The 1909–10 season was the 16th in the history of Southern Football League. Brighton & Hove Albion won Division One for the first time, Stoke and Hastings & St Leonards finished top of the Division Two groups, though they were not promoted to Division One.[1] Stoke were the only club to apply for election to the Football League, but were unsuccessful.
Division One
edit| Season | 1909–10 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Brighton & Hove Albion (1st title) |
| Promoted | none |
| Relegated | Croydon Common Reading |
| Matches played | 462 |
| Goals scored | 1,362 (2.95 per match) |
← 1908–09 1910–11 → | |
A total of 22 teams contest the division, including 21 sides from previous season and one new team.
Team promoted from 1908–09 Division Two:
- Croydon Common
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 23 | 13 | 6 | 69 | 28 | 2.464 | 59 | |
| 2 | Swindon Town | 42 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 92 | 46 | 2.000 | 54 | |
| 3 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 56 | 47 | 1.191 | 51 | |
| 4 | Northampton Town | 42 | 22 | 4 | 16 | 90 | 44 | 2.045 | 48 | |
| 5 | Southampton | 42 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 64 | 55 | 1.164 | 48 | |
| 6 | Portsmouth | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 70 | 63 | 1.111 | 47 | |
| 7 | Crystal Palace | 42 | 20 | 6 | 16 | 69 | 50 | 1.380 | 46 | |
| 8 | Coventry City | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 71 | 60 | 1.183 | 46 | |
| 9 | West Ham United | 42 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 69 | 56 | 1.232 | 45 | |
| 10 | Leyton | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 60 | 46 | 1.304 | 43 | |
| 11 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 61 | 54 | 1.130 | 43 | |
| 12 | New Brompton | 42 | 19 | 5 | 18 | 76 | 74 | 1.027 | 43 | |
| 13 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 37 | 48 | 0.771 | 42 | |
| 14 | Brentford | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 50 | 58 | 0.862 | 41 | |
| 15 | Luton Town | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 72 | 92 | 0.783 | 41 | |
| 16 | Millwall | 42 | 15 | 7 | 20 | 45 | 59 | 0.763 | 37 | |
| 17 | Norwich City | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 59 | 78 | 0.756 | 35 | |
| 18 | Exeter City | 42 | 14 | 6 | 22 | 60 | 69 | 0.870 | 34 | |
| 19 | Watford | 42 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 51 | 76 | 0.671 | 33 | |
| 20 | Southend United | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 51 | 90 | 0.567 | 33 | |
| 21 | Croydon Common | 42 | 13 | 5 | 24 | 52 | 96 | 0.542 | 31 | Relegated to Division Two |
| 22 | Reading | 42 | 7 | 10 | 25 | 38 | 73 | 0.521 | 24 |
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 A
edit| Season | 1909–10 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Stoke |
| Promoted | none |
| Relegated | Burton United (resigned) |
| Matches played | 30 |
| Goals scored | 102 (3.4 per match) |
← 1908–09 1910–11 → | |
All the clubs in the new Division Two A were new to the Southern League, except Salisbury City who had participated in the league since 1906.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stoke | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 9 | 5.333 | 20 | |
| 2 | Ton Pentre | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 0.810 | 10 | |
| 3 | Merthyr Town | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 21 | 0.762 | 9 | |
| 4 | Salisbury City | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 0.389 | 5 | |
| 5 | Burton United | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 21 | 0.381 | 4 | Left league at end of season |
| 6 | Aberdare | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 0.545 | 2 |
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.
Note: Number of goals for and/or against is inaccurate.
Division Two B
edit| Season | 1909–10 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Hastings & St Leonards |
| Promoted | none |
| Relegated | Hastings & St Leonards (resigned) Peterborough City (resigned) South Farnborough Athletic (resigned) Romford (resigned) |
| Matches played | 30 |
| Goals scored | 133 (4.43 per match) |
← 1908–09 1910–11 → | |
A total of six teams contest the division, including 3 sides from previous season Division Two and three new teams, all of them are newly elected teams.
Newly elected teams:
- Kettering
- Peterborough City
- Romford
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hastings & St Leonards | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 11 | 2.364 | 15 | Left league at end of season |
| 2 | Kettering | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 34 | 19 | 1.789 | 12 | |
| 3 | Chesham Town | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 25 | 25 | 1.000 | 12 | |
| 4 | Peterborough City | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 23 | 0.696 | 10 | Left league at end of season |
| 5 | South Farnborough Athletic | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 19 | 1.211 | 9 | |
| 6 | Romford | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 33 | 0.212 | 0 |
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.
Note: Number of goals for and/or against is inaccurate.
Football League elections
editStoke were the only Southern League club to apply for election to the Football League, but received only three votes.[2]
| Club | League | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | Football League | 30 |
| Huddersfield Town | Midland League | 26 |
| Grimsby Town | Football League | 12 |
| Chesterfield Town | Midland League | 6 |
| Stoke | Southern League | 3 |
| Hartlepools United | North Eastern League | 2 |