1901–02 Southern Football League

The 1901–02 season was the eighth in the history of the Southern League. Portsmouth were Division One champions for the first time. No clubs applied for election to the Football League.

Division One

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Southern Football League Division One
Season1901–02
ChampionsPortsmouth (1st title)
Promotednone
Relegatednone
Matches played240
Goals scored712 (2.97 per match)

A total of 16 teams contest the division, including 13 sides from previous season and three new teams.

Team promoted from Division Two:

  • Brentford

Teams elected from Midland League:

  • Northampton Town
  • Wellingborough

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification
1 Portsmouth 30 20 7 3 67 24 2.792 47
2 Tottenham Hotspur 30 18 6 6 61 22 2.773 42
3 Southampton 30 18 6 6 71 28 2.536 42
4 West Ham United 30 17 6 7 45 28 1.607 40
5 Reading 30 16 7 7 57 24 2.375 39
6 Millwall Athletic 30 13 6 11 46 31 1.484 32
7 Luton Town 30 11 10 9 31 36 0.861 32
8 Kettering 30 12 5 13 44 39 1.128 29
9 Bristol Rovers 30 12 5 13 43 39 1.103 29
10 New Brompton 30 10 7 13 39 38 1.026 27
11 Northampton Town 30 11 5 14 53 65 0.815 27
12 Queens Park Rangers 30 9 6 15 34 55 0.618 24
13 Watford 30 9 4 17 36 58 0.621 22
14 Wellingborough 30 9 3 18 34 72 0.472 21
15 Brentford 30 7 6 17 34 61 0.557 20 Relegation test matches
16 Swindon Town 30 2 3 25 17 92 0.185 7
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used 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

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Southern Football League Division Two
Season1901–02
ChampionsFulham
Promotednone
RelegatedWest Hampstead (resigned)
Shepherds Bush (resigned)
Maidenhead (resigned)
Matches played72
Goals scored315 (4.38 per match)

A total of nine teams contest the division, including 7 sides from previous season and two new teams.

Newly elected teams:

  • Brighton & Hove Albion
  • West Hampstead.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification
1 Fulham 16 13 0 3 51 19 2.684 26 Promotion test matches
2 Grays United 16 12 1 3 49 14 3.500 25
3 Brighton & Hove Albion 16 11 0 5 34 17 2.000 22
4 Wycombe Wanderers 16 7 3 6 36 30 1.200 17
5 West Hampstead 16 6 4 6 39 29 1.345 16 Left league at end of season
6 Shepherds Bush 16 6 1 9 31 31 1.000 13
7 Southall 16 5 2 9 28 52 0.538 12
8 Maidenhead 16 3 1 12 23 59 0.390 7 Left league at end of season
9 Chesham Town 16 2 2 12 24 64 0.375 6
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used 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

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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. Swindon Town beat Fulham 3–0 to maintain their place in Division One. The other match between Brentford and Grays United ended in a 1–1 draw, but for a second successive season Grays were refused promotion after refusing to play extra time.[1]

Division One clubsvDivision Two clubs
Swindon Town3 – 0Fulham
Elm Park, Reading
Brentford1 – 1Grays United

References

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  1. ^ Grays United at the Football Club History Database
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