1904–05 Southern Football League
The 1904–05 season was the 11th in the history of Southern League. Bristol Rovers won Division One for the first time and Fulham reserves finished top of Division Two. Division Two club Clapton Orient were the only Southern League club to apply for election to the Football League, and were successful after a decision was made to expand the League to 40 clubs.
Division One
| Season | 1904–05 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Bristol Rovers (1st title) |
| Promoted | none |
| Relegated | Wellingborough (resigned) |
| Matches played | 306 |
| Goals scored | 854 (2.79 per match) |
← 1903–04 1905–06 → | |
A total of 18 teams contest the division, including 17 sides from previous season and one new team. Watford returned to Division after one season of absence.
Teams promoted from Division Two:
- Watford
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bristol Rovers | 34 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 74 | 36 | 2.056 | 48 | |
| 2 | Reading | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 57 | 38 | 1.500 | 43 | |
| 3 | Southampton | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 54 | 40 | 1.350 | 43 | |
| 4 | Plymouth Argyle | 34 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 57 | 39 | 1.462 | 41 | |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 53 | 34 | 1.559 | 38 | |
| 6 | Fulham | 34 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 46 | 34 | 1.353 | 38 | |
| 7 | Queens Park Rangers | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 51 | 46 | 1.109 | 36 | |
| 8 | Portsmouth | 34 | 16 | 4 | 14 | 61 | 56 | 1.089 | 36 | |
| 9 | New Brompton | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 40 | 40 | 1.000 | 33 | |
| 10 | Watford | 34 | 15 | 3 | 16 | 44 | 45 | 0.978 | 33 | |
| 11 | West Ham United | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 48 | 42 | 1.143 | 32 | |
| 12 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 44 | 45 | 0.978 | 32 | |
| 13 | Northampton Town | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 43 | 54 | 0.796 | 32 | |
| 14 | Brentford | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 33 | 38 | 0.868 | 29 | |
| 15 | Millwall | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 38 | 47 | 0.809 | 29 | |
| 16 | Swindon Town | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 41 | 59 | 0.695 | 29 | |
| 17 | Luton Town | 34 | 12 | 3 | 19 | 45 | 54 | 0.833 | 27 | |
| 18 | Wellingborough | 34 | 5 | 3 | 26 | 25 | 107 | 0.234 | 13 | Left league at end of season |
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up 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
| Season | 1904–05 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Fulham II |
| Promoted | Clapton Orient (to Football League) |
| Relegated | Brighton & Hove Albion II (resigned) Southall (resigned) |
| Matches played | 132 |
| Goals scored | 582 (4.41 per match) |
← 1903–04 1905–06 → | |
A total of 12 teams contest the division, including 8 sides from previous season and four new teams, three of which were reserve teams.
Newly elected teams:
- Clapton Orient
- Brighton & Hove Albion II
- Watford II
- West Ham United II,
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fulham II | 22 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 78 | 25 | 3.120 | 36 | |
| 2 | Portsmouth II | 22 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 75 | 28 | 2.679 | 30 | |
| 3 | Swindon Town II | 22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 54 | 47 | 1.149 | 27 | |
| 4 | Grays United | 22 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 61 | 40 | 1.525 | 25 | |
| 5 | Southampton II | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 52 | 35 | 1.486 | 25 | |
| 6 | Brighton & Hove Albion II | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 48 | 49 | 0.980 | 21 | Left league at end of season |
| 7 | West Ham United II | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 45 | 47 | 0.957 | 21 | |
| 8 | Clapton Orient | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 47 | 56 | 0.839 | 21 | Elected to the Football League |
| 9 | Watford II | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 30 | 62 | 0.484 | 16 | |
| 10 | Southall | 22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 31 | 66 | 0.470 | 16 | Left league at end of season |
| 11 | Wycombe Wanderers | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 37 | 70 | 0.529 | 14 | |
| 12 | Reading II | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 24 | 57 | 0.421 | 12 |
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976–77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Football League elections
Only one Southern League club, Clapton Orient of Division Two, applied for election to Division Two of the Football League. Although they were not elected in the first round, it was later agreed to expand the Football League from 36 to 40 clubs and all the unsuccessful candidates except Doncaster Rovers were elected.
* Chelsea had played no games, nor had any players when they were elected. Hull City had been formed in 1904, but had only played friendly matches during the 1904–05 season.[1]