1913–14 Southern Football League

The 1913–14 Southern Football League season was the 20th in the history of the Southern League. Swindon Town won their second Southern League championship, whilst Coventry City and Merthyr Town were relegated to Division Two. Croydon Common won the Division Two championship on goal difference and were promoted to Division One along with runners-up Luton Town. Division Two club Stoke applied to join the Football League, but finished third in the ballot and were rejected.

Several Welsh clubs in Division Two left the League at the end of the season, though many returned after World War I.

Division One

Southern Football League Division One
Season1913–14
ChampionsSwindon Town (2nd title)
Promotednone
RelegatedMerthyr Town
Coventry City
Matches played380
Goals scored992 (2.61 per match)

A total of 20 teams contest the division, including 18 sides from previous season and two new teams.

Teams promoted from 1912–13 Division Two:

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Relegation
1 Swindon Town 38 21 8 9 81 41 1.976 50
2 Crystal Palace 38 17 16 5 60 32 1.875 50
3 Northampton Town 38 14 19 5 50 37 1.351 47
4 Reading 38 17 10 11 43 36 1.194 44
5 Plymouth Argyle 38 15 13 10 46 42 1.095 43
6 West Ham United 38 15 12 11 61 60 1.017 42
7 Brighton & Hove Albion 38 15 12 11 43 45 0.956 42
8 Queens Park Rangers 38 16 9 13 45 43 1.047 41
9 Portsmouth 38 14 12 12 57 48 1.188 40
10 Cardiff City 38 13 12 13 46 42 1.095 38
11 Southampton 38 15 7 16 55 54 1.019 37
12 Exeter City 38 10 16 12 39 38 1.026 36
13 Gillingham 38 13 9 16 48 49 0.980 35
14 Norwich City 38 9 17 12 49 51 0.961 35
15 Millwall 38 11 12 15 51 56 0.911 34
16 Southend United 38 10 12 16 41 66 0.621 32
17 Bristol Rovers 38 10 11 17 46 67 0.687 31
18 Watford 38 10 9 19 50 56 0.893 29
19 Merthyr Town 38 9 10 19 38 61 0.623 28 Relegated to Division Two
20 Coventry City 38 6 14 18 43 68 0.632 26
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.

Division Two

Southern Football League Division Two
Season1913–14
ChampionsCroydon Common
PromotedCroydon Common
Luton Town
RelegatedAbertillery (resigned)
Mardy (resigned)
Caerphilly (resigned)
Aberdare (resigned)
Treharris (resigned)
Matches played240
Goals scored801 (3.34 per match)

A total of 16 teams contest the division, including 11 sides from previous season, two teams relegated from Division One and three new teams.

Teams relegated from 1912–13 Division One:

Newly elected teams:

  • Abertillery
  • Barry
  • Caerphilly

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Promotion
1 Croydon Common 30 23 5 2 76 14 5.429 51 Promoted to Division One
2 Luton Town 30 24 3 3 92 22 4.182 51
3 Brentford 30 20 4 6 80 18 4.444 44
4 Swansea Town 30 20 4 6 66 25 2.640 44
5 Stoke 30 19 2 9 71 34 2.088 40
6 Newport County 30 14 8 8 49 38 1.289 36
7 Mid Rhondda 30 13 7 10 55 37 1.486 33
8 Pontypridd 30 14 5 11 43 38 1.132 33
9 Llanelly 30 12 4 14 45 37 1.216 28
10 Barry 30 9 8 13 44 70 0.629 26
11 Abertillery 30 8 4 18 44 51 0.863 20 Left league at end of season
12 Ton Pentre 30 8 4 18 33 61 0.541 20
13 Mardy 30 6 6 18 30 60 0.500 18 Left league at end of season
14 Caerphilly 30 4 7 19 21 103 0.204 15
15 Aberdare 30 4 5 21 33 87 0.379 13
16 Treharris 30 2 4 24 19 106 0.179 8
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.