1895–96 Southern Football League
The 1895-96 season was the 2nd in the history of the Southern League, a football competition in England. Its teams were grouped in two divisions.
First Division Teams
- Chatham Town
- Clapton
- Ilford
- Luton Town
- Millwall Athletic
- New Brompton
- Reading
- Royal Ordnance
- Southampton St Mary's
- Swindon Town
Second Division Teams
- 1st Scots Guards
- Bromley
- Chesham
- Guildford
- Maidenhead
- Old St Stephen's
- Sheppey United
- Uxbridge
- Windsor & Eton
- Wolverton L & NWR
Division One Final Table
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Average 1 | Points 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Millwall Athletic | 18 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 75 | 16 | 4.69 | 33 |
| 2 | Luton Town | 18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 68 | 14 | 4.86 | 27 |
| 3 | Southampton St Mary's | 18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 44 | 23 | 1.91 | 24 |
| 4 | Reading | 18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 45 | 38 | 1.18 | 23 |
| 5 | Chatham Town | 18 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 43 | 45 | 0.96 | 20 |
| 6 | New Brompton | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 30 | 37 | 0.81 | 18 |
| 7 | Swindon Town | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 38 | 41 | 0.93 | 16 |
| 8 | Clapton | 18 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 30 | 67 | 0.45 | 10 |
| 9 | Royal Ordnance | 18 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 23 | 44 | 0.52 | 9 |
| 10 | Ilford | 18 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 10 | 81 | 0.12 | 0 |
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Division Two Final Table
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Average 1 | Points 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wolverton L & NWR | 16 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 43 | 10 | 4.30 | 27 |
| 2 | Sheppey United | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 60 | 19 | 3.16 | 25 |
| 3 | 1st Scots Guards | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 37 | 22 | 1.68 | 21 |
| 4 | Uxbridge | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 28 | 23 | 1.22 | 19 |
| 5 | Old St Stephen's | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 34 | 21 | 1.62 | 15 |
| 6 | Guildford | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 29 | 41 | 0.71 | 15 |
| 7 | Maidenhead | 16 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 20 | 49 | 0.41 | 9 |
| 8 | Chesham | 16 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 48 | 0.31 | 7 |
| 9 | Bromley | 16 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 16 | 49 | 0.33 | 6 |
| Windsor & Eton3 |
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
3 Windsor & Eton resigned from the League after 1 match.
Promotion and relegation
In the second season of the Southern League First Division teams were still not put forward for election to the Football League nor automatically promoted. Conversely, none of the sides were relegated. However, at the end of the season Luton Town joined the United League and Clapton the Isthmian League, while Ilford left the League altogether, to be replaced by newly promoted Second Division sides Wolverton L & NWR and Sheppey United. Three further teams were also elected straight into Division One; Tottenham Hotspur, Gravesend United and Northfleet. In addition to this two teams (Guildford and Bromley) left the Second Division at the end of the season; they were replaced by newly-elected teams Dartford, RETB Chesham, Wycombe Wanderers, Freemantle, Southall, West Herts, Warmley Bristol, and the 1st Coldstream Guards.