The 1908–09 season was the 17th in the history of the Western Football League.
| Season | 1908–09 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Millwall (Division One) Bristol City Reserves (Division Two) |
← 1907–08 1909–10 → | |
For the last time, Division One was split into two sections of six clubs, reorganised from the previous season, with the winner of each section playing each other in a Championship decider. Brighton & Hove Albion won Section A and reigning champions Millwall won Section B, with Millwall winning the decider 2–1 in a replay after the first match was drawn. At the end of this season, all 14 clubs in Division One resigned from the League, leaving Division Two as the only division in the league. All the member clubs of Division One also competed in the Southern League during this season. As with the previous season, the Division Two champions were Bristol City Reserves.[1]
Division One
editOne new club joined Division One, which remained at 14 clubs after Tottenham Hotspur left.
Section A
edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 23 | 13 | 1.769 | 16 | All clubs left at the end of the season |
| 2 | Queens Park Rangers | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 28 | 24 | 1.167 | 13 | |
| 3 | Crystal Palace | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 23 | 22 | 1.045 | 12 | |
| 4 | Luton Town | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 24 | 24 | 1.000 | 12 | |
| 5 | Croydon Common | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 24 | 0.667 | 12 | |
| 6 | Reading | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 19 | 21 | 0.905 | 10 | |
| 7 | Leyton | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 16 | 21 | 0.762 | 9 |
Section B
edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Millwall | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 11 | 2.182 | 18 | All clubs left at the end of the season |
| 2 | Southampton | 12 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 20 | 1.000 | 14 | |
| 3 | Plymouth Argyle | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 0.923 | 13 | |
| 4 | Portsmouth | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 21 | 21 | 1.000 | 12 | |
| 5 | West Ham United | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 21 | 23 | 0.913 | 10 | |
| 6 | Bristol Rovers | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 0.696 | 9 | |
| 7 | Brentford | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 0.769 | 8 |
Championship decider
editAt the end of the season, the winners of the two sections played a match to decide the overall champions. For the first time, the match was drawn and a replay was arranged.[1]
| Section A | v | Section B |
|---|---|---|
Division Two
editThree new clubs joined Division Two, which was increased from nine to 12 clubs.
- Aberdare
- Barry District, joining from the South Wales League
- Bath City
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bristol City Reserves | 22 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 59 | 16 | 3.688 | 34 | |
| 2 | Bristol Rovers Reserves | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 81 | 29 | 2.793 | 32 | |
| 3 | Aberdare | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 56 | 30 | 1.867 | 29 | |
| 4 | Treharris | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 57 | 45 | 1.267 | 26 | |
| 5 | Staple Hill | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 41 | 60 | 0.683 | 22 | Disbanded at the end of the season |
| 6 | Radstock Town | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 37 | 60 | 0.617 | 21 | |
| 7 | Weymouth | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 47 | 64 | 0.734 | 20 | |
| 8 | Bath City | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 39 | 45 | 0.867 | 19 | |
| 9 | Barry District | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 42 | 50 | 0.840 | 19 | |
| 10 | Welton Rovers | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 41 | 54 | 0.759 | 17 | |
| 11 | Kingswood Rovers | 22 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 24 | 55 | 0.436 | 13 | |
| 12 | Paulton Rovers | 22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 39 | 55 | 0.709 | 12 |
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up to and including the 1976–77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.