2003–04 Southern Football League

The 2003–04 Southern Football League season was the 101st in the history of the league, an English football competition.

It was the last season for the Southern Football League as a feeder for the Conference Premier. At the end of the season, the Premier Division was replaced as a level 6 league (along with the Northern Premier League Premier Division and Isthmian League Premier Division) by the newly formed Conference North and Conference South. The Premier Division lost more than half its clubs to newly formed divisions, and the two regional divisions had a number of their clubs promoted to the Premier Division to replace them. Thus, the Southern Football League divisions downgraded to 7-8 levels.

Premier Division

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

• Two clubs promoted from the Eastern Division:
  • Dorchester Town
  • Eastbourne Borough

• Two clubs promoted from the Western Division:
  • Merthyr Tydfil
  • Weston-super-Mare

• Plus:
  • Nuneaton Borough, relegated from the Football Conference

Crawley Town won the division and were promoted to the Conference National. Clubs finished higher than 14th position were to transfer to the newly created Conference North and South divisions and clubs finished higher than 18th position plus winners of divisions One were to participate in the play-offs for a two final spots in Conference North/South.

There were no relegation from the Premier Division this season, though, due to league reform, clubs remained in the division downgraded from sixth tier to seventh.

League table

Southern Football League
Premier Division

Season	2003–04
Champions	Crawley Town
Promoted	Crawley Town
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,238 (2.68 per match)
← 2002–03 2004–05 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Crawley Town	42	25	9	8	77	43	+34	84	Promoted to the Conference National
2	Weymouth	42	20	12	10	76	47	+29	72	Qualified for the Conference South
3	Stafford Rangers	42	19	11	12	55	43	+12	68	Qualified for the Conference North
4	Nuneaton Borough	42	17	15	10	65	49	+16	66
5	Worcester City	42	18	9	15	71	50	+21	63
6	Hinckley United	42	15	14	13	55	46	+9	59
7	Newport County	42	15	14	13	52	50	+2	59	Qualified for the Conference South
8	Cambridge City	42	14	15	13	54	53	+1	57
9	Welling United	42	16	8	18	56	58	−2	56
10	Weston-super-Mare	42	14	13	15	52	52	0	55
11	Eastbourne Borough	42	14	13	15	48	56	−8	55
12	Havant & Waterlooville	42	15	10	17	59	70	−11	55
13	Moor Green	42	14	12	16	42	54	−12	54	Qualified for the Conference North
14	Merthyr Tydfil	42	13	14	15	60	66	−6	53	Qualified for the play-offs
15	Tiverton Town	42	12	15	15	63	64	−1	51
16	Bath City	42	13	12	17	49	57	−8	51
17	Dorchester Town	42	14	9	19	56	69	−13	51	Qualified for the play-offs, then qualified to the Conference South
18	Chelmsford City	42	11	16	15	46	53	−7	49	Qualified for the play-offs, then transferred to the Isthmian League
19	Dover Athletic	42	12	13	17	50	59	−9	49	Transferred to the Isthmian League
20	Hednesford Town	42	12	12	18	56	69	−13	48
21	Chippenham Town	42	10	17	15	51	63	−12	47
22	Grantham Town	42	10	15	17	45	67	−22	45

Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Play-offs

	Semifinals					Final
	16P	Bath City	2
	17P	Dorchester Town	4
						15P	Tiverton Town	1
						17P	Dorchester Town	3
	15P	Tiverton Town	1
	18P	Chelmsford City	0

	Semifinals					Final
	1ed	King's Lynn	0
	1wd	Redditch United	1
						14P	Merthyr Tydfil	0
						1wd	Redditch United	3
	14P	Merthyr Tydfil	W/O

Stadia and locations

Bath
City

Cambridge City

Chelmsford City

Chippenham Town

Crawley Town

Dorchester Town

Dover Athletic

Eastbourne Borough

Grantham Town

Havant & Waterlooville

Hednesford Town

Hinckley United

Merthyr Tydfil

Moor Green

Newport County

Nuneaton Town

Stafford Rangers

Tiverton Town

Welling United

Weston-super-Mare

Weymouth

Worcester City

Locations of the Premier Division clubs

Club	Stadium
Bath City	Twerton Park
Cambridge City	City Ground
Chelmsford City	New Lodge (groundshare with Billericay Town)
Chippenham Town	Hardenhuish Park
Crawley Town	Broadfield Stadium
Dorchester Town	The Avenue Stadium
Dover Athletic	Crabble Athletic Ground
Eastbourne Borough	Priory Lane
Grantham Town	South Kesteven Sports Stadium
Havant & Waterlooville	West Leigh Park
Hednesford Town	Keys Park
Hinckley United	Middlefield Lane
Merthyr Tydfil	Penydarren Park
Moor Green	The Moorlands
Newport County	Newport Stadium
Nuneaton Borough	Liberty Way
Stafford Rangers	Marston Road
Tiverton Town	Ladysmead
Welling United	Park View Road
Weston-super-Mare	Woodspring Park
Weymouth	Bob Lucas Stadium
Worcester City	St Georges Lane

Eastern Division

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

• Two clubs relegated from the Premier Division:
  • Hastings United
  • Folkestone Invicta

• Plus:
  • Burgess Hill Town, promoted from the Sussex County League
  • Eastleigh, promoted from the Wessex League

League table

Southern Football League
Eastern Division

Season	2003–04
Champions	King's Lynn
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,359 (2.94 per match)
← 2002–03 2004–05 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	King's Lynn	42	28	7	7	90	35	+55	91	Qualified for the play-offs, then promoted to the Premier Division
2	Histon	42	26	10	6	96	41	+55	88	Promoted to the Premier Division
3	Tonbridge Angels	42	27	7	8	82	46	+36	88	Promoted to the Isthmian League Premier Division
4	Eastleigh	42	27	4	11	88	40	+48	82[a]
5	Folkestone Invicta	42	20	15	7	91	45	+46	75
6	Salisbury City	42	21	11	10	73	45	+28	74
7	Stamford	42	20	11	11	63	45	+18	71	Promoted to the Premier Division
8	Banbury United	42	19	10	13	65	57	+8	67
9	Burgess Hill Town	42	19	7	16	67	54	+13	64	Transferred to the Isthmian League Division One
10	Sittingbourne	42	18	8	16	61	55	+6	62
11	Bashley	42	18	7	17	66	58	+8	61	Transferred to the Isthmian League Division One
12	Ashford Town (Kent)	42	15	9	18	51	53	−2	54
13	Chatham Town	42	13	10	19	49	67	−18	49
14	Fisher Athletic	42	13	10	19	61	81	−20	49
15	Corby Town	42	12	9	21	44	75	−31	45	Transferred to the Western Division
16	Dartford	42	13	6	23	48	81	−33	45
17	Burnham	42	12	11	19	52	76	−24	44[b]	Transferred to the Western Division
18	Hastings United	42	12	7	23	60	91	−31	43	Transferred to the Isthmian League Division One
19	Newport (Isle of Wight)	42	11	7	24	42	69	−27	40
20	Rothwell Town	42	9	11	22	30	47	−17	38	Transferred to the Western Division
21	Erith & Belvedere	42	7	10	25	45	84	−39	31
22	Fleet Town	42	5	7	30	35	114	−79	22	Transferred to the Isthmian League Division One

Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

1. Eastleigh were deducted three points
2. Burnham were deducted three points

Stadia and locations

Ashford Town

Banbury United

Bashley

Burgess Hill Town

Burnham

Chatham Town

Corby
Town

Dartford

Eastleigh

Erith & Belvedere

Fisher Athletic

Fleet Town

Folkestone Invicta

Hastings United

Histon

King's Lynn

Newport (IOW)

Rothwell Town

Salisbury City

Stamford

Sittingbourne

Tonbridge Angels

Locations of the Eastern Division clubs

Club	Stadium
Ashford Town (Kent)	The Homelands
Banbury United	Spencer Stadium
Bashley	Bashley Road
Burgess Hill Town	Leylands Park
Burnham	The Gore
Chatham Town	The Sports Ground
Corby Town	Steel Park
Dartford	Stonebridge Road (groundshare with Gravesend & Northfleet)
Eastleigh	Ten Acres
Erith & Belvedere	Park View Road (groundshare with Welling United)
Fleet Town	Calthorpe Park
Folkestone Invicta	Cheriton Road
Fisher Athletic	Champion Hill (groundshare with Dulwich Hamlet)
Hastings United	The Pilot Field
Histon	Bridge Road
King's Lynn	The Walks
Newport (Isle of Wight)	St Georges Park
Rothwell Town	Cecil Street
Salisbury City	Raymond McEnhill Stadium
Sittingbourne	Bourne Park
Stamford	Hanson's Field
Tonbridge Angels	Longmead Stadium

Western Division

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

• Two clubs relegated from the Premier Division:
  • Halesowen Town
  • Ilkeston Town

• Plus:
  • Team Bath, promoted from the Western League
  • Yate Town, promoted from the Hellenic League

League table

Southern Football League
Western Division

Season	2003–04
Champions	Redditch United
Matches played	420
Goals scored	1,166 (2.78 per match)
← 2002–03 2004–05 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Redditch United	40	25	9	6	75	30	+45	84	Qualified for the play-offs, then promoted to the Conference North
2	Gloucester City	40	24	7	9	77	46	+31	79	Promoted to the Premier Division
3	Cirencester Town	40	24	4	12	73	40	+33	76
4	Halesowen Town	40	20	13	7	64	40	+24	73
5	Rugby United	40	21	8	11	57	40	+17	71
6	Team Bath	40	21	6	13	62	41	+21	69
7	Solihull Borough	40	19	9	12	50	31	+19	66
8	Sutton Coldfield Town	40	16	15	9	52	38	+14	63
9	Bromsgrove Rovers	40	16	11	13	60	48	+12	59
10	Ilkeston Town	40	16	10	14	58	59	−1	58	Transferred to the Northern Premier League Division One
11	Clevedon Town	40	16	5	19	55	59	−4	53
12	Gresley Rovers	40	15	7	18	52	60	−8	52	Transferred to the Northern Premier League Division One
13	Mangotsfield United	40	14	8	18	70	70	0	50
14	Evesham United	40	15	5	20	56	57	−1	50
15	Taunton Town	40	14	8	18	50	55	−5	50
16	Yate Town	40	11	9	20	51	79	−28	42
17	Swindon Supermarine	40	10	9	21	41	69	−28	39
18	Stourport Swifts	40	9	11	20	43	62	−19	38
19	Bedworth United	40	8	12	20	39	61	−22	36
20	Cinderford Town	40	7	9	24	50	94	−44	30
21	Shepshed Dynamo	40	5	13	22	31	87	−56	28	Transferred to the Northern Premier League Division One
22	Atherstone United	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Club folded

Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Stadia and locations

Atherstone Town

Bedworth United

Bromsgrove

Cinderford Town

Cirencester Town

Clevedon Town

Evesham United

Gloucester City

Gresley Rovers

Halesowen Town

Ilkeston Town

Mangotsfield United

Redditch

Rugby
Town

Shepshed Dynamo

Solihull

Stourport Swifts

Sutton Coldfield Town

Swindon Supermarine

Taunton Town

Team
Bath

Yate
Town

Locations of the Western Division clubs

Club	Stadium
Atherstone Town	Sheepy Road
Bedworth United	The Oval
Bromsgrove Rovers	Victoria Ground
Cinderford Town	Causeway Ground
Cirencester Town	Corinium Stadium
Gloucester City	Meadow Park, Gloucester
Clevedon Town	Hand Stadium
Evesham United	Common Road
Gresley Rovers	Moat Ground
Halesowen Town	The Grove
Ilkeston Town	New Manor Ground
Mangotsfield United	Cossham Street
Redditch United	The Valley
Rugby Town	Butlin Road
Shepshed Dynamo	The Dovecote Stadium
Solihull Borough	Damson Park
Stourport Swifts	Walshes Meadow
Sutton Coldfield Town	The Central Ground
Swindon Supermarine	Hunts Copse Ground
Taunton Town	Wordsworth Drive
Team Bath	Twerton Park (groundshare with Bath City)
Yate Town	Lodge Road

See also

• Southern Football League
• 2003–04 Isthmian League
• 2003–04 Northern Premier League