2008–09 Isthmian League
The 2008–09 season was the 94th season of the Isthmian League, which is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from London, East and South East England.
Premier Division
| Season | 2008–09 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dover Athletic |
| Promoted | Dover Athletic Staines Town |
| Relegated | Harlow Town Heybridge Swifts Ramsgate |
| Matches played | 462 |
| Goals scored | 1,321 (2.86 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | 31 goal – Richard Jolly (Carshalton Athletic) |
| Highest attendance | 2,760 – Dover Athletic – Tooting & Mitcham United, (26 December) |
| Total attendance | 193,205 |
| Average attendance | 418 (-17.1% to previous season) |
← 2007–08 2009–10 → | |
The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 17 clubs from the previous season, and five new clubs:
- Canvey Island, promoted as play-off winners in Division One North
- Dartford, promoted as champions of Division One North
- Dover Athletic, promoted as champions of Division One South
- Sutton United, relegated from the Conference South
- Tooting & Mitcham United, promoted as play-off winners in Division One South
Dover Athletic became champions five games before the end of the season and were promoted to the Conference South along with play-off winners Staines Town. Harlow Town, Heybridge Swifts and Ramsgate were relegated to the Division One sections, while Margate, who also finished in the relegation zone, were reprieved due to the demotion of clubs higher up the pyramid.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dover Athletic | 42 | 33 | 5 | 4 | 91 | 34 | +57 | 104 | Promoted to the Conference South |
| 2 | Staines Town | 42 | 23 | 13 | 6 | 75 | 41 | +34 | 82 | Qualified for the play-offs, then promoted to the Conference South |
| 3 | Tonbridge Angels | 42 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 82 | 54 | +28 | 73 | Qualified for the play-offs |
| 4 | Carshalton Athletic | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 64 | 63 | +1 | 68 | |
| 5 | Sutton United | 42 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 57 | 53 | +4 | 67 | |
| 6 | AFC Hornchurch
|
42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 60 | 51 | +9 | 65 | |
| 7 | Wealdstone | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 70 | 56 | +14 | 62 | |
| 8 | Dartford | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 62 | 49 | +13 | 62 | |
| 9 | Tooting & Mitcham United | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 57 | 57 | 0 | 58 | |
| 10 | Ashford Town (Middlesex) | 42 | 18 | 2 | 22 | 64 | 66 | −2 | 56 | |
| 11 | Billericay Town | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 54 | 66 | −12 | 56 | |
| 12 | Canvey Island | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 65 | 70 | −5 | 55 | |
| 13 | Horsham | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 49 | 60 | −11 | 55 | |
| 14 | Harrow Borough | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 56 | 73 | −17 | 54 | |
| 15 | Maidstone United | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 46 | 51 | −5 | 53 | |
| 16 | Hendon | 42 | 15 | 6 | 21 | 69 | 65 | +4 | 51 | |
| 17 | Hastings United | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 52 | 68 | −16 | 49 | |
| 18 | Boreham Wood | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 48 | 61 | −13 | 48 | |
| 19 | Margate | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 51 | 64 | −13 | 46 | Reprieved from relegation |
| 20 | Harlow Town | 42 | 13 | 6 | 23 | 61 | 77 | −16 | 42[a] | Relegated to Division One North |
| 21 | Heybridge Swifts | 42 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 41 | 63 | −22 | 41 | |
| 22 | Ramsgate | 42 | 8 | 11 | 23 | 47 | 79 | −32 | 31[b] | Relegated to Division One South |
Source: [1][2]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
- ^ Harlow Town were deducted three points for fielding an ineligible player against Wealdstone on 14 February 2009 (2–1).
- ^ Ramsgate were deducted four points for playing more than permitted number of short term loan players in three matches, including Margate on 27 December 2008 (2–0) and Tonbridge Angels on 3 January 2009 (2–2).
Top scorers
| Player | Club | Goals[3] |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Jolly | Carshalton Athletic | 31 |
| Carl Rook | Tonbridge Angels | 24 |
Byron Harrison
|
Ashford Town | 22 |
| Francis Collin | Dover Athletic | 21 |
| Paul Vines | Tooting & Mitcham United | 20 |
| Richard Butler | Staines Town | 19 |
| Laurent Hamici | Dulwich Hamlet | |
| Sean Sonner | Northwood / Boreham Wood | 18 |
| Ryan Ashe | Wealdstone | 16 |
| John Frendo | Ware / Harlow Town |
Play-offs
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| 2 | Staines Town | 3 | |||||||
| 5 | Sutton United | 0 | |||||||
| Staines Town | 1 | ||||||||
| Carshalton Athletic | 0 | ||||||||
| 3 | Tonbridge Angels | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Carshalton Athletic | 3 | |||||||
Stadia and locations
AFC Hornchurch
Ashford Town
Boreham Wood
Carshalton Athletic
Dartford
Harrow Borough
Hendon
Staines Town
Sutton United
Tooting & Mitcham United
Wealdstone
Locations of the Premier Division clubs
Hornchurch
| Club | Stadium |
|---|---|
AFC Hornchurch |
Hornchurch Stadium |
| Ashford Town (Middlesex) | Short Lane |
| Billericay Town | New Lodge |
| Boreham Wood | Meadow Park |
| Canvey Island | Brockwell Stadium |
| Carshalton Athletic | War Memorial Sports Ground |
| Dartford | Princes Park |
| Dover Athletic | Crabble Athletic Ground |
| Harlow Town | Barrows Farm |
| Harrow Borough | Earlsmead Stadium
|
| Hastings United | The Pilot Field |
| Hendon | Claremont Road |
| Heybridge Swifts | Scraley Road |
| Horsham | Woodside Road (groundshare with Worthing) |
| Maidstone United | Bourne Park (groundshare with Sittingbourne) |
| Margate | Hartsdown Park |
| Ramsgate | Southwood Stadium |
| Staines Town | Wheatsheaf Park |
| Sutton United | Gander Green Lane |
| Tonbridge Angels | Longmead Stadium |
| Tooting & Mitcham United | Imperial Fields |
| Wealdstone | Grosvenor Vale |
- 1.^ Hendon left Claremont Road at September and spent the rest of campaign groundsharing with Northwood and Staines Town.
Division One North
| Season | 2008–09 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Aveley |
| Promoted | Aveley Waltham Abbey |
| Relegated | Hillingdon Borough Witham Town |
| Matches played | 462 |
| Goals scored | 1,354 (2.93 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | 39 goals – Martin Tuohy (East Thurrock United) |
| Highest attendance | 845 – East Thurrock United – Aveley, (25 April) |
| Total attendance | 49,213 |
| Average attendance | 107 (-43.4% to previous season) |
← 2007–08 2009–10 → | |
Division One North consisted of 22 clubs, including 15 clubs from the previous season, and seven new clubs:
- Chatham Town, transferred from Division One South
- Cheshunt, relegated from the Southern Football League Premier Division
- Concord Rangers, promoted as champions of the Essex Senior League
- East Thurrock United, relegated from the Premier Division
- Hillingdon Borough, transferred from Southern Football League Division One South & West
- Leyton, relegated from the Premier Division
- Thamesmead Town, promoted as champions of the Kent League
Aveley won the division and were promoted to the Premier Division along with play-off winners Waltham Abbey. Witham Town and Hillingdon Borough finished in the bottom two places and left the league.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aveley | 42 | 29 | 9 | 4 | 81 | 40 | +41 | 96 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 2 | East Thurrock United | 42 | 30 | 5 | 7 | 112 | 50 | +62 | 95 | Qualified for the play-offs |
| 3 | Brentwood Town | 42 | 26 | 10 | 6 | 77 | 32 | +45 | 88 | |
| 4 | Waltham Abbey | 42 | 25 | 7 | 10 | 85 | 45 | +40 | 82 | Qualified for the play-offs, then promoted to the Premier Division |
| 5 | Concord Rangers | 42 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 83 | 34 | +49 | 79 | Qualified for the play-offs |
| 6 | Northwood | 42 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 65 | 39 | +26 | 78 | |
| 7 | Wingate & Finchley | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 67 | 51 | +16 | 67 | |
| 8 | Redbridge | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 61 | 50 | +11 | 64 | |
| 9 | Ware | 42 | 19 | 4 | 19 | 69 | 75 | −6 | 61 | |
| 10 | Chatham Town | 42 | 18 | 6 | 18 | 58 | 60 | −2 | 60 | Transferred to Division One South |
| 11 | Tilbury | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 62 | 53 | +9 | 58 | |
| 12 | Enfield Town | 42 | 17 | 7 | 18 | 71 | 68 | +3 | 58 | |
| 13 | Great Wakering Rovers | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 56 | 62 | −6 | 58 | |
| 14 | Cheshunt | 42 | 17 | 5 | 20 | 60 | 71 | −11 | 56 | |
| 15 | Leyton | 42 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 63 | 56 | +7 | 51 | |
| 16 | Maldon Town
|
42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 48 | 63 | −15 | 45[a] | |
| 17 | Ilford | 42 | 12 | 5 | 25 | 27 | 68 | −41 | 41 | |
| 18 | Thamesmead Town | 42 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 46 | 73 | −27 | 40 | |
| 19 | Potters Bar Town | 42 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 52 | 73 | −21 | 36[b] | |
| 20 | Waltham Forest
|
42 | 9 | 7 | 26 | 39 | 81 | −42 | 34 | |
| 21 | Witham Town | 42 | 6 | 9 | 27 | 37 | 103 | −66 | 27 | Relegated to the Essex Senior League |
| 22 | Hillingdon Borough | 42 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 35 | 107 | −72 | 16 | Relegated to the Spartan South Midlands League |
Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
Top scorers
| Player | Club | Goals[3] |
|---|---|---|
| Martin Tuohy | East Thurrock United | 39 |
| Billy Holland | Waltham Abbey | 20 |
| Sherwin Stanley | Brentwood Town | |
| Chris Stowe | Tilbury | 18 |
| Kris Newby | East Thurrock United |
Play-offs
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| 2 | East Thurrock United | 0 | |||||||
| 5 | Concord Rangers | 1 | |||||||
| Concord Rangers | 1 (4) | ||||||||
| Waltham Abbey | 1 (5) | ||||||||
| 3 | Brentwood Town | 1 | |||||||
| 4 | Waltham Abbey | 4 | |||||||
Stadia and locations
Aveley
Brentwood Town
Cheshunt
Enfield Town
Hillingdon Borough
Ilford & Waltham Forest
Leyton
Northwood
Potters Bar Town
Redbridge
Thamesmead Town
Tilbury
Waltham Abbey
Wingate & Finchley
Locations of Division One North clubs
Waltham Forest
