The1902–03 season was the ninth in the history ofSouthern League. Southampton won Division One for the 5th time in seven seasons.Fulham finished top of Division Two. No Southern League clubs applied to jointhe Football League.
| Season | 1902–03 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Southampton (5th title) |
| Promoted | none |
| Relegated | Watford |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 715 (2.98 per match) |
1903–04 → | |
There were no new clubs in Division One this season.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southampton | 30 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 83 | 20 | 4.150 | 48 | |
| 2 | Reading | 30 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 72 | 30 | 2.400 | 45 | |
| 3 | Portsmouth | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 69 | 32 | 2.156 | 41 | |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 47 | 31 | 1.516 | 35 | |
| 5 | Bristol Rovers | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 46 | 34 | 1.353 | 34 | |
| 6 | New Brompton | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 37 | 35 | 1.057 | 33 | |
| 7 | Millwall Athletic[a] | 30 | 14 | 3 | 13 | 52 | 37 | 1.405 | 31 | |
| 8 | Northampton Town | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 39 | 48 | 0.813 | 30 | |
| 9 | Queens Park Rangers | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 34 | 42 | 0.810 | 28 | |
| 10 | West Ham United | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 35 | 49 | 0.714 | 28 | |
| 11 | Luton Town | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 43 | 44 | 0.977 | 27 | |
| 12 | Swindon Town | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 38 | 46 | 0.826 | 27 | |
| 13 | Kettering | 30 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 33 | 40 | 0.825 | 27 | |
| 14 | Wellingborough | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 36 | 56 | 0.643 | 25 | |
| 15 | Watford | 30 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 35 | 87 | 0.402 | 16 | Relegation test matches |
| 16 | Brentford | 30 | 2 | 1 | 27 | 16 | 84 | 0.190 | 5 |
| Season | 1902–03 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Fulham |
| Promoted | Fulham Brighton & Hove Albion |
| Relegated | none |
| Matches | 30 |
| Goals | 121 (4.03 per match) |
1903–04 → | |
There were also no new clubs in Division Two this season.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fulham | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 27 | 7 | 3.857 | 15 | Promotion test matches |
| 2 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 34 | 11 | 3.091 | 15 | |
| 3 | Grays United | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 12 | 2.333 | 14 | |
| 4 | Wycombe Wanderers | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 19 | 0.684 | 9 | |
| 5 | Chesham Town | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 37 | 0.243 | 5 | |
| 6 | Southall | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 35 | 0.286 | 2 |
At the end of the season, test matches were held between the bottom two clubs in Division One and the top two clubs in Division Two. Brentford beat Fulham 7-2 to retain their place in Division One, although Fulham were promoted anyway after Division One was expanded to 18 clubs.[1] Brighton beat Watford 5-3 in the other match, which saw the two clubs swap divisions.
| Division One clubs | v | Division Two clubs |
|---|---|---|
| Watford | 3 – 5 | Brighton & Hove Albion |
|---|---|---|