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.
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.
No. Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup League Cup League Trophy Total Discipline Apps. Goals Apps. Goals Apps. Goals Apps. Goals Apps. Goals 13px 13px 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 FA Cup League Cup League Trophy 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 FA Cup League Cup League Trophy Total 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 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 DF Wayne Thomas 0 15 1 4 0 2 1 5 2 26 0.07 MF Lloyd James 2 30 0 3 0 2 0 5 2 40 0.05
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