The Southampton XI that started Nigel Adkins first game in charge include players now at Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Whitehawk.
Alex Oxlade Chamberlain celebrates scoring for Southampton
The 2010/11 season was a tumultuous one for Southampton. Their second season in League One, it began with tragedy, as Markus Liebherr passed away following a heart attack in August 2010, just one league game into the campaign. A little over a week later Alan Pardew was dismissed as manager, despite having won his last game in charge 4-0.
He was replaced by Scunthorpe United manager Nigel Adkins, who first took charge of the team for their trip to MK Dons. The tie was the Saints sixth of the season, and they lost 2-0 to the team who were founded only 6 years earlier. The defeat left the club in the League One relegation zone, below the likes of Tranmere, Hartlepool and Yeovil.
Adkins went on to turn Southampton’s fortunes around, guiding them to back-to-back promotions to the Premier League, before being dismissed early on during their first Premier League season. The decision was deemed harsh by many, but the club has gone from strength to strength under the stewardship of Mauricio Pochettino, Ronald Koeman and now Calude Puel since then. Yet Adkins is still a pivotal figure in the rise of the Saints, and 6 years on, we take a look at his first starting XI:
David Connolly shoots at goal for Southampton
Kelvin Davis
Southampton’s captain during the 2010/11 season, Kelvin Davis was a loyal servant to the club, spending a decade at St Mary’s. The former Wimbledon goalkeeper played 301 games for the Saints in that time, being utilised as a back-up in his last four seasons, before finally hanging up his boots over the summer.
Dan Harding
Dan Harding spent three years at Southampton between 2009 and 2012, playing 121 games for the club in that time. The left-back departed St Mary’s for Nottingham Forest, where he spent a further three years. Harding played in the National League last season with Eastleigh and the 32-year-old will spend this season in the division below, the National League South, with Whitehawk.
Jose Fonte
Rather contrasting fortunes to say the least, whilst Harding is now plying his trade for Whitehawk, Jose Fonte won the European Championships over the summer. A graduate of the excellent Sporting Lisbon academy, Fonte joined Southampton from Crystal Palace.
Six years on and Fonte is one of the most reliable defenders in the Premier League, with 14 caps for Portugal to his name, and an integral part of a formidable Saints defence.
Danny Butterfield
Danny Butterfield in action for Southampton against Sheffield Wednesday
The 2010/11 season was the only campaign in which Danny Butterfield was a regular for Southampton, playing 34 times as the team won promotion to the Championship. The right-back turned centre-back then had brief stints with Bolton and Carlisle, before nailing down a spot with Exeter. Aged 36, Butterfield is still a player-coach for the Grecians.
Danny Seaborne
From a current Exeter star to a product of the Exeter youth setup, Seaborne joined Southampton in 2010, making 53 appearances before leaving for Yeovil three years later. The centre-back has since swapped England for Scotland and is currently plying his trade in the SPL with Hamilton Academical.
Morgan Schneiderlin
Morgan Schneiderlin is a player who has enjoyed a rise as meteoric as Southampton themselves. The midfielder was quite the coup for the Saints, as he rejected local rivals and then Premier League side Portsmouth to join the club in 2008.
He enjoyed two promotions and three fantastic Premier League campaigns at St Mary’s, before joining Manchester United in 2015. Now a full French international with 15 caps to his name, Schneiderlin has struggled to nail down a spot in the Manchester United team under Jose Mourinho.
Jason Puncheon
Crystal Palace star Jason Puncheon during in his time at Southampton
Jason Puncheon played for Southampton during both of their League One campaigns, but was notoriously inconsistent, resulting in him making only 15 appearances during the 2010/11 season. He remained a Saints player until 2014, although he was loaned out on multiple occasions, and eventually joined Crystal Palace, where he has had a very bright start to the season.
Dean Hammond
A regular at St Mary’s for three seasons, Dean Hammond was an important player in the Saints midfield, making 145 appearances for the club. Since his departure he has played for Brighton, Leicester and Sheffield United. He is currently without a club.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Alex Oxlade Chamberlain now plays for Arsenal
The 2010/11 season was the season in which Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made a name for himself as one of the brightest prospects in English football, although it was also his last season with Southampton.
Having made 2 appearances in the previous campaign, Chamberlain played 34 times as the Saints won promotion from League One, scoring 9 goals. That form earned him a big money move to Arsenal, where he remains, having played 157 games and won 24 caps for England.
Rickie Lambert
Rickie Lambert is a man who requires little introduction to Southampton fans, having spent 5 highly successful seasons at the club. A £1 million signing from Bristol Rovers, Lambert proved to be a shrewd piece of business.
Instrumental in both Southampton’s promotions and establishing them as a top flight team, the former England international scored 117 goals in 235 games for the club, and may wish he had never departed St Mary’s for boyhood club Liverpool. Lambert now plays for Cardiff City.
David Connolly
As seems to be something of a trend with Nigel Adkins first Southampton starting XI, David Connolly too spent three years on the south coast with the Saints. The Republic of Ireland international played 67 games for the club, scoring 17 goals.
After his departure in 2012, he joined fierce rivals Portsmouth, before a loan spell at Oxford and a brief stint at AFC Wimbledon, his last club before retiring in 2015.
Jose Fonte is the only player from Adkins first XI still at Southampton
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