Championship: Saints go marching down

Southhampton’s relegation to League One has been confirmed in a somewhat unsavoury matter by The FA, due to the club’s recent financial difficulties.

The situation given too them seems extremely unfair, as The FA issued that should the Saints finish outside of the relegation zone, they will be handed a 10-point penalty, which will send them down, as there are not enough games left for them to try and overhaul such a gap. However, if they do get relegated on their own accord (that is, without the points penalty coming into play), they will begin next season on -10, by which time they will be in League One, in a not-too-different scenario to Leeds a couple of years ago. So it is a lose-lose situation whichever way they look at it, although it is a good idea to beat the drop for moral reasons, along with the fact that the club will then be in a good position for an immediate return to the 2nd tier, whereas a -10 start may see them looking more towards the 4th.

The shambles have come about following the holding company of the club (Southampton Leisure Holdings plc), going into administration. The league and The FA had to decide whether this means that the club is also in administration, which they eventually did, but again this seems very harsh.

Southampton FC will appeal the decision, but are currently focused on their game with Burnley on Saturday.