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

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

  • Two clubs promoted from the Western Division:

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
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 56 −7 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
Semifinals Final
      
Bath City 2
Dorchester Town 4
Tiverton Town 1
Dorchester Town 3
Tiverton Town 1
Chelmsford City 0
Semifinals Final
      
King's Lynn 0
Redditch United 1
Merthyr Tydfil 0
Redditch United 3
Merthyr Tydfil W/O
 

Stadia and locations
Locations of the Premier Division clubs
Club Stadium
Bath CityTwerton Park
Cambridge CityCity Ground
Chelmsford CityNew Lodge (groundshare with Billericay Town)
Chippenham TownHardenhuish Park
Crawley TownBroadfield Stadium
Dorchester TownThe Avenue Stadium
Dover AthleticCrabble Athletic Ground
Eastbourne BoroughPriory Lane
Grantham TownSouth Kesteven Sports Stadium
Havant & WaterloovilleWest Leigh Park
Hednesford TownKeys Park
Hinckley UnitedMiddlefield Lane
Merthyr TydfilPenydarren Park
Moor GreenThe Moorlands
Newport CountyRodney Parade
Nuneaton BoroughLiberty Way
Stafford RangersMarston Road
Tiverton TownLadysmead
Welling UnitedPark View Road
Weston-super-MareWoodspring Park
WeymouthBob Lucas Stadium
Worcester CitySt Georges Lane

Eastern Division

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

League table
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[lower-alpha 1]
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[lower-alpha 2] 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
Locations of the Eastern Division clubs
Club Stadium
Ashford Town (Kent)The Homelands
Banbury UnitedSpencer Stadium
BashleyBashley Road
Burgess Hill TownLeylands Park
BurnhamThe Gore
Chatham TownThe Sports Ground
Corby TownSteel Park
DartfordStonebridge Road (groundshare with Gravesend & Northfleet)
EastleighTen Acres
Erith & BelvederePark View Road (groundshare with Welling United)
Fleet TownCalthorpe Park
Folkestone InvictaCheriton Road
Fisher AthleticChampion Hill (groundshare with Dulwich Hamlet)
Hastings UnitedThe Pilot Field
HistonBridge Road
King's LynnThe Walks
Newport (Isle of Wight)St Georges Park
Rothwell TownCecil Street
Salisbury CityRaymond McEnhill Stadium
SittingbourneBourne Park
StamfordHanson's Field
Tonbridge AngelsLongmead Stadium

Western Division

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

League table
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
Locations of the Western Division clubs
Club Stadium
Atherstone TownSheepy Road
Bedworth UnitedThe Oval
Bromsgrove RoversVictoria Ground
Cinderford TownCauseway Ground
Cirencester TownCorinium Stadium
Gloucester CityMeadow Park, Gloucester
Clevedon TownHand Stadium
Evesham UnitedCommon Road
Gresley RoversMoat Ground
Halesowen TownThe Grove
Ilkeston TownNew Manor Ground
Mangotsfield UnitedCossham Street
Redditch UnitedThe Valley
Rugby TownButlin Road
Shepshed DynamoThe Dovecote Stadium
Solihull BoroughDamson Park
Stourport SwiftsWalshes Meadow
Sutton Coldfield TownThe Central Ground
Swindon SupermarineHunts Copse Ground
Taunton TownWordsworth Drive
Team BathTwerton Park (groundshare with Bath City)
Yate TownLodge Road

See also

References
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.