The1981–82Southern Football League season was the 79th in the history of the league, an Englishfootball competition.
The league was split into Midland and Southern Divisions for a third and final season, at the end of it league restructuring for theforthcoming season meant that the top ten in each division (minus promoted clubs) would remain at the sixth level in a new Premier Division, whilst clubs finishing lower would be relegated to the seventh level.
Nuneaton Borough won the Midland Division, whilstWealdstone won the Southern Division, both earning promotion to theAlliance Premier League, having both also been relegated from the APL the previous season. Wealdstone were declared Southern League champions after defeating Nuneaton on penalties, after the two championship play-offs had finished 2–2 on aggregate (Wealdstone won 2–1 at home and Nuneaton won 1–0).[1] They completed the double by also winning theSouthern League Cup.
At the end of the seasonBedford Town folded, whilstBarry Town left to join theWelsh Football League.
The Midland Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 21 clubs from theprevious season and one new club:
| Season | 1981–82 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Nuneaton Borough |
| Promoted | Nuneaton Borough |
| Relegated | 11 clubs |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,295 (2.8 per match) |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nuneaton Borough | 42 | 27 | 11 | 4 | 88 | 32 | +56 | 65 | Promoted to theAlliance Premier League |
| 2 | Alvechurch | 42 | 26 | 10 | 6 | 79 | 34 | +45 | 62 | |
| 3 | Kidderminster Harriers | 42 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 71 | 40 | +31 | 56 | |
| 4 | Stourbridge | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 69 | 47 | +22 | 52 | |
| 5 | Gloucester City | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 64 | 48 | +16 | 51 | |
| 6 | Bedworth United | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 59 | 40 | +19 | 50 | |
| 7 | Enderby Town | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 79 | 66 | +13 | 50 | |
| 8 | Witney Town | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 71 | 49 | +22 | 46 | |
| 9 | Barry Town | 42 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 59 | 46 | +13 | 46 | Left to joinWelsh Football League |
| 10 | Corby Town | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 70 | 59 | +11 | 46 | |
| 11 | Merthyr Tydfil | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 63 | 54 | +9 | 44 | Relegated to theMidland Division |
| 12 | Wellingborough Town | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 50 | 45 | +5 | 42 | |
| 13 | Bridgend Town | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 50 | 62 | −12 | 39 | |
| 14 | Bromsgrove Rovers | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 57 | 63 | −6 | 38 | |
| 15 | Bedford Town | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 45 | 54 | −9 | 37 | Folded at end of season |
| 16 | Cheltenham Town | 42 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 65 | 68 | −3 | 36 | Relegated to theMidland Division |
| 17 | Taunton Town | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 46 | 76 | −30 | 32 | |
| 18 | Banbury United | 42 | 11 | 8 | 23 | 63 | 91 | −28 | 30 | |
| 19 | Minehead | 42 | 12 | 6 | 24 | 38 | 69 | −31 | 30 | |
| 20 | Cambridge City | 42 | 10 | 8 | 24 | 38 | 80 | −42 | 28 | |
| 21 | Milton Keynes City | 42 | 6 | 11 | 25 | 34 | 70 | −36 | 23 | |
| 22 | Redditch United | 42 | 8 | 5 | 29 | 37 | 102 | −65 | 21 |
The Southern Division consisted of 24 clubs, including 22 clubs from theprevious season and two new clubs:
At the end of the previous season, Margate had been renamedThanet United.
| Season | 1981–82 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Wealdstone |
| Promoted | Wealdstone |
| Relegated | 14 clubs |
| Matches | 552 |
| Goals | 1,541 (2.79 per match) |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wealdstone | 46 | 32 | 8 | 6 | 100 | 32 | +68 | 72 | Promoted to theAlliance Premier League |
| 2 | Hastings United | 46 | 31 | 9 | 6 | 79 | 34 | +45 | 71 | |
| 3 | Dorchester Town | 46 | 21 | 18 | 7 | 76 | 41 | +35 | 60 | |
| 4 | Gosport Borough | 46 | 26 | 8 | 12 | 76 | 45 | +31 | 60 | |
| 5 | Fareham Town | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 58 | 48 | +10 | 54 | |
| 6 | Poole Town | 46 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 92 | 63 | +29 | 53 | |
| 7 | Waterlooville | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 75 | 53 | +22 | 53 | |
| 8 | Welling United | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 70 | 48 | +22 | 51 | |
| 9 | Addlestone & Weybridge | 46 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 71 | 53 | +18 | 51 | |
| 10 | Chelmsford City | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 64 | 53 | +11 | 51 | |
| 11 | Aylesbury United | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 79 | 61 | +18 | 50 | Relegated to theSouthern Division |
| 12 | Basingstoke Town | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 74 | 61 | +13 | 48 | |
| 13 | Dover | 46 | 19 | 8 | 19 | 61 | 63 | −2 | 46 | |
| 14 | Ashford Town (Kent) | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 52 | 56 | −4 | 46 | |
| 15 | Tonbridge | 46 | 19 | 7 | 20 | 62 | 70 | −8 | 45 | |
| 16 | Dunstable | 46 | 18 | 8 | 20 | 63 | 68 | −5 | 44 | |
| 17 | Salisbury | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 64 | 81 | −17 | 42 | |
| 18 | Hounslow | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 59 | 83 | −24 | 41 | |
| 19 | Hillingdon Borough | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 46 | 58 | −12 | 38 | |
| 20 | Canterbury City | 46 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 49 | 78 | −29 | 36 | |
| 21 | Crawley Town | 46 | 9 | 12 | 25 | 46 | 81 | −35 | 30 | |
| 22 | Folkestone | 46 | 10 | 6 | 30 | 49 | 101 | −52 | 26 | |
| 23 | Andover | 46 | 4 | 11 | 31 | 39 | 100 | −61 | 19 | |
| 24 | Thanet United | 46 | 5 | 7 | 34 | 37 | 110 | −73 | 17 |