A trip to Southampton used to be enough to send a shudder down the spine for Newcastle United fans in the Premier League. The sense of doom started the day Matt Le Tissier decided to turn on the style at the old Dell with a pair of crackers as Kevin Keegan's side were beaten 2-1.

Even an Andy Cole strike that day could not wipe away the gloom in a fixture more famous for Lee Clark and Keegan clashing angrily on the bench as the midfielder booted a bucket of water over in response to being dragged off for a poor performance.

Clark recalled in his excellent book: "KK was going to kick me out the club after the petulance of being substituted at Southampton. It was after the infamous moment when I kicked the trainer’s bucket and nearly broke my toe."

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It wouldn't have been the first broken bone suffered by a Newcastle man on the South Coast, but more of that later in the column! Keegan's defeat in 1993 was followed by losses in 1995 (twice) and the former Saints star never experienced a victory as Toon boss at his old club.

In 1997, his replacement Kenny Dalglish thought he'd cracked the South Coast hoodoo but watched on in horror as Clark, of all people in the fixture, fired the Magpies 2-0 up with eight minutes left before Neil Maddison and that man Le Tissier again struck to snatch a point. A year later, Le Tissier smashed home a penalty in a 2-1 win and the run went on and on for another four seasons. Even Le Tissier's retirement and a stadium move did not improve things for a while.

The bad luck continued at St Mary's Stadium

Worse still, in summer 2002, Tahar El Khalej steamed into Kieron Dyer in a 3-1 defeat and caused knee damage just days after he'd been called up to the World Cup squad by Sven-Goran Eriksson.

The rot would be stopped by Sir Bobby Robson but even that was only a draw as Craig Bellamy's strike only yielded a 1-1 stalemate. When the FA Cup third round draw was made in 2004, there were groans on Tyneside but Sir Bobby's side eventually claimed a 3-0 win thanks to two from Dyer and a strike from Laurent Robert.

Only the Premier League run was not finished. A 3-3 draw later in the same season resulted in a Darren Ambrose stoppage time equaliser that kept alive hopes of a European place.

But the hoodoo in the Prem was passed on to Graeme Souness. For all his failures as Newcastle boss, he managed to fire his team up to finally beat the Saints away from home in the Premier League in a 2-1 win, courtesy of a Stephen Carr thunderbolt at St Mary's. It would be the last time the two teams met in the Premier League for seven years.

Alan Pardew pain on the South Coast

Pardew had managed Southampton earlier in his career before his stint at Newcastle but even he struggled to get the team going at St Mary's. A 2-0 defeat in 2012 saw Pardew lock the team in the dressing room after they'd failed to see off the newly promoted Saints. Dazed defender Mike Williamson told Chronicle Live that day: "After the game it was a case of trying to get to the bottom of it. A few home truths were said."

If that was bad, what followed next was worse as back to back 4-0 defeats for under pressure Pardew at the venue made for an uncomfortable situation for the ex-boss. After the second defeat he was lost for words - so much so he didn't show up for his Press conference!

By the time 2016's visit to Southampton came around, not a lot had changed as Rafa Benitez's side were defeated 3-1. A dressing room row erupted after the match and during it Dutch defender Daryl Janmaat punched a wall in anger! Chronicle Live reported the exclusive as Janmaat left St Mary's with his arm in a sling. But the luck against Southampton wasn't changing.

After promotion in 2017, Newcastle picked up draws in their first two visits to St Mary's but it would take until 2020, in the last game before lockdown to win their first Premier League game for 15 years.

That day Allan Saint-Maximin fired home a second half winner to secure three points for Steve Bruce's team in Hampshire. During lockdown, normal service was resumed for Bruce and Newcastle as a 2-0 defeat left Fabian Schar to turn the November air blue. The horror show was labelled as "s***" performance by the Swiss defender but it would be the end of the bad run at Southampton.

Eddie Howe's unscathed record at St Mary's

Those who endured the 645-mile trips there and back after defeats were richly rewarded during the Howe era. In a 2-1 win in March 2022, Chris Wood scored his first goal for Newcastle before Bruno Guimaraes back-heeled a winner to secure three big points for the Magpies.

Newcastle were absolutely flying later that year, and a 4-1 win just before the World Cup break saw Miguel Almiron, Wood, Joe Willock, and Bruno all get on the scoresheet. It put Newcastle in third place on their way to the Champions League.

The last trip to Southampton was also memorable. A 1-0 win in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg set Newcastle on their way to Wembley thanks to Joelinton's goal. Given Southampton's rock-bottom position, with just six points to their name and one home victory, Newcastle go into the fixture with confidence. Whatever happens, this is a fixture that has seen it all for Newcastle.