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The 1896–97 season was the third in the history of the Southern League. Southampton St.Mary's won the Division One championship. Millwall Athletic and Tottenham Hotspur applied for election to Football League. However, they were not elected so were allowed to play in the Southern League.
| Season | 1896–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Southampton St.Mary's (1st title) |
| Promoted | none |
| Relegated | Royal Ordnance Factories (resigned) |
| Matches played | 110 |
| Goals scored | 429 (3.9 per match) |
← 1895–96 1897–98 → | |
Division One featured seven teams from previous season and five new clubs: two promoted from Division Two and three newly elected members.
Teams promoted from Division Two:
- Wolverston L&NWR - champions, winners of testing matches
- Sheppey United - runners-up, winners of testing matches
Newly promoted teams:
- Northfleet - Kent League champions
- Gravesend United - Kent League members
- Tottenham Hotspur
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southampton St.Mary's[lower-alpha 1] | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 63 | 18 | 3.500 | 35 | |
| 2 | Millwall Athletic | 20 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 63 | 24 | 2.625 | 31 | |
| 3 | Chatham Town | 20 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 54 | 29 | 1.862 | 27 | |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 43 | 29 | 1.483 | 22 | |
| 5 | Gravesend United | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 35 | 34 | 1.029 | 22 | |
| 6 | Swindon Town | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 33 | 37 | 0.892 | 19 | |
| 7 | Reading | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 31 | 49 | 0.633 | 19 | |
| 8 | New Brompton | 20 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 32 | 42 | 0.762 | 16 | |
| 9 | Northfleet | 20 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 24 | 46 | 0.522 | 14 | Relegation test matches |
| 10 | Sheppey United | 20 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 34 | 47 | 0.723 | 11 | |
| 11 | Wolverton L&NWR | 20 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 17 | 74 | 0.230 | 4 | |
| 12 | Royal Ordnance Factories | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 2.200 | 6 | Resigned from league after seven matches, record expunged |
Source: [1]
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Notes:
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Notes:
| Season | 1896–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dartford |
| Promoted | none |
| Relegated | Freemantle (resigned) 1st Scots Guards (resigned) 1st Coldstream Guards (resigned) |
| Matches played | 156 |
| Goals scored | 618 (3.96 per match) |
← 1895–96 1897–98 → | |
Division Two featured five teams from previous season and eight new clubs, all of which were newly elected.
Newly promoted teams:
- Dartford - Kent League members
- RETB Chatham - Kent League members
- 1st Coldstream Guards
- Freemantle
- Southall
- Warmley
- West Herts
- Wycombe Wanderers
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dartford | 24 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 83 | 19 | 4.368 | 36 | Promotion test matches |
| 2 | RETB Chatham | 24 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 49 | 37 | 1.324 | 31 | |
| 3 | Freemantle | 24 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 58 | 40 | 1.450 | 28 | Promotion test matches, left league at end of season[lower-alpha 1] |
| 4 | Uxbridge | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 62 | 37 | 1.676 | 27 | |
| 5 | Wycombe Wanderers | 24 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 37 | 54 | 0.685 | 26 | |
| 6 | Chesham | 24 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 41 | 55 | 0.745 | 25 | |
| 7 | Southall | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 55 | 52 | 1.058 | 24 | |
| 8 | 1st Scots Guards | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 49 | 50 | 0.980 | 24 | Left league at end of season |
| 9 | Warmley | 24 | 10 | 3 | 11 | 44 | 43 | 1.023 | 23 | |
| 10 | West Herts | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 41 | 49 | 0.837 | 23 | |
| 11 | Old St.Stephen's | 24 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 36 | 52 | 0.692 | 17 | |
| 12 | Maidenhead | 24 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 33 | 64 | 0.516 | 16 | |
| 13 | 1st Coldstream Guards | 24 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 30 | 66 | 0.455 | 12 | Left league at end of season |
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Notes:
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Notes:
- Freemantle resigned at the end of the season from the Southern Football League, creating a vacancy filled by Royal Artillery Portsmouth in the next 1897-98 season[2]
At the end of the season, test matches were held between the bottom three clubs in Division One and the top three clubs in Division Two. Third-placed Freemantle were the only Division Two club to win, but withdrew from the league at the end of season, meaning their defeated opponents Northfleet remained in Division One.[3][4]
| Division One clubs | v | Division Two clubs |
|---|---|---|
| Sheppey United | 2 – 1 | RETB Chatham |
|---|---|---|
| Northfleet | 0 – 3 | Freemantle |
|---|---|---|
Only one Southern League club, Millwall Athletic, applied for election to Division Two of the Football League. However, they received only one vote and were not elected.[5]
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