Spygate: Southampton hit out at ‘manifestly disproportionate’ punishment

It was January 2022, and Southampton sat 14th in the Premier League table, 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

Saints had been in the top flight for 10 seasons, and had stabilised as a mid-table club under coach Ralph Hasenhuttl.

The club had just announced a takeover by Sport Republic, a company backed by Serb media mogul Dragan Solak.

“It is a pivotal moment in time,” chief executive Martin Semmens told BBC Radio Solent.

It did turn out to be pivotal, but not in the way they had hoped.

“They’ve made a lot of mistakes,” BBC fan writer Martin Sanders said. “But I think they’ve stood up and they’ve admitted a lot of those mistakes.”

Sanders said that Parsons has made huge improvements within the club, and his role at the club should be applauded.

“Off the field, they’d done really well in looking to increase revenue,” he added.

“They’ve probably got the best fan zones and matchday entertainment in the Championship.

“They’ve introduced pubs, there’s a game centre. They’re looking to bring revenue in, so they can compete.”

The perception was that the club had stalled under their former owner, Chinese businessman Gao Jisheng. This was a chance for the club to push on again.

But Saints endured a dismal end to the 2021-22 season, losing nine of their remaining 12 games. They just stayed up but it was a sign of what was to come.

Three months into the new season, Hasenhuttl was sacked.

“He’d done a really good job on under a tight budget,” Sanders said. “They sacked him at the first opportunity, and they appointed a manager [Nathan Jones] who just wasn’t good enough for that level.”

Saints would go on to finish bottom of the table, 11 points adrift of safety.

While Southampton earned an immediate return to the Premier League through the play-offs, the 2024-25 campaign was dismal.

Saints finished on just 12 points, narrowly avoiding Derby’s all-time record of 11 for the lowest total.

“The fans were disgusted at the last season in the Premier League,” Sanders said. “We almost went down as the worst team ever.”