1977–78 Southern Football League
The 1977–78 Southern Football League season saw Bath City win the Premier Division.[1] Minehead, Dover, Bedford Town and Grantham were relegated from the Premier Division, whilst Witney Town, Margate, Bridgend Town and Dorchester Town were all promoted to the Premier Division, the former two as champions. Romford folded at the end of the season.
Tables
Premier Division
The Premier Division featured four new clubs:
- Barnet (promoted from Division One South)
- Cheltenham Town (promoted from the Division One North)
- Hastings United (promoted from Division One South)
- Worcester City (promoted from the Division One North)
Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bath City | 42 | 22 | 18 | 2 | 83 | 32 | 51 | 62 | |
2 | Weymouth | 42 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 64 | 36 | 28 | 58 | |
3 | Maidstone United | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 59 | 41 | 18 | 51 | |
4 | Worcester City | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 67 | 50 | 17 | 51 | |
5 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 57 | 42 | 15 | 49 | |
6 | Kettering Town | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 58 | 48 | 10 | 47 | |
7 | Barnet | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 63 | 58 | 5 | 47 | |
8 | Wealdstone | 42 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 54 | 48 | 6 | 46 | |
9 | Telford United | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 52 | 45 | 7 | 45 | |
10 | Nuneaton Borough | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 38 | 36 | 2 | 44 | |
11 | Dartford | 42 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 57 | 65 | −8 | 43 | |
12 | Yeovil Town | 42 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 57 | 49 | 8 | 42 | |
13 | Hastings United | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 49 | 60 | −11 | 39 | |
14 | Cheltenham Town | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 38 | |
15 | Hillingdon Borough | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 45 | 54 | −9 | 35 | |
16 | Atherstone Town | 42 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 41 | 56 | −15 | 35 | |
17 | Redditch United | 42 | 15 | 5 | 22 | 40 | 55 | −15 | 35 | |
18 | AP Leamington | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 34 | 57 | −23 | 35 | |
19 | Minehead | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 34 | Relegated to Division One |
20 | Dover | 42 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 41 | 63 | −22 | 31 | |
21 | Bedford Town | 42 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 51 | 75 | −24 | 29 | |
22 | Grantham | 42 | 11 | 6 | 25 | 40 | 66 | −26 | 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, with one club from each of the Southern League and Northern Premier League also on the ballot. Champions Bath City participated in the vote, but finished bottom. NPL club Wigan Athletic were elected to the League after beating Southport in a second round of voting.[2]
Club | League | First round votes | Second round votes |
---|---|---|---|
York City | Football League Division Four | 49 | |
Rochdale | Football League Division Four | 39 | |
Hartepool United | Football League Division Four | 37 | |
Wigan Athletic | Northern Premier League | 27 | 29 |
Southport | Football League Division Four | 21 | 20 |
Bath City | Southern League | 23 |
Division One North
Division One North featured three new clubs, all of which had been relegated from the Premier Division the previous season:
- Bridgend Town (elected from the Welsh Football League
- Burton Albion (relegated from the Premier Division)
Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Witney Town | 38 | 20 | 15 | 3 | 54 | 27 | 27 | 55 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
2 | Bridgend Town | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 59 | 45 | 14 | 49 | |
3 | Burton Albion | 38 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 48 | 32 | 16 | 45 | |
4 | Enderby Town | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 59 | 44 | 15 | 44 | |
5 | Bromsgrove Rovers | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 56 | 41 | 15 | 44 | |
6 | Banbury United | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 52 | 47 | 5 | 44 | |
7 | Kidderminster Harriers | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 58 | 41 | 17 | 43 | |
8 | Merthyr Tydfil | 38 | 18 | 6 | 14 | 85 | 62 | 23 | 42 | |
9 | Cambridge City | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 56 | 45 | 11 | 40 | |
10 | Barry Town | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 58 | 48 | 10 | 39 | |
11 | Wellingborough Town | 38 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 47 | 43 | 4 | 37 | |
12 | King's Lynn | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 55 | 55 | 0 | 37 | |
13 | Gloucester City | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 68 | 75 | −7 | 36 | |
14 | Corby Town | 38 | 9 | 17 | 12 | 46 | 48 | −2 | 35 | |
15 | Dunstable | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 49 | 59 | −10 | 35 | Transferred to Division One South at end of season |
16 | Stourbridge | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 52 | 53 | −1 | 33 | |
17 | Tamworth | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 37 | 48 | −11 | 31 | |
18 | Bedworth United | 38 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 36 | 58 | −22 | 30 | |
19 | Milton Keynes City | 38 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 26 | 74 | −48 | 21 | |
20 | Oswestry Town | 38 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 29 | 85 | −56 | 20 |
Division One South
Division One South featured five new clubs:
- Addlestone (promoted from the Athenian League)
- Chelmsford City (relegated from the Premier Division)
- Hounslow (promoted from the Athenian League)
- Margate (relegated from the Premier Division)
- Taunton Town (promoted from the Western League)
Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Margate | 38 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 92 | 32 | 60 | 58 | Promoted to Premier Division |
2 | Dorchester Town | 38 | 23 | 10 | 5 | 67 | 31 | 36 | 56 | |
3 | Salisbury | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 60 | 27 | 33 | 52 | |
4 | Waterlooville | 38 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 66 | 36 | 30 | 51 | |
5 | Romford | 38 | 17 | 15 | 6 | 58 | 37 | 21 | 49 | Folded at end of season |
6 | Aylesbury United | 38 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 56 | 42 | 14 | 47 | |
7 | Trowbridge Town | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 65 | 59 | 6 | 43 | |
8 | Chelmsford City | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 58 | 46 | 12 | 41 | |
9 | Folkestone & Shepway | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 64 | 56 | 8 | 41 | |
10 | Taunton Town | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 57 | 54 | 3 | 40 | |
11 | Addlestone | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 57 | 60 | −3 | 38 | |
12 | Crawley Town | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 61 | 60 | 1 | 37 | |
13 | Basingstoke Town | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 44 | 50 | −6 | 33 | |
14 | Tonbridge | 38 | 13 | 5 | 20 | 64 | 77 | −13 | 31 | |
15 | Ashford Town | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 39 | 60 | −21 | 31 | |
16 | Hounslow | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 43 | 62 | −19 | 30 | |
17 | Bognor Regis Town | 38 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 52 | 69 | −17 | 26 | |
18 | Poole Town | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 43 | 68 | −25 | 26 | |
19 | Andover | 38 | 4 | 12 | 22 | 30 | 68 | −38 | 20 | |
20 | Canterbury City | 38 | 2 | 6 | 30 | 31 | 113 | −82 | 10 |