW | Theo Walcott | Arsenal | £5,000.000 |
| 28 January 2006 | FW | Brett Ormerod | Preston North End | Free |
| 31 January 2006 | MF | Rory Delap | Sunderland | Free |
| 31 January 2006 | DF | Matthew Mills | Manchester CIty | Undisclosed |
| 31 January 2006 | FW | Leon Best | Sheffield Wednesday | Loan |
| 31 January 2006 | MF | Yoann Folly | Sheffield Wednesday | Loan |
| 1 February 2006 | MF | Nigel Quashie | West Bromwich Albion | £1,400,000 |
| 2 March 2006 | MF | Leandre Griffit | Elfsborg | Free |