2008–09 Southern Football League

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The 2008–09 season was the 106th in the history of the Southern League, which is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales.

At the end of the season Division One Midlands was renamed Division One Central.

Premier Division

The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 17 clubs from the previous season and five new clubs:

Corby Town won the Premier Division and along with play-off winners Gloucester City got a place in the

Conference North
next year.

Mangotsfield United, Yate Town and Hitchin Town relegated to the divisions One, while Banbury United were reprieved from relegation after two Conference South clubs folded.

League table

Southern Football League
Premier Division
Season2008–09
Champions
Gloucester City
RelegatedHitchin Town
Yate Town
Mangotsfield United
Matches played462
Goals scored1,328 (2.87 per match)
Top goalscorerDavid Kolodynski (Rugby Town) - 24
Biggest home winStourbridge 6 – 1 Clevedon Town, 30 August 2008

Cambridge City 5 – 0 Bashley, 20 September 2008
Brackley Town 5 – 0 Corby Town, 27 December 2008
Bedford Town 5 – 0 Hitchin Town, 20 January 2009

Corby Town 5 – 0 Banbury United, 25 April 2009
Biggest away winBanbury United 0 – 6 Evesham United, 14 February 2009
Highest scoringStourbridge 8–4 Yate Town, 20 December 2008
Highest attendance2230 (Farnborough 3 – 3 Corby Town, 21 March 2009)
Lowest attendance71 (Evesham United 3 – 1 Mangotsfield United, 27 January 2009)
Average attendance310

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Corby Town 42 25 9 8 85 38 +47 84 Promoted to the Conference North
2 Farnborough 42 23 14 5 67 36 +31 83 Qualified for the play-offs
3 Gloucester City 42 21 12 9 80 45 +35 75 Qualified for the play-offs, then promoted to the Conference North
4 Cambridge City 42 21 10 11 62 40 +22 73 Qualified for the play-offs
5 Hemel Hempstead Town 42 21 7 14 71 48 +23 70
6 Oxford City 42 19 10 13 76 55 +21 67
7 Merthyr Tydfil 42 19 10 13 66 55 +11 67
8 Chippenham Town 42 20 8 14 64 51 +13 65[a]
9 Evesham United 42 16 13 13 48 39 +9 61
10 Halesowen Town 42 19 6 17 65 73 −8 60[b]
11 Brackley Town 42 15 12 15 69 62 +7 57
12 Tiverton Town 42 16 9 17 51 50 +1 57
13 Swindon Supermarine 42 15 12 15 59 61 −2 57
14 Bashley 42 15 12 15 52 58 −6 57
15 Bedford Town 42 14 8 20 44 55 −11 50
16 Stourbridge 42 13 11 18 62 78 −16 50
17 Rugby Town 42 11 10 21 63 71 −8 43
18 Clevedon Town 42 11 10 21 51 80 −29 43
19 Banbury United 42 11 8 23 43 83 −40 41 Reprieved from relegation
20 Hitchin Town 42 10 10 22 57 79 −22 40 Relegated to Division One Central
21 Yate Town 42 9 9 24 54 91 −37 36 Relegated to Division One South & West
22 Mangotsfield United 42 10 6 26 39 80 −41 36
Source: fchd.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ Chippenham were docked 3 points for fielding an ineligible player.
  2. ^ Halesowen were docked 3 points for fielding an ineligible player.

Play-offs

Semifinals Final
      
2 Farnborough 0(4)
5 Hemel Hempstead Town 0(3)
2 Farnborough 0
3 Gloucester City 1
3 Gloucester City 3
4 Cambridge City 1

Results

Home \ Away BAN BAS BED BRK CAM CHI CLE COR EVE FAR GLO HAL HEM HIT MAN MER OXC RUG STB SWI TIV YAT
Banbury United 1–0 4–0 3–1 2–2 0–5 3–1 0–4 0–6 0–2 1–5 2–1 3–0 1–4 1–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–5 0–3 3–0
Bashley 1–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–0 0–3 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–3 2–1 4–0 0–1 1–3 3–2 3–1 4–1 2–2 0–3 1–1
Bedford Town 3–0 0–2 0–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–5 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–0 1–2 5–0 3–1 1–0 3–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–1
Brackley Town 1–2 2–4 2–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 5–0 2–1 1–1 2–3 4–1 3–2 1–2 3–1 2–2 2–1 2–2 3–0 0–3 1–2 0–1
Cambridge City 3–1 5–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 3–2 2–3 0–2 2–1 3–0 1–0 3–1 0–2 3–0 1–0 3–2 2–0 0–1 1–0 2–2
Chippenham Town 1–0 2–3 1–0 3–1 3–1 2–1 3–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 2–1 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–2 1–1 1–2 3–1 1–0 3–0
Clevedon Town 1–1 0–0 2–1 2–2 1–0 3–2 1–3 2–0 1–1 1–4 1–2 0–3 1–2 2–3 1–5 0–1 1–0 2–0 1–2 1–2 4–3
Corby Town 5–0 3–1 1–2 2–0 0–0 3–0 4–0 0–0 3–1 1–2 1–2 0–0 2–0 1–1 2–1 0–1 2–0 0–0 2–1 1–4 1–1
Evesham United 2–0 2–2 0–1 1–1 0–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 0–0 2–2 0–0 4–1 2–1 3–1 0–2 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 4–1
Farnborough 1–0 1–1 3–1 2–2 1–1 2–0 3–1 3–3 2–1 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 3–1 0–1 0–2 2–1 4–0 1–0 1–0 2–0
Gloucester City 1–1 3–0 0–1 0–1 2–1 2–0 0–1 1–3 2–0 0–0 1–2 2–1 4–1 5–2 1–1 2–2 3–0 4–0 3–1 2–1 4–0
Halesowen Town 2–1 2–0 2–1 3–2 2–2 2–2 3–5 0–5 3–1 0–1 1–2 2–1 3–2 2–0 2–0 5–2 0–4 1–3 2–4 0–1 5–3
Hemel Hempstead Town 1–0 0–0 1–0 2–1 0–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 4–0 3–1 2–1 1–1 4–2 3–0 1–0 0–1 3–1 4–3 1–1 0–1 1–0
Hitchin Town 2–0 1–1 0–0 0–1 1–1 2–1 2–2 2–2 1–2 1–3 1–1 0–1 2–1 3–2 2–2 0–4 1–1 2–2 0–1 0–1 3–1
Mangotsfield United 1–0 1–0 3–2 0–3 0–3 0–4 2–0 0–3 0–0 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–1 2–1 0–3 2–2 0–2 1–2 2–1 3–2 1–2
Merthyr Tydfil 3–0 0–2 3–0 1–4 1–1 2–0 2–2 0–2 1–0 1–1 2–1 2–0 3–2 3–2 1–0 2–2 3–3 4–1 1–2 1–2 2–1
Oxford City 3–0 2–0 1–0 3–0 1–0 2–2 5–3 0–1 0–1 2–2 1–1 4–1 2–3 2–3 4–0 1–4 3–2 1–1 1–2 3–0 4–0
Rugby Town 0–0 2–3 3–0 3–3 2–3 0–1 4–0 0–2 0–1 2–3 1–3 0–2 0–5 4–3 2–1 3–0 1–1 4–0 0–0 2–0 2–2
Stourbridge 1–1 1–1 3–1 0–1 1–1 1–2 6–1 0–2 0–2 0–3 1–1 2–2 1–6 1–0 4–1 1–2 2–0 1–1 2–1 3–0 8–4
Swindon Supermarine 4–4 3–2 2–1 4–4 0–2 1–3 0–1 1–4 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–4 0–4 2–1 0–0 1–1 3–1 1–1 1–0 3–0
Tiverton Town 2–0 2–1 0–2 2–1 1–2 1–2 3–2 0–2 0–1 0–2 2–2 3–0 1–1 3–1 0–0 0–1 2–2 0–1 1–1 1–1 3–2
Yate Town 3–1 1–0 3–1 0–0 0–3 1–3 2–1 0–2 0–1 2–2 0–2 1–2 2–3 2–1 2–1 4–0 2–3 2–4 2–4 0–0 0–0
Source: Southern Football League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Stadia and locations

Gloucester City
Halesowen Town
Hemel Hempstead Town
Hitchin Town
Mangotsfield United
Merthyr Tydfil
Oxford City
Rugby Town
Stourbridge
Swindon Supermarine
Tiverton Town
Yate Town
class=notpageimage|
Locations of the Premier Division clubs
Club Stadium Capacity
Banbury United Spencer Stadium 2,000
Bashley Bashley Road 2,000
Bedford Town The Eyrie 3,000
Brackley Town St. James Park 3,500
Cambridge City
City Ground
 2,300
Chippenham Town Hardenhuish Park 2,815
Clevedon Town Hand Stadium 3,500
Corby Town Steel Park 3,893
Evesham United St George's Lane (groundshare with Worcester City) 3,000
Farnborough Cherrywood Road 7,000
Gloucester City
The Corinium Stadium (groundshare with Cirencester Town
)		 4,500
Halesowen Town The Grove 5,000
Hemel Hempstead Town Vauxhall Road 3,152
Hitchin Town Top Field 4,000
Mangotsfield United Cossham Street 2,500
Merthyr Tydfil Penydarren Park 4,500
Oxford City Court Place Farm 2,000
Rugby Town Butlin Road 6,000
Stourbridge War Memorial Athletic Ground 2,626
Swindon Supermarine Hunts Copse Ground 3,000
Tiverton Town Ladysmead 3,500
Yate Town Lodge Road 2,000

Division One Midlands

Division One Midlands consisted of 22 clubs, including 14 clubs from previous season and eight new clubs:

Nuneaton Borough, finished 7th in the Conference North went into liquidation due to financial difficulties, were immediately reformed under the name Nuneaton Town and placed two divisions below in Midlands division.

Leamington won the division in the second attempt and got a place in Premier Division along with play-off winners Nuneaton Town. Dunstable and Malvern finished bottom of the table and were relegated to the lower leagues. At the end of the season Division One Midlands was renamed Division One Central.

League table

Southern Football League
Division One Midlands
Season2008–09
Champions
Nuneaton Town
RelegatedDunstable Town
Malvern Town
Matches played462
Goals scored1,344 (2.91 per match)
Top goalscorerMark Bellingham (Leamington) - 45
Biggest home winMarlow 9 – 1 Malvern Town, 27 September 2008

Bury Town 8 – 0 Rothwell Town, 10 March 2009

Leamington 8 – 0 Malvern Town, 18 April 2009
Biggest away winWoodford United 0 – 8 Sutton Coldfield Town, 11 October 2008
Highest scoringMarlow 9 – 1 Malvern Town, 27 September 2008
Nuneaton Town, 27 December 2008)
Lowest attendance30 (Malvern Town 2 – 2 Barton Rovers, 17 March 2009)
Average attendance234
→

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Leamington 42 32 5 5 114 44 +70 101 Promoted to the Premier Division
2
Nuneaton Town
 42 28 8 6 85 31 +54 92 Qualified for the play-offs, then promoted to the Premier Division
3 Atherstone Town 42 24 13 5 82 45 +37 85 Qualified for the play-offs
4 Chasetown 42 25 9 8 67 31 +36 84 Qualified for the play-offs, then transferred to NPL Division One South
5 Chesham United 42 22 10 10 70 38 +32 76 Qualified for the play-offs
6 Sutton Coldfield Town 42 24 4 14 79 62 +17 76
7 Bury Town 42 22 9 11 88 41 +47 75
8 Leighton Town 42 18 13 11 57 46 +11 67
9 Marlow 42 19 9 14 65 53 +12 66
10 Aylesbury United 42 19 7 16 65 58 +7 64
11 Romulus 42 17 10 15 60 42 +18 61
12 AFC Sudbury 42 17 10 15 66 65 +1 61
13 Bromsgrove Rovers 42 15 8 19 58 53 +5 53
14 Bedworth United 42 14 7 21 50 66 −16 49
15 Soham Town Rangers 42 13 7 22 48 79 −31 46
16 Stourport Swifts 42 10 10 22 46 74 −28 40
17 Barton Rovers 42 12 4 26 50 79 −29 40
18 Arlesey Town 42 11 5 26 40 70 −30 38
19 Rothwell Town 42 8 12 22 35 79 −44 36
20 Woodford United 42 9 7 26 38 80 −42 34
21 Dunstable Town 42 11 3 28 54 89 −35 23[a] Relegated to the Spartan South Midlands League
22 Malvern Town 42 2 10 30 27 119 −92 16 Relegated to the Midland Alliance
Source: fchd.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ Dunstable Town deducted 13 points deducted for fielding an ineligible player and other irregularities (Subject to Right of Appeal)[1]

Play-offs

Semifinals Final
      
2
Nuneaton Town
 		2
5 Chesham United 1
2
Nuneaton Town
 		1
4 Chasetown 0
3 Atherstone Town 0
4 Chasetown 5

Results

Home \ Away SUD ARL ATH AYL BAR BWU BRO BUR CHA CHE DUN LEA LEI MAL MAR
NUN
 ROM RTH SOH SPS SUT WFU
AFC Sudbury 0–0 0–3 2–2 4–2 2–1 2–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 4–2 0–4 1–1 0–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–2 3–1 1–1 2–0 0–1
Arlesey Town 2–3 0–1 2–0 1–3 1–2 1–2 3–2 0–0 0–2 3–2 1–4 0–2 1–2 0–1 1–3 1–0 3–0 0–1 0–1 0–2 2–0
Atherstone Town 2–0 3–3 3–5 5–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 2–1 3–3 2–1 0–0 1–1 7–1 1–1 0–2 2–2 5–0 2–0 1–1 3–2 2–2
Aylesbury United 0–3 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–3 1–2 1–2 3–0 2–1 4–0 1–2 0–0 5–1 0–3 0–4 2–1 2–0 4–1 1–0 3–0 1–0
Barton Rovers 3–2 1–2 0–1 1–2 1–3 1–1 1–2 1–1 0–1 3–0 0–2 1–2 0–0 3–1 2–1 3–2 0–1 1–2 2–5 2–3 0–1
Bedworth United 3–4 1–0 1–4 1–1 0–2 0–1 0–4 1–0 1–3 3–0 1–1 0–1 3–0 0–3 1–2 0–2 1–0 1–0 1–1 2–3 3–3
Bromsgrove Rovers 2–0 5–0 0–1 3–1 1–0 4–1 0–1 1–2 1–2 2–0 1–3 0–1 2–1 0–2 0–4 0–0 2–1 0–2 7–0 2–0 1–2
Bury Town 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 0–2 0–1 0–0 2–0 0–1 3–1 2–2 4–0 7–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 8–0 5–0 7–2 0–2 2–0
Chasetown 3–1 0–0 0–2 2–1 2–1 2–0 2–1 3–0 0–0 1–3 2–0 0–0 4–0 4–1 1–1 3–0 2–0 0–0 4–1 1–2 1–0
Chesham United 3–2 3–1 0–1 2–3 8–1 0–0 1–1 2–2 0–2 2–1 1–2 2–1 3–0 3–3 0–0 0–1 0–0 1–0 2–1 0–1 4–0
Dunstable Town 1–3 4–0 1–2 2–1 4–2 2–0 3–1 3–7 0–1 0–1 0–4 2–4 4–0 1–1 0–1 3–2 3–2 2–3 0–0 0–1 2–0
Leamington 3–5 3–1 3–0 1–2 4–1 4–1 2–0 2–1 1–3 2–0 2–0 3–3 8–0 7–2 2–1 2–1 1–0 3–1 1–0 0–3 7–1
Leighton Town 3–0 2–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 2–5 3–0 2–0 0–1 1–1 3–0 2–0 1–3 0–0 1–0
Malvern Town 1–2 0–1 1–3 1–1 2–2 2–0 0–4 1–1 0–3 1–4 0–1 0–3 2–2 1–1 0–3 0–2 0–0 1–2 1–2 0–2 1–1
Marlow 1–0 1–0 3–1 0–4 2–1 1–0 2–1 0–0 1–2 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–1 9–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 0–0 1–0 0–2
Nuneaton Town
 3–1 4–1 2–2 3–0 2–0 0–0 2–1 4–1 1–1 0–1 6–1 0–2 2–1 3–1 2–4 2–0 0–1 2–0 3–1 3–0 2–0
Romulus 2–0 3–2 1–1 0–1 0–1 3–0 2–0 1–2 0–1 0–0 3–0 1–2 2–0 7–0 2–1 0–2 1–0 2–2 1–1 3–0 1–2
Rothwell Town 1–1 2–2 1–2 1–1 1–0 1–3 2–2 0–7 1–2 0–1 3–2 0–6 3–1 0–0 2–0 2–2 0–2 1–2 3–1 1–1 1–1
Soham Town Rangers 3–3 0–1 2–1 1–1 2–0 3–3 1–0 0–2 0–3 1–3 3–2 2–3 3–4 4–2 1–1 0–2 0–3 1–0 1–3 0–1 0–3
Stourport Swifts 0–1 2–0 1–2 1–2 2–3 0–2 0–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–2 2–1 2–1 0–4 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–2 2–3
Sutton Coldfield Town 1–4 1–2 1–2 4–2 2–0 0–3 3–3 2–1 0–3 0–5 2–0 3–3 2–1 5–2 4–1 1–2 2–1 4–1 4–0 3–1 2–1
Woodford United 0–2 0–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 0–3 0–2 1–3 3–0 0–2 2–2 2–0 0–6 0–1 0–1 0–0 1–1 1–2 0–8
Source: Southern Football League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Stadia and locations

Nuneaton Town
Marlow
Romulus & Sutton Coldfield Town
Rothwell Town
Soham Town Rangers
Stourport Swifts
Woodford United