1896–97 Southern Football League
The 1896–97 season was the third in the history of the
Football League
. However, they were not elected so were allowed to play in the Southern League.
Division One
| Season | 1896–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Southampton St.Mary's (1st title) |
| Promoted | none |
| Relegated | Royal Ordnance Factories (resigned) |
| Matches played | 110 |
| Goals scored | 429 (3.9 per match) |
← 1895–96 1897–98 → | |
Division One featured seven teams from previous season and five new clubs: two promoted from Division Two and three newly elected members.
Teams promoted from Division Two:
- Wolverston L&NWR - champions, winners of testing matches
- Sheppey United - runners-up, winners of testing matches
Newly promoted teams:
- Northfleet - Kent League champions
- Gravesend United - Kent League members
- Tottenham Hotspur
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southampton St.Mary's[a] | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 63 | 18 | 3.500 | 35 | |
| 2 | Millwall Athletic | 20 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 63 | 24 | 2.625 | 31 | |
| 3 | Chatham Town | 20 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 54 | 29 | 1.862 | 27 | |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 43 | 29 | 1.483 | 22 | |
| 5 | Gravesend United | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 35 | 34 | 1.029 | 22 | |
| 6 | Swindon Town | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 33 | 37 | 0.892 | 19 | |
| 7 | Reading | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 31 | 49 | 0.633 | 19 | |
| 8 | New Brompton | 20 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 32 | 42 | 0.762 | 16 | |
| 9 | Northfleet
|
20 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 24 | 46 | 0.522 | 14 | Relegation test matches |
| 10 | Sheppey United | 20 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 34 | 47 | 0.723 | 11 | |
| 11 | Wolverton L&NWR | 20 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 17 | 74 | 0.230 | 4 | |
| 12 | Royal Ordnance Factories | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 2.200 | 6 | Resigned from league after seven matches, record expunged |
Source:
Notes:
goal average
to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.Notes:
- ^ Changed name to Southampton at end of season
Division Two
| Season | 1896–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dartford |
| Promoted | none |
| Relegated | Freemantle (resigned) 1st Scots Guards (resigned) 1st Coldstream Guards (resigned) |
| Matches played | 156 |
| Goals scored | 618 (3.96 per match) |
← 1895–96 1897–98 → | |
Division Two featured five teams from previous season and eight new clubs, all of which were newly elected.
Newly promoted teams:
- Dartford - Kent League members
- RETB Chatham - Kent League members
- 1st Coldstream Guards
- Freemantle
- Southall
- Warmley
- West Herts
- Wycombe Wanderers
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dartford | 24 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 83 | 19 | 4.368 | 36 | Promotion test matches |
| 2 | RETB Chatham | 24 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 49 | 37 | 1.324 | 31 | |
| 3 | Freemantle | 24 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 58 | 40 | 1.450 | 28 | Promotion test matches, left league at end of season[a] |
| 4 | Uxbridge | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 62 | 37 | 1.676 | 27 | |
| 5 | Wycombe Wanderers | 24 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 37 | 54 | 0.685 | 26 | |
| 6 | Chesham
|
24 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 41 | 55 | 0.745 | 25 | |
| 7 | Southall | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 55 | 52 | 1.058 | 24 | |
| 8 | 1st Scots Guards | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 49 | 50 | 0.980 | 24 | Left league at end of season |
| 9 | Warmley | 24 | 10 | 3 | 11 | 44 | 43 | 1.023 | 23 | |
| 10 | West Herts
|
24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 41 | 49 | 0.837 | 23 | |
| 11 | Old St.Stephen's | 24 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 36 | 52 | 0.692 | 17 | |
| 12 | Maidenhead
|
24 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 33 | 64 | 0.516 | 16 | |
| 13 | 1st Coldstream Guards | 24 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 30 | 66 | 0.455 | 12 | Left league at end of season |
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: The system of using
Notes:
Rules for classification: The system of using
goal average
to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.Notes:
- ^ Freemantle resigned at the end of the season from the Southern Football League, creating a vacancy filled by Royal Artillery Portsmouth in the next 1897-98 season[2]
Promotion-relegation test matches
At the end of the season, test matches were held between the bottom three clubs in Division One and the top three clubs in Division Two. Third-placed
| Division One clubs | v | Division Two clubs |
|---|---|---|
Northfleet | 0 – 3 | Freemantle |
|---|---|---|
Football League elections
Only one Southern League club, Millwall Athletic, applied for election to Division Two of the Football League. However, they received only one vote and were not elected.[5]
| Club | League | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Lincoln City | Football League |
21 |
| Burton Swifts | Football League |
15 |
| Luton Town | United League | 13 |
Burslem Port Vale |
Midland League | 11 |
| Burton Wanderers | Football League |
9 |
| Nelson | Lancashire League | 7 |
Glossop North End |
The Combination | 5 |
| Fairfield | Lancashire League | 3 |
| Crewe Alexandra | The Combination | 2 |
| Millwall Athletic | Southern League | 1 |
References
- ISBN 0-600-58706-1.
- ^ "Glory Gunners – The History of Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) FC". Dian D Saul Books.co.uk.
- ^ Northfleet at the Football Club History Database
- ^ Freemantle at the Football Club History Database
- ^ A history of admission to the Football League