1986–87 Southern Football League

The 1985–86 Southern Football League season saw Fisher Athletic win the Premier Division and earn promotion to the Football Conference, whilst Basingstoke Town, Leamington and Woodford Town left the league at the end of the season.[1]

Contents

Final tables

Premier Division

The Premier Division featured five new clubs:

Pos Club P W D L GF GA GD Pts Notes
1 Fisher Athletic 42 25 11 6 72 29 43 86 Promoted to the Football Conference
2 Bromsgrove Rovers 42 24 11 7 82 41 41 83
3 Aylesbury United 42 24 11 7 72 40 32 83
4 Dartford 42 19 12 11 76 43 33 69
5 Chelmsford City 42 17 13 12 48 45 3 64
6 Cambridge City 42 14 20 8 68 52 16 62
7 Redditch United 42 16 14 12 59 54 5 62
8 Alvechurch 42 18 8 16 66 62 4 62
9 Corby Town 42 14 17 11 65 51 14 59
10 Worcester City 42 16 11 15 62 55 7 59
11 Shepshed Charterhouse 42 16 10 16 59 59 0 58
12 Bedworth United 42 15 12 15 55 51 4 57
13 Crawley Town 42 14 11 17 59 60 -1 53
14 Fareham Town 42 11 17 14 58 49 9 50
15 Willenhall Town 42 13 11 18 48 57 -9 50
16 Basingstoke Town 42 12 12 18 53 78 -25 48 Transferred to the Isthmian League at end of season
17 Witney Town 42 12 12 18 29 56 -27 48
18 Gosport Borough 42 11 13 18 42 57 -15 46
19 Salisbury 42 12 7 23 52 82 -30 43 Relegated
20 King's Lynn 42 9 13 20 48 72 -24 40
21 Dudley Town 42 9 9 24 39 76 -37 36
22 Folkestone 42 8 11 23 36 79 -43 35

Midland Division

The Midland Division featured two new clubs:

Pos Club P W D L GF GA GD Pts Notes
1 VS Rugby 38 25 5 8 81 43 38 80 Promoted to the Premier Division
2 Leicester United 38 26 1 11 89 49 40 79
3 Merthyr Tydfil 38 23 6 9 95 54 41 75
4 Moor Green 38 22 6 10 73 55 18 72
5 Halesowen Town 38 19 12 7 72 50 22 69
6 Hednesford Town 38 21 5 12 84 56 28 68
7 Gloucester City 38 19 5 14 77 59 18 62
8 Coventry Sporting 38 17 8 13 55 54 1 59
9 Forest Green Rovers 38 16 9 13 65 53 12 57
10 Stourbridge 38 16 7 15 56 56 0 55
11 Grantham 38 15 9 14 74 54 20 54 Changed name to Grantham Town at end of season
12 Banbury United 38 14 7 17 55 65 -10 49
13 Buckingham Town 38 13 9 16 55 59 -4 48
14 Bridgnorth Town 38 12 9 17 59 63 -4 45
15 Wellingborough Town 38 13 6 19 55 76 -21 45
16 Mile Oak Rovers 38 11 10 17 50 63 -13 43
17 Sutton Coldfield Town 38 8 10 20 56 78 -22 34
18 Bilston Town 38 8 7 23 37 76 -39 31
19 Leamington 38 4 13 21 37 80 -43 25 Relegated to the Midland Combination
20 Rushden Town 38 1 10 27 42 124 -82 13

Southern Division

The Southern Division featured one new club, Gravesend & Northfleet, who had been relegated from the Premier Division the previous season.

Pos Club P W D L GF GA GD Pts Notes
1 Dorchester Town 38 23 8 7 83 42 41 77 Promoted to the Premier Division
2 Ashford Town 38 23 7 8 63 32 31 76
3 Woodford Town 38 22 6 10 72 44 28 72 Dropped into Essex Senior League at end of season
4 Hastings Town 38 20 10 8 74 54 20 70
5 Dover Athletic 38 20 6 12 66 43 23 66
6 Gravesend & Northfleet 38 18 7 13 67 46 21 61
7 Tonbridge AFC 38 16 10 12 73 67 6 58
8 Erith & Belvedere 38 15 12 11 57 50 7 57
9 Chatham Town 38 16 9 13 52 46 6 57
10 Thanet United 38 14 14 10 56 50 6 56
11 Waterlooville 38 16 8 14 66 65 1 56
12 Trowbridge Town 38 15 9 14 77 65 12 54 Transferred to Midland Division at end of season
13 Dunstable 38 13 9 16 60 57 3 48
14 Corinthian 38 11 12 15 56 65 -9 45
15 Sheppey United 38 9 12 17 43 64 -21 39
16 Andover 38 9 9 20 51 80 -29 36
17 Burnham & Hillingdon 38 7 11 20 32 62 -30 32 Changed name to Burnham at end of season
18 Poole Town 38 8 6 24 50 90 -40 30
19 Ruislip 38 6 12 20 35 75 -40 30
20 Canterbury City 38 8 5 25 46 82 -36 29

References