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

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Southern Football League Division One
Season1907–08
ChampionsQueens Park Rangers (1st title)
PromotedTottenham Hotspur
Bradford Park Avenue
Relegatednone
Matches played380
Goals scored1,045 (2.75 per match)

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
Source: [1]
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

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Southern Football League Division Two
Season1907–08
ChampionsSouthend United
PromotedSouthend United
RelegatedPortsmouth II
Southampton II
Tunbridge Wells Rangers
Swindon Town II
Brighton & Hove Albion II
Wycombe Wanderers
(all resigned)
Matches played90
Goals scored381 (4.23 per match)

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
Source: [1]
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

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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.

Club League Votes
Grimsby Town Football League 32
Chesterfield Town Football League 23
Bradford Park Avenue Southern League 20
Lincoln City Football League 18
Tottenham Hotspur Southern League 14
Burton United Birmingham & District League 1

References

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  1. ^ a b c "England - Southern League Final Tables". RSSSF.
  2. ^ A history of admission to the Football League