The campaign saw the Saints enjoy their most successful league performance of all-time, finishing second in the top flight behind champions Liverpool, who were winning their third consecutive title.

Despite a disappointing previous season in which the club finished 12th in the First Division, Southampton only made a handful of signings in the summer before the start of the 1983–84 campaign, bringing in centre-back Ken Armstrong to replace the outgoing Chris Nicholl and striker Frank Worthington to bolster their forward line.

Southampton enjoyed numerous unbeaten spells throughout the campaign to ensure they were always in the running for a high finish, including the opening six and final ten games of the season.

The club made it to the semi-finals of the competition for the first time since winning the trophy in 1976, picking up narrow away victories over Nottingham Forest, Portsmouth and Blackburn Rovers to get there.

[2] Following Nicholl's move, the Saints brought in Ken Armstrong from Scottish side Kilmarnock as his replacement; the fee for his signing has been disputed, with sources claiming the club paid either £25,000, £50,000 or £60,000 for his services.

At the beginning of August, the club completed a short tour of Ireland which included two fixtures – they beat Drogheda United 3–2 and Cobh Ramblers 4–0, with Steve Moran scoring three goals across the two games.

[18] A week before the start of the league season, the club travelled to Spain to compete in the annual Trofeo Cidade de Vigo, a pre-season friendly tournament.

[1] The Saints had also managed to hold defending champions Liverpool to a 1–1 draw at Anfield, with a late Mick Mills goal cancelling out Ian Rush's opener.

[1] After suffering their first defeat at the hands of Aston Villa after seeing Frank Worthington sent off, the team's good form became more sporadic and they dropped as low as ninth in the league table.

[1] The home loss to Notts County, who would go on to be relegated at the end of the season, is often cited by commentators as a crucial result which set back Southampton's hopes for winning the league.

[23] The club's form suffered again over the new year, as they picked up just two points from four games in successive 2–2 draws with Arsenal and Aston Villa, which were followed by narrow defeats at the hands of fellow high-flyers Manchester United (2–3) and Nottingham Forest (0–1),[23] leaving Southampton sixth in the table.

[21] In their last two fixtures, Southampton picked up away victories over West Bromwich Albion (2–0) and Notts County (3–1) to leapfrog Nottingham Forest, Queens Park Rangers and Manchester United into the runners-up position in the table.

[36] The hosts almost went ahead in the first half through Simon Garner, but centre-back Reuben Agboola made a "miraculous clearance" off the goal line to keep the Saints in the game.

[38] The second half was largely dominated by the Toffees, with Adrian Heath and Trevor Steven both coming close on multiple occasions, testing Peter Shilton and the Saints defence.

[39] In the third round, the South Coast side faced Rotherham United of the Third Division; despite "dominating the play", they struggled to create chances and suffered a 2–1 defeat with all three goals scored in the first half.

Both games took place in October and saw the Saints hosted by a side representing Kuwait and Jordan-based club Al-Ramtha, which ended in a 1–2 loss and goalless draw, respectively.