| Southampton, one of the founder members of the F.A.
Premier League in 1992, signalled their ambitions with a move to their
impressive new St Mary's Stadium in the summer of 2001. Passionate manager
Gordon Strachan guided the Saints to 11th place in the table last time out, and
has the talent in his squad to improve on that achievement. Young striker James
Beattie, England international Wayne Bridge, Sweden midfielder Anders Svensson
and Latvian forward Marian Pahars are a selection of the quality players at
Strachan's disposal. For years the Saints' former home, The Dell, became an
infamous fortress and graveyard of reputations as supposedly stronger sides
floundered in the claustrophobic atmosphere. Now back in their birthplace, the
St Mary's district of the city, the intimacy has gone but the steely resistance
remains. Despite only ending two seasons - 1994/1995 and 2000/2001 - in the top
half of the table, they have played in all 10 seasons of the F.A. Premier League
and have always been able to unearth some star performers. However, none have
evoked stronger feelings from Saints fans than Matthew Le Tissier. Nicknamed `Le
God', he scored 162 goals in 444 top-flight games, including several spectacular
long-distance strikes and, fittingly, the Saints' last goal at The Dell. |
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