1899–1900 Southern Football League
The 1899–1900 season was the sixth in the history of the Southern League. This season saw the expansion of Division One up to 17 teams, though two of them resigned from league before the end of the season. Tottenham Hotspur were Division One champions for the first time, but no Southern League clubs applied for election to the Football League.
Division One
| Season | 1899–1900 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Tottenham Hotspur (1st title) |
| Promoted | none |
| Relegated | Bedminster (merged) Sheppey United Brighton United (resigned) Cowes (resigned) |
| Matches played | 210 |
| Goals scored | 676 (3.22 per match) |
← 1898–99 1900–01 → | |
A total of 17 teams contest the division, including 13 sides from previous season and four new teams.
- Teams promoted from Division Two
- Cowes
- Thames Ironworks
- Newly elected teams
- Queens Park Rangers
- Bristol Rovers
- Portsmouth
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 28 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 67 | 26 | 2.577 | 44 | |
| 2 | Portsmouth | 28 | 20 | 1 | 7 | 59 | 29 | 2.034 | 41 | Directly elected into Division One[a] |
| 3 | Southampton | 28 | 17 | 1 | 10 | 70 | 33 | 2.121 | 35 | |
| 4 | Reading | 28 | 15 | 2 | 11 | 41 | 28 | 1.464 | 32 | |
| 5 | Swindon Town | 28 | 15 | 2 | 11 | 50 | 42 | 1.190 | 32 | |
| 6 | Bedminster | 28 | 13 | 2 | 13 | 44 | 45 | 0.978 | 28 | Left at end of season |
| 7 | Millwall Athletic | 28 | 12 | 3 | 13 | 36 | 37 | 0.973 | 27 | |
| 8 | Queens Park Rangers | 28 | 12 | 2 | 14 | 50 | 58 | 0.862 | 26 | |
| 9 | Bristol City | 28 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 44 | 47 | 0.936 | 25 | |
| 10 | Bristol Rovers | 28 | 11 | 3 | 14 | 46 | 55 | 0.836 | 25 | |
| 11 | New Brompton | 28 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 39 | 49 | 0.796 | 24 | |
| 12 | Gravesend United | 28 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 38 | 58 | 0.655 | 24 | |
| 13 | Chatham Town | 28 | 10 | 3 | 15 | 38 | 58 | 0.655 | 23 | |
| 14 | Thames Ironworks[b] | 28 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 30 | 45 | 0.667 | 21 | Relegation test matches |
| 15 | Sheppey United | 28 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 24 | 66 | 0.364 | 13 | |
| 16 | Brighton United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | Resigned from league after 22 matches record expunged |
| 17 | Cowes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | Resigned from league after 13 matches, record expunged |
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976–77 season (note: source does not refer to goal average).[citation needed] The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Notes:
Division Two
| Season | 1899–1900 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Watford |
| Promoted | Watford |
| Relegated | Wolverton L&NWR (resigned) Dartford (resigned) |
| Matches played | 110 |
| Goals scored | 437 (3.97 per match) |
← 1898–99 1900–01 → | |
A total of 11 teams contest the division, including nine sides from previous season and two new teams.
Newly elected teams:
- Dartford - members of Kent League
- Grays United
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Watford | 20 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 57 | 25 | 2.280 | 30 | Promotion test matches |
| 2 | Fulham | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 44 | 23 | 1.913 | 24 | |
| 3 | Chesham Town | 20 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 43 | 37 | 1.162 | 24 | |
| 4 | Wolverton L&NWR | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 46 | 36 | 1.278 | 24 | Left league at end of season |
| 5 | Grays United | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 63 | 29 | 2.172 | 22 | |
| 6 | Shepherds Bush | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 45 | 37 | 1.216 | 22 | |
| 7 | Dartford | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 36 | 44 | 0.818 | 19 | Left league at end of season |
| 8 | Wycombe Wanderers | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 35 | 50 | 0.700 | 19 | |
| 9 | Brentford | 20 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 31 | 48 | 0.646 | 17 | |
| 10 | Southall | 20 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 21 | 44 | 0.477 | 15 | |
| 11 | Maidenhead | 20 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 16 | 64 | 0.250 | 4 |
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.
Promotion-relegation test matches
At the end of the season, test matches were held between the bottom two clubs in Division One and the top two clubs in Division Two. Thames Ironworks retained their place in Division One after beating Fulham 5–1, whilst Watford were promoted after beating Sheppey United 2–1, a result which saw the latter relegated.[2]
| Division One clubs | v | Division Two clubs |
|---|---|---|
References
- ^ "Final Tables Division One". England - Southern League Final Tables. RSSSF. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ^ Sheppey United at the Football Club History Database