# 2009–10 Southampton F.C. season

The 2009–10 season was Southampton's fifth consecutive season in The Football League and their first season in League One. Having been relegated the previous season, Southampton looked to reclaim their place in the Championship by being promoted in 2009–10. On 28 March 2010, The Saints won the League Trophy for the first time, defeating Carlisle United 4–1 at Wembley. On 25 April, however, Southampton's hopes of a playoff place were ended after Huddersfield Town beat bottom-place side Stockport County 6–0 to claim the final place. The Saints eventually finished in 7th position, just one place and seven points below the play-offs.

## Administration and change of ownership

The club ended the previous season with its parent company, Southampton Leisure Holdings PLC in administration. As a result the club entered the 2009–10 season with a ten-point deduction imposed by The Football League.
On 8 July 2009 the administrators confirmed that the club had been sold to a buyer "owned and controlled by Markus Liebherr". On 9 July 2009 Mark Wotte was sacked as Head Coach with Stewart Henderson taking temporary charge. The club confirmed that the search for the new manager had already begun. They said in a statement that the decision is part of a wider strategic plan being implemented to improve all aspects of the club's operations, both on and off the field.
On 17 July 2009 the club confirmed the appointment of Alan Pardew as the new First Team Manager. On the opening day of the season Saints forced a 1–1 draw against Millwall, with Matthew Paterson netting the club's first goal in League One. Following this, the Saints made their first big signing under Markus Liebherr as they unveiled new striker Rickie Lambert who was purchased on 10 August 2009, for an initial £800,000, which could rise to £1m subject to appearances, from fellow League One side Bristol Rovers.
Liebherr also brought in Italian businessman Nicola Cortese to look after the club's business interests on his behalf.
As well as Rickie Lambert, Pardew was given the funds to complete a string of other signings to rebuild the squad including: Dean Hammond, Radhi Jaïdi, Graeme Murty, Dan Harding, David Connolly, Michail Antonio, Papa Waigo, Lee Barnard, José Fonte, Danny Seaborne, Jon Otsemobor and Jason Puncheon, meaning that by the end of the January transfer window, Southampton had spent over £3 million on players, a significantly larger amount than any other League one club.

## League One

| 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 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | D | L | L | D | D | D | D | W | D | L | W | W | W | W | D | L | D | W | W | W | W | L | W | L | D | D | W | D | W | D | W | W | L | W | L | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | D | W | L | W |
| Position | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Swindon Town | 46 | 22 | 16 | 8 | 73 | 57 | +16 | 82 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
| 6 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 82 | 56 | +26 | 80 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
| 7 | Southampton | 46 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 85 | 47 | +38 | 73 | |
| 8 | Colchester United | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 64 | 52 | +12 | 72 | |
| 9 | Brentford | 46 | 14 | 20 | 12 | 55 | 52 | +3 | 62 | |
* ↑ Southampton were given a ten-point deduction for breaching insolvency regulations, regarding their holding company. As they finished in the bottom three last season, the points deduction were applied in the 2009–10 season.

## Squad statistics

| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Trophy | League Trophy | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | | Kelvin Davis | 40 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | | Dan Harding | 42 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 53 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Wayne Thomas | 10(5) | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4(1) | 1 | 20(6) | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | | Jason Puncheon | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | | Chris Perry | 11(1) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3(1) | 0 | 19(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | | Radhi Jaïdi | 26(1) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 33(1) | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | | Rickie Lambert | 44(1) | 29 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 57(1) | 35 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Simon Gillett | 0(2) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 1(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | | Papa Waigo | 11(24) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4(2) | 4 | 18(26) | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | | Paul Wotton | 12(14) | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3(2) | 0 | 19(17) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | | Lee Holmes | 2(3) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 3(5) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | | José Fonte | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | | Tommy Forecast | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | | Dean Hammond | 40 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 49 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | | Graeme Murty | 5(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | | Lee Barnard | 14(6) | 9 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15(7) | 9 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | | Joseph Mills | 8(8) | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 11(11) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | | Morgan Schneiderlin | 35(2) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 44(3) | 1 | 8 | 2 |
| 20 | MF | | Adam Lallana | 44 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 56 | 20 | 4 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | | Anthony Pulis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | | Lloyd James | 28(2) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4(1) | 0 | 37(3) | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | | Kayne McLaggon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | | Jake Thomson | 0(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | | Jamie White | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | GK | | Bartosz Białkowski | 6(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | | Oscar Gobern | 0(4) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(7) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | | Jack Boyle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | | Ryan Doble | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | GK | | Andrej Pernecký | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | | Jack Saville | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | | Callum McNish | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | | Danny Seaborne | 11(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(5) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | | Garyn Preen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | | Michail Antonio | 14(14) | 3 | 3(2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5(1) | 2 | 22(17) | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 38 | FW | | David Connolly | 9(11) | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 11(12) | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 40 | DF | | Jon Otsemobor | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | MF | | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | MF | | Ben Reeves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players with appearances who finished their season out on loan ||||||||||||||||
| 15 | DF | | Olly Lancashire | 1(1) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | | Lee Molyneux | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | | Michael Poke | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | DF | | Aaron Martin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Players with appearances who left the club before the end of the season ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | FW | | Marek Saganowski | 3(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 4(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | | Grzegorz Rasiak | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | | Neal Trotman | 17(1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 18(2) | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | | Matt Paterson | 4(3) | 1 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(5) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | | Jacob Mellis | 7(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 9(6) | 0 | 1 | 0 |

### Most appearances

| | Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Trophy | League Trophy | Total | Total | Total |
| | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Strt. | Sub. | Strt. | Sub. | Strt. | Sub. | Strt. | Sub. | Strt. | Sub. | Total |
| 1 | FW | | Rickie Lambert | 44 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 57 | 1 | 58 |
| 2 | MF | | Adam Lallana | 44 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 56 | 0 | 56 |
| 3 | DF | | Dan Harding | 42 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 53 |
| 4 | GK | | Kelvin Davis | 40 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 50 |
| 5 | MF | | Dean Hammond | 40 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 49 |
| 6 | MF | | Morgan Schneiderlin | 35 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 3 | 47 |
| 7 | FW | | Papa Waigo | 11 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 26 | 44 |
| 8 | MF | | Lloyd James | 28 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 37 | 3 | 40 |
| 9 | MF | | Michail Antonio | 14 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 22 | 17 | 39 |
| 10 | MF | | Paul Wotton | 12 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 17 | 36 |

### Top goalscorers

| | Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Trophy | League Trophy | Total | Total | Total |
| | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Gls. | Apps. | Gls. | Apps. | Gls. | Apps. | Gls. | Apps. | Gls. | Apps. | GPG |
| 1 | FW | | Rickie Lambert | 29 | 45 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 35 | 58 | 0.60 |
| 2 | MF | | Adam Lallana | 15 | 44 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 56 | 0.35 |
| 3 | FW | | Papa Waigo | 6 | 35 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 44 | 0.25 |
| 4 | FW | | Lee Barnard | 9 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 22 | 0.40 |
| 5 | FW | | David Connolly | 5 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 23 | 0.30 |
| 5 | MF | | Michail Antonio | 3 | 28 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 39 | 0.17 |
| 7 | MF | | Dean Hammond | 5 | 40 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 49 | 0.12 |
| 8 | DF | | Dan Harding | 3 | 42 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 53 | 0.07 |
| 9 | MF | | Jason Puncheon | 3 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 0.15 |
| 10 | DF | | Neal Trotman | 2 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 0.10 |
| 10 | DF | | Wayne Thomas | 0 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 26 | 0.07 |
| 10 | MF | | Lloyd James | 2 | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 40 | 0.05 |

## Transfers

Players transferred in :
| Date | Pos. | Name | Club | Fee | Ref. |
| 10 August 2009 | FW | Rickie Lambert | Bristol Rovers | £1 million | |
| 19 August 2009 | MF | Dean Hammond | Colchester United | Undisclosed | |
| 4 November 2009 | DF | Aaron Martin | Eastleigh | Undisclosed | |
| 9 January 2010 | DF | José Fonte | Crystal Palace | Undisclosed | |
| 13 January 2010 | DF | Danny Seaborne | Exeter City | Undisclosed | |
| 14 January 2010 | DF | Jon Otsemobor | Norwich City | Free | |
| 22 January 2010 | FW | Lee Barnard | Southend United | Undisclosed | |
| 30 January 2010 | MF | Jason Puncheon | Plymouth Argyle | Undisclosed | |
| Players transferred out ||||||
| Date | Pos. | Name | Club | Fee | Ref. |
| 2 June 2009 | MF | Nathan Dyer | Swansea City | £400,000 | |
| 29 June 2009 | FW | David McGoldrick | Nottingham Forest | £1 million | |
| 1 July 2009 | MF | Andrew Surman | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £1.2 million | |
| 21 July 2009 | FW | Jason Euell | Blackpool | Free | |
| 27 August 2009 | FW | Grzegorz Rasiak | Reading | Undisclosed | |
| 22 January 2010 | FW | Matt Paterson | Southend United | Exchange | |
| 27 January 2010 | FW | Marek Saganowski | Atromitos | Free | |
| Free agents signed ||||||
| Date | Pos. | Name | Former club | Date released | Ref. |
| 21 July 2009 | DF | Dan Harding | Ipswich Town | 21 May 2009 | |
| 5 August 2009 | DF | Graeme Murty | Reading | 15 May 2009 | |
| 2 September 2009 | DF | Radhi Jaïdi | Birmingham City | 15 May 2009 | |
| 8 October 2009 | FW | David Connolly | Sunderland | 1 June 2009 | |
| Players loaned in ||||||
| Start date | Pos. | Name | Club | End date | Ref. |
| 14 August 2009 | MF | Jacob Mellis | Chelsea | 2 January 2010 | |
| 20 August 2009 | DF | Neal Trotman | Preston North End | 2 January 2010 | |
| 8 September 2009 | FW | Papa Waigo | Fiorentina | End of season | |
| 5 October 2009 | MF | Michail Antonio | Reading | End of season | |
| Players loaned out ||||||
| Start date | Pos. | Name | Club | End date | Ref. |
| 14 August 2009 | GK | Tommy Forecast | Grimsby Town | 14 September 2009 | |
| 1 September 2009 | GK | Michael Poke | Torquay United | End of season | |
| 17 September 2009 | MF | Oscar Gobern | Milton Keynes Dons | 17 October 2009 | |
| 28 September 2009 | GK | Bartosz Białkowski | Barnsley | 5 October 2009 | |
| 2 October 2009 | DF | Ryan Tafazolli | Salisbury City | 2 November 2009 | |
| 7 October 2009 | MF | Anthony Pulis | Lincoln City | 7 January 2010 | |
| 9 October 2009 | FW | Jamie White | Eastleigh | 9 December 2009 | |
| 12 October 2009 | MF | Simon Gillett | Doncaster Rovers | 12 December 2009 | |
| 24 October 2009 | DF | Olly Lancashire | Grimsby Town | 24 December 2009 | |
| 27 October 2009 | MF | Jake Thomson | Torquay United | 27 January 2010 | |
| 1 February 2010 | DF | Olly Lancashire | Grimsby Town | End of season | |
| 3 March 2010 | DF | Aaron Martin | Salisbury City | End of season | |
| 25 March 2010 | DF | Lee Molyneux | Port Vale | End of season | |
| Players released ||||||
| Date | Pos. | Name | Subsequent club | Join date | Ref. |
| 25 June 2009 | DF | Michael Svensson | Halmstad | 1 August 2011 | |
| 30 June 2009 | FW | Bradley Wright-Phillips | Plymouth Argyle | 15 July 2009 | |
| 30 June 2009 | FW | Stern John | Crystal Palace | 30 July 2009 | |