2007–08 Southern Football League
The 2007–08 season was the 105th 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.
Premier Division
[edit]The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 17 clubs from the previous season and five new clubs:
- Two clubs promoted from Division One Midlands:
- Two clubs promoted from Division One South & West:
- Plus:
- Bedford Town, relegated from the Conference South
King's Lynn won the Southern League Premier and were promoted to the Conference North, while play-off winners Team Bath were promoted to the Conference South. Bromsgrove Rovers, Cirencester Town and Cheshunt were relegated to Division One. Bedford Town also ended the season in the relegation zone but were reprieved from the second relegation in a row after Football Conference clubs Halifax Town folded and Nuneaton Borough were demoted to Division One Midlands.
League table
[edit]Season | 2007–08 |
---|---|
Champions | King's Lynn |
Promoted | King's Lynn Team Bath |
Relegated | Bromsgrove Rovers Cirencester Town Cheshunt |
Matches played | 462 |
Goals scored | 1,301 (2.82 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Sean Canham (Team Bath) - 31 |
Biggest home win | Brackley Town 6 – 0 Cheshunt, 5 January 2008 Yate Town 7 – 1 Cheshunt, 26 February 2008 |
Biggest away win | Rugby Town 0 – 5 Gloucester City, 26 February 2008 |
Highest scoring | Merthyr Tydfil 5 – 4 Corby Town, 5 April 2008 |
Highest attendance | 2336 (King's Lynn 0 – 0 Team Bath, 5 April 2008) |
Lowest attendance | 72 (Team Bath 3 – 1 Cirencester Town, 11 March 2008) |
Average attendance | 325 |
← 2006–07 2008–09 → |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | King's Lynn | 42 | 24 | 13 | 5 | 91 | 36 | +55 | 85 | Promoted to the Conference North |
2 | Team Bath | 42 | 25 | 8 | 9 | 71 | 41 | +30 | 83 | Qualified for the play-offs, then promoted to the Conference South |
3 | Halesowen Town | 42 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 80 | 46 | +34 | 79 | Qualified for the play-offs |
4 | Chippenham Town | 42 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 73 | 44 | +29 | 73 | |
5 | Bashley | 42 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 60 | 46 | +14 | 69 | |
6 | Gloucester City | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 81 | 50 | +31 | 68 | |
7 | Hemel Hempstead Town | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 67 | 50 | +17 | 68 | |
8 | Brackley Town | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 57 | 53 | +4 | 60 | |
9 | Banbury United | 42 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 55 | 57 | −2 | 58 | |
10 | Yate Town | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 71 | 76 | −5 | 58 | |
11 | Clevedon Town | 42 | 13 | 18 | 11 | 49 | 46 | +3 | 57 | |
12 | Swindon Supermarine | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 51 | 67 | −16 | 54 | |
13 | Merthyr Tydfil | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 65 | 70 | −5 | 53 | |
14 | Mangotsfield United | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 38 | 42 | −4 | 52 | |
15 | Rugby Town | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 55 | 66 | −11 | 51 | |
16 | Corby Town | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 60 | 67 | −7 | 50 | |
17 | Tiverton Town | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 45 | 60 | −15 | 50 | |
18 | Hitchin Town | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 46 | 61 | −15 | 47 | |
19 | Bedford Town | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 54 | 73 | −19 | 45 | Reprieved from relegation |
20 | Bromsgrove Rovers | 42 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 46 | 67 | −21 | 42 | Relegated to Division One Midlands |
21 | Cirencester Town | 42 | 8 | 8 | 26 | 44 | 80 | −36 | 32 | Relegated to Division One South & West |
22 | Cheshunt | 42 | 5 | 8 | 29 | 42 | 103 | −61 | 23 | Relegated to IL Division One North |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Play-offs
[edit]Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
2 | Team Bath | 4 | |||||||
5 | Bashley | 1 | |||||||
2 | Team Bath | 2 | |||||||
3 | Halesowen Town | 1 | |||||||
3 | Halesowen Town | 2 | |||||||
4 | Chippenham Town | 1 |
Results
[edit]Stadia and locations
[edit]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 |
Bromsgrove Rovers | Victoria Ground | 4,893 |
Cheshunt | Cheshunt Stadium | 3,500 |
Chippenham Town | Hardenhuish Park | 2,815 |
Cirencester Town | Corinium Stadium | 4,500 |
Clevedon Town | Hand Stadium | 3,500 |
Corby Town | Steel Park | 3,893 |
Gloucester City | The New Lawn (groundshare with Forest Green Rovers) | 5,032 |
Halesowen Town | The Grove | 5,000 |
Hemel Hempstead Town | Vauxhall Road | 3,152 |
Hitchin Town | Top Field | 4,000 |
King's Lynn | The Walks | 5,733 |
Mangotsfield United | Cossham Street | 2,500 |
Merthyr Tydfil | Penydarren Park | 4,500 |
Rugby Town | Butlin Road | 6,000 |
Swindon Supermarine | Hunts Copse Ground | 3,000 |
Team Bath | Twerton Park (groundshare with Bath City) | 4,500 |
Tiverton Town | Ladysmead | 3,500 |
Yate Town | Lodge Road | 2,000 |
Division One Midlands
[edit]Division One Midlands consisted of 21 clubs, including 18 clubs from previous season and three new clubs:
- Two clubs promoted from the Midland Alliance:
- Plus:
- Chesham United, transferred from Division One South & West
- Slimbridge, promoted from the Hellenic League
Also, shortly before the start of the season Slimbridge withdrew and were not replaced. Therefore, the relegation zone was reduced to one place in order to make up the numbers for the next season.
Evesham United won the division and were promoted to the Premier Division along with play-off winners Stourbridge, who returned to the top Southern League division after the relegation in 1984. Berkhamsted finished bottom of the table and were the only club relegated this season.
League table
[edit]Season | 2007–08 |
---|---|
Champions | Evesham United |
Promoted | Evesham United Stourbridge |
Relegated | Berkhamsted Town |
Matches played | 420 |
Goals scored | 1,217 (2.9 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Mark Bellingham (Leamington) - 45 |
Biggest home win | Chesham United 11 – 0 Malvern Town, 24 November 2007 |
Biggest away win | Rothwell Town 0 – 6 Rushall Olympic, 8 January 2008 |
Highest scoring | Chesham United 11 – 0 Malvern Town, 24 November 2007 |
Highest attendance | 860 (Leamington 2 – 4 Chasetown, 8 March 2008) |
Lowest attendance | 38 (Stourport Swifts 0 – 1 Rothwell Town, 4 December 2007) |
Average attendance | 166 |
← 2006–07 2008–09 → |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Evesham United | 40 | 28 | 7 | 5 | 68 | 24 | +44 | 91 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
2 | Leamington | 40 | 27 | 8 | 5 | 74 | 27 | +47 | 89 | Qualified for the play-offs |
3 | Stourbridge | 40 | 25 | 3 | 12 | 97 | 48 | +49 | 78 | Qualified for the play-offs, then promoted to the Premier Division |
4 | Sutton Coldfield Town | 40 | 23 | 8 | 9 | 93 | 52 | +41 | 77 | Qualified for the play-offs |
5 | Rushall Olympic | 40 | 23 | 7 | 10 | 68 | 23 | +45 | 76 | Qualified for play-offs, then transferred to NPL Division One South |
6 | Chesham United | 40 | 23 | 7 | 10 | 78 | 40 | +38 | 76 | |
7 | Chasetown | 40 | 23 | 6 | 11 | 71 | 38 | +33 | 75 | |
8 | Aylesbury United | 40 | 19 | 9 | 12 | 64 | 49 | +15 | 66 | |
9 | Leighton Town | 40 | 17 | 12 | 11 | 59 | 42 | +17 | 63 | |
10 | Romulus | 40 | 18 | 8 | 14 | 60 | 53 | +7 | 62 | |
11 | Barton Rovers | 40 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 54 | 45 | +9 | 58 | |
12 | Bishop's Cleeve | 40 | 17 | 7 | 16 | 63 | 61 | +2 | 58 | Transferred to Division One South & West |
13 | Dunstable Town | 40 | 14 | 5 | 21 | 63 | 65 | −2 | 47 | |
14 | Willenhall Town | 40 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 53 | 58 | −5 | 46[a] | Transferred to NPL Division One South |
15 | Bedworth United | 40 | 12 | 10 | 18 | 40 | 51 | −11 | 46 | |
16 | Cinderford Town | 40 | 12 | 6 | 22 | 47 | 82 | −35 | 42 | Transferred to Division One South & West |
17 | Stourport Swifts | 40 | 10 | 8 | 22 | 40 | 81 | −41 | 38 | |
18 | Rothwell Town | 40 | 9 | 5 | 26 | 34 | 69 | −35 | 32 | |
19 | Woodford United | 40 | 7 | 6 | 27 | 30 | 88 | −58 | 27 | |
20 | Malvern Town | 40 | 3 | 9 | 28 | 34 | 95 | −61 | 18 | |
21 | Berkhamsted Town | 40 | 2 | 4 | 34 | 27 | 126 | −99 | 10 | Relegated to the Spartan South Midlands League |
22 | Slimbridge | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Before the start of the season Slimbridge withdrew and were not replaced |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
- ^ Willenhall Town deducted 3 points for fielding an ineligible player
Play-offs
[edit]Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
2 | Leamington | 1 | |||||||
5 | Rushall Olympic | 0 | |||||||
2 | Leamington | 1 | |||||||
3 | Stourbridge | 2 | |||||||
3 | Stourbridge | 1 | |||||||
4 | Sutton Coldfield Town | 0 |
Stadia and locations
[edit]Club | Stadium | Capacity |
---|---|---|
Aylesbury United | The Meadow (groundshare with Chesham United) | 5,000 |
Barton Rovers | Sharpenhoe Road | 4,000 |
Bedworth United | The Oval | 3,000 |
Berkhamsted | Broadwater | 2,500 |
Bishops Cleeve | Kayte Lane | 1,500 |
Chasetown | The Scholars Ground | 2,000 |
Chesham United | The Meadow | 5,000 |
Cinderford Town | Causeway Ground | 3,500 |
Dunstable Town | Creasey Park | 3,200 |
Evesham United | St George's Lane (groundshare with Worcester City) | 3,000 |
Leamington | New Windmill Ground | 3,000 |
Leighton Town | Bell Close | 2,800 |
Malvern Town | Langland Stadium | 2,500 |
Romulus | The Central Ground (groundshare with Sutton Coldfield Town) | 2,000 |
Rothwell Town | Cecil Street | 3,500 |
Rushall Olympic | Dales Lane | 1,400 |
Stourbridge | War Memorial Athletic Ground | 2,626 |
Stourport Swifts | Walshes Meadow | 2,000 |
Sutton Coldfield Town | The Central Ground | 2,000 |
Willenhall Town | Noose Lane | 2,500 |
Woodford United | Byfield Road | 3,000 |
Division One South & West
[edit]Division One South & West consisted of 22 clubs, including 16 clubs from previous season and six new clubs:
- Bridgwater Town, promoted from the Western League
- Farnborough, a newly formed phoenix club
- Fleet Town, transferred from Isthmian League Division One South
- Godalming Town, transferred from Isthmian League Division One South
- Gosport Borough, promoted from the Wessex League
- Slough Town, relegated from Isthmian League Premier Division
Also, Brook House were renamed A.F.C. Hayes prior to the start of the season.
Farnborough, who replaced Farnborough Town that folded at the end of the previous season, won the division and were promoted to the Premier Division along with play-off winners Oxford City. Slough Town finished in the relegation zone for the second season in a row, but this time were reprieved due to the expulsion of Halifax Town from the Football Conference, so only Newport (Isle of Wight) were relegated this season.
League table
[edit]Season | 2007–08 |
---|---|
Champions | Farnborough |
Promoted | Farnborough Oxford City |
Relegated | Newport (Isle of Wight) |
Matches played | 462 |
Goals scored | 1,523 (3.3 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Justin Bennett (Gosport Borough) - 28 |
Biggest home win | Thatcham Town 8 – 0 Newport IOW, 10 November 2007 |
Biggest away win | Newport IOW 0 – 7 Farnborough, 1 December 2007 |
Highest scoring | Newport IOW 3 – 6 Abingdon United, 2 October 2007 Slough Town 3 – 6 Didcot Town, 3 November 2007 |
Highest attendance | 951 (Farnborough 5 – 1 Fleet Town, 26 December 2007) |
Lowest attendance | 42 (AFC Hayes 1 – 2 Newport IOW, 24 November 2007) |
Average attendance | 186 |
← 2006–07 2008–09 → |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Farnborough | 42 | 27 | 8 | 7 | 120 | 48 | +72 | 89 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
2 | Fleet Town | 42 | 26 | 7 | 9 | 78 | 48 | +30 | 85 | Qualified for play-offs, then transferred to IL Division One South |
3 | Didcot Town | 42 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 99 | 42 | +57 | 83 | Qualified for play-offs |
4 | Oxford City | 42 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 82 | 41 | +41 | 81 | Qualified for play-offs, then promoted to the Premier Division |
5 | Uxbridge | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 72 | 50 | +22 | 75 | Qualified for play-offs |
6 | Bridgwater Town | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 74 | 45 | +29 | 70 | |
7 | Paulton Rovers | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 77 | 57 | +20 | 70 | |
8 | Windsor & Eton | 42 | 20 | 9 | 13 | 75 | 66 | +9 | 69 | |
9 | Marlow | 42 | 20 | 6 | 16 | 74 | 54 | +20 | 66 | Transferred to Division One Midlands |
10 | Burnham | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 67 | 55 | +12 | 63 | |
11 | Gosport Borough | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 69 | 67 | +2 | 62 | |
12 | Godalming Town | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 70 | 70 | 0 | 60 | Transferred to IL Division One South |
13 | Hillingdon Borough | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 68 | 70 | −2 | 56 | Transferred to IL Division One North |
14 | AFC Hayes | 42 | 17 | 4 | 21 | 75 | 99 | −24 | 55 | |
15 | Thatcham Town | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 59 | 62 | −3 | 49 | |
16 | Abingdon United | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 64 | 75 | −11 | 48 | |
17 | Winchester City | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 58 | 71 | −13 | 48 | |
18 | Taunton Town | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 66 | 79 | −13 | 47 | |
19 | Andover | 42 | 11 | 7 | 24 | 62 | 101 | −39 | 40 | |
20 | Bracknell Town | 42 | 8 | 10 | 24 | 45 | 93 | −48 | 34 | |
21 | Slough Town | 42 | 9 | 5 | 28 | 44 | 87 | −43 | 32 | Reprieved from relegation |
22 | Newport (Isle of Wight) | 42 | 2 | 5 | 35 | 25 | 143 | −118 | 11 | Relegated to Wessex League |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Play-offs
[edit]Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
2 | Fleet Town | 1 | |||||||
5 | Uxbridge | 2 | |||||||
5 | Uxbridge | 0 | |||||||
4 | Oxford City | 1 | |||||||
3 | Didcot Town | 2(4) | |||||||
4 | Oxford City | 2(5) |
Stadia and locations
[edit]Club | Stadium | Capacity |
---|---|---|
A.F.C. Hayes | Farm Park | 1,500 |
Abingdon United | Northcourt Road | 2,000 |
Andover | Portway Stadium | 3,000 |
Bracknell Town | Larges Lane | 2,500 |
Bridgwater Town | Fairfax Park | 2,500 |
Burnham | The Gore | 2,500 |
Didcot Town | Draycott Engineering Loop Meadow Stadium | 3,000 |
Farnborough | Cherrywood Road | 7,000 |
Fleet Town | Calthorpe Park | 2,000 |
Godalming Town | Weycourt | 3,000 |
Gosport Borough | Privett Park | 4,500 |
Hillingdon Borough | Middlesex Stadium | 3,587 |
Marlow | Alfred Davis Memorial Ground | 3,000 |
Newport (Isle of Wight) | St Georges Park | 3,200 |
Oxford City | Court Place Farm | 2,000 |
Paulton Rovers | Athletic Field | 2,500 |
Slough Town | Holloways Park (groundshare with Beaconsfield SYCOB) | 3,500 |
Taunton Town | Wordsworth Drive | 2,500 |
Thatcham Town | Waterside Park | 1,500 |
Uxbridge | Honeycroft | 3,770 |
Winchester City | The City Ground | 4,500 |
Windsor & Eton | Stag Meadow | 4,500 |
League Cup
[edit]Tournament details | |
---|---|
Country | ![]() |
Teams | 66 |
Final positions | |
Champions | Hillingdon Borough |
Runner-up | Clevedon Town |
First round
[edit]42 clubs, (all of the Division One Midlands and all but one of the Division One South & West clubs), entered at the first round. Bridgwater Town did not enter at this stage because there were only 21 clubs in Division One Midlands.
Second round
[edit]The 12 fixtures of the Second Round were played on the weekend of 30 October 2007. Joining the winners of the previous round were Bridgwater Town, plus Chippenham Town and Gloucester City from the Premier Division.
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Third round
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Fourth round
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Quarter-finals
[edit]The quarter-finals were played on 12 February 2008.
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Semi-finals
[edit]The semi-finals were played on 4 March 2008.
Tie | Home team (tier) | Score | Away team (tier) | Att. |
62 | Didcot Town (SW) | 1-2 | Clevedon Town (P) | |
After Extra Time | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
63 | King's Lynn (P) | 0-1 | Hillingdon Borough (SW) |
Final
[edit]The first leg was played on 8 April 2008, with the second leg on 22 April 2008.
Tie | Home team (tier) | Score | Away team (tier) | Att. |
First Leg | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
64 | Hillingdon Borough (SW) | 1-1 | Clevedon Town (P) | |
Second Leg | ||||
65 | Clevedon Town (P) | 0-3 | Hillingdon Borough (SW) |