The 1985–86 Southampton F.C. season was the club's 85th season of competitive football and their 16th in the First Division of the Football League. Following the departure of Lawrie McMenemy in the summer, 1985–86 was the first season to feature former player Chris Nicholl as manager. The Saints had a disappointing first campaign with Nicholl, finishing 14th in the First Division table – their joint lowest position since their 1979 promotion to the top flight. Outside the league, the club reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the second time in three seasons and the fourth round of the League Cup. The team were due to compete in the UEFA Cup, but English sides were banned following the Heysel Stadium disaster. In its place, Southampton played in the only incarnation of the Super Cup, but failed to make it out of the group stage.
Southampton's squad at the start of the 1985–86 campaign remained much the same as the previous season, with full-back Mick Mills the only major departure in the summer. Nicholl signed a number of youth players before the season started, including Matt Le Tissier, and brought in Glenn Cockerill, Jon Gittens and Gerry Forrest later in the season. He also signed goalkeeper Tim Flowers on loan towards the end of the campaign, with the deal made permanent the next summer. The team's league performance was poor throughout most of the season, as they picked up just 12 wins and suffered 20 defeats, failing to climb past 13th in the table and ultimately finishing one place lower – their worst performance since 1978–79. The campaign also included one of the club's heaviest league defeats, as they lost 0–7 to Luton Town.
Outside the league, Southampton performed well in the FA Cup, reaching the semi-finals for the second time in three seasons. After easing past Middlesbrough and Wigan Athletic, the Saints beat Millwall and Brighton & Hove Albion 2–0 in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively. In the semi-finals, they faced First Division title hopefuls (and eventual winners) Liverpool, losing 0–2 thanks to two goals in extra time. Liverpool went on to win the tournament, beating local rivals Everton in the final. In the League Cup, the Saints edged past Millwall and Birmingham City (after penalties and a replay, respectively), before facing elimination at the hands of Arsenal in the fourth round, again after a replay. In the Super Cup, Southampton were eliminated in the group stage after finishing bottom of their group, with no wins, one draw and three defeats.
Southampton used 27 players during the 1985–86 season and had 13 different goalscorers. Their top scorer was David Armstrong, who scored 16 times in all competitions. Danny Wallace was the club's second-highest scorer with 15 goals, followed by Steve Moran on ten in all competitions. Armstrong featured in the most games during the campaign, missing just one fixture in the league. Goalkeeper Peter Shilton played in all but five league games, and at the end of the season became the first player to win the Southampton F.C. Player of the Season award for a second (and second consecutive) year. The average attendance at The Dell in 1985–86 was 15,034 – a significant drop from the previous year. The highest attendance was 19,784 against Liverpool; the lowest was 12,500 against Nottingham Forest.
Background and transfers
Southampton signed Matt Le Tissier on apprentice terms in May 1985. He would go on to make 540 appearances and score 209 goals – the second highest in the club's history.Tim Flowers was signed on loan at the end of the season. His deal was later made permanent and he would go on to play over 250 games.
The summer transfer window ahead of the 1985–86 season was relatively quiet for Southampton. The sole departure was 36-year-old full-back Mick Mills, who left the Saints to take on the role of player-manager at Stoke City.[1] Joining the Saints squad were three youth players. First to join was 16-year-old attacking midfielder Matt Le Tissier, who moved from Vale Recreation in May and signed as an apprentice.[2] He was followed by two 16-year-old left-backs, Allen Tankard and Andy Cook, in June and July, respectively, both of whom joined as part of the Youth Training Scheme.[3][4] In August, striker Stuart McManus was briefly loaned out to Third Division side Newport County.[5]
Peter Shilton played well in goal throughout the season to help keep Southampton out of the relegation zone and became the first two-time Player of the Season award winner as a result.
Southampton started their first season under Chris Nicholl poorly, picking up just four points from their first six games and immediately dropping down the table close to the relegation zone. Points were gained in a 1–1 draw on the opening day with Newcastle United, a goalless draw at home to Aston Villa, and consecutive 1–1 draws against Ipswich Town and West Ham United,[14] both of whom had finished within two points of the relegation zone the previous year.[15]David Armstrong quickly established himself as the club's lead goalscorer during the fixtures, scoring four of their first six goals in the league.[14] The team's first win came in September, when they beat the recently promoted Manchester City 3–0 at The Dell, after which Nicholl praised the performance of his defenders.[16] By mid-October, the South Coast side had only picked up one more victory: a 3–1 win over Watford in which Steve Moran scored his fourth league hat-trick for the club (only Ron Davies had scored more in the top flight, with five First Division hat-tricks).[16] A subsequent 0–1 loss at title challengers Liverpool had left the club 17th in the table,[17] after which Nicholl brought in midfielder Glenn Cockerill and defender Jon Gittens to bolster the struggling squad.[16]
After Cockerill and Gittens' arrivals, Southampton faced their heaviest defeat of the season, losing 0–7 to Luton Town at Kenilworth Road.[16] Despite the heavy defeat, the club bounced back with three wins and a draw from their next four games, including a 3–0 victory over Queens Park Rangers, a 1–0 win over last season's third-placed side Tottenham Hotspur, and a 1–0 edging of strugglers Birmingham City.[16] The end of November saw Southampton mark the club's centenary at home to defending league champions Everton, which ended in a close-fought 2–3 loss in which the visitors overturned a 1–2 disadvantage over the last 15 minutes to secure the win.[18] At the beginning of December, Gerry Forrest was signed and the Saints beat Arsenal 3–0 at home, with goals coming from Kevin Bond, Armstrong and Moran.[18] After the last few games of 1985 – two away defeats and a 3–1 win over Nottingham Forest – Southampton had reached a season-high position of 13th in the First Division table.[19]
1986 started with two wins and a draw from four fixtures, including a New Year's Day 3–1 victory over bottom-placed West Bromwich Albion and a 1–0 win over fellow strugglers Ipswich Town.[20] However, it took until mid-March for the Saints to pick up their first win on the road in the league, defeating Queens Park Rangers 2–0 at Loftus Road thanks to goals from debutant Stuart McManus and Cockerill; this would be one of only two away league wins during 1985–86, the other coming five weeks later at Birmingham City who by that point had almost confirmed their relegation to the Second Division.[20] Several marginal 0–1 defeats in the final stages of the season – including against Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United – saw Southampton unable to make it above 14th in the league again, with their position confirmed by defeats against title chasers Everton (1–6) and mid-table side Tottenham Hotspur (3–5) in the final two games of the campaign (during which Keith Granger and Mark Blake made their first team debuts).[20]
Southampton entered the 1985–86 FA Cup in the third round against Middlesbrough, who were struggling in (and later relegated from) the Second Division. The top-flight side dominated possession and chances early in the game, with Danny Wallace opening the scoring after 11 minutes.[22]Don O'Riordan equalised for the hosts, before Wallace doubled his tally and put the Saints back ahead on 40 minutes from a Glenn Cockerill assist.[22] The visitors continued to apply most of the pressure after the break, with Wallace finally completing a hat-trick and securing his team's first away win in 10 months after 89 minutes.[22]
In the fourth round, Southampton hosted Wigan Athletic, who were vying for promotion from the Third Division. After a first half which saw chances for both sides to break the deadlock, it was the Saints who struck first in the 68th minute through Cockerill, who headed in a cross from David Armstrong to put the top-flight side 1–0 up.[22] It was the season's leading goalscorer Armstrong himself who converted next, first scoring a rebound from a penalty less than five minutes from full-time, then adding a third for his side in the last minute when he headed in a corner from Mark Dennis.[23]
Another home tie followed in the fifth round, this time against Second Division opponents Millwall, past whom the Saints had edged on penalties after two goalless legs in the League Cup just a few months earlier. Like its predecessors, the game ended 0–0 despite being "fiercely contested", with neither side able to convert a chance on goal.[23] In a replay played just over two weeks later at The Den, Southampton finally scored a single goal to beat Millwall and advance to the sixth round – Wallace scored the only goal of the game in the 16th minute, following a "stunning move" involving numerous players.[23]
In their fourth FA Cup quarter-final in ten years, Southampton travelled to face another Second Division side, Brighton & Hove Albion, just five days after the victory over Millwall. Despite the hosts dominating the opening of the game, the Saints scored against the run of play through Steve Moran, who scored for the first time since December after just 14 minutes.[24] The visitors took control of the game after their opening goal, with Cockerill doubling their lead five minutes before half-time.[24] Despite chances aplenty for either side in the second 45 minutes, the score remained 2–0 and Southampton progressed.[24]
Southampton were drawn in their second FA Cup semi-final in three years against defending First Division champions Liverpool, in a tie played at Tottenham Hotspur's stadium White Hart Lane. The Merseyside team enjoyed the majority of early chances, with goalkeeper Peter Shilton and full-back Nick Holmes preventing strong chances on goal.[24] Shortly before half-time, centre-back Mark Wright broke his leg, which prevented him from finishing the season or playing in the upcoming 1986 World Cup.[24] A goalless second half saw the sides progress to extra time, during which talisman Ian Rush scored twice for the Reds to knock Southampton out and send Liverpool through to their seventh FA Cup final (which they would later win, a week after winning the league, securing the double as a result).[24]
Entering the 1985–86 League Cup in the second round, Southampton faced Millwall of the Second Division. The first leg, at The Den, ended in a 0–0 draw thanks to a "stunning" performance by Saints goalkeeper Peter Shilton, who saved a second-half penalty to keep his clean sheet.[25] The second leg also ended goalless, even after extra time, with the tie decided by a penalty shootout which was won 5–4 by the First Division side.[25] In the third round, Southampton played Birmingham City at St Andrew's, holding the hosts to a 1–1 draw to force a replay at home.[25] They won the replay 3–0, thanks to two goals from David Armstrong (one a free kick, the other a penalty) and one from Wallace; late on, Armstrong missed a second penalty for a chance to finish a hat-trick.[25] Southampton's fourth round tie against Arsenal also ended in a draw necessitating a replay at home, which the visiting Gunners won 3–1 thanks to goals from Martin Hayes, Charlie Nicholas and Stewart Robson.[25]
With English sides banned from UEFA competitions following the Heysel Stadium disaster, teams that had qualified for either the 1985–86 European Cup, 1985–86 UEFA Cup or 1985–86 European Cup Winners' Cup were included in the inaugural (and only) Football League Super Cup. Due to their league position the previous season, Southampton had qualified for the UEFA Cup, and were consequently drawn in a Super Cup group with league runners-up Liverpool and third-placed team Tottenham Hotspur. The Saints lost both their opening away games 1–2, with Danny Wallace and Steve Moran, respectively, scoring consolations against Liverpool and Spurs.[26] Southampton picked up a point in the home fixture against Liverpool, thanks to a 79th-minute David Armstrong penalty, before they lost again to Spurs 1–3 in December.[26]
Southampton used 27 different players during the 1985–86 season, 13 of whom scored during the campaign. Attacking midfielder David Armstrong featured in the most fixtures of any player, as well as finishing as the season's top goalscorer – he scored 16 goals in 57 appearances across all three competitions, missing only one game in the league.[27]Peter Shilton finished with the second-most appearances of the season, playing in 52 of the 58 games, while Danny Wallace finished as the season's second-highest goalscorer, with 15 goals in all competitions.[27]
Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan (10 August 1987), A Complete Record of Southampton Football Club: 1885–1987, Derby, England: Breedon Books, ISBN978-0907969228
Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan; Bull, David (28 November 2013), All the Saints: A Complete Who's Who of Southampton FC, Bristol, England: Hagiology Publishing, ISBN978-0992686406
Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003), Bull, David (ed.), In That Number: A Post-War Chronicle of Southampton FC, Bristol, England: Hagiology Publishing, ISBN0-9534474-3-X
Juson, Dave; Aldworth, Clay; Bendel, Barry; Bull, David; Chalk, Gary (10 November 2004), Saints v Pompey: A History of Unrelenting Rivalry, Bristol, England: Hagiology Publishing, ISBN978-0953447459
