Along with David Bull and Gary Chalk, I have been involved in publishing books on Southampton FC’s history since the 1980s, but this is my first online venture.

Since the 2013 publication of “All the Saints” – a book on the 1000 plus ex- Southampton players who had played for the club since 1887 – I became aware at just how quickly reference books of that nature go out of date, as players come and go and more information and photos are flushed out. So, it is time to embrace the digital age, and using “All the Saints” as my template I have re typed, re-edited, re-corrected and updated. (I remain very pleased with “All the Saints” – no club had produced a better Who’s Who, to my knowledge, and I still recommend anyone picks up a copy at what is now a heavily discounted price via www.hagiologists.com) or from the club shop I should also add much of what is in this website are the fruits of David Bull’s superb editing and Gary’s sterling research. I thank them, we have made a damn fine half-back line. David is currently working on a Saints at War book, which I for one am eagerly anticipating.

With a printed book there is always the problem with a lack of space, the result being many decent photos have to be cropped or omitted, but the beauty of a website means there are not the same constraints to contend with. I have 1000s of unseen images some of which I can now share online, pages from scrapbooks that have been too large for a book can be viewed and this will all contribute to a more rounded fuller player profile than previously available. I am also very aware in the 21st century, smart phone age that the ‘go to’ place for fans wanting to find out more about Saints players is Wiki and I am also concerned a lot of the info there is simply incorrect, especially the stats. A lot of their info is from our first two books published in 1987 and 1992 and so much more has been learnt since then. To put it bluntly Wiki is simply not reliable when it comes to settling that argument or researching the careers and lives of ex-Saints players.

But there is so much more out there to be discovered, both in terms of information and also images to be found. In the past so much has come to us from the players themselves, not only from those who are still with us, but also from their relations and descendants of those who have passed away. While we have tracked and spoken to hundreds of players and their families, there are a lot yet to be traced and I am hoping anyone who goes online to find out more about a long lost relative who was rumoured to have played for Southampton will somehow find their way to www.saintsplayers.co.uk and if necessary get in touch with me either via the website or directly to duncanholley@me.com

UPDATE April 2021 – A lot of new information and images have turned up and I upload these and update every day so keep popping back.

If a player made his debut in January 2009 and played his last game in September 2012 then the seasons played for us will read 2008-2013. If he scored on his debut or last game the date of that game will be followed by an asterisk. Any player who played competitive football for Southampton FC is included. Anyone who says he played for Saints and he is not featured here then he was either a Reserve player, a youth or an apprentice, played in a friendly or sadly is a fantasist. (At some future date with the help of Gary Chalk, I hope to add a Reserve players’ section to this website).

The first competitive game played by St Mary’s YMA was in November 1887 versus Totton in a Hampshire Junior Cup-tie, in a field very near where the Redbridge flyover is today. The eleven men who turned out that day were the first of 1100 plus ex-Saints.

I have abbreviated some of other clubs’ names – for instance Crewe Alexandra are Crew Alex, Sheffield Wednesday are Sheffield Wed and Preston North End are Preston NE.

If a club name is followed by an A that stands for Argyle,

Other abbreviations are

EL= Europa League,
FA Cup=Football Association Cup,
FL Cup=Football League Cup (in all its guises),
HB Cup=Hampshire Benevolent Cup,
HCCCC Cup=Hampshire County Cricket Club Charity Cup,
HJ Cup=Hampshire Junior Cup,
HS Cup=Hampshire Senior Cup,
ICF Cup=Inter Cities Fairs Cup,
JPT=Johnstone’s Paint Trophy,

PC=Portsmouth Cup,
RH Cup=Rowland Hospital Cup,
SCF Cup=Southern Challenge Floodlight Cup,
SL=Southern League,
SDC=Southern District Combination,
SC Cup=Southern Charity Cup,
UL=United League,
VIC=Victory Cup
H denotes Home,
A=Away and N means Neutral.