Southern League Division 2

History

The Southern League Division 2 was founded in 1894 a couple of month after Division 1. The founder member were Bromley, Chesham, Maidenhead, New Brompton (later Gillingham), Old St Stephen's (later Shepherd's Bush), Sheppey United and Uxbridge. Up to 1903 promotion and relegation were decided by Test Matches between the top teams in Division 2 and the bottom teams in Division 1. Between 1904 and 1909 no teams were relegated from Division 1, but Division 2 teams were elected to replace resigned teams or to expand the top division. Reserve teams were admitted to Division 2 during this period, but were not eligible for promotion. Automatic relegation was introduced in 1909-10 and automatic promotion the following season. There was a major reorganisation of Division 2 following the First World War, with Brentford, Merthyr Town, Newport and Swansea being elected to Division 1, Stoke and Coventry being elected to the Football League Division 2, while Stalybridge Celtic transferred to the Central League. This left a Division 2 consisting entirely of Welsh teams for its final season. Following the election of Division 1 en masse to the Football League as Division 3 in 1920, most of these teams transferred to the new Southern League Welsh Section.

Tables

The Southern League Division 2 tables from 1894 to 1920 are given on a separate page. These include the 1910-11 season, when Reading played in Division 2 (details below), and the seasons between 1903 and 1907 when Reading Reserves competed. The list of champions for this period is as follows: Fulham (3), Croydon Common (2), Southend United (2), Stoke (2), Watford (2), Brentford (1), Cardiff City (1), Crystal Palace (1), Dartford (1), Merthyr Town (1), Mid Rhondda (1), New Brompton (1), Reading (1), Royal Artillery (1), Thames Ironworks (1), Wolverton LNWR (1). One of Fulham's titles was won by their Reserves. Also see the full list of champions for the Southern League Level II.

Summary of Results

PL W D L GF GA GD P3/PL
TOTAL 22 16 3 3 55 11 +44 2.318
HOME 11 9 2 0 31 1 +30 2.636
AWAY 11 7 1 3 24 10 +14 2.000

Results by Opponent

PL W D L GF GA GD P3
1 Chesham Town 2 2 0 0 13 1 +12 6
2 Salisbury City 2 2 0 0 9 1 +8 6
3 Walsall 2 2 0 0 7 1 +6 6
4 Kettering Town1 2 2 0 0 6 0 +6 6
5 Croydon Common 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3 6
6 Treharris 2 1 1 0 7 3 +4 4
7 Cardiff City 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 4
8 Aberdare 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 4
9 Merthyr Town 2 1 0 1 2 1 +1 3
= Stoke City2 2 1 0 1 2 1 +1 3
11 Ton Pentre 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
1 includes Kettering
2 includes Stoke

Summary of Seasons

PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
1 1910-11 (S2) 22 16 3 3 55 11 +44 35

Summary of Seasons (Reserves)

PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
8 1903-04 (S2) 20 8 2 10 43 42 +1 18
12 1904-05 (S2) 22 4 4 14 24 57 −33 12
11 1905-06 (S2) 24 6 5 13 36 49 −13 17
10 1906-07 (S2) 22 6 4 12 32 47 −15 16