1904–05 Southern Football League

The 1904–05 season was the 11th in the history of Southern League. Bristol Rovers won Division One for the first time and Fulham reserves finished top of Division Two. Division Two club Clapton Orient were the only Southern League club to apply for election to the Football League, and were successful after a decision was made to expand the League to 40 clubs.

Division One
Southern Football League Division One
Season1904–05
ChampionsBristol Rovers (1st title)
Promotednone
RelegatedWellingborough (resigned)
Matches played306
Goals scored854 (2.79 per match)

A total of 18 teams contest the division, including 17 sides from previous season and one new team. Watford returned to Division after one season of absence.

Teams promoted from Division Two:

  • Watford

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Relegation
1 Bristol Rovers 34 20 8 6 74 36 2.056 48
2 Reading 34 18 7 9 57 38 1.500 43
3 Southampton 34 18 7 9 54 40 1.350 43
4 Plymouth Argyle 34 18 5 11 57 39 1.462 41
5 Tottenham Hotspur 34 15 8 11 53 34 1.559 38
6 Fulham 34 14 10 10 46 34 1.353 38
7 Queens Park Rangers 34 14 8 12 51 46 1.109 36
8 Portsmouth 34 16 4 14 61 56 1.089 36
9 New Brompton 34 11 11 12 40 40 1.000 33
10 Watford 34 15 3 16 44 45 0.978 33
11 West Ham United 34 12 8 14 48 42 1.143 32
12 Brighton & Hove Albion 34 13 6 15 44 45 0.978 32
13 Northampton Town 34 12 8 14 43 54 0.796 32
14 Brentford 34 10 9 15 33 38 0.868 29
15 Millwall 34 11 7 16 38 47 0.809 29
16 Swindon Town 34 12 5 17 41 59 0.695 29
17 Luton Town 34 12 3 19 45 54 0.833 27
18 Wellingborough 34 5 3 26 25 107 0.234 13 Left league at end of season
Source: [1]
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
Season1904–05
ChampionsFulham II
PromotedClapton Orient (to Football League)
RelegatedBrighton & Hove Albion II (resigned)
Southall (resigned)
Matches played132
Goals scored582 (4.41 per match)

A total of 12 teams contest the division, including 8 sides from previous season and four new teams, three of which were reserve teams.

Newly elected teams:

  • Clapton Orient
  • Brighton & Hove Albion II
  • Watford II
  • West Ham United II,

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Fulham II 22 16 4 2 78 25 3.120 36
2 Portsmouth II 22 14 2 6 75 28 2.679 30
3 Swindon Town II 22 12 3 7 54 47 1.149 27
4 Grays United 22 11 3 8 61 40 1.525 25
5 Southampton II 22 10 5 7 52 35 1.486 25
6 Brighton & Hove Albion II 22 9 3 10 48 49 0.980 21 Left league at end of season
7 West Ham United II 22 8 5 9 45 47 0.957 21
8 Clapton Orient 22 7 7 8 47 56 0.839 21 Elected to the Football League Second Division
9 Watford II 22 5 6 11 30 62 0.484 16
10 Southall 22 7 2 13 31 66 0.470 16 Left league at end of season
11 Wycombe Wanderers 22 6 2 14 37 70 0.529 14
12 Reading II 22 4 4 14 24 57 0.421 12
Source: [2]
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.

Football League elections

Only one Southern League club, Clapton Orient of Division Two, applied for election to Division Two of the Football League. Although they were not elected in the first round, it was later agreed to expand the Football League from 36 to 40 clubs and all the unsuccessful candidates except Doncaster Rovers were elected.

ClubLeagueVotes
Leeds CityWest Yorkshire League25
Port ValeFootball League21
ChelseaNone*20
Hull CityNone*18
Burton UnitedFootball League
Doncaster RoversFootball League
Stockport CountyMidland League3
Clapton OrientSouthern League1

* Chelsea had played no games, nor had any players when they were elected. Hull City had been formed in 1904, but had only played friendly matches during the 1904–05 season.[3]

References
  1. "England - Southern League Final Tables". rsssf.org. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  2. "England - Southern League Final Tables". rsssf.org. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  3. A history of admission to the Football League
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