The1986–87Southern Football League season was the 84th in the history of the league, an Englishfootball competition.
Fisher Athletic won the Premier Division and earned promotion to theFootball Conference, whilstBasingstoke Town,Leamington andWoodford Town left the league at the end of the season. The Southern League Cup was lifted byWaterlooville, who won both legs of the final againstHednesford Town.
The Premier Division expanded up to 22 clubs, including 17 clubs from theprevious season and five new clubs:
| Season | 1986–87 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Fisher Athletic |
| Promoted | Fisher Athletic |
| Relegated | Dudley Town Folkestone King's Lynn Salisbury |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,248 (2.7 per match) |
1987–88 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fisher Athletic | 42 | 25 | 11 | 6 | 72 | 29 | +43 | 86 | Promoted to theFootball Conference |
| 2 | Bromsgrove Rovers | 42 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 82 | 41 | +41 | 83 | |
| 3 | Aylesbury United | 42 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 72 | 40 | +32 | 83 | |
| 4 | Dartford | 42 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 76 | 43 | +33 | 69 | |
| 5 | Chelmsford City | 42 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 48 | 45 | +3 | 64 | |
| 6 | Cambridge City | 42 | 14 | 20 | 8 | 68 | 52 | +16 | 62 | |
| 7 | Redditch United | 42 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 59 | 54 | +5 | 62 | |
| 8 | Alvechurch | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 66 | 62 | +4 | 62 | |
| 9 | Corby Town | 42 | 14 | 17 | 11 | 65 | 51 | +14 | 59 | |
| 10 | Worcester City | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 62 | 55 | +7 | 59 | |
| 11 | Shepshed Charterhouse | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 59 | 59 | 0 | 58 | |
| 12 | Bedworth United | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 55 | 51 | +4 | 57 | |
| 13 | Crawley Town | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 59 | 60 | −1 | 53 | |
| 14 | Fareham Town | 42 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 58 | 49 | +9 | 50 | |
| 15 | Willenhall Town | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 50 | |
| 16 | Basingstoke Town | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 53 | 78 | −25 | 48 | Transferred to theIsthmian League Premier Division |
| 17 | Witney Town | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 29 | 56 | −27 | 48 | |
| 18 | Gosport Borough | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 42 | 57 | −15 | 46 | |
| 19 | Salisbury | 42 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 52 | 82 | −30 | 43 | Relegated to theSouthern Division |
| 20 | King's Lynn | 42 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 48 | 72 | −24 | 40 | Relegated to theMidland Division |
| 21 | Dudley Town | 42 | 9 | 9 | 24 | 39 | 76 | −37 | 36 | |
| 22 | Folkestone | 42 | 8 | 11 | 23 | 36 | 79 | −43 | 35 | Relegated to theSouthern Division |
The Midland Division consisted of 20 clubs, including 18 clubs from theprevious season and two new clubs:
At the end of the seasonGrantham was renamedGrantham Town.
| Season | 1986–87 |
|---|---|
| Champions | VS Rugby |
| Promoted | VS Rugby Leicester United |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 1,267 (3.33 per match) |
1987–88 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VS Rugby | 38 | 25 | 5 | 8 | 81 | 43 | +38 | 80 | Promoted to thePremier Division |
| 2 | Leicester United | 38 | 26 | 1 | 11 | 89 | 49 | +40 | 79 | |
| 3 | Merthyr Tydfil | 38 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 95 | 54 | +41 | 75 | Qualification for the1987–88 European Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 4 | Moor Green | 38 | 22 | 6 | 10 | 73 | 55 | +18 | 72 | |
| 5 | Halesowen Town | 38 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 72 | 50 | +22 | 69 | |
| 6 | Hednesford Town | 38 | 21 | 5 | 12 | 84 | 56 | +28 | 68 | |
| 7 | Gloucester City | 38 | 19 | 5 | 14 | 77 | 59 | +18 | 62 | |
| 8 | Coventry Sporting | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 55 | 54 | +1 | 59 | |
| 9 | Forest Green Rovers | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 65 | 53 | +12 | 57 | |
| 10 | Stourbridge | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 56 | 56 | 0 | 55 | |
| 11 | Grantham | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 74 | 54 | +20 | 54 | |
| 12 | Banbury United | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 55 | 65 | −10 | 49 | |
| 13 | Buckingham Town | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 55 | 59 | −4 | 48 | |
| 14 | Bridgnorth Town | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 59 | 63 | −4 | 45 | |
| 15 | Wellingborough Town | 38 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 55 | 76 | −21 | 45 | |
| 16 | Mile Oak Rovers | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 50 | 63 | −13 | 43 | |
| 17 | Sutton Coldfield Town | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 56 | 78 | −22 | 34 | |
| 18 | Bilston Town | 38 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 37 | 76 | −39 | 31 | |
| 19 | Leamington | 38 | 4 | 13 | 21 | 37 | 80 | −43 | 25 | Resigned to theMidland Combination |
| 20 | Rushden Town | 38 | 1 | 10 | 27 | 42 | 124 | −82 | 13 |
The Southern Division consisted of 20 clubs, including 19 clubs from theprevious season and one new club:
At the end of the seasonBurnham & Hillingdon changed name toBurnham.
| Season | 1986–87 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dorchester Town |
| Promoted | Ashford Town (Kent) Dorchester Town |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 1,179 (3.1 per match) |
1987–88 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dorchester Town | 38 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 83 | 42 | +41 | 77 | Promoted to thePremier Division |
| 2 | Ashford Town (Kent) | 38 | 23 | 7 | 8 | 63 | 32 | +31 | 76 | |
| 3 | Woodford Town | 38 | 22 | 6 | 10 | 72 | 44 | +28 | 72 | Resigned to theEssex Senior League |
| 4 | Hastings Town | 38 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 74 | 54 | +20 | 70 | |
| 5 | Dover Athletic | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 66 | 43 | +23 | 66 | |
| 6 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 38 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 67 | 46 | +21 | 61 | |
| 7 | Tonbridge | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 73 | 67 | +6 | 58 | |
| 8 | Erith & Belvedere | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 57 | 50 | +7 | 57 | |
| 9 | Chatham Town | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 52 | 46 | +6 | 57 | |
| 10 | Thanet United | 38 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 56 | 50 | +6 | 56 | |
| 11 | Waterlooville | 38 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 66 | 65 | +1 | 56 | |
| 12 | Trowbridge Town | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 77 | 65 | +12 | 54 | Transferred to theMidland Division |
| 13 | Dunstable | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 60 | 57 | +3 | 48 | |
| 14 | Corinthian | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 56 | 65 | −9 | 45 | |
| 15 | Sheppey United | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 43 | 64 | −21 | 39 | |
| 16 | Andover | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | 51 | 80 | −29 | 36 | |
| 17 | Burnham & Hillingdon | 38 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 32 | 62 | −30 | 32 | |
| 18 | Poole Town | 38 | 8 | 6 | 24 | 50 | 90 | −40 | 30 | |
| 19 | Ruislip | 38 | 6 | 12 | 20 | 35 | 75 | −40 | 30 | |
| 20 | Canterbury City | 38 | 8 | 5 | 25 | 46 | 82 | −36 | 29 |