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The 2012–13 Southampton F.C. season was the club's 14th season in the Premier League, and their 36th at the top level of English football.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Southampton History 1975 to date )〕 Having achieved consecutive promotions from League One and the Championship the previous two seasons, the club were looking to retain their place in the Premier League after a seven-year absence from the top flight. Southampton finished 14th in the league table, five points above the relegation zone.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=League Table )〕 They also made it to the fourth round of the League Cup, and were eliminated from the FA Cup in the third round by Chelsea. In preparation for their first season back in the top flight, Southampton strengthened their squad relatively heavily during the summer transfer window, breaking the club's transfer fee record twice with the acquisitions of Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez in July and Uruguayan midfielder Gastón Ramírez from Bologna on deadline day. Other significant additions included Rangers midfielder Steven Davis, Japanese defender Maya Yoshida, and young full-back Nathaniel Clyne. Several players were released at the start of the campaign, while Dan Harding was the only player sold by the club, moving to Nottingham Forest in July. Norwegian centre-back Vegard Forren was signed in January 2013, although did not make an appearance during his first season at the club. Southampton began their first top-flight campaign in seven years against reigning champions Manchester City and runners-up Manchester United, and picked up only four points from their opening ten games leaving them firmly at the bottom of the table. In November and December the team's fortunes improved, and they picked up important wins over fellow strugglers to lift themselves out of the relegation zone. After Christmas the Saints went on a six-game unbeaten run, and they later picked up high-profile wins against Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea to continue to move away from the drop zone. Survival in the Premier League was confirmed on 14 May when Wigan Athletic lost to Arsenal to take the final relegation place. Southampton finished 14th in the table having won nine, drawn 14, and lost 15 of their 38 games, collecting 41 points in the process.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Barclays Premier League Table )〕 Despite leading Southampton to back-to-back promotions in 2011 and 2012, manager Nigel Adkins was fired in January 2013, with the club in 15th place in the Premier League table, and was replaced by former Espanyol boss Mauricio Pochettino. Along with the manager, the majority of Adkins's coaching team were also dismissed, replaced by staff of Pochettino's appointment. The winner of the club's Player of the Season award was Morgan Schneiderlin, who was voted in ahead of top scorer Rickie Lambert and midfield partner Jack Cork. ==Pre-season== Southampton began their pre-season preparations on 14 July 2012 with the Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup, which this year featured fellow Premier League club Arsenal and Belgian Pro League champions Anderlecht. In the first match of the tournament, Southampton lost to Anderlecht 1–0, with the only goal coming early in the first half from striker Tom de Sutter. Arsenal won their first game against Anderlecht by the same scoreline, with a goal from young midfielder Henri Lansbury deciding the match.〔 Southampton scored their first goal of the 2012 pre-season in their final match against Arsenal, when new signing Jay Rodriguez converted a Danny Fox cross in the 31st minute, although the lead proved short-lived when Gervinho equalised a few minutes later, causing the game to end in a tie.〔 Despite winning the subsequent penalty shoot-out, the Saints could not overhaul the points lead of their opponents and it was Arsenal who won the second Memorial Cup and joined Athletic Bilbao on the honours list.〔 Travelling to a French training camp later in the month, the Saints played Étoile Carouge on 18 July and faced Evian Thonon Gaillard on 21 July. In the first match, Southampton came back from a 1–0 deficit to win 4–1, with a goal from Luke Shaw and a late hat-trick from Billy Sharp. In the second, the Saints won by a single first-half goal from Jason Puncheon. Back in England, St Mary's hosted Dutch champions Ajax on 28 July, with the visitors securing a 1–0 win with a second half goal from winger Aras Özbiliz. On 4 August recently relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers travelled to face Southampton, with the home side winning 2–0 thanks to goals from Billy Sharp and midfielder Jason Puncheon. Southampton travelled away for their penultimate pre-season friendly, facing Bristol City on 7 August. Jon Stead opened the scoring for the home side late in the first half with a long range goal, and the side nearly doubled their lead before the break but for a Nathaniel Clyne block in the penalty area. The second half was shared relatively evenly between the sides, and it took until stoppage time for the Saints to come back and leave the game level courtesy of striker Billy Sharp.〔 The club's final pre-season game was played at St Mary's on 11 August against Italian club Udinese. Despite enjoying a large portion of possession throughout the game, it was the visitors who took the spoils in indulgent fashion with a 4–0 win over the Saints. Udinese went one up after 12 minutes with a long range effort from captain Antonio Di Natale, and doubled their lead another 12 minutes later with a similar long range strike from Brazilian midfielder Willians.〔 Yet another 12 minutes later, Di Natale scored his second and the team's third to put Udinese three up at half time.〔 Ultimately, Southampton were unable to respond, and in the 64th minute Colombian striker Luis Muriel scored Udinese's fourth to mark a disappointing end to a relatively successful pre-season campaign for Southampton.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2012–13 Southampton F.C. season」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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