1985–86 Southern Football League

The 1985–86 Southern Football League season was the 83rd in the history of the league, an English football competition.

Welling United won the Premier Division and earned promotion to the Football Conference, whilst RS Southampton and Oldbury United left the league at the end of the season.

Premier Division

The Premier Division consisted of 20 clubs, including 15 clubs from the previous season and five new clubs:

The Premier Division was to be expanded in the next season so only two clubs were to be relegated this season, though after RS Southampton resigned from the league, only Gravesend & Northfleet was relegated.

League table

Southern Football League
Premier Division
Season1985–86
ChampionsWelling United
PromotedWelling United
RelegatedGravesend & Northfleet
Matches played380
Goals scored1,088 (2.86 per match)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Welling United 38 29 6 3 95 31 +64 93 Promoted to the Football Conference
2 Chelmsford City 38 20 10 8 68 41 +27 70
3 Fisher Athletic 38 20 7 11 67 45 +22 67
4 Alvechurch 38 19 9 10 71 56 +15 66
5 Worcester City 38 19 9 10 64 50 +14 66
6 Crawley Town 38 18 5 15 76 59 +17 59
7 Shepshed Charterhouse 38 19 1 18 51 52 −1 58
8 Aylesbury United 38 14 10 14 52 49 +3 52
9 Folkestone 38 14 10 14 56 56 0 52
10 Bedworth United 38 14 8 16 44 49 −5 50
11 Willenhall Town 38 12 13 13 51 44 +7 49
12 Dudley Town 38 15 4 19 58 62 −4 49
13 Corby Town 38 14 7 17 61 67 −6 49
14 King's Lynn 38 12 10 16 39 42 −3 46
15 Basingstoke Town 38 13 4 21 36 67 −31 43
16 RS Southampton 38 11 9 18 44 61 −17 42 Resigned to the Wessex League
17 Witney Town 38 11 6 21 44 74 −30 39
18 Gosport Borough 38 10 8 20 42 66 −24 38
19 Fareham Town 38 8 13 17 40 62 −22 37 Reprieved from relegation
20 Gravesend & Northfleet 38 9 9 20 29 55 −26 36 Relegated to the Southern Division
Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Midland Division

The Midland Division consisted of 21 clubs, including 16 clubs from the previous season and five new clubs:

League table

Southern Football League
Midland Division
Season1985–86
ChampionsBromsgrove Rovers
PromotedBromsgrove Rovers
Redditch United
RelegatedOldbury United
Matches played420
Goals scored1,185 (2.82 per match)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Bromsgrove Rovers 40 29 5 6 95 44 +51 92 Promoted to the Premier Division
2 Redditch United 40 23 6 11 70 42 +28 75
3 Merthyr Tydfil 40 21 10 9 60 40 +20 73
4 VS Rugby 40 17 14 9 41 31 +10 65
5 Stourbridge 40 15 14 11 62 39 +23 59
6 Rushden Town 40 17 7 16 69 74 −5 58
7 Bilston Town 40 15 12 13 60 48 +12 57
8 Bridgnorth Town 40 13 18 9 56 45 +11 57
9 Gloucester City 40 15 12 13 61 57 +4 57
10 Grantham 40 16 7 17 46 59 −13 55
11 Wellingborough Town 40 15 9 16 56 56 0 54
12 Sutton Coldfield Town 40 13 14 13 60 45 +15 53
13 Hednesford Town 40 14 9 17 67 70 −3 51
14 Forest Green Rovers 40 14 9 17 52 56 −4 51
15 Mile Oak Rovers 40 14 8 18 56 73 −17 50
16 Leicester United 40 13 10 17 41 48 −7 49
17 Banbury United 40 13 8 19 38 55 −17 47
18 Coventry Sporting 40 10 15 15 42 48 −6 45
19 Moor Green 40 12 6 22 63 91 −28 42
20 Leamington 40 10 6 24 40 77 −37 36
21 Oldbury United 40 8 7 25 50 87 −37 31 Relegated to the West Midlands (Regional) League
Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Southern Division

The Southern Division expanded up to 21 clubs, including 16 clubs from the previous season and five new clubs:

Also, at the end of the previous season Hillingdon merged with London Spartan League club Burnham to form a new club Burnham & Hillingdon, who took over a place in the Southern Football League.

League table

Southern Football League
Southern Division
Season1985–86
ChampionsCambridge City
PromotedCambridge City
Salisbury
Matches played420
Goals scored1,259 (3 per match)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Cambridge City 40 23 11 6 87 41 +46 80 Promoted to the Premier Division
2 Salisbury 40 24 8 8 84 51 +33 80
3 Hastings Town 40 23 9 8 83 51 +32 78
4 Dover Athletic 40 23 6 11 89 53 +36 75
5 Corinthian 40 20 9 11 78 45 +33 69
6 Tonbridge 40 17 13 10 65 51 +14 64
7 Dunstable 40 17 11 12 70 61 +9 62
8 Ruislip 40 17 6 17 67 66 +1 57
9 Erith & Belvedere 40 14 12 14 35 40 −5 54
10 Waterlooville 40 16 6 18 52 58 −6 54
11 Burnham & Hillingdon 40 16 6 18 44 59 −15 54
12 Canterbury City 40 13 13 14 58 58 0 52
13 Trowbridge Town 40 13 13 14 57 63 −6 52
14 Sheppey United 40 14 10 16 43 53 −10 52
15 Thanet United 40 13 7 20 58 63 −5 46
16 Woodford Town 40 12 10 18 49 62 −13 46
17 Poole Town 40 12 7 21 55 63 −8 43
18 Ashford Town (Kent) 40 10 12 18 45 65 −20 42
19 Chatham Town 40 8 15 17 53 70 −17 39
20 Andover 40 10 8 22 52 92 −40 38
21 Dorchester Town 40 5 8 27 35 94 −59 23
Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

See also

References