The 1976–77 Southern Football League

Southern Football League

The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...

 season saw Wimbledon

Wimbledon F.C.

Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...

 win the Premier Division. The club were elected to the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

, replacing Workington.

Chelmsford City

Chelmsford City F.C.

Chelmsford City F.C. is an English semi-professional football club based in the town of Chelmsford, Essex. The club are currently members of the Conference South and play at the Melbourne Stadium.-Chelmsford:...

, Margate

Margate F.C.

Margate Football Club is an English football team based in the seaside resort of Margate, Kent, currently playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club was known for a number of years during the 1980s as Thanet United....

 and Burton Albion

Burton Albion F.C.

Burton Albion Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club's home ground is the Pirelli Stadium, having moved from Eton Park in 2005...

 were relegated from the Premier Division, whilst Worcester City

Worcester City F.C.

Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club are currently members of the Conference North and play at St George's Lane.-History:...

, Barnet

Barnet F.C.

Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....

, Cheltenham Town

Cheltenham Town F.C.

Cheltenham Town Football Club is an English football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Founded in 1887, the team has played at four different grounds, namely Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Carter's Field and now the Abbey Business Stadium, although it is more...

 and Hastings United

Hastings United F.C.

Hastings United is a semi-professional English football club who currently play in the Isthmian League Premier Division and are affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association and the Hastings Football Association....

 were all promoted to the Premier Division, the former two as champions. Metropolitan Police

Metropolitan Police F.C.

Metropolitan Police F.C. is the football club of the Metropolitan Police Service, although in recent years there has been a relaxation in the rule that players had to be serving members of the police force...

 left the league to join the Isthmian League

Isthmian League

The Isthmian League is a regional football league covering London and South East England featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. It is sponsored by Ryman, and therefore officially known as the Ryman League. It was founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area...

.

Premier Division

The Premier Division featured four new clubs:

• Dartford (promoted from the Southern Division)
• Minehead (promoted from the Southern Division)
• Redditch United (promoted from the North Division)
• AP Leamington (promoted from the North Division)

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Wimbledon Wimbledon F.C. Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...	42	28	7	7	64	22	42	63	Elected to the Football League The Football League The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
2	Minehead	42	23	12	7	73	39	34	58
3	Kettering Town Kettering Town F.C. Kettering Town Football Club are a football club originating in Kettering, Northamptonshire but currently based in the nearby village of Irthlingborough. The club play in the Conference National after winning the Conference North in 2007–08...	42	20	16	6	66	46	20	56
4	Bath City Bath City F.C. Bath City Football Club are a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset. They play in the Conference National league after gaining promotion from the Conference South via the play-offs in May 2010...	42	20	15	7	51	30	21	55
5	Nuneaton Borough	42	20	11	11	52	35	17	51
6	Bedford Town Bedford Town F.C. Bedford Town F.C. is an English football club based in the Borough of Bedford. The club are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division and play at The New Eyrie in Cardington, a parish on the outskirts of Bedford....	42	17	14	11	54	47	7	48
7	Yeovil Town Yeovil Town F.C. Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...	42	15	16	11	54	42	12	46
8	Dover Dover F.C. Dover F.C. was a football club based in Dover, Kent, England. The club joined the Kent League in 1894, but folded in 1901. Dover F.C. was revived a year later, this time as a purely amateur club, and rejoined the Kent League, but folded again in 1909...	42	13	16	13	46	43	3	42
9	Grantham Grantham Town F.C. Grantham Town F.C. is a football club, based in Grantham, Lincolnshire, currently playing in the Northern Premier League Division One South. They are nicknamed The Gingerbreads and they play their home matches at the South Kesteven Sports Stadium . They were established in August 1874...	42	14	12	16	55	50	5	40
10	Maidstone United Maidstone United F.C. Maidstone United Football Club is an English football team from Maidstone, Kent.The current club is a continuation of the old Maidstone United, which was a member of the Football League between 1989 and 1992. The club was forced out of the league by financial ruin but the youth squad formed the...	42	13	14	15	46	50
40
11	Gravesend & Northfleet	42	13	13	16	38	43
39
12	AP Leamington Leamington F.C. Leamington Football Club is the main football club in Whitnash, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, currently playing in the Southern Football League Premier Division....	42	12	15	15	44	53
39
13	Redditch United Redditch United F.C. Redditch United F.C. is an English football club based in Redditch, Worcestershire. The club are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division and play at the Valley.-Birmingham Combination:...	42	12	14	16	45	54
38
14	Wealdstone Wealdstone F.C. Wealdstone Football Club are an English semi-professional football club who formed in Wealdstone, in the London Borough of Harrow, but are currently based a few miles away in Ruislip, in the London Borough of Hillingdon. At present, the club are members of the Isthmian League Premier Division. They...	42	13	12	17	54	66
38
15	Hillingdon Borough Hillingdon Borough F.C. Hillingdon Borough Football Club are a semi-professional football club based in Ruislip, in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was also the name of a now-extinct club that existed between 1965 and 1987.-Historic club:...	42	14	10	18	45	59
38
16	Atherstone Town Atherstone Town F.C. Atherstone Town Football Club is a football club based in Atherstone, Warwickshire, England.They were officially established in 2004 after a previous club bearing the same name folded in 1979...	42	14	9	19	41	49
37
17	Weymouth Weymouth F.C. Weymouth F.C. are an English football club based in the town of Weymouth, who currently play in the Southern League Premier Division.-History:Weymouth Football Club were founded in 1890 and played their first game on 24 September of that year...	42	16	5	21	53	73
37
18	Dartford Dartford F.C. Dartford F.C. are an English football club based in Dartford, Kent. After finishing as champions of the Isthmian League Division One North in the 2007–08 season, they compete in the Isthmian League Premier Division. They finished in 8th position in their first season...	42	13	10	19	52	57
36
19	Telford United Telford United F.C. Telford United F.C. was an English football club based in Telford, Shropshire.The club existed under various names for a total of 132 years from its formation in 1872. The club was founder members of the Alliance Premier League in 1979 and played at this level for 25 years before being wound up in...	42	11	12	19	36	50
34
20	Chelmsford City Chelmsford City F.C. Chelmsford City F.C. is an English semi-professional football club based in the town of Chelmsford, Essex. The club are currently members of the Conference South and play at the Melbourne Stadium.-Chelmsford:...	42	9	13	20	56	68
31	Relegated to North and South Divisions
21		Burton Albion Burton Albion F.C. Burton Albion Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club's home ground is the Pirelli Stadium, having moved from Eton Park in 2005...	42	10	10	22	41	52
30
22	Margate Margate F.C. Margate Football Club is an English football team based in the seaside resort of Margate, Kent, currently playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club was known for a number of years during the 1980s as Thanet United....	42	9	10	23	47	85
28

Football League elections

At the end of the season, the bottom four of the Football League had to be re-elected to retain their place. Whilst in previous seasons the number of non-League applicants had been unlimited, this season saw the Football League Management Committee limit the number to two, with Wimbledon and Northern Premier League

Northern Premier League

The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...

 members Altrincham

Altrincham F.C.

Altrincham Football Club is an English association football club from Altrincham, Greater Manchester. They currently play in the Conference North, having been relegated from the Conference National at the end of the 2010–11 season.-History:...

 (who had finished tenth) entering the ballot. The top four in the vote would retain/win a place in the League.

With 27 votes, Wimbledon finished fourth in the election, earning a place in the League at the expense of Workington, who dropped into the Northern Premier League.

Club	League	Votes
Halifax Town F.C. Halifax Town Football Club Halifax Town, otherwise known as FC Halifax Town are an English football team who currently play in the Conference North. The club replaced Halifax Town A.F.C. who went into administration during the 2007–08 season.-Formation:...	Football League Division Four	44
Hartlepool United Hartlepool United F.C. Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...	Football League Division Four	42
Southport Southport F.C. Southport Football Club are an English football club, based in Southport, Merseyside. They are currently in the Conference National, and play their home matches at Haig Avenue, which has a capacity of 6,008...	Football League Division Four	37
Wimbledon Wimbledon F.C. Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...	Southern League Premier Division	27
Workington Workington A.F.C. Workington A.F.C. is an English football club from Workington, Cumbria. They are in the Conference North, and play their home matches at Borough Park, which has a capacity of 3,101 . The club play in red, and are known locally as the Reds...	Football League Division Four	21
Altrincham Altrincham F.C. Altrincham Football Club is an English association football club from Altrincham, Greater Manchester. They currently play in the Conference North, having been relegated from the Conference National at the end of the 2010–11 season.-History:...	Northern Premier League	12

Division One North

Division One North featured three new clubs, all of which had been relegated from the Premier Division the previous season:

• Cambridge City
• Dunstable
• Stourbridge

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Worcester City Worcester City F.C. Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club are currently members of the Conference North and play at St George's Lane.-History:...	38	32	5	1	97	22	75	69	Promoted to Premier Division
2	Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town F.C. Cheltenham Town Football Club is an English football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Founded in 1887, the team has played at four different grounds, namely Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Carter's Field and now the Abbey Business Stadium, although it is more...	38	23	8	7	85	35	50	54
3	Witney Town	38	21	8	9	48	31	17	50
4	Bromsgrove Rovers Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. were a non-League football club from the town of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. The peak of the club's success was in 1993 when Rovers finished runner-up in the Football Conference...	38	20	8	10	61	37	24	48
5	Barry Town Barry Town F.C. Barry Town FC are a football team based in Barry. They dominated the League of Wales during the 1990s, but finished bottom in 2003-04 and were relegated...	38	19	8	11	62	45	17	46
6	Cambridge City Cambridge City F.C. Cambridge City Football Club is an English football club currently playing in the Southern League Premier Division.-History:The club was founded in 1908 Cambridge Town F.C., as Cambridge had not been granted city status at that point, and were committed to amateur sport...	38	17	10	11	68	43	25	44
7	Stourbridge Stourbridge F.C. Stourbridge Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Stourbridge, West Midlands. The club currently plays in the Southern League Premier Division.-Early years:The club was founded in 1876 and was originally known as Stourbridge Standard...	38	17	9	12	48	35	13	43
8	Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers F.C. Kidderminster Harriers F.C. are an English football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire formed in 1886 They currently play in the Conference National and have played at Aggborough Stadium since they were formed...	38	17	6	15	74	65	9	40
9	Banbury United Banbury United F.C. Banbury United is a football club based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, who play in the Southern League Premier Division. They are nicknamed The Puritans and they play their home matches at the Spencer Stadium...	38	15	10	13	51	47	4	40
10	Gloucester City	38	18	4	16	70	81
40
11	Enderby Town	38	15	9	14	50	44	6	39
12	King's Lynn King's Lynn F.C. King's Lynn F.C. was an English football club based in King's Lynn, Norfolk. Established in 1879, they were wound up at the High Court on 25 November 2009 with debts of £77,000 and went out of business in December after a failed appeal...	38	13	11	14	47	53
37
13	Corby Town Corby Town F.C. Corby Town F.C. is an English football club based in Corby, Northamptonshire. They will be members of the Conference North for the 2011–12 season. The Steelmen play their home games at the newly built Steel Park, adjacent to their previous ground, Rockingham Triangle Sports Stadium, which is...	38	11	13	14	56	64
35
14	Tamworth Tamworth F.C. Tamworth Football Club are an English semi-professional football club based in the town of Tamworth, Staffordshire. Nicknamed 'The Lambs', they are currently members of the Conference National, the fifth highest tier in the English league system....	38	11	13	14	49	58
35
15	Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil F.C. Merthyr Tydfil Football Club was a Welsh football club based at the Penydarren Park ground in Merthyr Tydfil. In 2010 the club was liquidated and reformed under the name Merthyr Town, which was accepted into Division One of the Western League.-History:...	38	12	6	20	60	69
30
16	Oswestry Town Oswestry Town F.C. Oswestry Town F.C. was a football club, formerly playing in the League of Wales.The club was founded as Oswestry United in 1860, which meant they were one of the world's oldest football clubs. Matches were latterly played at Park Hall stadium, Oswestry, after a spell at Victoria Road...	38	8	10	20	30	60
26
17	Wellingborough Town	38	8	7	23	37	73
23
18	Dunstable	38	7	7	24	38	84
21
19	Bedworth United Bedworth United F.C. Bedworth United Football Club is a football club based in Bedworth, Warwickshire, England, currently playing in the Southern League Division One Central....	38	5	10	23	28	68
20
20	Milton Keynes City Milton Keynes City F.C. Milton Keynes City Football Club are a defunct football club that was based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. The name has been used by two English non-League football teams from the Milton Keynes area during the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s....	38	7	6	25	31	76
20

Division One South

Division One South featured three new clubs

• Tonbridge (relegated from the Premier Division)
• Barnet (transferred from the North Division)
• Aylesbury United (promoted from the Hellenic League
  Hellenic Football League
  The Hellenic Football League is an English football league covering an area including the English counties of Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, southern Buckinghamshire, southern Herefordshire, western Greater London, and northern Wiltshire. There is also one team from Hampshire.The league...
  
  )

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Barnet Barnet F.C. Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....	34	23	8	3	65	25	40	54	Promoted to Premier Division
2	Hastings United Hastings United F.C. Hastings United is a semi-professional English football club who currently play in the Isthmian League Premier Division and are affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association and the Hastings Football Association....	34	18	11	5	47	18	29	47
3	Waterlooville Waterlooville F.C. Waterlooville F.C. was an English football club based in Waterlooville, Hampshire. They ceased to exist in 1998 when they merged with Havant Town to form Havant & Waterlooville.-History:...	34	19	6	9	50	25	25	44
4	Dorchester Town Dorchester Town F.C. Dorchester Town Football Club are a semi-professional football club, based in Dorchester, Dorset, England, and currently playing in the Blue Square Bet South...	34	16	11	7	48	30	18	43
5	Salisbury Salisbury City F.C. Salisbury City Football Club is an English football club based in Salisbury, Wiltshire currently playing in the Conference South. They were formed in 1947 and play at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium...	34	15	11	8	57	39	18	41
6	Romford Romford F.C. Romford F.C. is an English football club based in Romford, Greater London. The club are currently members of Division One North of the Isthmian League, and play at Mill Field in Aveley.-History:...	34	18	5	11	47	32	15	41
7	Poole Town Poole Town F.C. Poole Town F.C. is a football club based in Poole, England. They were established in 1890 and joined the Western League Division Two in 1930. They won the Western League title in 1957 and reached the First Round Proper of the FA Cup four times in their history. They are currently members of the...	34	17	7	10	40	35	5	41
8	Trowbridge Town Trowbridge Town F.C. Trowbridge Town F.C. are a football club based in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, and they play at Woodmarsh on the southern edge of the town. They are currently members of the Hellenic Football League Division One West.-History:...	34	15	8	11	47	39	8	38
9	Crawley Town Crawley Town F.C. Crawley Town Football Club is an English football club based in Crawley, West Sussex. They won the title of the Football Conference, by a record 15 point margin on second place, and with it promotion to The Football League, in April 2011.-1896–2009:...	34	14	9	11	53	42	11	37
10	Folkestone & Shepway Folkestone F.C. Folkestone Football Club was the name of two English football clubs based in the town of Folkestone, Kent. It is unclear if the two clubs were in fact connected, but neither has any formal connection to Folkestone Invicta, who took over the Cheriton Road stadium after the demise of Folkestone F.C....	34	12	11	11	39	42
35
11	Basingstoke Town Basingstoke Town F.C. Basingstoke Town Football Club is an English football club based in Basingstoke, Hampshire. The club are currently members of the Conference South and play at the Camrose, named after their late benefactor, Lord Camrose. Their motto, 'Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum', means 'No stepping...	34	12	10	12	51	43	8	34
12	Canterbury City Canterbury City F.C. Canterbury City F.C. are a football club currently based in Herne Bay near Canterbury, England. Reformed in 2007, they are the first football club formed as a Community interest company. For the 2011–12 season they will compete in the Kent League Premier Division...	34	6	16	12	36	46
28
13	Bognor Regis Town Bognor Regis Town F.C. Bognor Regis Town Football Club is an English football club based in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. The club are currently members of Isthmian League Division One South and play at Nyewood Lane.-History:...	34	9	9	16	33	50
27
14	Tonbridge Tonbridge Angels F.C. Tonbridge Angels Football Club is an English football club who play at Longmead Stadium in Tonbridge, Kent, since moving from the Angel Ground in 1980....	34	9	9	16	33	50
27
15	Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police F.C. Metropolitan Police F.C. is the football club of the Metropolitan Police Service, although in recent years there has been a relaxation in the rule that players had to be serving members of the police force...	34	5	12	17	37	61
22	Transferred to the Isthmian League Isthmian League The Isthmian League is a regional football league covering London and South East England featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. It is sponsored by Ryman, and therefore officially known as the Ryman League. It was founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area...  at end of season
16	Andover Andover F.C. Andover F.C. was a football club based in Andover, Hampshire, established in 1883. Since the 2007–08 season, Andover had been a member of the Southern League Division One South and West at Step 4 of the National League System...	34	4	11	19	17	49
19
17	Ashford Town Ashford United F.C. Ashford United F.C. was an English football club based in Ashford, Kent. The side was formed in 1880 and won the Kent Senior Cup in 1893. A year later the club became founder members of the Kent League. The club played home games at Godinton Road....	34	5	8	21	32	65
18
18	Aylesbury United Aylesbury United F.C. Aylesbury United are a football club based in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, currently playing in the Spartan South Midlands League, nicknamed the Ducks....	34	5	6	23	27	68
16