The1971–72Southern Football League season was the 69th in the history of the league, an Englishfootball competition.
At the end of the previous season Division One was split into divisions One North and One South with 14 new clubs joining the league.
Chelmsford City won the championship, winning their third Southern League title, whilstBurton Albion,Kettering Town,Ramsgate Athletic andWaterlooville were all promoted to the Premier Division. Eight Southern League clubs applied to jointhe Football League at the end of the season,Hereford United was elected in favour ofBarrow after a tie in the first vote.
The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from theprevious season and four new clubs, promoted from Division One:
| Season | 1971–72 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Chelmsford City |
| Relegated | Bath City Gloucester City Merthyr Tydfil |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,378 (2.98 per match) |
1972–73 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelmsford City | 42 | 28 | 6 | 8 | 109 | 46 | 2.370 | 62 | |
| 2 | Hereford United | 42 | 24 | 12 | 6 | 68 | 30 | 2.267 | 60 | Elected to theFootball League Fourth Division |
| 3 | Dover | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 67 | 45 | 1.489 | 51 | |
| 4 | Barnet | 42 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 80 | 57 | 1.404 | 49 | |
| 5 | Dartford | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 75 | 68 | 1.103 | 48 | |
| 6 | Weymouth | 42 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 69 | 43 | 1.605 | 47 | |
| 7 | Yeovil Town | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 67 | 51 | 1.314 | 47 | |
| 8 | Hillingdon Borough | 42 | 20 | 6 | 16 | 64 | 58 | 1.103 | 46 | |
| 9 | Margate | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 74 | 68 | 1.088 | 46 | |
| 10 | Wimbledon | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 75 | 64 | 1.172 | 45 | |
| 11 | Romford | 42 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 54 | 49 | 1.102 | 45 | |
| 12 | Guildford City | 42 | 20 | 5 | 17 | 71 | 65 | 1.092 | 45 | |
| 13 | Telford United | 42 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 83 | 68 | 1.221 | 43 | |
| 14 | Nuneaton Borough | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 46 | 47 | 0.979 | 42 | |
| 15 | Bedford Town | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 59 | 66 | 0.894 | 41 | |
| 16 | Worcester City | 42 | 17 | 7 | 18 | 46 | 57 | 0.807 | 41 | |
| 17 | Cambridge City | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 68 | 71 | 0.958 | 38 | |
| 18 | Folkestone | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 58 | 64 | 0.906 | 35 | |
| 19 | Poole Town | 42 | 9 | 11 | 22 | 41 | 72 | 0.569 | 29 | |
| 20 | Bath City | 42 | 11 | 4 | 27 | 45 | 86 | 0.523 | 26 | Relegated toDivision One South |
| 21 | Merthyr Tydfil | 42 | 7 | 8 | 27 | 29 | 93 | 0.312 | 22 | Relegated toDivision One North |
| 22 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 42 | 5 | 6 | 31 | 30 | 110 | 0.273 | 16 | Relegated toDivision One South |
Division One North consisted of 18 clubs, including eight clubs from theprevious season Division One and ten new clubs:
| Season | 1971–72 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Kettering Town |
| Promoted | Burton Albion Kettering Town |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 904 (2.95 per match) |
1972–73 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kettering Town | 34 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 70 | 27 | 2.593 | 52 | Promoted to thePremier Division |
| 2 | Burton Albion | 34 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 58 | 27 | 2.148 | 49 | |
| 3 | Cheltenham Town | 34 | 20 | 4 | 10 | 72 | 51 | 1.412 | 44 | |
| 4 | Rugby Town | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 52 | 36 | 1.444 | 43 | |
| 5 | Wellingborough Town | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 73 | 44 | 1.659 | 40 | |
| 6 | Stourbridge | 34 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 59 | 42 | 1.405 | 40 | |
| 7 | King's Lynn | 34 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 62 | 45 | 1.378 | 39 | |
| 8 | Corby Town | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 47 | 35 | 1.343 | 39 | |
| 9 | Ilkeston Town | 34 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 44 | 38 | 1.158 | 39 | |
| 10 | Banbury United | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 54 | 46 | 1.174 | 33 | |
| 11 | Bury Town | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 47 | 44 | 1.068 | 33 | |
| 12 | Wealdstone | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 51 | 58 | 0.879 | 33 | Transferred toDivision One South |
| 13 | Lockheed Leamington | 34 | 15 | 3 | 16 | 41 | 52 | 0.788 | 33 | |
| 14 | Gloucester City | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 46 | 61 | 0.754 | 24 | |
| 15 | Stevenage Athletic | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 41 | 69 | 0.594 | 24 | |
| 16 | Bletchley Town | 34 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 36 | 70 | 0.514 | 21 | Transferred toDivision One South |
| 17 | Dunstable Town | 34 | 5 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 75 | 0.387 | 17 | |
| 18 | Barry Town | 34 | 1 | 7 | 26 | 22 | 84 | 0.262 | 9 |
Division One South consisted of 16 clubs, including eight clubs from theprevious season Division One and eight new clubs:
At the end of the seasonRamsgate Athletic was renamed Ramsgate.
| Season | 1971–72 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Waterlooville |
| Promoted | Ramsgate Athletic Waterlooville |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 661 (2.75 per match) |
1972–73 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waterlooville | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 40 | 22 | 1.818 | 39 | Promoted to thePremier Division |
| 2 | Ramsgate Athletic | 30 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 42 | 27 | 1.556 | 39 | |
| 3 | Maidstone United | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 48 | 28 | 1.714 | 38 | |
| 4 | Crawley Town | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 67 | 55 | 1.218 | 35 | |
| 5 | Metropolitan Police | 30 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 48 | 41 | 1.171 | 33 | |
| 6 | Tonbridge | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 37 | 34 | 1.088 | 33 | |
| 7 | Bexley United | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 52 | 46 | 1.130 | 32 | |
| 8 | Basingstoke Town | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 37 | 36 | 1.028 | 32 | |
| 9 | Andover | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 32 | 34 | 0.941 | 31 | |
| 10 | Ashford Town (Kent) | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 43 | 48 | 0.896 | 28 | |
| 11 | Salisbury | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 45 | 44 | 1.023 | 27 | |
| 12 | Winchester City | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 40 | 47 | 0.851 | 27 | |
| 13 | Hastings United | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 28 | 42 | 0.667 | 27 | |
| 14 | Trowbridge Town | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 41 | 49 | 0.837 | 23 | |
| 15 | Canterbury City | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 39 | 56 | 0.696 | 22 | |
| 16 | Woodford Town | 30 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 22 | 52 | 0.423 | 14 | Resigned to theEssex Senior League |
Alongside the four League clubs facing re-election, a total of 12 non-League clubs applied for election, eight of which were Southern League clubs. Three League clubs were re-elected, along withHereford United who were elected in favour ofBarrow after a tie in the first vote.[1]