1920–21 Southern Football League

The 1920–21 season was the 23rd in the history of the Southern League. The league was split into two sections, one for English clubs and one for Welsh clubs.[1] The previous season had seen all Division One clubs elected to the Football League to form the new Third Division, leaving ten of the eleven clubs from Division Two (Caerphilly, who had finished bottom of Division Two, had resigned from the league) as the sole remaining members, all of which were from Wales. As a result, the league admitted thirteen new clubs from England (nine of which were reserve teams) and one from Wales (Aberdare Athletic).[1]

Brighton & Hove Albion reserves won the English section, whilst Barry won the Welsh section.[1] Brighton reserves were declared Southern League champions after defeating Barry in a championship play-off; after a 1–1 draw at Millwall's Den stadium, Brighton beat Barry 2–1 after eighty minutes of extra-time in a replay at Cardiff City's Ninian Park.[2]

Alongside Barry, five other Southern League clubs applied for election to the two places in Division Three South of the Football League. Welsh Section runners-up Aberdare Athletic and the English Section's eighth-placed club Charlton Athletic won the most votes and joined the League the following season.[3]

English section

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Southern Football League English Section
Season1920–21
ChampionsBrighton & Hove Albion II (1st title)
PromotedCharlton Athletic
RelegatedChatham Town (resigned)
Thornycrofts (resigned)
Matches played156
Goals scored512 (3.28 per match)

All thirteen clubs in the English section were new to the league.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification
1 Brighton & Hove Albion II 24 16 3 5 65 29 2.241 35
2 Portsmouth II 24 13 7 4 44 20 2.200 33
3 Millwall Athletic II 24 12 4 8 46 24 1.917 28
4 Southampton II 24 10 7 7 53 35 1.514 27
5 Boscombe 24 10 6 8 25 40 0.625 26
6 Reading II 24 11 3 10 41 34 1.206 25
7 Luton Town II 24 8 8 8 38 35 1.086 24
8 Charlton Athletic 24 8 8 8 41 41 1.000 24 Elected to the Football League Third Division South
9 Watford II 24 9 4 11 43 45 0.956 22
10 Norwich City II 24 7 7 10 31 39 0.795 21
11 Gillingham II 24 6 5 13 32 47 0.681 17
12 Chatham Town 24 5 6 13 24 47 0.511 16 Left league at end of season
13 Thornycrofts 24 4 6 14 29 76 0.382 14
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976–77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.

Welsh section

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Southern Football League Welsh Section
Season1920–21
ChampionsBarry
PromotedAberdare Athletic
RelegatedMid Rhondda (resigned)
Llanelly (resigned)
Matches played156
Goals scored512 (3.28 per match)

A total of 11 teams contest the division, including ten sides from previous season and one new team.

Newly elected teams:

  • Aberdare Athletic
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification
1 Barry 20 13 4 3 35 12 2.917 30
2 Aberdare Athletic 20 12 3 5 29 23 1.261 27 Elected to the Football League Third Division South
3 Ebbw Vale 20 10 5 5 34 23 1.478 25
4 Pontypridd 20 10 3 7 34 23 1.478 23
5 Mid Rhondda 20 10 3 7 26 18 1.444 23 Left league at end of season
6 Abertillery 20 8 5 7 35 24 1.458 21
7 Ton Pentre 20 7 5 8 32 34 0.941 19
8 Aberaman Athletic 20 5 7 8 30 33 0.909 17
9 Llanelly 20 7 2 11 28 46 0.609 16 Left league at end of season
10 Mardy 20 2 6 12 18 39 0.462 10
11 Porth Athletic 20 3 3 14 28 54 0.519 9
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up 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 election

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As Grimsby Town had been transferred from Division Three (which was to become Division Three South) to the new Division Three North, Crystal Palace had been promoted to Division Two, and no teams had been relegated from Division Two to the new Division Three South, there were two vacancies in the newly renamed division.[3] The Arsenal representative at the Football League meeting proposed that the bottom two clubs in Division Three the previous season (Brentford and Gillingham) be re-elected automatically, a decision that was approved with only one representative against.[3]

In total, eight non-League clubs applied, six from the Southern League, one from the Western League and one from the Welsh National League (South). Aberdare Athletic and Charlton Athletic were successful, and joined the Football League the following season.[3]

Club League Votes
Aberdare Athletic Southern League 38
Charlton Athletic Southern League 30
Bath City Western League
Abertillery Southern League
Barry Southern League
Bridgend Town Welsh National League (South)
Pontypridd Southern League
Aberaman Athletic Southern League Withdrew before vote

References

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