During the 2005–06 English football season, Southampton F.C.

Southampton F.C.

Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

 competed in the Football League Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

.

Season summary

Southampton endured a poor 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, 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

Harry Redknapp

Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....

, unable to establish consistency and unhappy with the appointment of former rugby coach Sir Clive Woodward

Clive Woodward

Sir Clive Ronald Woodward OBE is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He is currently the British Olympic Association's Director of Elite Performance.-Early life:Woodward was born in Ely...

 to the coaching staff, had resigned in December, returning as manager of Southampton's archrivals . His replacement, former manager George Burley

George Burley

George Elder Burley is a Scottish football manager and former player and manager, formerly the manager of Crystal Palace Football Club. Burley had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player making 628 appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps...

, 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

Friends Provident

Friends Provident was an organisation offering life insurance based in the United Kingdom. It was founded as a mutual Friendly Society for Quakers, although it was demutualised in 2001 and became a publicly listed company, no longer linked with the Religious Society of Friends...

.

Squad

Squad at end of season

Left club during season

Starting 11

Considering starts in all competitions

• GK: #1,   Antti Niemi
  Antti Niemi
  Antti Mikko Niemi is a Finnish football goalkeeper, who is currently a free agent. He has spent much of his career in the UK , and in 2008 announced his retirement due to injury...
  
  , 25
• RB: #21,   Chris Baird
  Chris Baird
  Christopher Patrick "Chris" Baird is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for Fulham and the Northern Ireland national football team.-Southampton:...
  
  , 19
• CB: #5,   Claus Lundekvam
  Claus Lundekvam
  Claus Lundekvam is a former Norwegian footballer, who spent most of his career at English side Southampton. He played for Southampton in the 2003 FA Cup Final against Arsenal .-Playing career:...
  
  , 37
• CB: #6,   Darren Powell
  Darren Powell
  Darren David Powell is an English footballer. He will be a free agent after the expiry of his contract with Milton Keynes Dons on 30 June 2010. He is a centre back.-Football career:...
  
  , 25
• LB: #19,   Danny Higginbotham
  Danny Higginbotham
  Daniel John "Danny" Higginbotham is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Stoke City.Higginbotham started his career at his local side Manchester United he made seven appearances at Old Trafford as well as a loan spell with Belgium side Royal Antwerp before joining...
  
  , 39
• RM: #20,   David Prutton
  David Prutton
  David Thomas Michael Prutton is an English footballer, currently playing for Sheffield Wednesday after leaving Swindon Town, having previously played for Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Leeds United, as well as representing England at Under 21 level 25 times.- Nottingham Forest :Prutton was...
  
  , 17
• CM: #8,   Matt Oakley, 31
• CM: #12,   Nigel Quashie
  Nigel Quashie
  Nigel Francis Quashie is a British footballer who has played more than 300 games in the Football League. He plays as a midfielder, and has represented Scotland, the country of his grandfather, at full international level. He was released by Queens Park Rangers in 2010.-Personal life:Quashie was...
  
  , 25
• LM: #31,   Djamel Belmadi
  Djamel Belmadi
  Djamel Belmadi is a retired Algerian footballer and current head coach of Qatar Stars League club Lekhwiya SC.-France and Spain:Born in Champigny-sur-Marne, France, Belmadi started his career at Paris Saint-Germain, making his debut in January 1996 against Gueugnon before spending a season at...
  
  , 22
• CF: #14,   Ricardo Fuller
  Ricardo Fuller
  Ricardo Dwayne Fuller is a Jamaican footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Stoke City and the Jamaica national team....
  
  , 21
• CF: #15,   Kenwyne Jones
  Kenwyne Jones
  Kenwyne Joel Jones is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Stoke City and the Trinidad and Tobago national team. He previously played for Sunderland, Southampton, Stoke City, Sheffield Wednesday, W Connection and Joe Public.He began his football...
  
  , 20