1976–77 Southern Football League
The 1976–77 Southern Football League season was the 74th in the history of the league, an English football competition. It was the first Southern Football League season to use goal difference as a tie-breaker.
Wimbledon won the championship, winning their third Southern League title in a row and was elected to the Football League replacing Workington, whilst Worcester City, Barnet, Cheltenham Town and Hastings United were all promoted to the Premier Division, the former two as champions. Metropolitan Police left the league to join the Isthmian League.
Premier Division
[edit]The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from the previous season and four new clubs:
- Two clubs promoted from Division One North:
Wimbledon was elected to the Football League in place of Workington. Thus, Telford United remained in the division.
League table
[edit]| Season | 1976–77 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Wimbledon |
| Relegated | Burton Albion Chelmsford City Margate |
| Matches played | 462 |
| Goals scored | 1,113 (2.41 per match) |
← 1975–76 1977–78 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wimbledon | 42 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 64 | 22 | +42 | 63 | Elected to the Football League Fourth Division |
| 2 | Minehead | 42 | 23 | 12 | 7 | 73 | 39 | +34 | 58 | |
| 3 | Kettering Town | 42 | 20 | 16 | 6 | 66 | 46 | +20 | 56 | |
| 4 | Bath City | 42 | 20 | 15 | 7 | 51 | 30 | +21 | 55 | |
| 5 | Nuneaton Borough | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 52 | 35 | +17 | 51 | |
| 6 | Bedford Town | 42 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 54 | 47 | +7 | 48 | |
| 7 | Yeovil Town | 42 | 15 | 16 | 11 | 54 | 42 | +12 | 46 | |
| 8 | Dover | 42 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 46 | 43 | +3 | 42 | |
| 9 | Grantham | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 55 | 50 | +5 | 40 | |
| 10 | Maidstone United | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 46 | 50 | −4 | 40 | |
| 11 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 38 | 43 | −5 | 39 | |
| 12 | AP Leamington | 42 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 44 | 53 | −9 | 39 | |
| 13 | Redditch United | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 45 | 54 | −9 | 38 | |
| 14 | Wealdstone | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 54 | 66 | −12 | 38 | |
| 15 | Hillingdon Borough | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 45 | 59 | −14 | 38 | |
| 16 | Atherstone Town | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 41 | 49 | −8 | 37 | |
| 17 | Weymouth | 42 | 16 | 5 | 21 | 53 | 73 | −20 | 37 | |
| 18 | Dartford | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 52 | 57 | −5 | 36 | |
| 19 | Telford United | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 36 | 50 | −14 | 34 | Reprieved from relegation |
| 20 | Chelmsford City | 42 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 56 | 68 | −12 | 31 | Relegated to Division One South |
| 21 | Burton Albion | 42 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 41 | 52 | −11 | 30 | Relegated to Division One North |
| 22 | Margate | 42 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 47 | 85 | −38 | 28 | Relegated to Division One South |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Division One North
[edit]Division One North consisted of 20 clubs, including 17 clubs from the previous season and three clubs, all from the Premier Division:
League table
[edit]| Season | 1976–77 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Worcester City |
| Promoted | Cheltenham Town Worcester City |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 1,169 (3.08 per match) |
← 1975–76 1977–78 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worcester City | 38 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 97 | 22 | +75 | 69 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Cheltenham Town | 38 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 85 | 35 | +50 | 54 | |
| 3 | Witney Town | 38 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 48 | 31 | +17 | 50 | |
| 4 | Bromsgrove Rovers | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 61 | 37 | +24 | 48 | |
| 5 | Barry Town | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 62 | 45 | +17 | 46 | |
| 6 | Cambridge City | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 68 | 43 | +25 | 44 | |
| 7 | Stourbridge | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 48 | 35 | +13 | 43 | |
| 8 | Kidderminster Harriers | 38 | 17 | 6 | 15 | 74 | 65 | +9 | 40 | |
| 9 | Banbury United | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 51 | 47 | +4 | 40 | |
| 10 | Gloucester City | 38 | 18 | 4 | 16 | 70 | 81 | −11 | 40 | |
| 11 | Enderby Town | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 50 | 44 | +6 | 39 | |
| 12 | King's Lynn | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 47 | 53 | −6 | 37 | |
| 13 | Corby Town | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 56 | 64 | −8 | 35 | |
| 14 | Tamworth | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 49 | 58 | −9 | 35 | |
| 15 | Merthyr Tydfil | 38 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 60 | 69 | −9 | 30 | |
| 16 | Oswestry Town | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 60 | −30 | 26 | |
| 17 | Wellingborough Town | 38 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 37 | 73 | −36 | 23 | |
| 18 | Dunstable | 38 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 38 | 84 | −46 | 21 | |
| 19 | Bedworth United | 38 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 28 | 68 | −40 | 20 | |
| 20 | Milton Keynes City | 38 | 7 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 76 | −45 | 20 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Division One South
[edit]Division One South consisted of 18 clubs, including 15 clubs from the previous season and three new clubs:
- Aylesbury United, promoted from the Athenian League
- Barnet, transferred from the North Division
- Tonbridge Angels, demoted from the Premier Division
League table
[edit]| Season | 1976–77 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Barnet |
| Promoted | Barnet Hastings United |
| Matches played | 306 |
| Goals scored | 759 (2.48 per match) |
← 1975–76 1977–78 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barnet | 34 | 23 | 8 | 3 | 65 | 25 | +40 | 54 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Hastings United | 34 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 47 | 18 | +29 | 47 | |
| 3 | Waterlooville | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 50 | 25 | +25 | 44 | |
| 4 | Dorchester Town | 34 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 48 | 30 | +18 | 43 | |
| 5 | Salisbury | 34 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 57 | 39 | +18 | 41 | |
| 6 | Romford | 34 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 47 | 32 | +15 | 41 | |
| 7 | Poole Town | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 40 | 35 | +5 | 41 | |
| 8 | Trowbridge Town | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 47 | 39 | +8 | 38 | |
| 9 | Crawley Town | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 53 | 42 | +11 | 37 | |
| 10 | Folkestone & Shepway | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 39 | 42 | −3 | 35 | |
| 11 | Basingstoke Town | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 51 | 43 | +8 | 34 | |
| 12 | Canterbury City | 34 | 6 | 16 | 12 | 36 | 46 | −10 | 28 | |
| 13 | Bognor Regis Town | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 33 | 50 | −17 | 27 | |
| 14 | Tonbridge Angels | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 33 | 50 | −17 | 27 | |
| 15 | Metropolitan Police | 34 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 37 | 61 | −24 | 22 | Transferred to the Isthmian League Division Two |
| 16 | Andover | 34 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 17 | 49 | −32 | 19 | |
| 17 | Ashford Town (Kent) | 34 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 32 | 65 | −33 | 18 | |
| 18 | Aylesbury United | 34 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 27 | 68 | −41 | 16 | |
| 19 | Guildford & Dorking United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Club folded, record expunged |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Football League elections
[edit]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 members Altrincham (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 | Football League Division Four | 44 |
| Hartlepool | Football League Division Four | 42 |
| Southport | Football League Division Four | 37 |
| Wimbledon | Southern League Premier Division | 27 |
| Workington | Football League Division Four | 21 |
| Altrincham | Northern Premier League | 12 |