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2003–04 Southern Football League

The 2003–04 Southern Football League season was the 101st in the history of the league, an English football competition.

It was the last season for the Southern Football League as a feeder for the Conference Premier. At the end of the season, the Premier Division was replaced as a level 6 league (along with the Northern Premier League Premier Division and Isthmian League Premier Division) by the newly formed Conference North and Conference South. The Premier Division lost more than half its clubs to newly formed divisions, and the two regional divisions had a number of their clubs promoted to the Premier Division to replace them. Thus, the Southern Football League divisions downgraded to 7-8 levels.

Premier Division

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The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 17 clubs from the previous season and five new clubs:

Crawley Town won the division and were promoted to the Conference National. Clubs finished higher than 14th position were to transfer to the newly created Conference North and South divisions and clubs finished higher than 18th position plus winners of divisions One were to participate in the play-offs for a two final spots in Conference North/South.

There were no relegation from the Premier Division this season, though, due to league reform, clubs remained in the division downgraded from sixth tier to seventh.

League table

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Southern Football League
Premier Division
Season2003–04
ChampionsCrawley Town
PromotedCrawley Town
Matches played462
Goals scored1,238 (2.68 per match)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Crawley Town 42 25 9 8 77 43 +34 84 Promoted to the Conference National
2 Weymouth 42 20 12 10 76 47 +29 72 Qualified for the Conference South
3 Stafford Rangers 42 19 11 12 55 43 +12 68 Qualified for the Conference North
4 Nuneaton Borough 42 17 15 10 65 49 +16 66
5 Worcester City 42 18 9 15 71 50 +21 63
6 Hinckley United 42 15 14 13 55 46 +9 59
7 Newport County 42 15 14 13 52 50 +2 59 Qualified for the Conference South
8 Cambridge City 42 14 15 13 54 53 +1 57
9 Welling United 42 16 8 18 56 58 −2 56
10 Weston-super-Mare 42 14 13 15 52 52 0 55
11 Eastbourne Borough 42 14 13 15 48 56 −8 55
12 Havant & Waterlooville 42 15 10 17 59 70 −11 55
13 Moor Green 42 14 12 16 42 54 −12 54 Qualified for the Conference North
14 Merthyr Tydfil 42 13 14 15 60 66 −6 53 Qualified for the play-offs
15 Tiverton Town 42 12 15 15 63 64 −1 51
16 Bath City 42 13 12 17 49 57 −8 51
17 Dorchester Town 42 14 9 19 56 69 −13 51 Qualified for the play-offs, then qualified to the Conference South
18 Chelmsford City 42 11 16 15 46 53 −7 49 Qualified for the play-offs, then transferred to the Isthmian League
19 Dover Athletic 42 12 13 17 50 59 −9 49 Transferred to the Isthmian League
20 Hednesford Town 42 12 12 18 56 69 −13 48
21 Chippenham Town 42 10 17 15 51 63 −12 47
22 Grantham Town 42 10 15 17 45 67 −22 45
Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Play-offs

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Semifinals Final
      
16P Bath City 2
17P Dorchester Town 4
15P Tiverton Town 1
17P Dorchester Town 3
15P Tiverton Town 1
18P Chelmsford City 0
Semifinals Final
      
1ed King's Lynn 0
1wd Redditch United 1
14P Merthyr Tydfil 0
1wd Redditch United 3
14P Merthyr Tydfil W/O
 

Stadia and locations

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Locations of the Premier Division clubs
Club Stadium
Bath City Twerton Park
Cambridge City City Ground
Chelmsford City New Lodge (groundshare with Billericay Town)
Chippenham Town Hardenhuish Park
Crawley Town Broadfield Stadium
Dorchester Town The Avenue Stadium
Dover Athletic Crabble Athletic Ground
Eastbourne Borough Priory Lane
Grantham Town South Kesteven Sports Stadium
Havant & Waterlooville West Leigh Park
Hednesford Town Keys Park
Hinckley United Middlefield Lane
Merthyr Tydfil Penydarren Park
Moor Green The Moorlands
Newport County Rodney Parade
Nuneaton Borough Liberty Way
Stafford Rangers Marston Road
Tiverton Town Ladysmead
Welling United Park View Road
Weston-super-Mare Woodspring Park
Weymouth Bob Lucas Stadium
Worcester City St Georges Lane

Eastern Division

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The Eastern Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from the previous season and four new clubs:

League table

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Southern Football League
Eastern Division
Season2003–04
ChampionsKing's Lynn
Matches played462
Goals scored1,359 (2.94 per match)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 King's Lynn 42 28 7 7 90 35 +55 91 Qualified for the play-offs, then promoted to the Premier Division
2 Histon 42 26 10 6 96 41 +55 88 Promoted to the Premier Division
3 Tonbridge Angels 42 27 7 8 82 46 +36 88 Promoted to the Isthmian League Premier Division
4 Eastleigh 42 27 4 11 88 40 +48 82[a]
5 Folkestone Invicta 42 20 15 7 91 45 +46 75
6 Salisbury City 42 21 11 10 73 45 +28 74
7 Stamford 42 20 11 11 63 45 +18 71 Promoted to the Premier Division
8 Banbury United 42 19 10 13 65 57 +8 67
9 Burgess Hill Town 42 19 7 16 67 54 +13 64 Transferred to the Isthmian League Division One
10 Sittingbourne 42 18 8 16 61 55 +6 62
11 Bashley 42 18 7 17 66 58 +8 61 Transferred to the Isthmian League Division One
12 Ashford Town (Kent) 42 15 9 18 51 53 −2 54
13 Chatham Town 42 13 10 19 49 67 −18 49
14 Fisher Athletic 42 13 10 19 61 81 −20 49
15 Corby Town 42 12 9 21 44 75 −31 45 Transferred to the Western Division
16 Dartford 42 13 6 23 48 81 −33 45
17 Burnham 42 12 11 19 52 76 −24 44[b] Transferred to the Western Division
18 Hastings United 42 12 7 23 60 91 −31 43 Transferred to the Isthmian League Division One
19 Newport (Isle of Wight) 42 11 7 24 42 69 −27 40
20 Rothwell Town 42 9 11 22 30 47 −17 38 Transferred to the Western Division
21 Erith & Belvedere 42 7 10 25 45 84 −39 31
22 Fleet Town 42 5 7 30 35 114 −79 22 Transferred to the Isthmian League Division One
Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ Eastleigh were deducted three points
  2. ^ Burnham were deducted three points

Stadia and locations

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Locations of the Eastern Division clubs
Club Stadium
Ashford Town (Kent) The Homelands
Banbury United Spencer Stadium
Bashley Bashley Road
Burgess Hill Town Leylands Park
Burnham The Gore
Chatham Town The Sports Ground
Corby Town Steel Park
Dartford Stonebridge Road (groundshare with Gravesend & Northfleet)
Eastleigh Ten Acres
Erith & Belvedere Park View Road (groundshare with Welling United)
Fleet Town Calthorpe Park
Folkestone Invicta Cheriton Road
Fisher Athletic Champion Hill (groundshare with Dulwich Hamlet)
Hastings United The Pilot Field
Histon Bridge Road
King's Lynn The Walks
Newport (Isle of Wight) St Georges Park
Rothwell Town Cecil Street
Salisbury City Raymond McEnhill Stadium
Sittingbourne Bourne Park
Stamford Hanson's Field
Tonbridge Angels Longmead Stadium

Western Division

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The Western Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from the previous season and four new clubs:

League table

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Southern Football League
Western Division
Season2003–04
ChampionsRedditch United
Matches played420
Goals scored1,166 (2.78 per match)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Redditch United 40 25 9 6 75 30 +45 84 Qualified for the play-offs, then promoted to the Conference North
2 Gloucester City 40 24 7 9 77 46 +31 79 Promoted to the Premier Division
3 Cirencester Town 40 24 4 12 73 40 +33 76
4 Halesowen Town 40 20 13 7 64 40 +24 73
5 Rugby United 40 21 8 11 57 40 +17 71
6 Team Bath 40 21 6 13 62 41 +21 69
7 Solihull Borough 40 19 9 12 50 31 +19 66
8 Sutton Coldfield Town 40 16 15 9 52 38 +14 63
9 Bromsgrove Rovers 40 16 11 13 60 48 +12 59
10 Ilkeston Town 40 16 10 14 58 59 −1 58 Transferred to the Northern Premier League Division One
11 Clevedon Town 40 16 5 19 55 59 −4 53
12 Gresley Rovers 40 15 7 18 52 60 −8 52 Transferred to the Northern Premier League Division One
13 Mangotsfield United 40 14 8 18 70 70 0 50
14 Evesham United 40 15 5 20 56 57 −1 50
15 Taunton Town 40 14 8 18 50 55 −5 50
16 Yate Town 40 11 9 20 51 79 −28 42
17 Swindon Supermarine 40 10 9 21 41 69 −28 39
18 Stourport Swifts 40 9 11 20 43 62 −19 38
19 Bedworth United 40 8 12 20 39 61 −22 36
20 Cinderford Town 40 7 9 24 50 94 −44 30
21 Shepshed Dynamo 40 5 13 22 31 87 −56 28 Transferred to the Northern Premier League Division One
22 Atherstone United 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Club folded
Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Stadia and locations

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Locations of the Western Division clubs
Club Stadium
Atherstone Town Sheepy Road
Bedworth United The Oval
Bromsgrove Rovers Victoria Ground
Cinderford Town Causeway Ground
Cirencester Town Corinium Stadium
Gloucester City Meadow Park, Gloucester
Clevedon Town Hand Stadium
Evesham United Common Road
Gresley Rovers Moat Ground
Halesowen Town The Grove
Ilkeston Town New Manor Ground
Mangotsfield United Cossham Street
Redditch United The Valley
Rugby Town Butlin Road
Shepshed Dynamo The Dovecote Stadium
Solihull Borough Damson Park
Stourport Swifts Walshes Meadow
Sutton Coldfield Town The Central Ground
Swindon Supermarine Hunts Copse Ground
Taunton Town Wordsworth Drive
Team Bath Twerton Park (groundshare with Bath City)
Yate Town Lodge Road

See also

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References

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