Southampton F.C. 2015?16 football season
The
2015?16
Southampton F.C.
season
was the club's 17th season in the
Premier League
and their 39th in the top division of
English football
.
[1]
[2]
It was also the club's first season in a
European competition
since
2003?04
.
[3]
Southampton finished the season in sixth place in the Premier League, having won 18, drawn 9 and lost 11 of their 38 matches.
[4]
This result is the highest club finish in the Premier League and the highest Premier League points total (63) in the club's history.
[5]
Aside from the league, the club was eliminated from the third round of the
FA Cup
,
[6]
the fifth round of the
League Cup
,
[7]
and the qualifying play-off round of the
UEFA Europa League
.
[8]
Following the end of the
2014?15 campaign
, Southampton released seven first team players.
[9]
[10]
The club also sold right-back
Nathaniel Clyne
to
Liverpool
,
[11]
midfielder
Morgan Schneiderlin
to
Manchester United
,
[12]
and striker
Emmanuel Mayuka
to French side
Metz
.
[13]
Three players were sent out on season-long loans to
Football League
sides ?
Sam Gallagher
to
Milton Keynes Dons
,
[14]
Jack Stephens
to
Middlesbrough
,
[15]
and
Jordan Turnbull
to
Swindon Town
[16]
? while
Jason McCarthy
and
Lloyd Isgrove
were sent out on loans until January.
[17]
[18]
In the summer transfer window, the Saints made seven full signings ? striker
Juanmi
from
Malaga
,
[19]
right-backs
Cedric Soares
and
Cuco Martina
from
Sporting CP
and
FC Twente
, respectively,
[20]
[21]
midfielder
Jordy Clasie
from
Feyenoord
,
[22]
defensive midfielder
Oriol Romeu
from
Chelsea
,
[23]
goalkeeper Harry Lewis from
Shrewsbury Town
,
[24]
and centre-back
Virgil van Dijk
from
Celtic
.
[13]
The club also brought in
Fulham
goalkeeper
Maarten Stekelenburg
and
Queens Park Rangers
centre-back
Steven Caulker
on season-long loans.
[25]
[26]
In January 2016, the club signed striker
Charlie Austin
from Queens Park Rangers.
[27]
Caulker's loan agreement was cut short to allow him to move to Liverpool,
[28]
while both Gallagher and Stephens returned to Southampton early.
[29]
Also loaned out were
Sam McQueen
to
Southend United
,
[30]
Gaston Ramirez
to Middlesbrough,
[31]
Ryan Seager
to
Crewe Alexandra
,
[32]
and Stephens to
Coventry City
,
[33]
while Isgrove's loan spell at
Barnsley
was extended until the end of the season.
[34]
In addition, young goalkeeper Harry Isted was released.
[35]
Senegalese forward
Sadio Mane
finished the 2015?16 season as Southampton's top scorer, with 15 goals in all competitions; Mane and Italian striker
Graziano Pelle
finished as joint top scorers in the Premier League, with 11 goals each. Irish striker
Shane Long
won the fan-voted
Southampton F.C. Player of the Season
award presented by the
Southern Daily Echo
,
[36]
while Dutch defender
Virgil van Dijk
won the Fans' and Players' Player of the Season awards presented by the club.
[37]
Saints manager
Ronald Koeman
won the
Premier League Manager of the Month
award in January 2016,
[38]
while goalkeeper
Fraser Forster
won the
Premier League Player of the Month
award in February 2016.
[39]
Pre-season
[
edit
]
Southampton began their pre-season preparations in Austria with a friendly against German side
RB Leipzig
on 8 July 2015, which they lost 5?4.
[40]
New signings
Juanmi
and
Cedric Soares
scored their first goals for the club, while
Jay Rodriguez
returned from a long-term injury to strike twice in the game.
[40]
Three days later, the club competed in the
Audi Quattro
Cup semi-final against Spanish club
Valencia
, losing 1?0 thanks to a goal scored by
Pablo Piatti
.
[41]
Both
Sadio Mane
and
Jose Fonte
hit the crossbar during the game, but Valencia advanced to the final.
[41]
In the third-place playoff match against hosts
Red Bull Salzburg
, the Saints lost 2?0, thus finishing fourth in the tournament.
[42]
On 15 July, Southampton faced
Brighton & Hove Albion
in a private match at the Staplewood training ground.
[43]
The Saints won the game 1?0, with
Sam McQueen
scoring the only goal in the final minute.
[43]
Three days later, they beat Dutch club
FC Groningen
3?0 thanks to goals from captain Fonte, Mane and
Graziano Pelle
.
[44]
They later beat
Quick '20
10?0 on 21 July, with goals including hat-tricks from Pelle and Rodriguez.
[45]
The Saints won their last match in the Netherlands on 23 July, beating
Feyenoord
3?0 with goals from Pelle,
Maya Yoshida
and Juanmi.
[46]
The club finished their pre-season preparations at
St Mary's Stadium
against Spanish side
RCD Espanyol
on 2 August.
[47]
The hosts went 1?0 down early on through a goal by
Salva Sevilla
, but equalised through Rodriguez in the last five minutes to finish the game 1?1.
[47]
Premier League
[
edit
]
August?October 2015
[
edit
]
Southampton began their
2015?16 Premier League
campaign at
Newcastle United
, drawing 2?2.
[48]
Graziano Pelle
opened the scoring for the Saints, before
Papiss Cisse
equalised for the hosts just before half-time.
[48]
Newcastle scored again shortly after the break through
Georginio Wijnaldum
, but
Shane Long
equalised for the visitors in the 79th minute.
[48]
The following week they lost 3?0 at home to
Everton
, thanks to two goals from
Romelu Lukaku
and one from
Ross Barkley
.
[49]
The slow start to the season continued, as the Saints drew with recently promoted
Watford
on 23 August,
[50]
before they won their first game on at the end of the month by beating
Norwich City
3?0.
[51]
Goals came from Pelle and two from
Du?an Tadi?
.
[51]
Two weeks later, Southampton travelled to face
West Bromwich Albion
, which ended in another goalless draw.
[52]
The club next faced
Manchester United
at St Mary's Stadium on 20 September, losing 3?2 to drop to 16th in the league.
[53]
Pelle opened the scoring early on, before
Anthony Martial
equalised for the visitors shortly before half-time.
[53]
A second goal from Pelle was not enough for the Saints to beat United, who scored two more through a Martial second and a
Juan Mata
winner.
[53]
The club picked up their second win of the season against
Swansea City
on 26 September, winning 3?1 with goals from
Virgil van Dijk
(his first for the club), Tadi? and
Sadio Mane
.
[54]
On 3 October, the Saints travelled to face Premier League champions
Chelsea
, picking up their third win of the season.
[55]
The hosts took an early lead through
Willian
, before midfielder
Steven Davis
equalised just before half-time.
[55]
Sadio Mane
took advantage of a defensive error to put Southampton in the lead on 60 minutes, before
Graziano Pelle
scored his fifth of the campaign to make it 3?1 for the visitors.
[55]
On 17 October, the team hosted
Leicester City
, drawing 2?2 and moving up to eighth in the table.
[56]
Southampton scored both goals in the first half, courtesy of defenders
Jose Fonte
and Virgil van Dijk, before
Jamie Vardy
scored two goals in the final 30 minutes of the match to give Leicester a point.
[56]
On 25 October, Southampton travelled at Anfield to face
Liverpool
. A goal from Sadio Mane with four minutes left of regulation time cancelled out a
Christian Benteke
strike and resulted in a 1?1 draw.
[57]
November?December 2015
[
edit
]
To begin November, Southampton hosted local rivals
AFC Bournemouth
in the first top-flight meeting between the two South Coast sides. Two first half goals in quick succession from Steven Davis and Graziano Pelle secured the 2?0 win, moving Southampton up in the table to seventh.
[58]
The following week, the Saints traveled north to face
Sunderland
, where a Du?an Tadi? penalty in the 69th minute (after
Ryan Bertrand
was taken down by
Yann M'Vila
) ensured the team claimed all three points, after strong efforts from Steven Davis and
Jose Fonte
were cleared from the line.
[59]
After a week's break, Southampton hosted
Stoke City
on 21 November but lost 1?0.
[60]
With only one shot on target, the Saints could not cancel out the early goal from
Bojan
, slipping down to eighth in the table.
[60]
Southampton picked up a second consecutive loss the following week against title contenders
Manchester City
, who won relatively comfortably thanks to goals from
Kevin De Bruyne
,
Fabian Delph
and
Aleksandar Kolarov
.
[61]
Shane Long
scored a consolation for the visitors.
[61]
Southampton's first game in December against
Aston Villa
ended in a 1?1 draw to see the Saints slip further down the table into 12th.
[62]
Joleon Lescott
opened for Villa on the verge of half time, before
Oriol Romeu
equalised for the hosts later in the game.
[62]
The following week, they went a fourth game without a win as they lost 1?0 to
Crystal Palace
.
[63]
Yohan Cabaye
scored the only goal of the game shortly before the break, with the Saints failing to pressurise Palace for long periods of the match.
[63]
The Saints lost another game the following week at home to
Tottenham Hotspur
, who won 2?0 thanks to goals from
Harry Kane
and
Dele Alli
, both within the last five minutes of the first half.
[64]
On Boxing Day the Saints beat second-placed
Arsenal
4?0 at St Mary's.
[65]
Cuco Martina
opened the scoring on his first league start for the club, Shane Long scored the second ten minutes after half time, captain Jose Fonte scored his second of the season and Long scored a second in injury time to complete the win.
[65]
Two days later, Southampton lost 2?1 at
West Ham United
, missing out on the chance to move up to ninth in the table.
[66]
The Saints opened the scoring within 15 minutes thanks to a
Carl Jenkinson
own goal, but former Southampton loanee
Michail Antonio
and
Andy Carroll
scored for the hosts in the final third of the game to pick up the win.
[66]
January?February 2016
[
edit
]
In their first game of 2016, Southampton lost 1?0 to Norwich City, dropping to 13th in the Premier League table.
[67]
Alexander Tettey
scored the only goal of the match late in the second half, shortly after
Victor Wanyama
was sent off for the Saints.
[67]
On 13 January, Southampton beat
Watford
2?0 at home to move back up to 12th in the table.
[68]
Shane Long headed in the opener in the 17th minute from a
Matt Targett
delivery, before substitute Du?an Tadi? secured the win in the second half with a close range effort.
[68]
Three days later the Saints beat West Brom 3?0 with two goals from
James Ward-Prowse
and one from Du?an Tadi? to move up to tenth in the table.
[69]
The following week, Southampton picked up their third consecutive league win, over Manchester United at
Old Trafford
.
[70]
The only goal in the game came just before full-time courtesy of new signing
Charlie Austin
.
[70]
On 2 February, Southampton travelled to the
Emirates Stadium
to face Arsenal, which ended in a goalless draw.
[71]
Goalkeeper
Fraser Forster
was named the man of the match, after making a string of impressive saves to keep a clean sheet for the visitors.
[71]
The club beat West Ham 1?0 later in the week, extending their run of consecutive clean sheets to five games, with defender Maya Yoshida scoring the only goal of the game within the first ten minutes.
[72]
On 13 February, Southampton travelled to face Swansea, winning 1?0 and advancing to sixth in the Premier League table.
[73]
Shane Long scored the only goal of the game in the second half, levelling Graziano Pelle as the season's top scorer.
[73]
Two weeks later, the Saints lost their first game in almost two months when Chelsea won 2?1 at St Mary's.
[74]
Shane Long opened the scoring in the first half, before
Cesc Fabregas
and
Branislav Ivanovi?
scored late on for the win.
[74]
March?May 2016
[
edit
]
On 1 March, Southampton lost 2?0 to local rivals AFC Bournemouth.
[75]
Charlie Austin had the best chance for the Saints, but the Cherries won through goals from
Steve Cook
and
Benik Afobe
.
[75]
Later in the week, the Saints hosted Sunderland and drew 1?1.
[76]
Captain Jose Fonte was sent off during the game for a foul, before
Jermain Defoe
put the visitors ahead in the 85th minute.
[76]
During injury time, Virgil van Dijk scored his third goal of the season to seal a point for the hosts.
[76]
The Saints returned to winning ways the following week, beating Stoke to move up to seventh in the league.
[77]
Graziano Pelle scored a brace in the first half to put Southampton ahead, and although
Marko Arnautovi?
brought one back for the hosts, they were unable to turn the game in their favour and it finished 2?1.
[77]
Sadio Mane was sent off late in the game,
[77]
although the red card was quickly overturned on appeal.
[78]
[79]
On 20 March, Southampton came from two goals down to beat Liverpool at home and remain seventh in the league.
[80]
The visitors went 2?0 up within the first 25 minutes through
Philippe Coutinho
and
Daniel Sturridge
, before a third goal from
Joe Allen
was disallowed for offside in the 33rd minute.
[80]
Shortly after the break, substitute Sadio Mane saw a penalty saved by
Simon Mignolet
, before the striker scored a first for the hosts. in the 64th minute.
[80]
In the final ten minutes, the Saints scored two in three minutes through Graziano Pelle and Mane to seal victory.
[80]
Two weeks later, the Saints lost 1?0 to league leaders Leicester.
[81]
Wes Morgan
scored the only goal of the game late in the first half to give Southampton their first loss in four matches.
[81]
On 9 April, the club beat Newcastle 3?1 at home.
[82]
Shane Long opened the scoring in the fourth minute, Graziano Pelle doubled the lead before half time, Victor Wanyama scored the third ten minutes after the break, and
Andros Townsend
scored for the visitors ten minutes later.
[82]
Southampton travelled to face Everton on 16 April, which ended in a 1?1 draw.
[83]
After a goalless first half,
Ramiro Funes Mori
opened the scoring for the hosts in the 68th minute, before Sadio Mane equalised for the Saints less than ten minutes later.
[83]
The following week, Southampton beat Aston Villa at
Villa Park
4?2.
[84]
Shane Long and Du?an Tadi? put the Saints two up in the first half, although
Ashley Westwood
pulled one back for the hosts on the stroke of half time.
[84]
Tadi? and Westwood each scored their second goals after the break, before Sadio Mane secured the win for the visitors in injury time.
[84]
On 1 May, Southampton beat Manchester City 4?2 at home to move up to seventh in the league table.
[85]
Shane Long opened the scoring for the hosts, before Sadio Mane scored a hat trick to make it four.
[85]
Kelechi Iheanacho
scored both of the goals for the visitors.
[85]
The following week, Southampton beat Tottenham 2?1, with both goals being scored by Steven Davis.
[86]
On 15 May 2016, in their final game of the season, Southampton beat Crystal Palace 4?1 at St Mary's Stadium.
[87]
Sadio Mane opened the scoring with his 15th goal in all competitions just before half time to put the Saints 1?0 at the break.
[87]
Graziano Pelle came on as a substitute in the second half and doubled the scoreline in the 61st minute, before former Southampton midfielder
Jason Puncheon
pulled one back for Palace.
[87]
Defender Ryan Bertrand scored his only goal of the season in a penalty kick in the 75th minute, before Steven Davis finished the scoring in the final five minutes of normal time to complete the win.
[87]
The win, as well as results in other matches, saw Southampton move up to fifth in the Premier League table and secure a return to the
UEFA Europa League
the following season.
[87]
Manchester United later won their final rescheduled fixture 3?1 against AFC Bournemouth at Old Trafford two days, finalising Southampton's league position for the 2015?16 Premier League season at a club-record sixth.
[88]
League table
[
edit
]
Source:
Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champion, teams for relegation or teams for UEFA competitions).
[89]
Notes:
Results summary
[
edit
]
Overall
|
Home
|
Away
|
Pld
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
Pts
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
38
|
18
|
9
|
11
|
59
|
41
|
+18
|
63
|
11
|
3
|
5
|
39
|
22
|
+17
|
7
|
6
|
6
|
20
|
19
|
+1
|
Results by matchday
[
edit
]
Matchday
| 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
| A
| H
| A
| H
| H
| A
| H
| A
| H
| A
| H
| A
| H
| A
| H
| H
| A
| A
| H
| H
| A
| A
| H
| A
| H
| A
| H
| A
| H
| A
| H
| A
| A
| H
| A
| H
|
---|
Result
| D
| L
| D
| W
| D
| L
| W
| W
| D
| D
| W
| W
| L
| L
| D
| L
| L
| W
| L
| L
| W
| W
| W
| D
| W
| W
| L
| L
| D
| W
| W
| L
| W
| D
| W
| W
| W
| W
|
---|
Position
| 10
| 16
| 18
| 10
| 11
| 16
| 9
| 9
| 8
| 8
| 7
| 7
| 8
| 10
| 12
| 12
| 12
| 12
| 12
| 13
| 12
| 10
| 8
| 7
| 7
| 6
| 7
| 7
| 8
| 7
| 7
| 7
| 7
| 7
| 8
| 7
| 6
| 6
|
---|
Updated to match(es) played on 15 May 2016. Source: BBC Match Reports
A
= Away
;
H
= Home
;
W
= Win
;
D
= Draw
;
L
= Loss
Matches
[
edit
]
FA Cup
[
edit
]
- Crystal Palace
(9 January 2016)
In the third round of the
2015?16 FA Cup
, Southampton hosted fellow Premier League side
Crystal Palace
on 9 January 2016, losing the game 2?1 to exit the tournament.
[6]
Joel Ward
opened the scoring for the visitors in the 29th minute to give Palace a 1?0 lead at half-time.
[6]
Oriol Romeu
scored for the Saints shortly after the break, but
Wilfried Zaha
scored a winner in the 68th minute to eliminate Southampton from the cup.
[6]
League Cup
[
edit
]
- Milton Keynes Dons
(23 September 2015)
Southampton was drawn in the third round of the
2015?16 League Cup
against
Championship
side
Milton Keynes Dons
. The Saints won the match easily 6?0.
Jay Rodriguez
opened the scoring in the fifth minute,
Sadio Mane
doubled the lead five minutes later, and later scored a second in the 25th minute to put Southampton 3?0 up by half-time.
[90]
After the break, Rodriguez scored a second from a penalty, before
Shane Long
scored two within seven minutes of one another to increase the visitors' tally to six.
[90]
- Aston Villa
(28 October 2015)
In the fourth round, Southampton drew Premier League side
Aston Villa
at home. Two second half goals from
Maya Yoshida
in the 51st minute and
Graziano Pelle
in the 77th minute were enough to defeat caretaker manager
Kevin MacDonald
's side, despite an injury time penalty from
Scott Sinclair
that made the final score 2?1.
[91]
- Liverpool
(2 December 2015)
For the fifth round,
Premier League
side
Liverpool
visited St Mary's Stadium. After a quick opening goal from Sadio Mane in the first minute,
Jurgen Klopp
's side scored three goals in the first half and three goals in the second half with a brace from
Daniel Sturridge
, a hat-trick by
Divock Origi
and one from
Jordon Ibe
.
[7]
UEFA Europa League
[
edit
]
- Vitesse
(30 July and 6 August 2015)
Southampton entered the
2015?16 UEFA Europa League
in the third qualifying round. Their first game took place against Dutch side
Vitesse
on 30 July 2015, which the Saints won 3?0 at
St Mary's Stadium
.
[92]
Graziano Pelle
found the net first in the 36th minute to put Southampton one up, before
Du?an Tadi?
scored a penalty just before half time.
[92]
Substitute
Shane Long
finished the scoring late in the second half to win the game for the home side.
[92]
In the second leg Southampton won 2?0, therefore advancing to the play-off round 5?0 on aggregate.
[93]
Pelle scored again to put the Saints up in the fourth minute, with
Sadio Mane
doubling his side's lead just a minute before the end of the match.
[93]
- Midtjylland
(20 and 27 August 2015)
In the qualifying play-off round, Southampton faced
Midtjylland
. In the first leg the Saints drew 1?1 with the Danish champions, with
Jay Rodriguez
equalising after
Tim Sparv
's opener on the stroke of half-time.
[94]
In the second leg, Midtjylland striker
Morten Rasmussen
scored the only goal of the game to ensure the Danish side won 2?1 on aggregate to eliminate Southampton from the competition.
[8]
Squad statistics
[
edit
]
Most appearances
[
edit
]
Top goalscorers
[
edit
]
Transfers
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
National teams
| |
---|
League
competitions
| Level 1
| |
---|
Levels 2?4
| |
---|
Levels 5?6
| |
---|
Levels 7?8
| |
---|
Levels 9?10
|
- Combined Counties League
(
Premier
,
One
)
- East Midlands Counties League
(
level 10 only
)
- Eastern Counties League
(
Premier
,
One
)
- Essex Senior League
(
level 9 only
)
- Hellenic League
(
Premier
,
One East
,
One West
)
- Kent Invicta League
(
level 10 only
)
- Midland League
(
Premier
,
One
)
- North West Counties League
(
Premier
,
One
)
- Northern Counties East League
(
Premier
,
One
)
- Northern League
(
One
,
Two
)
- South West Peninsula League Premier Division
(
level 10 only
)
- Southern Combination League
(
One
,
Two
)
- Southern Counties East League
(
level 9 only
)
- Spartan South Midlands League
(
Premier
,
One
)
- United Counties League
(
Premier
,
One
)
- Wessex League
(
Premier
,
One
)
- West Midlands (Regional) League
(
level 10 only
)
- Western League
(
Premier
,
One
)
|
---|
|
---|
Cup
competitions
| FA cups
| |
---|
Football League cups
| |
---|
|
---|
Youth
competitions
| |
---|
|
|