1929–30 Southern Football League
The 1929–30 season was the 32nd in the history of the Southern League. The league consisted of Eastern and Western Divisions.[1] Aldershot Town won the Eastern Division and Bath City won the Western Division. Aldershot were declared Southern League champions after winning a championship play-off 4–2.[2]
Three clubs from the Southern League applied to join the Football League, with Thames Association being successful. They replaced Merthyr Town, who rejoined the Southern League the following season. In addition to Thames, a total of 12 clubs left the Southern League at the end of this season.
Eastern Division
| Season | 1929–30 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Aldershot Town (1st title) |
| Promoted | Thames Association |
| Relegated | Northampton Town II (resigned) Southampton II (resigned) Kettering Town (resigned) Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic II (resigned) Brighton & Hove Albion II (resigned) Sittingbourne (resigned) Northfleet United (resigned) Grays Thurrock United (resigned) Poole (resigned) |
| Matches played | 272 |
| Goals scored | 1,134 (4.17 per match) |
← 1928–29 1930–31 → | |
A total of 19 teams contest the division, including 18 sides from previous season and one new team.
Newly elected team:
- Northampton Town II - returned to the league after the resignation in 1925
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aldershot Town | 32 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 84 | 39 | 2.154 | 48 | |
| 2 | Millwall II | 32 | 21 | 3 | 8 | 75 | 56 | 1.339 | 45 | |
| 3 | Thames Association | 32 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 80 | 60 | 1.333 | 40 | Elected to the 1930–31 Football League |
| 4 | Peterborough & Fletton United | 32 | 18 | 3 | 11 | 66 | 39 | 1.692 | 39 | |
| 5 | Northampton Town II | 32 | 17 | 4 | 11 | 86 | 60 | 1.433 | 38 | Left league at end of season |
| 6 | Southampton II | 32 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 73 | 62 | 1.177 | 35 | |
| 7 | Sheppey United | 32 | 15 | 5 | 12 | 76 | 69 | 1.101 | 35 | |
| 8 | Kettering Town | 32 | 13 | 7 | 12 | 70 | 69 | 1.014 | 33 | Left league at end of season |
| 9 | Dartford | 32 | 14 | 5 | 13 | 57 | 59 | 0.966 | 33 | |
| 10 | Norwich City II | 32 | 14 | 3 | 15 | 69 | 63 | 1.095 | 31 | |
| 11 | Guildford City | 32 | 13 | 2 | 17 | 65 | 97 | 0.670 | 28 | |
| 12 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic II | 32 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 59 | 63 | 0.937 | 27 | Left league at end of season |
| 13 | Brighton & Hove Albion II | 32 | 12 | 2 | 18 | 56 | 79 | 0.709 | 26 | |
| 14 | Folkestone | 32 | 13 | 0 | 19 | 56 | 82 | 0.683 | 26 | |
| 15 | Sittingbourne | 32 | 10 | 5 | 17 | 55 | 59 | 0.932 | 25 | Left league at end of season |
| 16 | Northfleet United | 32 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 53 | 77 | 0.688 | 19 | |
| 17 | Grays Thurrock United | 32 | 7 | 2 | 23 | 54 | 101 | 0.535 | 16 | |
| 18 | Poole | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | Resigned after 30 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. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Western Division
| Season | 1929–30 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Bath City |
| Promoted | none |
| Relegated | Yeovil & Petters United (resigned) Lovells Athletic (resigned) Bristol City II (resigned) |
| Matches played | 210 |
| Goals scored | 932 (4.44 per match) |
← 1928–29 1930–31 → | |
A total of 15 teams contest the division, including 14 sides from previous season and one new team.
Newly elected team:
- Llanelly - returned to the league after the resignation in 1925
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bath City | 28 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 85 | 52 | 1.635 | 38 | |
| 2 | Bristol Rovers II | 28 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 66 | 50 | 1.320 | 36 | |
| 3 | Taunton Town | 28 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 50 | 40 | 1.250 | 35 | |
| 4 | Barry | 28 | 15 | 3 | 10 | 65 | 55 | 1.182 | 33 | |
| 5 | Yeovil & Petters United | 28 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 63 | 47 | 1.340 | 31 | Left league at end of season |
| 6 | Plymouth Argyle II | 28 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 68 | 52 | 1.308 | 31 | |
| 7 | Newport County II | 28 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 68 | 76 | 0.895 | 30 | |
| 8 | Lovells Athletic | 28 | 13 | 2 | 13 | 59 | 57 | 1.035 | 28 | Left league at end of season |
| 9 | Exeter City II | 28 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 49 | 54 | 0.907 | 28 | |
| 10 | Bristol City II | 28 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 59 | 63 | 0.937 | 27 | Left league at end of season |
| 11 | Swindon Town II | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 69 | 67 | 1.030 | 26 | |
| 12 | Torquay United II | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 76 | 77 | 0.987 | 26 | |
| 13 | Llanelly | 28 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 55 | 52 | 1.058 | 24 | |
| 14 | Ebbw Vale | 28 | 5 | 6 | 17 | 52 | 97 | 0.536 | 16 | |
| 15 | Merthyr Town II | 28 | 5 | 1 | 22 | 48 | 93 | 0.516 | 11 | Replaced by first team at end of season |
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.
Football League election
Three Southern League clubs, Aldershot Town, Thames Association and Llanelly, applied to join the Football League. Thames were successful, finishing second in the ballot. Aldershot also finished above Third Division South club Merthyr Town, who replaced their reserves in the Western Division the following season.[3]
| Club | League | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Gillingham | Football League | 33 |
| Thames Association | Southern League | 20 |
| Aldershot Town | Southern League | 19 |
| Merthyr Town | Football League | 14 |
| Llanelly | Southern League | 4 |
| Argonauts | None | 0 |
References
- England – Southern League Final Tables RSSSF
- Bath City at the Football Club History Database
- A history of admission to the Football League