Southern Football League 1897-98
Encyclopedia
The 1897–98 season was the fourth in the history of the Southern League
. Southampton
won the Division One championship for the second successive season.
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
.
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...
. Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
won the Division One championship for the second successive season.
Division One
Division One featured one new club, Bristol City, who were newly-elected.| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv1 | Pts2 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southampton Southampton F.C. Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club... |
22 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 53 | 18 | 2.94 | 37 | |
| 2 | Bristol City Bristol City F.C. Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City... |
22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 67 | 33 | 2.03 | 33 | |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane.... |
22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 52 | 31 | 1.68 | 28 | |
| 4 | Chatham Town Chatham Town F.C. Chatham Town are an English Association Football club based in Chatham, Kent. They currently play in Division One North of the Isthmian League and are nicknamed "The Chats".... |
22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 50 | 34 | 1.47 | 28 | |
| 5 | Reading Reading F.C. Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship... |
22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 39 | 31 | 1.26 | 23 | |
| 6 | New Brompton Gillingham F.C. Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium... |
22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 37 | 37 | 1 | 22 | |
| 7 | Sheppey United Sheppey United F.C. Sheppey United F.C. is an English football club based on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. The club are currently members of Division One of the Kent County League and play at the Sheppey Sports Ground.-History:... |
22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 40 | 49 | 0.82 | 21 | |
| 8 | Gravesend United Gravesend United F.C. Gravesend United Football Club was a football club based in Gravesend, Kent.They were founder members of the Kent League in 1894-95 before moving to join the Southern League in 1896-97... |
22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 28 | 39 | 0.72 | 20 | |
| 9 | Millwall Athletic Millwall F.C. Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the... |
22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 48 | 45 | 1.07 | 18 | |
| 10 | Swindon Town Swindon Town F.C. Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011... |
22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 36 | 48 | 0.75 | 16 | |
| 11 | Northfleet | 22 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 29 | 60 | 0.48 | 11 | Relegation test matches |
| 12 | Wolverton L&NWR Wolverton A.F.C. Wolverton Association Football Club, often known simply as Wolverton, was an English football team representing the town of Wolverton . The club's motto was "In Omnia Paratus" . The club was wound up in 1992... |
22 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 28 | 82 | 0.34 | 7 |
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Division Two
Division Two featured two new clubs:- Royal Artillery
- St Albans
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv1 | Pts2 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Artillery Portsmouth F.C. Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from... |
22 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 75 | 22 | 3.41 | 39 | Promotion test matches |
| 2 | Warmley Warmley F.C. Warmley F.C. was a football club based in Warmley, near Kingswood, England. They were formed in 1882. They are widely regarded as playing the first organised football match in the Bristol region against St George.... |
22 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 108 | 15 | 7.2 | 38 | |
| 3 | West Herts | 22 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 50 | 48 | 1.04 | 28 | Merged with Watford St Mary's to form Watford Watford F.C. Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade... |
| 4 | Uxbridge Uxbridge F.C. Uxbridge Football Club are a football club representing Uxbridge but now based in West Drayton, in the County of Middlesex England. They were established in 1871 and are one of the oldest clubs in the South of England. They were founder members of the Southern League Division Two in 1894 and have... |
22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 39 | 57 | 0.68 | 24 | |
| 5 | St Albans | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 47 | 41 | 1.15 | 23 | |
| 6 | 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... |
22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 68 | 55 | 1.24 | 22 | Left to join Kent League Kent League The Kent League is an English football league for teams based in Kent and south east London, which was established in 1966. It was also the name of a similar league which existed from 1894 until 1959.-History:... at end of season |
| 7 | Southall Southall F.C. Southall F.C. is a semi-professional football club based in the Southall area of west London, in the London Borough of Ealing, England. Football has been played in Southall from at least 1871.-History:... |
22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 49 | 61 | 0.8 | 18 | |
| 8 | Chesham | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 38 | 48 | 0.79 | 18 | |
| 9 | Old St.Stephen's Shepherd's Bush F.C. Shepherd's Bush Football Club were an English football club based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, although they originally played in central and south London.-History:... |
22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 47 | 66 | 0.71 | 16 | Changed name to Shepherd's Bush at end of season |
| 10 | Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers F.C. Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, which has been promoted to Football League One after finishing third in Football League Two in the season 2010–11. The club's nicknames are "The Chairboys" and "The Blues", and they play... |
22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 37 | 55 | 0.67 | 16 | |
| 11 | Maidenhead | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 27 | 81 | 0.33 | 12 | |
| 12 | RETB Chatham | 22 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 26 | 62 | 0.42 | 10 | Left to join Kent League Kent League The Kent League is an English football league for teams based in Kent and south east London, which was established in 1966. It was also the name of a similar league which existed from 1894 until 1959.-History:... at end of season |
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Promotion-relegation test matches
Unlike previous seasons in which individual test matches had been played between clubs, this season saw the bottom two clubs in Division One and the top two clubs in Division two play in a four-club round robin, with the top two retaining or earning a place in Division One. Both Division Two clubs were promoted after the matches, with Northfleet leaving the league after the season ended.| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv1 | Pts2 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Artillery Portsmouth F.C. Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from... |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 7 | Promoted |
| 2 | Warmley Warmley F.C. Warmley F.C. was a football club based in Warmley, near Kingswood, England. They were formed in 1882. They are widely regarded as playing the first organised football match in the Bristol region against St George.... |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | |
| 3 | Northfleet | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 0.55 | 2 | Relegated |
| 4 | Wolverton L&NWR Wolverton A.F.C. Wolverton Association Football Club, often known simply as Wolverton, was an English football team representing the town of Wolverton . The club's motto was "In Omnia Paratus" . The club was wound up in 1992... |
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 0.45 | 2 |
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Football League elections
Only one Southern League club, Bristol City, applied for election to Division Two of the Football League. However, they were not elected. Although Darwen were initially voted out of the league, a decision was made to expand the League by four clubs, and they were readmitted, along with New Brighton Tower, Glossop North End and BarnsleyBarnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
.
| Club | League | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Lincoln City Lincoln City F.C. Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League.... |
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... |
21 |
| Burslem Port Vale Port Vale F.C. Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as... |
Midland League Midland Football League There have been at least two different football competitions in England which used the name Midland Football League.One existed until 1982 before merging with the Yorkshire League to form the Northern Counties League.... |
18 |
| Loughborough Town Loughborough F.C. Loughborough Athletic and Football Club were an English football club based in Loughborough, Leicestershire, that played in The Football League at the end of the 19th century.-History:... |
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... |
16 |
| Darwen Darwen F.C. A.F.C. Darwen is a football club from Darwen in Lancashire, North West England. The team, formed in 1870 as Darwen F.C., currently play in the Division One of the North West Counties League. They play their home games at the Anchor Ground.-History:... |
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... |
16 |
| New Brighton Tower New Brighton Tower F.C. New Brighton Tower F.C. was a short-lived English football club based in New Brighton, Merseyside. Established in 1896, the club spent three seasons in the Football League before folding in 1901. They played at the 80,000-capacity Tower Athletic Grounds.... |
Lancashire League Lancashire League (football) The Lancashire League has been the name of two separate football competitions for clubs based in northern England.-Lancashire League :... |
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| Nelson Nelson F.C. Nelson F.C. are an English football club, based in Nelson, Lancashire. They are currently members of the North West Counties Football League Division One, who played their home matches at Victoria Park, Lomeshaye Way. They are full members of the Lancashire County Football Association.-Early years:... |
Lancashire League Lancashire League (football) The Lancashire League has been the name of two separate football competitions for clubs based in northern England.-Lancashire League :... |
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| Bristol City Bristol City F.C. Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City... |
Southern 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... |