1982–83 Southern Football League
The 1982–83 Southern Football League season was the 80th in the history of the league, an English football competition.
This season saw the reintroduction of the Premier Division. AP Leamington won the Premier Division, winning their first Southern League title, whilst Kidderminster Harriers was promoted to the Alliance Premier League. Cheltenham Town, Folkestone, Sutton Coldfield Town, Fisher Athletic were all promoted to the Premier Division, the last two for the first time in their history.
Premier Division
[edit]The Premier Division was reformed and consisted of the best clubs from the Midland and the Southern divisions. It also featured three new clubs, relegated from the Alliance Premier League:
At the end of the season Enderby Town changed name to Leicester United.
League table
[edit]| Season | 1982–83 |
|---|---|
| Champions | AP Leamington |
| Promoted | Kidderminster Harriers |
| Relegated | Addlestone & Weybridge Town Enderby Town Poole Town Waterlooville |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 1,105 (2.91 per match) |
1983–84 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AP Leamington | 38 | 25 | 4 | 9 | 78 | 50 | +28 | 79 | |
| 2 | Kidderminster Harriers | 38 | 23 | 7 | 8 | 69 | 40 | +29 | 76 | Promoted to the Alliance Premier League |
| 3 | Welling United | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 63 | 40 | +23 | 69 | |
| 4 | Chelmsford City | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 57 | 40 | +17 | 59 | |
| 5 | Bedworth United | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 47 | 39 | +8 | 59 | |
| 6 | Dartford | 38 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 48 | 38 | +10 | 56 | |
| 7 | Gosport Borough | 38 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 47 | 43 | +4 | 55 | |
| 8 | Fareham Town | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 73 | 82 | −9 | 55 | |
| 9 | Dorchester Town | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 52 | 50 | +2 | 54 | |
| 10 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 54 | |
| 11 | Gloucester City | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 61 | 57 | +4 | 51 | |
| 12 | Witney Town | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 60 | 48 | +12 | 47[a] | |
| 13 | Alvechurch | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 60 | 66 | −6 | 47 | |
| 14 | Stourbridge | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 48 | 54 | −6 | 47 | |
| 15 | Corby Town | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 58 | 67 | −9 | 47 | |
| 16 | Hastings United | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 48 | 61 | −13 | 44 | |
| 17 | Enderby Town | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 44 | 62 | −18 | 42 | Relegated to the Midland Division |
| 18 | Waterlooville | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 62 | 83 | −21 | 39 | Relegated to the Southern Division |
| 19 | Poole Town | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | 57 | 73 | −16 | 36 | |
| 20 | Addlestone & Weybridge Town | 38 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 24 | 62 | −38 | 25 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
- ^ Witney Town were deducted two points.
Midland Division
[edit]After the Premier Division reintroduction at the end of the previous season, the Midland Division consisted of 17 clubs, including 11 clubs from the previous season Midland Division and six new clubs:
- Three clubs joined from the West Midlands (Regional) League
- Plus:
- Bridgwater Town, joined from the Western Football League
- Oldbury United, joined from the Midland Football Combination
- Forest Green Rovers, joined from the Hellenic Football League
League table
[edit]| Season | 1982–83 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Cheltenham Town |
| Promoted | Cheltenham Town Sutton Coldfield Town |
| Matches played | 272 |
| Goals scored | 832 (3.06 per match) |
← 1981–82 1983–84 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cheltenham Town | 32 | 22 | 5 | 5 | 65 | 29 | +36 | 71 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Sutton Coldfield Town | 32 | 21 | 7 | 4 | 62 | 24 | +38 | 70 | |
| 3 | Forest Green Rovers | 32 | 21 | 3 | 8 | 68 | 32 | +36 | 66 | |
| 4 | Merthyr Tydfil | 32 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 64 | 45 | +19 | 58 | |
| 5 | Willenhall Town | 32 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 74 | 49 | +25 | 57 | |
| 6 | Oldbury United | 32 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 52 | 49 | +3 | 54 | |
| 7 | Banbury United | 32 | 15 | 3 | 14 | 59 | 55 | +4 | 48 | |
| 8 | Bridgend Town | 32 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 46 | 37 | +9 | 47 | Transferred to the Welsh Football League |
| 9 | Wellingborough Town | 32 | 13 | 7 | 12 | 49 | 37 | +12 | 46 | |
| 10 | Bromsgrove Rovers | 32 | 13 | 5 | 14 | 47 | 47 | 0 | 44 | |
| 11 | Dudley Town | 32 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 40 | 45 | −5 | 43 | |
| 12 | Bridgwater Town | 32 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 42 | 43 | −1 | 42 | |
| 13 | Aylesbury United | 32 | 12 | 5 | 15 | 37 | 51 | −14 | 41 | |
| 14 | Redditch United | 32 | 8 | 6 | 18 | 51 | 73 | −22 | 30 | |
| 15 | Taunton Town | 32 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 30 | 64 | −34 | 22 | Resigned to the Western Football League |
| 16 | Minehead | 32 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 24 | 62 | −38 | 22 | |
| 17 | Milton Keynes City | 32 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 22 | 90 | −68 | 4 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Southern Division
[edit]After the Premier Division reintroduction at the end of the previous season, the Southern Division consisted of 18 clubs, including 14 clubs from the previous season Southern Division and four new clubs:
- Erith & Belvedere, joined from the Kent Football League
- Fisher Athletic, joined from the London Spartan League
- Road-Sea Southampton, joined from the City of Southampton Sunday League
- Woodford Town, joined from the Athenian League
League table
[edit]| Season | 1982–83 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Fisher Athletic |
| Promoted | Fisher Athletic Folkestone |
| Matches played | 306 |
| Goals scored | 878 (2.87 per match) |
← 1981–82 1983–84 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fisher Athletic | 34 | 23 | 5 | 6 | 79 | 34 | +45 | 74 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Folkestone | 34 | 22 | 6 | 6 | 79 | 41 | +38 | 72 | |
| 3 | Road-Sea Southampton | 34 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 66 | 30 | +36 | 70 | |
| 4 | Dunstable | 34 | 19 | 5 | 10 | 57 | 39 | +18 | 62 | |
| 5 | Hillingdon Borough | 34 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 41 | 30 | +11 | 53 | |
| 6 | Salisbury | 34 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 58 | 49 | +9 | 52 | |
| 7 | Crawley Town | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 51 | 43 | +8 | 51 | |
| 8 | Ashford Town (Kent) | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 51 | 41 | +10 | 49 | |
| 9 | Tonbridge | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 57 | 57 | 0 | 47 | |
| 10 | Hounslow | 34 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 46 | 47 | −1 | 45 | |
| 11 | Canterbury City | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 52 | 63 | −11 | 45 | |
| 12 | Cambridge City | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 56 | 63 | −7 | 41 | |
| 13 | Dover | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 35 | 52 | −17 | 40 | Club folded |
| 14 | Thanet United | 34 | 10 | 5 | 19 | 30 | 61 | −31 | 35 | |
| 15 | Basingstoke Town | 34 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 37 | 56 | −19 | 34 | |
| 16 | Woodford Town | 34 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 29 | 57 | −28 | 27 | |
| 17 | Andover | 34 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 28 | 53 | −25 | 26 | |
| 18 | Erith & Belvedere | 34 | 5 | 9 | 20 | 26 | 62 | −36 | 24 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.