# 1996–97 Southern Football League

The 1996–97 Southern Football League season was the 94th in the history of the league, an English football competition.
Gresley Rovers won the Premier Division. However, as their ground failed to meet the required standard, second-placed Cheltenham Town were promoted to the Football Conference instead. Baldock Town, Chelmsford City and Newport were relegated to the Midland and Southern Divisions, whilst Sudbury Town (who had finished in thirteenth place) resigned from the league and dropped into the Eastern Counties League due to financial problems.
Tamworth, Forest Green Rovers, Rothwell Town and St Leonards Stamcroft (in their first season in the Southern League) were promoted to the Premier Division, the former two as champions of their divisions. Meanwhile, Midland Division club Dudley Town resigned from the league at the end of the season and did not compete in any competitions the following season. Leicester United folded during the season, and Buckingham Town were relegated to the United Counties League.

## Premier Division

The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from the previous season and four new clubs:
* Two clubs promoted from the Midland Division:
** King's Lynn
** Nuneaton Borough
* Two clubs promoted from the Southern Division:
** Ashford Town (Kent)
** Sittingbourne

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Gresley Rovers | 42 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 75 | 40 | +35 | 85 | |
| 2 | Cheltenham Town | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 76 | 44 | +32 | 74 | Promoted to the Football Conference |
| 3 | Gloucester City | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 81 | 56 | +25 | 73 | |
| 4 | Halesowen Town | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 77 | 54 | +23 | 73 | |
| 5 | King's Lynn | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 65 | 61 | +4 | 68 | |
| 6 | Burton Albion | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 70 | 53 | +17 | 66 | |
| 7 | Nuneaton Borough | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 61 | 52 | +9 | 66 | |
| 8 | Sittingbourne | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 76 | 65 | +11 | 64 | |
| 9 | Merthyr Tydfil | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 69 | 61 | +8 | 60 | |
| 10 | Worcester City | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 52 | 50 | +2 | 59 | |
| 11 | Atherstone United | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 46 | 47 | −1 | 58 | |
| 12 | Salisbury City | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 57 | 66 | −9 | 58 | |
| 13 | Sudbury Town | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 72 | 72 | 0 | 55 | Resigned to the Eastern Counties League |
| 14 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 63 | 73 | −10 | 55 | Transferred to the Isthmian League |
| 15 | Dorchester Town | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 62 | 66 | −4 | 51 | |
| 16 | Hastings Town | 42 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 49 | 60 | −11 | 51 | |
| 17 | Crawley Town | 42 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 49 | 67 | −18 | 47 | |
| 18 | Cambridge City | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 57 | 65 | −8 | 46 | |
| 19 | Ashford Town (Kent) | 42 | 9 | 18 | 15 | 53 | 79 | −26 | 45 | |
| 20 | Baldock Town | 42 | 11 | 8 | 23 | 52 | 90 | −38 | 41 | Relegated to the Southern Division |
| 21 | Newport | 42 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 40 | 60 | −20 | 40 | Relegated to the Southern Division |
| 22 | Chelmsford City | 42 | 6 | 14 | 22 | 49 | 70 | −21 | 32 | Relegated to the Southern Division |

## Midland Division

The Midland Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 17 clubs from the previous season and five new clubs:
* Three clubs relegated from the Premier Division:
** Ilkeston Town
** Stafford Rangers
** VS Rugby
* Plus:
** Raunds Town, promoted from the United Counties League
** Shepshed Dynamo, promoted from the Midland Alliance
At the end of the season Hinckley Town merged with Midland Alliance club Hinckley Athletic to form Hinckley United.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Tamworth | 40 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 90 | 28 | +62 | 97 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Rothwell Town | 40 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 82 | 54 | +28 | 71 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 3 | Ilkeston Town | 40 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 76 | 50 | +26 | 70 | |
| 4 | Grantham Town | 40 | 22 | 4 | 14 | 65 | 46 | +19 | 70 | |
| 5 | Bedworth United | 40 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 77 | 41 | +36 | 65 | |
| 6 | Solihull Borough | 40 | 19 | 8 | 13 | 84 | 62 | +22 | 65 | |
| 7 | Bilston Town | 40 | 18 | 10 | 12 | 74 | 57 | +17 | 64 | |
| 8 | Moor Green | 40 | 18 | 7 | 15 | 88 | 68 | +20 | 61 | |
| 9 | Stafford Rangers | 40 | 17 | 9 | 14 | 68 | 62 | +6 | 60 | |
| 10 | Raunds Town | 40 | 16 | 11 | 13 | 61 | 65 | −4 | 59 | |
| 11 | Racing Club Warwick | 40 | 16 | 10 | 14 | 70 | 72 | −2 | 58 | |
| 12 | Shepshed Dynamo | 40 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 64 | 65 | −1 | 54 | |
| 13 | Redditch United | 40 | 15 | 8 | 17 | 56 | 59 | −3 | 53 | |
| 14 | Paget Rangers | 40 | 13 | 9 | 18 | 42 | 55 | −13 | 48 | |
| 15 | Dudley Town | 40 | 12 | 10 | 18 | 69 | 89 | −20 | 46 | Resigned from league |
| 16 | Hinckley Town | 40 | 11 | 11 | 18 | 39 | 63 | −24 | 44 | Merged with Hinckley Athletic to form Hinckley United |
| 17 | Stourbridge | 40 | 10 | 9 | 21 | 61 | 81 | −20 | 39 | |
| 18 | Evesham United | 40 | 9 | 12 | 19 | 55 | 77 | −22 | 39 | |
| 19 | VS Rugby | 40 | 9 | 9 | 22 | 49 | 81 | −32 | 36 | |
| 20 | Corby Town | 40 | 8 | 8 | 24 | 49 | 88 | −39 | 32 | |
| 21 | Sutton Coldfield Town | 40 | 7 | 9 | 24 | 29 | 85 | −56 | 30 | |
| 22 | Leicester United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Club folded, record expunged |

## Southern Division

The Southern Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from the previous season and four new clubs:
* Buckingham Town, transferred from the Midland Division
* Cirencester Town, promoted from the Hellenic League
* Dartford, promoted from the Kent League
* Stamco, who also changed name to St. Leonards Stamcroft, promoted from the Sussex County League

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Forest Green Rovers | 42 | 27 | 10 | 5 | 87 | 40 | +47 | 91 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 2 | St. Leonards Stamcroft | 42 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 94 | 48 | +46 | 87 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 3 | Havant Town | 42 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 81 | 49 | +32 | 79 | |
| 4 | Weston-super-Mare | 42 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 82 | 43 | +39 | 76 | |
| 5 | Margate | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 70 | 47 | +23 | 72 | |
| 6 | Witney Town | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 71 | 42 | +29 | 71 | |
| 7 | Weymouth | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 82 | 51 | +31 | 70 | |
| 8 | Tonbridge Angels | 42 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 56 | 44 | +12 | 66 | |
| 9 | Newport (Isle of Wight) | 42 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 73 | 58 | +15 | 60 | |
| 10 | Fisher Athletic | 42 | 18 | 6 | 18 | 77 | 77 | 0 | 60 | |
| 11 | Clevedon Town | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 75 | 76 | −1 | 60 | |
| 12 | Fareham Town | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 53 | 69 | −16 | 54 | |
| 13 | Bashley | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 73 | 84 | −11 | 53 | |
| 14 | Dartford | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 59 | 64 | −5 | 52 | |
| 15 | Waterlooville | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 58 | 67 | −9 | 51 | |
| 16 | Cirencester Town | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 50 | 68 | −18 | 48 | |
| 17 | Cinderford Town | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 64 | 76 | −12 | 46 | |
| 18 | Trowbridge Town | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 50 | 61 | −11 | 44 | |
| 19 | Yate Town | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 55 | 87 | −32 | 44 | |
| 20 | Fleet Town | 42 | 12 | 6 | 24 | 47 | 91 | −44 | 42 | |
| 21 | Erith & Belvedere | 42 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 60 | 95 | −35 | 37 | |
| 22 | Buckingham Town | 42 | 2 | 8 | 32 | 27 | 107 | −80 | 14 | Relegated to the United Counties League |