1979–80 Western Football League

The 1979–80 season was the 78th in the history of the Western Football League.

Western Football League
Season1979–80
ChampionsBarnstaple Town (Premier Division)
Melksham Town (Division One)

The league champions for the second time in their history were Barnstaple Town. The champions of Division One were Melksham Town.[1]

This season marked a return to the system of two points for a win, after five seasons using the three-point system. The Western League returned to the three-point system after ten seasons, in 1989–90.[1]

Premier Division

The Premier Division remained at twenty clubs after Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet Town were relegated to the First Division, and two clubs joined:

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Relegation
1 Barnstaple Town 38 23 10 5 67 31 +36 56
2 A.F.C. Bournemouth Reserves 38 24 7 7 100 26 +74 55 Left at the end of the season
3 Weston-super-Mare 38 22 11 5 81 45 +36 55
4 Frome Town 38 19 10 9 57 38 +19 48
5 Bridgwater Town 38 17 12 9 64 43 +21 46
6 Exeter City Reserves 38 16 11 11 71 59 +12 43 Left at the end of the season
7 Clevedon Town 38 16 10 12 74 58 +16 42
8 Portway Bristol 38 16 10 12 66 53 +13 42
9 Saltash United 38 14 14 10 64 51 +13 42
10 Bideford 38 16 10 12 61 51 +10 42
11 Keynsham Town 38 16 10 12 56 53 +3 42
12 Falmouth Town 38 14 10 14 58 53 +5 38
13 Dawlish 38 10 11 17 39 67 −28 31
14 Clandown 38 12 6 20 53 76 −23 30
15 Tiverton Town 38 8 14 16 36 65 −29 30
16 Welton Rovers 38 10 9 19 59 84 −25 29
17 Paulton Rovers 38 11 6 21 50 68 −18 28
18 Mangotsfield United 38 7 10 21 37 80 −43 24
19 Bridport 38 4 14 20 31 67 −36 21[lower-alpha 1]
20 Ilminster Town (R) 38 2 11 25 31 87 −56 15 Relegated to Division One
Source:
(R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Bridport had one point deducted for fielding an ineligible player.

First Division

The First Division increased from nineteen to twenty-two clubs after A.F.C. Bournemouth Reserves and Portway Bristol were promoted to the Premier Division. Five new clubs joined:

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion
1 Melksham Town (P) 42 27 8 7 78 27 +51 62 Promoted to the Premier Division
2 Devizes Town (P) 42 25 9 8 91 42 +49 59
3 Liskeard Athletic (P) 42 23 10 9 70 31 +39 56
4 Bath City Reserves 42 22 8 12 89 62 +27 52
5 Exmouth Town 42 22 8 12 67 43 +24 52
6 Torquay United Reserves 42 21 10 11 84 61 +23 52
7 Elmore 42 20 9 13 63 45 +18 49
8 Bristol Manor Farm 42 20 9 13 70 58 +12 49
9 Ottery St Mary 42 16 12 14 64 52 +12 44
10 Glastonbury 42 16 11 15 60 68 −8 43
11 Chippenham Town 42 16 10 16 58 62 −4 42
12 Radstock Town 42 15 10 17 63 75 −12 40
13 Shepton Mallet Town 42 15 9 18 75 78 −3 39
14 Chard Town 42 14 11 17 51 59 −8 39
15 Yeovil Town Reserves 42 14 10 18 71 85 −14 38
16 Brixham United 42 14 9 19 60 70 −10 37
17 Heavitree United 42 11 14 17 57 69 −12 36
18 Larkhall Athletic 42 11 10 21 48 85 −37 32
19 Odd Down 42 9 12 21 46 76 −30 30
20 Wellington 42 8 13 21 38 59 −21 29
21 Swanage Town & Herston 42 6 13 23 45 91 −46 24[lower-alpha 1]
22 Westland-Yeovil 42 5 9 28 31 81 −50 19 Left at the end of the season
Source:
Rules for classification: The system of using goal difference to separate two teams tied on points was used. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
(P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. Swanage Town & Herston had one point deducted for fielding an ineligible player.

References
  1. Robinson, Michael (ed.), Non-League Football Tables 1889–2006, Soccer Books, 2006
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