Early career: Everton and loan move to Blackpool Born in
Gateshead,
Tyne and Wear, Southern started his career at
Everton where in the 2001–02 season he captained the club's reserve team. After playing in
the Toffees' pre-season
friendlies against
Wrexham and
Shrewsbury Town, on 6 August 2002 he was signed by then Blackpool manager
Steve McMahon, initially on loan for one month at the start of the
2002–03 season. He made his
league debut four days later in a 2–0 defeat to
Bristol City at
Ashton Gate. He scored his first goal on 7 September in a 3–0 victory over
Tranmere Rovers at Bloomfield Road. He made a total of sixteen appearances during a three-month loan spell. Then in early November, Blackpool tried to sign him on a season-long loan deal, however, Everton blocked the move, preferring it to be made permanent.
Blackpool On 8 November Southern signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with
the Seasiders for an undisclosed fee. On 22 March 2003 he was injured five minutes into a 2–2 draw with
Stockport County at
Edgeley Park and missed the rest of the season. He had an operation on his right knee in April, then on 1 May he was named the
Blackpool Gazette Player of the Year, jointly with
Martin Bullock. He returned to action on 13 September in a 2–0 defeat to
AFC Bournemouth. On 9 December in a
Football League Trophy match against Stockport County, Southern collapsed midway through the second half and he needed keyhole surgery on his knee later that month which revealed he had a slight tear in the medial cartilage, which was removed. He returned to action on 31 January 2004 as a 68th-minute substitute in a 2–2 draw with
Swindon Town at Bloomfield Road. When Blackpool won the Football League Trophy at the
Millennium Stadium in
Cardiff on 21 March, Southern was left out of the squad by Steve McMahon, who chose his son,
Stephen, ahead of him. Later that year he needed another operation on his knee after going down in the warm up before a pre-season friendly against
Ballymena United in Northern Ireland in July. He returned to action on 2 November in a 6–3 win over
Huddersfield Town in the Football League Trophy. After scoring seven goals in the
2004–05 season, including both goals in a 2–1 win over
Brentford on 22 March, in April 2005 Southern signed a two-year extension to his contract with
the Seasiders. On 28 April he was named the
Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Player of the Year for
League One in an online poll voted for by supporters. On 21 April 2007, Southern scored an 85th-minute winning goal as Blackpool beat
Cheltenham Town 2–1 to guarantee the club a play-off position in League One in the
2006–07 season.
Promotion and Championship Under the management of
Simon Grayson, he also scored in the second leg of the play-off semi-final as Blackpool beat
Oldham Athletic 3–1 at Bloomfield Road on 19 May. He played in the play-off final at
Wembley as Blackpool beat
Yeovil Town 2–0 to secure promotion to the
Championship. Southern scored Blackpool's winning goal on 11 August 2007 in their first match back in the second tier of English football for 29 years as they beat
Leicester City 1–0 at the
Walkers Stadium on the opening day of the
2007–08 season. On 1 December Southern suffered ankle ligament damage in a 1–0 win over
Queens Park Rangers at Bloomfield Road, and had an operation later in the month. He was out for two months, returning on 12 February 2008 in a 0–0 home draw with
Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Ian Holloway Era and successes Southern signed a new two-year contract with Blackpool on 6 April 2009. He made his 200th league start for
the Seasiders in their first home match of the
2009–10 season, a 1–1 draw with
Cardiff City on 15 August 2009 at
Bloomfield Road. In his 300th career appearance, on 23 January 2010, he scored as Blackpool beat
Watford 3–2 at home. On 22 May 2010 he was named Man of the Match in the
2010 Football League Championship play-off final at
Wembley as Blackpool defeated
Cardiff City 3–2 to secure promotion to the
Premier League. After suffering a knee injury which ruled him out of the first round of Premier League fixtures, upon his return Southern found himself being used mainly as a substitute. He made his first start against his former club, Everton, on 6 November 2010. During the first half of Blackpool's
2011–12 campaign, Southern was diagnosed with
testicular cancer. He was able to maintain his fitness during his treatment, and two months after his operation he returned to the side, as captain, on 28 January; however, he had to leave the game before the hour mark after suffering a serious gash to his leg.
Huddersfield Town After 10 years at
Bloomfield Road, it was reported by the Blackpool Gazette and
Huddersfield Examiner that Huddersfield Town and Blackpool had sealed a deal, thought to be around the £300,000 mark, on 25 July 2012. The terms allowed Southern to play the first and last 15 minutes of his testimonial match against
Everton on 5 August. The transfer was confirmed by Huddersfield Town, the following day, as their sixth signing for the 2012–13 season. Southern made his Huddersfield début in the
League Cup first round 2–0 away defeat at
Preston North End on 13 August 2012 playing the full 90 minutes. He made his league début in the 1–0 defeat by
Cardiff City at the
Cardiff City Stadium on 17 August. He scored his first goal for the club in the 1–1 draw against
Crystal Palace at
Selhurst Park on 22 December. He was released by the club at the end of the 2013–14 season.
Fleetwood Town On 20 June 2014, he signed for newly promoted
League One side
Fleetwood Town for free. He joined rival club
Shrewsbury Town, on loan for the rest of the season in
League Two on 19 January 2015. After struggling to make the Fleetwood first team following the loan spell in 2015, Southern left the club by mutual consent early the following year. He retired from playing professional football soon after. ==Career statistics==