After another mid-table finish after a poor start, Chris Nicholl was sacked and replaced with Ian Branfoot in June 1991. Branfoot's tenure in charge is generally accepted to be some of the most dismal Saints football in living memory. Branfoot managed to take a mid table side with plenty of potential into relegation contenders in his first season. The situation deteriorated over the next two seasons, despite he club making the final of the Zenith Data Cup. A finish of sixteenth was followed by one of eighteenth. With the club in the relegation zone in January 1994, Branfoot resigned. The new team of Alan Ball with Lawrie McMenemy returned and salvaged the season. Saints survived on the last day of the season with a draw against West Ham. The duo managed to turn Saints around and took the club to tenth the following year much to the delight of supporters. Ball left to manage Manchester City and he was replaced by Dave Merrington, who had been responsible for bringing through so many of Saints young talents. Merrington's reign proved to be a short and unhappy one, only lasting the 95/96 season. Once again, Saints managed to stay up on the last day of the season. A goalless draw at home to Wimbledon being enough to send Alan Ball's Manchester City down a division on goal difference. Graeme Souness was the new man in charge, along with McMenemy. In came Lundekvam, Ostenstad, Berkovic and Saints managed to hold on to their Premiership status for another year. The squad, by this time was threadbare and full of second stringers. Souness' dismantling of the youth set up meant that talent would have to be bought in, which was a problem for the cash strapped side. The club is floated on the stock exchange. In order to speed up the flotation Southampton FC is involved in a reverse take-over with Secure Retirements plc. The new plc is called Southampton Leisure Holdings. Souness resigns along with Lawrie McMenemy at the end of the season. They cannot work with the new board led by Rupert Lowe. Lowe appoints Dave Jones, whose Stockport side put Saints out of the cup the previous season. Jones soon shows he can bring in a bargain and Saints finish a commendable twelfth in '97/98. The good form and the good transfer dealings don't continue. The signings of Ripley, Beresford and Hughes prove to be expensive wastes although Jones did bring in Kachloul and Pahars. The club have their worst ever start to a top flight season in 98/99 resulting in the certainty of a relegation dogfight as early as October. Saints survive their "Great Escape" courtesy of a tense penultimate fixture win against Wimbledon away and were safe when they added a win over Everton. As another season of struggle looked likely in 99/00, Dave Jones had to face off the field allegations (later shown to be baseless). The club felt it best to replace Jones in January 2000 with Glenn Hoddle. Saints finish 15th under Hoddle and Gorman and many feel that despite the lowly position a corner has been turned. | 