The 2011–12 season was Southampton F.C.'s 72nd and seventh consecutive season in The Football League, and their first in the Championship since 2009. Having achieved promotion the previous season, the club were looking to retain their place in the second tier of English football and make progress towards their long-term aim of returning to the Premier League. The 2011–12 season was the first with new sponsor aap3, a Southampton-based company providing "business and IT solutions".
Southampton began their pre-season preparations in July with a two-game tour of Switzerland, in a similar fashion to the 2010–11 season. Later in the month, the club held the first edition of the Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup, inviting European teams to compete in a tournament in honour of former owner Markus Liebherr. Additional friendlies followed before the league began on 6 August 2011.
Southampton were relatively active in the summer transfer window, purchasing three new players, selling three and releasing five: midfielder Jack Cork, winger Steve De Ridder and defender Danny Fox made the move to St Mary's for undisclosed fees, while midfielder Oscar Gobern and defender Joseph Mills departed the club, and winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was sold to Arsenal for a club record £15 million in August. In the winter 2012 window, the Saints purchased strikers Tadanari Lee (the club's first Japanese player ever) and Billy Sharp, and made defender Jack Saville's loan move to Barnet final.
In April 2012, three Southampton players – goalkeeper Kelvin Davis, midfielder Adam Lallana, and striker Rickie Lambert – were named in the PFA Team of the Year for the Championship. After the last game of the season on 28 April 2012, Southampton achieved Premier League as the runners-up of the Championship, just one point behind champions Reading. Thus, they repeated the feat that Norwich City had done a year before, achieve back-to-back promotions.
Pre-season Southampton's first pre-season game was at Swiss club Biel-Bienne on 13 July. The visitors quickly built a two-goal advantage following a pair of David Connolly headers, but the home side drew level shortly after half-time and took the lead in the last ten minutes. The Saints managed to equalise a minute later though, with winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scoring the final goal of the match to make the score 3–3. In the second match of their Swiss tour, Southampton lost 1–0 to St. Gallen, following a second half goal from Kristian Nushi.
On 23 July 2011, Southampton competed in the inaugural Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup, a friendly tournament established in honour of former club owner Markus Liebherr. The other participants in the Memorial Cup were Spanish club Athletic Bilbao and German club Werder Bremen. Described as a "unique triangular cup competition", each club played one another and points determined the winners of the tournament. Southampton won their first match conclusively, beating Bremen 3–0 with goals from David Connolly, Guly do Prado and Adam Lallana in the first half. Bilbao also beat Bremen, with a 2–1 scoreline, and managed to beat the host club in the deciding match by two goals, preventing the Saints from winning the first edition of the Memorial Cup.
Back in England, the Saints played their first full friendly of the season at St Mary's against Premier League club West Bromwich Albion. The game ended in a 2–2 draw, after a double from Albion striker Simon Cox was matched by goals from midfielder Jack Cork and striker Rickie Lambert in the second half. Southampton's final pre-season game of the season three days later ended in the same scoreline, with the Saints and Yeovil Town sharing four goals equally. David Connolly put the visitors 1–0 up just before half-time, but in the second period Yeovil equalised with a penalty from former Southampton player Paul Wotton. Saints striker Jonathan Forte scored an impressive solo goal later on, but this was again cancelled out by the home side thanks to a goal from Andy Williams.
Championship
August–September 2011 In their first game of the season on 6 August 2011, Southampton beat Leeds United 3–1. The home side opened the scoring after ten minutes, with captain Dean Hammond scoring a solo goal; this lead was doubled just 15 minutes later by Adam Lallana, converting an assist from striker Rickie Lambert. Shortly after the break, David Connolly scored the Saints' third, but the clean sheet was denied in the very last minute of play when Max Gradel scored a penalty following a handball by defender Aaron Martin. Southampton made it two wins out of two a week later, as they beat Barnsley by a solitary goal in their first away game of the season. The visitors took the lead after half an hour, as David Connolly scored for the second game running after a defensive error by the hosts. The Saints were dominant for most of the rest of the game, but could only hold on with one goal for the win, which was slightly soured by the dismissal of midfielder Richard Chaplow, who had only been on the pitch for 15 minutes. Following the win, Southampton moved from second to first in the Championship league table. Southampton travelled to Portman Road later in the week, beating Ipswich Town 5–2. Rickie Lambert opened the scoring with two goals in the first 11 minutes of the match, and David Connolly made it three before the break. Ipswich returned after half time with two goals in quick succession, but the Saints were able to secure the win with two goals from Adam Lallana to return to the top of the table.
Back at St Mary's on 20 August, Southampton made it four wins out of four by beating Millwall 1–0. Winger Guilherme do Prado scored the only goal of the match in the 18th minute, and the team held on for the rest of the match despite second-half Millwall pressure to pick up another three points. This marks the first time in the club's history that Southampton have won all four of their opening league matches. The club's winning run finally came to an end on 27 August, when they lost 3–2 to Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. Leicester broke the deadlock after only three minutes with a goal from Darius Vassell, and quickly made it two with a Richie Wellens effort. Saints full back Dan Harding pulled one back for the visitors just before the half-hour mark, heading in an Adam Lallana cross, but on the stroke of half-time the hosts forced an own goal out of Rickie Lambert to retain their two-goal advantage going into the second half. David Connolly scored in the 53rd minute, but despite overall dominance in the second half Southampton were unable to turn the tables, thanks largely to a string of saves by Kasper Schmeichel in the last ten minutes.
After a two-week break, Southampton returned to winning ways by beating Nottingham Forest 3–2 at St Mary's in a closely contested match. Matt Derbyshire opened the scoring for Forest in the seventh minute, but Southampton striker Rickie Lambert cancelled out the goal just a minute later. Lambert scored a second for the Saints when he headed in a David Connolly assist on 24 minutes, but the visitors levelled the scoreline just before the break. After periods of domination for both sides, Southampton finally scored a winner in the 82nd minute when Lambert completed his hat-trick from a Danny Fox free kick. The following week Southampton hosted former Premier League side Birmingham City, winning the match by an assertive scoreline of 4–1. The first goal of the match came in the eleventh minute from top scorer Rickie Lambert, who converted a penalty kick given when he was fouled in the box. The tally was quickly doubled, as Guly do Prado converted a Frazer Richardson cross into a second, and a third was scored by Adam Lallana ten minutes before half-time to make it 3–0 at the break. Birmingham got a goal back early in the second half, but substitute Richard Chaplow sealed the win in the 78th minute with Southampton's fourth.
Southampton's brilliant form (six wins and one loss) began to crumble when the team visited Turf Moor to face Burnley on 24 September, though. The first half of the match was largely balanced as both sides failed to break the deadlock and went into the break goalless. Burnley piled on the pressure after the break, and finally scored the first goal of the game in the 53rd minute courtesy of Charlie Austin. With Southampton constantly looking for an equaliser, the home side remained vigilant in defence and kept the league-toppers out until ten minutes before time, when substitute Morgan Schneiderlin scored his first goal of the season, finishing Danny Fox's assist to give the Saints a point and keep them at the top of the Championship table. Southampton's luck only grew worse in midweek, however, when a visit to Cardiff City resulted in only their second loss of the campaign so far. The first half was largely a success for the visitors, as Southampton made a number of breaks but could not finish off their attacking moves. It was the hosts who came out stronger in the second period though, as Kenny Miller headed in a long ball to open the scoring for the Bluebirds. Steve De Ridder was brought on, but it wasn't enough as Miller doubled his tally just seven minutes later when he calmly slot the ball past Kelvin Davis. The Saints battled on, but all they could achieve was a consolation goal in injury time courtesy of a neat finish from substitute De Ridder; Southampton remained top of the league however, due to draws at Middlesbrough and Derby County.
October–November 2011 On 1 October, Southampton returned to winning ways and extended their lead at the top of the Championship to two points by beating Watford 4–0. The Saints opened the scoring when winger Steve De Ridder was brought down in the box and Rickie Lambert converted the penalty in the 22nd minute. Southampton cruised to half-time, and were awarded a second penalty ten minutes after the break, which Lambert again scored to put the hosts two up. A passage of play between Adam Lallana and Guly do Prado saw the Brazilian score his third of the season on 70 minutes, before substitute Lee Holmes – in his first appearance of the season and just two minutes after coming on – latched onto Morgan Schneiderlin's long ball to make it four. On 15 October Southampton visited Derby County, drawing 1–1 at Pride Park Stadium. Derby opened the scoring in the first half courtesy of a Theo Robinson strike, and held the lead until midway into the second half. Rickie Lambert scored his ninth league goal of the season after 61 minutes, after an assist from David Connolly. The game ended as a draw, with Southampton remaining at the top of the table. Southampton extended their lead at the top to five points when they faced second-place West Ham United in midweek, winning by a single goal to nil. Saints loanee defender Jos Hooiveld scored the only goal of the match on the cusp of half-time, heading in a corner from left back Danny Fox. The match was marked by a relatively high amount of disciplinary action, with both sides picking up three cautions each.