1919–20 Southern Football League

The 1919–20 season was the 22nd in the history of the Southern League, and the first following World War I. Portsmouth won the Southern League championship for the second time, whilst Mid Rhondda won Division Two. There were no promotions or relegations between divisions at the end of the season as all of the clubs in Division One bar Cardiff City were elected to the new Division Three of the Football League, with Cardiff elected to Division Two.

With only 10 clubs remaining (Caerphilly left the league) the league went through a realignment. The league was split into two national sections for England and Wales, with the winners of each section contesting a playoff for the Southern League championship. The remaining clubs in Division Two moved to the Welsh Section. In the English Section, Brighton & Hove Albion Reserves, Chatham Town, Millwall Reserves, Portsmouth Reserves, Reading Reserves, Southampton Reserves, and Watford Reserves rejoined the Southern League. New clubs to join were Boscombe, Charlton Athletic, Gillingham Reserves, Luton Town Reserves, Norwich City Reserves, and Thornycrofts.

Division One

Southern Football League Division One

Season	1919–20
Champions	Portsmouth (2nd title)
Promoted	Cardiff City
Relegated	none
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,275 (2.76 per match)
← 1914–15 1920–21 Football League Third Division 1920–21 Southern Football League →

A total of 22 teams contest the division, including 18 sides from previous season and four new teams.

Teams promoted from 1914–15 Division Two:

• Merthyr Town
• Swansea Town
• Brentford
• Newport County

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts	Qualification
1	Portsmouth	42	23	12	7	73	27	2.704	58	Elected to the new Football League Third Division
2	Watford	42	26	6	10	69	42	1.643	58
3	Crystal Palace	42	22	12	8	69	43	1.605	56
4	Cardiff City	42	18	17	7	70	43	1.628	53	Elected to the Football League Second Division
5	Plymouth Argyle	42	20	10	12	57	29	1.966	50	Elected to the new Football League Third Division
6	Queens Park Rangers	42	18	10	14	62	50	1.240	46
7	Reading	42	16	13	13	51	43	1.186	45
8	Southampton	42	18	8	16	72	63	1.143	44
9	Swansea Town	42	16	11	15	53	45	1.178	43
10	Exeter City	42	17	9	16	57	51	1.118	43
11	Southend United	42	13	17	12	46	48	0.958	43
12	Norwich City	42	15	11	16	64	57	1.123	41
13	Swindon Town	42	17	7	18	65	68	0.956	41
14	Millwall	42	14	12	16	52	55	0.945	40
15	Brentford	42	15	10	17	52	59	0.881	40
16	Brighton & Hove Albion	42	14	8	20	60	72	0.833	36
17	Bristol Rovers	42	11	13	18	61	78	0.782	35
18	Newport County	42	13	7	22	45	70	0.643	33
19	Northampton Town	42	12	9	21	64	103	0.621	33
20	Luton Town	42	10	10	22	51	76	0.671	30
21	Merthyr Town	42	9	11	22	47	78	0.603	29
22	Gillingham	42	10	7	25	34	74	0.459	27

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.

Division Two

Southern Football League Division Two

Season	1919–20
Champions	Mid Rhondda
Promoted	none
Relegated	Caerphilly (resigned)
Matches played	110
Goals scored	416 (3.78 per match)
← 1914–15 1920–21 SFL Welsh Section →

A total of 11 teams contest the division, including six sides from previous season and five new teams.

Newly elected teams:

• Aberaman Athletic
• Abertillery
• Caerphilly
• Mardy
• Porth Athletic

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts	Qualification
1	Mid Rhondda	20	17	3	0	79	10	7.900	37	Promoted and Transferred to Southern League Welsh Section
2	Ton Pentre	20	12	7	1	50	14	3.571	31
3	Llanelly	20	10	5	5	47	30	1.567	25
4	Pontypridd	20	10	3	7	33	29	1.138	23
5	Ebbw Vale	20	7	7	6	39	40	0.975	21
6	Barry	20	7	5	8	32	27	1.185	19
7	Mardy	20	7	5	8	29	30	0.967	19
8	Abertillery	20	6	5	9	29	40	0.725	17
9	Porth Athletic	20	4	4	12	30	74	0.405	12
10	Aberaman Athletic	20	4	3	13	28	48	0.583	11
11	Caerphilly	20	1	3	16	20	74	0.270	5	Left league at end of season

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Note: Number of goals for and/or against is inaccurate.

Football League elections

Cardiff City were the only Southern League club to apply for election to the Football League.^[1] They were successful and, along with Leeds United, replaced Grimsby Town and Lincoln City in the Football League Second Division.

Club	League	Votes
Leeds United	Midland League	31
Cardiff City	Southern League	23
Grimsby Town	Football League	20
Lincoln City	Football League	7
Walsall	Birmingham & District League	3

After the voting, 21 clubs remained in Southern League alongside Grimsby, having gained more votes than other non-elected clubs, were then elected into the newly created Third Division.

References

1. A history of admission to the Football League

External links

• Southern League First Division Tables RSSSF
• Southern League Second Division Tables RSSSF
• Football Club History Database