1907–08 Southern Football League
The 1907–08 season was the 14th in the history of Southern Football League. Queens Park Rangers won Division One, whilst Bradford Park Avenue and Tottenham Hotspur were elected to the Football League. Southend United won Division Two and were promoted to Division One.[1] At the end of the season all the reserve teams left Division Two.
Division One
[edit]| Season | 1907–08 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Queens Park Rangers (1st title) |
| Promoted | Tottenham Hotspur Bradford Park Avenue |
| Relegated | none |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 1,045 (2.75 per match) |
← 1906–07 1908–09 → | |
A total of 20 teams contest the division, including 19 sides from previous season and one new team.
Newly elected teams:
- Bradford Park Avenue
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Queens Park Rangers | 38 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 82 | 57 | 1.439 | 51 | |
| 2 | Plymouth Argyle | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 50 | 31 | 1.613 | 49 | |
| 3 | Millwall | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 49 | 32 | 1.531 | 46 | |
| 4 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 54 | 51 | 1.059 | 44 | |
| 5 | Swindon Town | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 55 | 40 | 1.375 | 42 | |
| 6 | Bristol Rovers | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 59 | 56 | 1.054 | 42 | |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 59 | 48 | 1.229 | 41 | Elected to the Football League Second Division |
| 8 | Northampton Town | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 50 | 41 | 1.220 | 41 | |
| 9 | Portsmouth | 38 | 17 | 6 | 15 | 64 | 52 | 1.231 | 40 | |
| 10 | West Ham United | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 47 | 48 | 0.979 | 40 | |
| 11 | Southampton | 38 | 16 | 6 | 16 | 51 | 60 | 0.850 | 38 | |
| 12 | Reading | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 55 | 50 | 1.100 | 36 | |
| 13 | Bradford Park Avenue | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 53 | 54 | 0.981 | 36 | Elected to the Football League Second Division |
| 14 | Watford | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 47 | 59 | 0.797 | 34 | |
| 15 | Norwich City | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 46 | 49 | 0.939 | 33 | |
| 16 | Brentford | 38 | 14 | 5 | 19 | 49 | 53 | 0.925 | 33 | |
| 17 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 46 | 59 | 0.780 | 32 | |
| 18 | Luton Town | 38 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 33 | 56 | 0.589 | 30 | |
| 19 | Leyton | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 52 | 74 | 0.703 | 27 | |
| 20 | New Brompton | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 44 | 75 | 0.587 | 25 |
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.
Division Two
[edit]| Season | 1907–08 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Southend United |
| Promoted | Southend United |
| Relegated | Portsmouth II Southampton II Tunbridge Wells Rangers Swindon Town II Brighton & Hove Albion II Wycombe Wanderers (all resigned) |
| Matches played | 90 |
| Goals scored | 381 (4.23 per match) |
← 1906–07 1908–09 → | |
A total of 10 teams contest the division, including 8 sides from previous season and two new teams, both of them are newly elected teams.
Newly elected teams:
- Croydon Common
- Brighton & Hove Albion II
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southend United | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 47 | 16 | 2.938 | 29 | Promoted to Division One |
| 2 | Portsmouth II | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 39 | 22 | 1.773 | 25 | Left league at end of season |
| 3 | Croydon Common | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 35 | 25 | 1.400 | 23 | |
| 4 | Hastings & St Leonards | 18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 43 | 29 | 1.483 | 22 | |
| 5 | Southampton II | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 54 | 46 | 1.174 | 18 | Left league at end of season |
| 6 | Tunbridge Wells Rangers | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 42 | 38 | 1.105 | 17 | |
| 7 | Salisbury City | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 35 | 46 | 0.761 | 16 | |
| 8 | Swindon Town II | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 36 | 40 | 0.900 | 15 | Left league at end of season |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion II | 18 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 34 | 47 | 0.723 | 12 | |
| 10 | Wycombe Wanderers | 18 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 16 | 72 | 0.222 | 3 |
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.
Football League elections
[edit]Three Southern League clubs, Bradford Park Avenue, Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur, applied for election to the Football League, although QPR later withdrew their application.[2] Bradford PA were successful in the ballot, and replaced Lincoln City in the League. However, Stoke later resigned from the League, and a special meeting was arranged to elect a new member. Although at the meeting Stoke stated that they wished to remain in the League, a ballot was still held, in which Stoke and Tottenham won 20 votes (Rotherham County and Southport Central were also involved), after which the management committee voted 5-3 in favour of Tottenham.