1920–21 Southern Football League
Encyclopedia
The 1920–21 Southern Football League
season saw the league split into two sections, one for English
clubs and one for Welsh
clubs. The previous season
had seen all twenty Division One clubs elected to the Football League
to form the new Third Division
, leaving ten of the eleven clubs from Division Two (Caerphilly, who had finished bottom of Division Two, had resigned from the league) as the sole remaining members, all of which were from Wales. As a result, the league admitted thirteen new clubs from England (ten of which were reserve teams) and one from Wales (Aberdare Athletic
).
Brighton & Hove Albion reserves
won the English section, whilst Barry
won the Welsh section. Brighton reserves were declared Southern League champions after defeating Barry in a championship play-off; after a 1-1 draw at Millwall
's Den stadium, Brighton beat Barry 2-1 after eighty minutes of extra-time in a replay at Cardiff City
's Ninian Park
.
Alongside Barry, five other Southern League clubs applied for election to the two places in Division Three South
of the Football League. Welsh Section runners-up Aberdare Athletic
and the English Section's eighth-placed club Charlton Athletic
won the most votes and joined the League the following season.
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
had been transferred from Division Three (which was to become Division Three South) to the new Division Three North, Crystal Palace
had been promoted to Division Two, and no teams had been relegated from Division Two to the new Division Three South, there were two vacancies in the newly renamed division. The Arsenal
representative at the Football League meeting proposed that the bottom two clubs in Division Three the previous season (Brentford
and Gillingham
) be re-elected automatically, a decision that was approved with only one representative against.
In total, eight non-League clubs applied, six from the Southern League, one from the Western League
and one from the Welsh National League (South). Aberdare Athletic and Charlton Athletic were successful, and joined the Football League the following season.
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
season saw the league split into two sections, one for English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
clubs and one for Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
clubs. The previous season
1919–20 Southern Football League
The 1919–20 Southern Football League season was the 21st in the history of the Southern League, and the first following World War I. Portsmouth won the Southern League championship for the second time, whilst Mid Rhondda won Division Two...
had seen all twenty Division One clubs elected to the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
to form the new Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
, leaving ten of the eleven clubs from Division Two (Caerphilly, who had finished bottom of Division Two, had resigned from the league) as the sole remaining members, all of which were from Wales. As a result, the league admitted thirteen new clubs from England (ten of which were reserve teams) and one from Wales (Aberdare Athletic
Aberdare Athletic F.C.
Aberdare Athletic Football Club were a Welsh football club founded in 1893 and based in Aberdare. They joined the Football League in 1921 but were replaced by Torquay United after failing to be re-elected in 1927.-History:...
).
Brighton & Hove Albion reserves
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
won the English section, whilst Barry
Barry Town F.C.
Barry Town FC are a football team based in Barry. They dominated the League of Wales during the 1990s, but finished bottom in 2003-04 and were relegated...
won the Welsh section. Brighton reserves were declared Southern League champions after defeating Barry in a championship play-off; after a 1-1 draw at Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
's Den stadium, Brighton beat Barry 2-1 after eighty minutes of extra-time in a replay at Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
's Ninian Park
Ninian Park
Ninian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship...
.
Alongside Barry, five other Southern League clubs applied for election to the two places in Division Three South
Football League Third Division South
The Football League Third Division South was a level of English professional football which ran in parallel to Third Division North from 1921 to 1958....
of the Football League. Welsh Section runners-up Aberdare Athletic
Aberdare Athletic F.C.
Aberdare Athletic Football Club were a Welsh football club founded in 1893 and based in Aberdare. They joined the Football League in 1921 but were replaced by Torquay United after failing to be re-elected in 1927.-History:...
and the English Section's eighth-placed club Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
won the most votes and joined the League the following season.
English section
All thirteen clubs in the English section were new to the league.| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv1 | Pts2 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brighton & Hove Albion II Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.... |
24 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 65 | 29 | 2.24 | 35 | |
| 2 | Portsmouth II Portsmouth F.C. Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from... |
24 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 44 | 20 | 2.20 | 33 | |
| 3 | Millwall Athletic II Millwall F.C. Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the... |
24 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 46 | 24 | 1.92 | 28 | |
| 4 | Southampton II Southampton F.C. Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club... |
24 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 53 | 35 | 1.51 | 27 | |
| 5 | Boscombe A.F.C. Bournemouth A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899.... |
24 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 25 | 40 | 0.63 | 26 | |
| 6 | Reading II Reading F.C. Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship... |
24 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 41 | 34 | 1.21 | 25 | |
| 7 | Luton Town II Luton Town F.C. Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was... |
24 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 38 | 35 | 1.09 | 24 | |
| 8 | Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic F.C. Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,... |
24 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 41 | 41 | 1.00 | 24 | Elected to the Football League |
| 9 | Watford II Watford F.C. Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade... |
24 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 43 | 45 | 0.96 | 22 | |
| 10 | Norwich City II Norwich City F.C. Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The... |
24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 31 | 39 | 0.79 | 21 | |
| 11 | Gillingham II Gillingham F.C. Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium... |
24 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 32 | 47 | 0.68 | 17 | |
| 12 | Chatham Town Chatham Town F.C. Chatham Town are an English Association Football club based in Chatham, Kent. They currently play in Division One North of the Isthmian League and are nicknamed "The Chats".... |
24 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 24 | 47 | 0.51 | 16 | Left league at end of season |
| 13 | Thornycrofts | 24 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 29 | 76 | 0.38 | 14 |
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Welsh section
The Welsh section featured one new club, Aberdare Athletic.| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv1 | Pts2 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barry Barry Town F.C. Barry Town FC are a football team based in Barry. They dominated the League of Wales during the 1990s, but finished bottom in 2003-04 and were relegated... |
20 | |13 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 12 | 2.92 | 30 | |
| 2 | Aberdare Athletic Aberdare Athletic F.C. Aberdare Athletic Football Club were a Welsh football club founded in 1893 and based in Aberdare. They joined the Football League in 1921 but were replaced by Torquay United after failing to be re-elected in 1927.-History:... |
20 | |12 | 3 | 5 | 29 | 23 | 1.26 | 27 | Elected to the Football League |
| 3 | Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale F.C. Ebbw Vale Football Club were a football team from Ebbw Vale, South Wales.Ebbw Vale played in the first season of the League of Wales in 1992-93. The club then finished 11th before finishing 3rd in two successive seasons to 1997-98. During the years when they finished 3rd the Giles brothers, Paul... |
20 | |10 | 5 | 5 | 34 | 23 | 1.48 | 25 | |
| 4 | Pontypridd | 20 | |10 | 3 | 7 | 34 | 23 | 1.48 | 23 | |
| 5 | Mid Rhondda Mid Rhondda F.C. Mid Rhondda Football Club was an association football team, based in Tonypandy, Wales that was formed in 1912. Mid Rhondda were one of the earlier South Wales teams to form, as competition from rugby union within the Rhondda Valleys was very strong... |
20 | |10 | 3 | 7 | 26 | 18 | 1.44 | 23 | Left league at end of season |
| 6 | Abertillery | 20 | |8 | 5 | 7 | 35 | 24 | 1.46 | 21 | |
| 7 | Ton Pentre Ton Pentre F.C. Ton Pentre Football Club is a football team based in Ton Pentre, Wales, which plays in the Welsh Football League Division Two.Nicknamed the "Rhondda Bulldogs", the team plays at Ynys Park, Ton Pentre, Rhondda Cynon Taff, which once accommodated 2700 seated spectators... |
20 | |7 | 5 | 8 | 32 | 34 | 0.94 | 19 | |
| 8 | Aberaman Athletic Aberaman Athletic F.C. Aberaman Athletic Football Club is a Welsh football club that currently play in the Welsh Football League Division One. Their ground is situated on Cardiff Road, Aberdare, between the suburb of Aberaman and the village of Abercwmboi.... |
20 | |5 | 7 | 8 | 30 | 33 | 0.91 | 17 | |
| 9 | Llanelly Llanelli A.F.C. Llanelli Association Football Club is a Welsh semi-professional football club that plays in the Welsh Premier League for the 2010–11 season. The team has been based at Stebonheath Park since 1920, and as of 2009 is managed by Andy Legg.... |
20 | |7 | 2 | 11 | 28 | 46 | 0.61 | 16 | Left league at end of season |
| 10 | Mardy Mardy A.F.C. Mardy A.F.C. was a Welsh football team that played in the Southern League in the 1910s and 1920s. They were based in the village of Maerdy, Glamorgan.... |
20 | |2 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 39 | 0.46 | 10 | |
| 11 | Porth Athletic | 20 | |3 | 3 | 14 | 28 | 54 | 0.52 | 9 |
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Football League election
As Grimsby TownGrimsby Town F.C.
Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town...
had been transferred from Division Three (which was to become Division Three South) to the new Division Three North, Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
had been promoted to Division Two, and no teams had been relegated from Division Two to the new Division Three South, there were two vacancies in the newly renamed division. The Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
representative at the Football League meeting proposed that the bottom two clubs in Division Three the previous season (Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
and Gillingham
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
) be re-elected automatically, a decision that was approved with only one representative against.
In total, eight non-League clubs applied, six from the Southern League, one from the Western League
Western Football League
The Western Football League is a football league in the south west of England, covering Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, western Dorset, parts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and parts of South Wales...
and one from the Welsh National League (South). Aberdare Athletic and Charlton Athletic were successful, and joined the Football League the following season.
| Club | League | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Aberdare Athletic | Southern League | 38 |
| Charlton Athletic | Southern League | 30 |
| Bath City Bath City F.C. Bath City Football Club are a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset. They play in the Conference National league after gaining promotion from the Conference South via the play-offs in May 2010... |
Western League Western Football League The Western Football League is a football league in the south west of England, covering Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, western Dorset, parts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and parts of South Wales... |
|
| Abertillery | Southern League | |
| Barry | Southern League | |
| Bridgend Town Bridgend Town F.C. Bridgend Town F.C. is a Welsh football club that currently play in the Welsh Football League First Division. They are based in Bridgend in south Wales. Historically, their local rivals were Maesteg Park who disbanded in 2009... |
Welsh National League (South) | |
| Pontypridd | Southern League | |
| Aberaman Athletic | Southern League | Withdrew before vote |