1986–87 Southern Football League

The 1986–87 Southern Football League season was the 84th in the history of the league, an English football competition.

Fisher Athletic won the Premier Division and earned promotion to the Football Conference, whilst Basingstoke Town, Leamington and Woodford Town left the league at the end of the season. The Southern League Cup was lifted by Waterlooville, who won both legs of the final against Hednesford Town.

Premier Division

The Premier Division expanded up to 22 clubs, including 17 clubs from the previous season and five new clubs:

League table

Southern Football League
Premier Division
Season1986–87
ChampionsFisher Athletic
PromotedFisher Athletic
RelegatedDudley Town
Folkestone
King's Lynn
Salisbury
Matches played462
Goals scored1,248 (2.7 per match)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
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 Premier Division
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 to the Southern Division
20 King's Lynn 42 9 13 20 48 72 −24 40 Relegated to the Midland Division
21 Dudley Town 42 9 9 24 39 76 −37 36
22 Folkestone 42 8 11 23 36 79 −43 35 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 20 clubs, including 18 clubs from the previous season and two new clubs:

At the end of the season Grantham was renamed Grantham Town.

League table

Southern Football League
Midland Division
Season1986–87
ChampionsVS Rugby
PromotedVS Rugby
Leicester United
Matches played380
Goals scored1,267 (3.33 per match)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
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 Qualification for the 1987–88 Cup Winners' Cup first round
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
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 Resigned to the Midland Combination
20 Rushden Town 38 1 10 27 42 124 −82 13
Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Southern Division

The Southern Division consisted of 20 clubs, including 19 clubs from the previous season and one new club:

At the end of the season Burnham & Hillingdon changed name to Burnham.

League table

Southern Football League
Southern Division
Season1986–87
ChampionsDorchester Town
PromotedAshford Town (Kent)
Dorchester Town
Matches played380
Goals scored1,179 (3.1 per match)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Dorchester Town 38 23 8 7 83 42 +41 77 Promoted to the Premier Division
2 Ashford Town (Kent) 38 23 7 8 63 32 +31 76
3 Woodford Town 38 22 6 10 72 44 +28 72 Resigned to the Essex Senior League
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 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 the Midland Division
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
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
Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

See also

References