Page "Southampton F.C." Paragraph 48

The good form which secured Southampton's Championship status in 2005 – 06 was carried through to the start of the 2006 – 07 season, and the turn of the year saw the team in fourth place in the table.

The new board of directors had spent a club record £ 6 million on transfers.

Polish strikers Grzegorz Rasiak and Marek Saganowski and 17 year-old left back Gareth Bale all had great runs in form.

A drastic loss in the team's form overall, coupled with poor displays against fellow promotion hopefuls, saw the team drop to eighth place by mid – March 2007, and rapidly losing touch with the promotion race.

However, with other promotion rivals dropping points and a small run of form in late April, Southampton were able to reach sixth place, the last play-off position.

They lost the home leg of their playoff semi-final to Derby County, and on 15 May achieved parity on aggregate but lost on penalties in a thrilling encounter.