1995–96 Southern Football League

The 1995–96 Southern Football League season was the 93rd in the history of the league, an English football competition.

The Max Griggs-funded Rushden & Diamonds won the Premier Division and earned promotion to the Football Conference. Ilkeston Town, Stafford Rangers and VS Rugby were relegated to the Midland and Southern Divisions, whilst Nuneaton Borough, Sittingbourne, King's Lynn and Ashford Town (Kent) were promoted to the Premier Division, the former two as champions.

In the Midland Division, the bottom two clubs, Bury Town and Bridgnorth Town, were relegated to level eight leagues. Poole Town, who finished bottom of the Southern Division with just one point (from a 0–0 draw with Bashley) dropped two levels into the Hampshire League.

Premier Division

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The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 16 clubs from the previous season and six new clubs:

League table

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Southern Football League
Premier Division
Season1995–96
ChampionsRushden & Diamonds
PromotedRushden & Diamonds
RelegatedIlkeston Town
Stafford Rangers
VS Rugby
Matches played462
Goals scored1,361 (2.95 per match)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Rushden & Diamonds 42 29 7 6 99 41 +58 94 Promoted to the Football Conference
2 Halesowen Town 42 27 11 4 70 36 +34 92
3 Cheltenham Town 42 21 11 10 76 57 +19 74
4 Gloucester City 42 21 8 13 65 47 +18 71
5 Gresley Rovers 42 20 10 12 70 58 +12 70
6 Worcester City 42 19 12 11 61 43 +18 69
7 Merthyr Tydfil 42 19 6 17 67 59 +8 63
8 Hastings Town 42 16 13 13 68 56 +12 61
9 Crawley Town 42 15 13 14 57 56 +1 58
10 Sudbury Town 42 15 10 17 69 71 −2 55
11 Gravesend & Northfleet 42 15 10 17 60 62 −2 55
12 Chelmsford City 42 13 16 13 46 53 −7 55
13 Dorchester Town 42 15 8 19 62 57 +5 53
14 Newport 42 13 13 16 53 59 −6 52
15 Salisbury City 42 14 10 18 57 69 −12 52
16 Burton Albion 42 13 12 17 55 56 −1 51
17 Atherstone United 42 12 12 18 58 75 −17 48
18 Baldock Town 42 11 14 17 51 56 −5 47
19 Cambridge City 42 12 10 20 56 68 −12 46
20 Ilkeston Town 42 11 10 21 53 87 −34 43 Relegated to the Midland Division
21 Stafford Rangers 42 11 4 27 58 90 −32 37
22 VS Rugby 42 5 10 27 37 92 −55 25
Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Midland Division

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The Midland Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from the previous season and four new clubs:

League table

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Southern Football League
Midland Division
Season1995–96
ChampionsNuneaton Borough
PromotedKing's Lynn
Nuneaton Borough
RelegatedBridgnorth Town
Matches played462
Goals scored1,516 (3.28 per match)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Nuneaton Borough 42 30 5 7 82 35 +47 95 Promoted to the Premier Division
2 King's Lynn 42 27 5 10 85 43 +42 84[a]
3 Bedworth United 42 24 10 8 76 42 +34 81[b]
4 Moor Green 42 22 8 12 81 47 +34 74
5 Paget Rangers 42 21 9 12 70 45 +25 72
6 Tamworth 42 22 3 17 97 64 +33 69
7 Solihull Borough 42 19 9 14 77 64 +13 66
8 Rothwell Town 42 17 14 11 79 62 +17 65
9 Buckingham Town 42 18 9 15 74 62 +12 63 Transferred to the Southern Division
10 Dudley Town 42 15 16 11 83 66 +17 61
11 Stourbridge 42 17 8 17 60 63 −3 59
12 Bilston Town 42 16 9 17 61 62 −1 57
13 Sutton Coldfield Town 42 16 9 17 62 67 −5 57
14 Grantham Town 42 17 5 20 71 83 −12 56
15 Redditch United 42 14 11 17 57 77 −20 53
16 Leicester United 42 13 13 16 58 72 −14 52
17 Hinckley Town 42 14 7 21 62 83 −21 49
18 Racing Club Warwick 42 10 13 19 67 90 −23 43
19 Evesham United 42 11 6 25 59 94 −35 39
20 Corby Town 42 9 7 26 52 95 −43 34
21 Bury Town 42 8 8 26 57 95 −38 32 Relegated to the Eastern Counties League
22 Bridgnorth Town 42 7 6 29 53 112 −59 27 Relegated to the Midland Alliance
Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ King's Lynn were deducted two points.
  2. ^ Bedworth United were deducted one point.

Southern Division

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The Southern Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 17 clubs from the previous season and five new clubs:

League table

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Southern Football League
Southern Division
Season1995–96
ChampionsSittingbourne
PromotedAshford Town (Kent)
Sittingbourne
Matches played462
Goals scored1,477 (3.2 per match)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Sittingbourne 42 28 4 10 102 44 +58 88 Promoted to the Premier Division
2 Ashford Town (Kent) 42 25 9 8 75 44 +31 84
3 Waterlooville 42 24 8 10 87 44 +43 80
4 Newport (Isle of Wight) 42 24 6 12 75 58 +17 78
5 Braintree Town 42 24 8 10 93 70 +23 77[a] Transferred to the Isthmian League Division Three
6 Weymouth 42 24 4 14 75 55 +20 76
7 Havant Town 42 23 11 8 73 42 +31 74[b]
8 Forest Green Rovers 42 22 8 12 85 55 +30 74
9 Trowbridge Town 42 18 8 16 86 51 +35 62
10 Yate Town 42 17 8 17 85 71 +14 59
11 Margate 42 18 5 19 68 62 +6 59
12 Witney Town 42 16 11 15 60 54 +6 59
13 Weston-super-Mare 42 16 9 17 78 68 +10 57
14 Cinderford Town 42 16 8 18 74 77 −3 56
15 Fisher 42 14 13 15 58 59 −1 55
16 Bashley 42 14 11 17 63 61 +2 53
17 Clevedon Town 42 15 6 21 70 80 −10 51
18 Tonbridge Angels 42 13 10 19 58 79 −21 49
19 Fleet Town 42 14 5 23 58 79 −21 47
20 Fareham Town 42 12 5 25 71 97 −26 41
21 Erith & Belvedere 42 4 4 34 38 111 −73 16
22 Poole Town 42 0 1 41 17 188 −171 1 Demoted to the Hampshire League
Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ Braintree Town were deducted three points.
  2. ^ Havant Town were deducted six points.

See also

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References

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