The1977–78Southern Football League season was the 75th in the history of the league, an Englishfootball competition.
Bath City won the championship, winning their second Southern League title, whilstWitney Town,Margate,Bridgend Town andDorchester Town were all promoted to the Premier Division, the former two as champions.Romford folded at the end of the season.
The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from theprevious season and four new clubs:
| Season | 1977–78 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Bath City |
| Relegated | Bedford Town Dover Grantham Minehead |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,136 (2.46 per match) |
1978–79 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bath City | 42 | 22 | 18 | 2 | 83 | 32 | +51 | 62 | |
| 2 | Weymouth | 42 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 64 | 36 | +28 | 58 | |
| 3 | Maidstone United | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 59 | 41 | +18 | 51 | |
| 4 | Worcester City | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 67 | 50 | +17 | 51 | |
| 5 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 57 | 42 | +15 | 49 | |
| 6 | Kettering Town | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 58 | 48 | +10 | 47 | |
| 7 | Barnet | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 63 | 58 | +5 | 47 | |
| 8 | Wealdstone | 42 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 54 | 48 | +6 | 46 | |
| 9 | Telford United | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 52 | 45 | +7 | 45 | |
| 10 | Nuneaton Borough | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 44 | |
| 11 | Dartford | 42 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 57 | 65 | −8 | 43 | |
| 12 | Yeovil Town | 42 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 57 | 49 | +8 | 42 | |
| 13 | Hastings United | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 49 | 60 | −11 | 39 | |
| 14 | Cheltenham Town | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 38 | |
| 15 | Hillingdon Borough | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 45 | 54 | −9 | 35 | |
| 16 | Atherstone Town | 42 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 41 | 56 | −15 | 35 | |
| 17 | Redditch United | 42 | 15 | 5 | 22 | 40 | 55 | −15 | 35 | |
| 18 | AP Leamington | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 34 | 57 | −23 | 35 | |
| 19 | Minehead | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 34 | Relegated toDivision One South |
| 20 | Dover | 42 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 41 | 63 | −22 | 31 | |
| 21 | Bedford Town | 42 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 51 | 75 | −24 | 29 | Relegated toDivision One North |
| 22 | Grantham | 42 | 11 | 6 | 25 | 40 | 66 | −26 | 28 |
Division One North consisted of 20 clubs, including 18 clubs from theprevious season and two new clubs:
| Season | 1977–78 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Witney Town |
| Promoted | Bridgend Town Witney Town |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 1,030 (2.71 per match) |
1978–79 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Witney Town | 38 | 20 | 15 | 3 | 54 | 27 | +27 | 55 | Promoted to thePremier Division |
| 2 | Bridgend Town | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 59 | 45 | +14 | 49 | |
| 3 | Burton Albion | 38 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 48 | 32 | +16 | 45 | |
| 4 | Enderby Town | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 59 | 44 | +15 | 44 | |
| 5 | Bromsgrove Rovers | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 56 | 41 | +15 | 44 | |
| 6 | Banbury United | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 52 | 47 | +5 | 44 | |
| 7 | Kidderminster Harriers | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 58 | 41 | +17 | 43 | |
| 8 | Merthyr Tydfil | 38 | 18 | 6 | 14 | 85 | 62 | +23 | 42 | |
| 9 | Cambridge City | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 56 | 45 | +11 | 40 | |
| 10 | Barry Town | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 58 | 48 | +10 | 39 | |
| 11 | Wellingborough Town | 38 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 47 | 43 | +4 | 37 | |
| 12 | King's Lynn | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 55 | 55 | 0 | 37 | |
| 13 | Gloucester City | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 68 | 75 | −7 | 36 | |
| 14 | Corby Town | 38 | 9 | 17 | 12 | 46 | 48 | −2 | 35 | |
| 15 | Dunstable | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 49 | 59 | −10 | 35 | Transferred to theDivision One South |
| 16 | Stourbridge | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 52 | 53 | −1 | 33 | |
| 17 | Tamworth | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 37 | 48 | −11 | 31 | |
| 18 | Bedworth United | 38 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 36 | 58 | −22 | 30 | |
| 19 | Milton Keynes City | 38 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 26 | 74 | −48 | 21 | |
| 20 | Oswestry Town | 38 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 29 | 85 | −56 | 20 |
Division One South expanded up to 20 clubs, including 15 clubs from theprevious season and five new clubs:
| Season | 1977–78 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Margate |
| Promoted | Dorchester Town Margate |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 1,107 (2.91 per match) |
1978–79 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Margate | 38 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 92 | 32 | +60 | 58 | Promoted to thePremier Division |
| 2 | Dorchester Town | 38 | 23 | 10 | 5 | 67 | 31 | +36 | 56 | |
| 3 | Salisbury | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 60 | 27 | +33 | 52 | |
| 4 | Waterlooville | 38 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 66 | 36 | +30 | 51 | |
| 5 | Romford | 38 | 17 | 15 | 6 | 58 | 37 | +21 | 49 | Club folded |
| 6 | Aylesbury United | 38 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 56 | 42 | +14 | 47 | |
| 7 | Trowbridge Town | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 65 | 59 | +6 | 43 | |
| 8 | Chelmsford City | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 58 | 46 | +12 | 41 | |
| 9 | Folkestone & Shepway | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 64 | 56 | +8 | 41 | |
| 10 | Taunton Town | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 57 | 54 | +3 | 40 | |
| 11 | Addlestone | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 57 | 60 | −3 | 38 | |
| 12 | Crawley Town | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 61 | 60 | +1 | 37 | |
| 13 | Basingstoke Town | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 44 | 50 | −6 | 33 | |
| 14 | Tonbridge Angels | 38 | 13 | 5 | 20 | 64 | 77 | −13 | 31 | |
| 15 | Ashford Town (Kent) | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 39 | 60 | −21 | 31 | |
| 16 | Hounslow | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 43 | 62 | −19 | 30 | |
| 17 | Bognor Regis Town | 38 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 52 | 69 | −17 | 26 | |
| 18 | Poole Town | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 43 | 68 | −25 | 26 | |
| 19 | Andover | 38 | 4 | 12 | 22 | 30 | 68 | −38 | 20 | |
| 20 | Canterbury City | 38 | 2 | 6 | 30 | 31 | 113 | −82 | 10 |
At the end of the season, the bottom four of the Football League had to be re-elected to retain their place, with one club from each of the Southern League andNorthern Premier League also on the ballot. Champions Bath City participated in the vote, but finished bottom. NPL clubWigan Athletic were elected to the League after beatingSouthport in a second round of voting.[1]
| Club | League | First round votes | Second round votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| York City | Football League Division Four | 49 | |
| Rochdale | Football League Division Four | 39 | |
| Hartlepool United | Football League Division Four | 37 | |
| Wigan Athletic | Northern Premier League | 26 | 29 |
| Southport | Football League Division Four | 26 | 20 |
| Bath City | Southern League | 23 |