1987–88 Southern Football League
# 1987–88 Southern Football League

The 1987–88 Southern Football League season was the 85th in the history of the league, an English football competition.

Aylesbury United won the Premier Division and earned promotion to the Football Conference, whilst Chatham Town, Paget Rangers and Shepshed Charterhouse left the league at the end of the season.

## Premier Division

The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 16 clubs from the previous season and six new clubs:

* Two clubs promoted from the Midland Division:
   * Leicester United
   * VS Rugby
* Two clubs promoted from the Southern Division:
   * Ashford Town (Kent)
   * Dorchester Town
* Plus:
   * Nuneaton Borough, demoted from the Football Conference
   * Burton Albion, transferred from the Northern Premier League

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Aylesbury United | 42 | 27 | 8 | 7 | 79 | 35 | +44 | 89 | Promoted to the Football Conference |
| 2 | Dartford | 42 | 27 | 8 | 7 | 79 | 39 | +40 | 89 | |
| 3 | Cambridge City | 42 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 84 | 43 | +41 | 80 | |
| 4 | Bromsgrove Rovers | 42 | 22 | 11 | 9 | 65 | 39 | +26 | 77 | |
| 5 | Worcester City | 42 | 22 | 6 | 14 | 58 | 48 | +10 | 72 | |
| 6 | Crawley Town | 42 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 73 | 63 | +10 | 65 | |
| 7 | Alvechurch | 42 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 54 | 52 | +2 | 64 | |
| 8 | Leicester United | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 68 | 59 | +9 | 59 | |
| 9 | Fareham Town | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 51 | 59 | −8 | 59 | |
| 10 | Corby Town | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 61 | 64 | −3 | 56 | |
| 11 | Dorchester Town | 42 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 51 | 57 | −6 | 56 | |
| 12 | Ashford Town (Kent) | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 45 | 54 | −9 | 52 | |
| 13 | Shepshed Charterhouse | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 53 | 62 | −9 | 50 | Transferred to the Northern Premier League Premier Division |
| 14 | Bedworth United | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 49 | 64 | −15 | 50 | |
| 15 | Gosport Borough | 42 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 39 | 49 | −10 | 47 | |
| 16 | Burton Albion | 42 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 62 | 74 | −12 | 47 | |
| 17 | VS Rugby | 42 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 52 | 57 | −5 | 46 | |
| 18 | Redditch United | 42 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 55 | 63 | −8 | 43 | |
| 19 | Chelmsford City | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 60 | 75 | −15 | 43 | Relegated to the Southern Division |
| 20 | Willenhall Town | 42 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 39 | 76 | −37 | 39 | Relegated to the Midland Division |
| 21 | Nuneaton Borough | 42 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 58 | 77 | −19 | 37 | Relegated to the Midland Division |
| 22 | Witney Town | 42 | 8 | 11 | 23 | 45 | 71 | −26 | 35 | Relegated to the Southern Division |

## Midland Division

The Midland Division expanded up to 22 clubs, including 17 clubs from the previous season and five new clubs:

* Two clubs relegated from the Premier Division:
   * Dudley Town
   * King's Lynn
* Plus:
   * Atherstone United, promoted from the West Midlands (Regional) League
   * Paget Rangers, promoted from the Midland Combination
   * Trowbridge Town, transferred from the Southern Division

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Merthyr Tydfil | 42 | 30 | 4 | 8 | 102 | 40 | +62 | 94 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Moor Green | 42 | 26 | 8 | 8 | 91 | 49 | +42 | 86 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 3 | Grantham Town | 42 | 27 | 4 | 11 | 97 | 53 | +44 | 85 | |
| 4 | Atherstone United | 42 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 93 | 56 | +37 | 76 | |
| 5 | Sutton Coldfield Town | 42 | 22 | 6 | 14 | 71 | 47 | +24 | 72 | |
| 6 | Halesowen Town | 42 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 75 | 59 | +16 | 69 | |
| 7 | Gloucester City | 42 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 86 | 62 | +24 | 68 | |
| 8 | Dudley Town | 42 | 20 | 5 | 17 | 64 | 55 | +9 | 65 | |
| 9 | Forest Green Rovers | 42 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 67 | 54 | +13 | 58 | |
| 10 | Banbury United | 42 | 17 | 7 | 18 | 48 | 46 | +2 | 58 | |
| 11 | Bridgnorth Town | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 59 | 75 | −16 | 55 | |
| 12 | Buckingham Town | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 74 | 75 | −1 | 54 | Transferred to the Southern Division |
| 13 | King's Lynn | 42 | 16 | 6 | 20 | 53 | 63 | −10 | 54 | |
| 14 | Wellingborough Town | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 67 | 70 | −3 | 52 | |
| 15 | Rushden Town | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 69 | 85 | −16 | 51 | |
| 16 | Trowbridge Town | 42 | 14 | 3 | 25 | 53 | 82 | −29 | 45 | Transferred to the Southern Division |
| 17 | Bilston Town | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 52 | 87 | −35 | 44 | |
| 18 | Hednesford Town | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 50 | 81 | −31 | 43 | |
| 19 | Mile Oak Rovers | 42 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 43 | 65 | −22 | 41 | |
| 20 | Coventry Sporting | 42 | 11 | 8 | 23 | 46 | 83 | −37 | 41 | |
| 21 | Stourbridge | 42 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 46 | 79 | −33 | 40 | |
| 22 | Paget Rangers | 42 | 10 | 9 | 23 | 49 | 89 | −40 | 39 | Relegated to the West Midlands League |

## Southern Division

The Southern Division expanded up to 21 clubs, including 16 clubs from the previous season and five new clubs:

* Two clubs relegated from the Premier Division:
   * Folkestone
   * Salisbury
* Plus:
   * Baldock Town, promoted from the United Counties League
   * Bury Town, promoted from the Eastern Counties League
   * Hounslow, promoted from the Hellenic League

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Dover Athletic | 40 | 28 | 10 | 2 | 81 | 28 | +53 | 94 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Waterlooville | 40 | 27 | 10 | 3 | 88 | 33 | +55 | 91 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 3 | Salisbury | 40 | 24 | 11 | 5 | 71 | 33 | +38 | 83 | |
| 4 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 40 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 60 | 32 | +28 | 72 | |
| 5 | Thanet United | 40 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 60 | 38 | +22 | 64 | |
| 6 | Andover | 40 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 64 | 58 | +6 | 64 | |
| 7 | Dunstable | 40 | 17 | 12 | 11 | 78 | 56 | +22 | 63 | |
| 8 | Burnham | 40 | 17 | 10 | 13 | 61 | 45 | +16 | 61 | |
| 9 | Bury Town | 40 | 17 | 7 | 16 | 80 | 67 | +13 | 58 | |
| 10 | Erith & Belvedere | 40 | 16 | 9 | 15 | 52 | 56 | −4 | 57 | |
| 11 | Sheppey United | 40 | 14 | 10 | 16 | 58 | 52 | +6 | 52 | |
| 12 | Hastings Town | 40 | 14 | 10 | 16 | 62 | 70 | −8 | 52 | |
| 13 | Tonbridge | 40 | 14 | 8 | 18 | 51 | 56 | −5 | 50 | |
| 14 | Poole Town | 40 | 13 | 10 | 17 | 69 | 70 | −1 | 49 | |
| 15 | Baldock Town | 40 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 44 | 53 | −9 | 48 | |
| 16 | Hounslow | 40 | 11 | 8 | 21 | 41 | 76 | −35 | 41 | |
| 17 | Folkestone | 40 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 47 | 76 | −29 | 38 | |
| 18 | Corinthian | 40 | 9 | 10 | 21 | 49 | 67 | −18 | 37 | |
| 19 | Ruislip | 40 | 5 | 13 | 22 | 33 | 80 | −47 | 28 | |
| 20 | Canterbury City | 40 | 7 | 6 | 27 | 33 | 87 | −54 | 27 | |
| 21 | Chatham Town | 40 | 7 | 5 | 28 | 39 | 88 | −49 | 26 | Relegated to the Kent Football League |
