Southampton Personalised Football Diary
Special Diary Gifts for Fans of the Saints!
Southampton FC was founded in 1885 by members of St Mary’s Church of England Young Men’s Association. The club was originally known as St. Mary’s YMA, but it changed name to Southampton FC when the team won the Southern League in 1897. This was the first of three successive titles for Southampton and growing success lead the Saints to adopt The Dell as their new stadium. The club would play exciting matches here for over a century, apart from a brief spell at Fratton Park. Southampton were forced to move to the ground of their rivals during the Second World War, as a bomb dropped on the Saints‘ stadium, leaving an eighteen foot crater in the pitch. St. Mary’s Stadium became Southampton FC’s new home in 2001, following the closure of The Dell. Many Southampton fans were delighted with the relocation, as it meant the Saints would be playing close to the church where the club had originated.
Our Personalised Southampton Diaries include twelve reproduced match reports from our newspaper archives, celebrating some of the club’s best games since the 1960s. Starting from the month of your choice, this unique A5 Diary is a terrific gift for any fan of the Saints!
Diary Highlights
These Personalised Southampton FC Diaries contain a brilliant blend of league fixtures and domestic cup ties and we also include two games from European competition. In 1969, the Saints thrashed Vitória Guimarães 5-1 to reach the Fairs Cup third round, and in 1976, Southampton beat Carrick Rangers 2-5 in the European Cup Winners’ Cup.
The Saints had reached the latter competition by winning their first major trophy in the previous season. After three FA Cup finals in the early 1900s, Southampton finally reached a fourth final in May 1974. Lawrie McMenemy had been steadily rebuilding the club, but few people fancied the Saints’ chances against Manchester United. Southampton silenced doubters with a fantastic performance and a Bobby Stokes goal was enough to win the final 1-0. This historic match is one of the highlights of our A5 Southampton Diary. Other featured FA Cup games include the 0-5 mauling of Nottingham Forest in the 1963 quarter-final replay and the 5-1 drubbing of Sheffield Wednesday in 1984. Our Diary Gift also includes the 5-0 victory against Derby County from the 1974 League Cup campaign.
A highlight of the included coverage on league fixtures is the 1-1 draw with Orient in 1978, which guaranteed Southampton promotion to the First Division. The Saints had enjoyed a comfortable run in the top flight between 1966 and 1974 and so Southampton fans felt this result took the club back to its rightful position. The Football Diary also includes many more outstanding league wins. In 1988, Southampton beat Arsenal 4-2 and went on to defeat Liverpool. In 1996, a 6-3 win against Manchester United was the highlight of an otherwise disappointing season for the Saints under Graeme Souness. In 2003, Southampton beat Portsmouth 3-0 in the home derby, which consolidated the Saints’ win against Pompey in the League Cup just a few months earlier.
Diary Contents At A Glance
Our Southampton Football Diaries feature newspaper reports on the following matches:
- 9th April 1963 - Nottingham Forest 0 Southampton 5
- 13th November 1969 - Southampton 5 Vitória Guimarães 1
- 9th October 1974 - Southampton 5 Derby 0
- 2nd May 1976 - Southampton 1 Manchester United 0 (FA Cup Final)
- 21st October 1976 - Carrick 2 Southampton 5 (European Cup Winners’ Cup)
- 26th April 1978 - Orient 1 Southampton 1 (promoted to First Division)
- 21st March 1984 - Southampton 5 Sheffield Wednesday 1
- 11th April 1988 - Southampton 4 Arsenal 2
- 22nd October 1989 - Southampton 4 Liverpool 1
- 27th October 1996 - Southampton 6 Manchester United 3
- 22nd December 2003 - Southampton 3 Portsmouth 0
Alternative Southampton Football Gifts
These popular Personalised Diaries are just one of the gift ideas we have for fans of the Saints. We also offer Personalised Southampton Calendars and Personalised Southampton Football Books, as well as genuine Southampton Football Shares. Other general football gifts include Personalised Football Commentaries and Spoof Football Headlines.