The 2008–09 season was the 106th in the history of the Southern League, which is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales.
At the end of the season Division One Midlands was renamed Division One Central.
The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 17 clubs from the previous season and five new clubs:
Corby Town won the Premier Division and along with play-off winners Gloucester City got a place in the Conference North next year.
Mangotsfield United, Yate Town and Hitchin Town relegated to the divisions One, while Banbury United were reprieved from relegation after two Conference South clubs folded.
| Competition: | Southern Football League Premier Division |
| Season: | 2008–09 |
| Winners: | Corby Town |
| Promoted: | Corby Town Gloucester City |
| Relegated: | Hitchin Town Yate Town Mangotsfield United |
| Matches: | 462 |
| Total Goals: | 1328 |
| League Topscorer: | David Kolodynski (Rugby Town) - 24 |
| Biggest Home Win: | Stourbridge 6 – 1 Clevedon Town, 30 August 2008 Cambridge City 5 – 0 Bashley, 20 September 2008 Brackley Town 5 – 0 Corby Town, 27 December 2008 Bedford Town 5 – 0 Hitchin Town, 20 January 2009 Corby Town 5 – 0 Banbury United, 25 April 2009 |
| Biggest Away Win: | Banbury United 0 – 6 Evesham United, 14 February 2009 |
| Highest Scoring: | Stourbridge 8–4 Yate Town, 20 December 2008 |
| Highest Attendance: | 2230 (Farnborough 3 – 3 Corby Town, 21 March 2009) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 71 (Evesham United 3 – 1 Mangotsfield United, 27 January 2009) |
| Average Attendance: | 310 |
| Prevseason: | 2007–08 |
| Nextseason: | 2009–10 |
| Club | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Spencer Stadium | 2,000 | |
| Bashley Road | 2,000 | |
| The Eyrie | 3,000 | |
| St. James Park | 3,500 | |
| 2,300 | ||
| Hardenhuish Park | 2,815 | |
| Hand Stadium | 3,500 | |
| Steel Park | 3,893 | |
| St George's Lane (groundshare with Worcester City) | 3,000 | |
| 7,000 | ||
| The Corinium Stadium (groundshare with Cirencester Town) | 4,500 | |
| The Grove | 5,000 | |
| Vauxhall Road | 3,152 | |
| Top Field | 4,000 | |
| Cossham Street | 2,500 | |
| 4,500 | ||
| Court Place Farm | 2,000 | |
| Butlin Road | 6,000 | |
| 2,626 | ||
| Hunts Copse Ground | 3,000 | |
| Ladysmead | 3,500 | |
| Lodge Road | 2,000 | |
Division One Midlands consisted of 22 clubs, including 14 clubs from previous season and eight new clubs:
Nuneaton Borough, finished 7th in the Conference North went into liquidation due to financial difficulties, were immediately reformed under the name Nuneaton Town and placed two divisions below in Midlands division.
Leamington won the division in the second attempt and got a place in Premier Division along with play-off winners Nuneaton Town. Dunstable and Malvern finished bottom of the table and were relegated to the lower leagues. At the end of the season Division One Midlands was renamed Division One Central.
| Competition: | Southern Football League Division One Midlands |
| Season: | 2008–09 |
| Winners: | Leamington |
| Promoted: | Leamington Nuneaton Town |
| Relegated: | Dunstable Town Malvern Town |
| Matches: | 462 |
| Total Goals: | 1344 |
| League Topscorer: | Mark Bellingham (Leamington) - 45 |
| Biggest Home Win: | Marlow 9 – 1 Malvern Town, 27 September 2008 Bury Town 8 – 0 Rothwell Town, 10 March 2009 Leamington 8 – 0 Malvern Town, 18 April 2009 |
| Biggest Away Win: | Woodford United 0 – 8 Sutton Coldfield Town, 11 October 2008 |
| Highest Scoring: | Marlow 9 – 1 Malvern Town, 27 September 2008 Dunstable Town 3 – 7 Bury Town, 20 January 2009 |
| Highest Attendance: | 2302 (Bedworth United 1 – 2 Nuneaton Town, 27 December 2008) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 30 (Malvern Town 2 – 2 Barton Rovers, 17 March 2009) |
| Average Attendance: | 234 |
| Prevseason: | 2007–08 |
| Nextseason: | 2009–10 |
| Club | Stadium | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| King's Marsh | 3,800 | ||
| Hitchin Road | 2,920 | ||
| Sheepy Road | 3,500 | ||
| The Meadow (groundshare with Chesham United) | 5,000 | ||
| Sharpenhoe Road | 4,000 | ||
| The Oval | 3,000 | ||
| Victoria Ground | 4,893 | ||
| Ram Meadow | 3,500 | ||
| The Scholars Ground | 2,000 | ||
| The Meadow | 5,000 | ||
| Creasey Park | 3,200 | ||
| New Windmill Ground | 3,000 | ||
| Bell Close | 2,800 | ||
| Langland Stadium | 2,500 | ||
| Alfred Davis Memorial Ground | 3,000 | ||
| 4,614 | |||
| The Central Ground (groundshare with Sutton Coldfield Town) | 2,000 | ||
| Cecil Street | 3,500 | ||
| Julius Martin Lane | 2,000 | ||
| Walshes Meadow | 2,000 | ||
| The Central Ground | 2,000 | ||
| Byfield Road | 3,000 |
Division One South & West consisted of 22 clubs, including 15 clubs from previous season and seven new clubs:
Truro City won the division in an inaugural season and got a place in Premier Division along with play-off winners Didcot Town. Bracknell Town finished second bottom but were reprieved from relegation due to higher league clubs' problems. Winchester City finished bottom of the table and were relegated to the lower league.
| Competition: | Southern Football League Division One South & West |
| Season: | 2008–09 |
| Winners: | Truro City |
| Promoted: | Truro City Didcot Town |
| Relegated: | Winchester City |
| Matches: | 462 |
| Total Goals: | 1521 |
| League Topscorer: | Stewart Yetton (Truro City) - 31 |
| Biggest Home Win: | AFC Totton 6 – 0 AFC Hayes, 18 August 2008 Didcot Town 6 – 0 Bishops Cleeve, 27 September 2008 Bridgwater Town 6 – 0 Slough Town, 26 March 2009 |
| Biggest Away Win: | Andover 1 – 9 Truro City, 4 November 2008 |
| Highest Scoring: | Andover 1 – 9 Truro City, 4 November 2008 |
| Highest Attendance: | 1119 (Truro City 4 – 2 Windsor & Eton, 24 March 2009) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 27 (AFC Hayes 4 – 3 Gosport Borough, 27 January 2009) |
| Average Attendance: | 171 |
| Prevseason: | 2007–08 |
| Nextseason: | 2009–10 |
| Club | Stadium | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farm Park | 1,500 | ||
| Testwood Stadium | 3,000 | ||
| Northcourt Road | 2,000 | ||
| Portway Stadium | 3,000 | ||
| Holloways Park | 3,500 | ||
| Kayte Lane | 1,500 | ||
| Larges Lane | 2,500 | ||
| Fairfax Park | 2,500 | ||
| The Gore | 2,500 | ||
| Causeway Ground | 3,500 | ||
| Corinium Stadium | 4,500 | ||
| Draycott Engineering Loop Meadow Stadium | 3,000 | ||
| Privett Park | 4,500 | ||
| Eynsham Hall Park Sports Ground | 2,000 | ||
| Paulton Rovers | Athletic Field | 2,500 | |
| Holloways Park (groundshare with Beaconsfield SYCOB) | 3,500 | ||
| Wordsworth Drive | 2,500 | ||
| Waterside Park | 1,500 | ||
| 3,200 | |||
| Honeycroft | 3,770 | ||
| The City Ground | 4,500 | ||
| Stag Meadow | 4,500 |
| Southern League Cup | |
| Year: | 2008–09 |
| Num Teams: | 66 |
| Champions: | Atherstone Town |
| Runner-Up: | Bridgwater Town |
| Prevseason: | 2007–08 |
| Tie | Home team (tier) | Score | Away team (tier) | ||
| 1 | Chippenham Town (P) | 2–2 | Oxford City (P) | ||
| Chippenham Town won 5–4 on penalties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Sutton Coldfield Town (M) | 1–1 | Halesowen Town (P) | ||
| Halesowen Town won 6–5 on penalties | |||||
| Tie | Home team (tier) | Score | Away team (tier) | |
| 3 | Abingdon United (SW) | 1–1 | Banbury United (P) | |
| Abingdon United won 5–3 on penalties | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Andover (SW) | 2–2 | Farnborough (P) | |
| Andover won 3–0 on penalties | ||||
| 5 | Atherstone Town (M) | 2–2 | Nuneaton Town (M) | |
| Atherstone Town won 4–3 on penalties | ||||
| 6 | Aylesbury United (M) | 3–0 | Burnham (SW) | |
| 7 | Barton Rovers (M) | 0–3 | Dunstable Town (M) | |
| 8 | Beaconsfield SYCOB (SW) | 4–1 | Marlow (M) | |
| 9 | Bracknell Town (SW) | 0-1 | Windsor & Eton (SW) | |
| 10 | Bridgwater Town (SW) | 4–3 | Taunton Town (SW) | |
| 11 | Bromsgrove Rovers (M) | 0-1 | Romulus (M) | |
| 12 | Bury Town (M) | 2–0 | A.F.C. Sudbury (M) | |
| 13 | Chasetown (M) | 1–3 | Leamington (M) | |
| 14 | Chippenham Town (P) | 1–3 | Brackley Town (P) | |
| 15 | Corby Town (P) | 0–1 | Rothwell Town (M) | |
| 16 | Didcot Town (SW) | 1–2 | Swindon Supermarine (P) | |
| 17 | Evesham United (P) | 0–3 | Gloucester City (P) | |
| Tie | Home team (tier) | Score | Away team (tier) | |
| 18 | Gosport Borough (SW) | 1–0 | A.F.C. Totton (SW) | |
| 19 | Halesowen Town (P) | 1–0 | Stourbridge (P) | |
| 20 | Hemel Hempstead Town (P) | 3–0 | Bedford Town (P) | |
| 21 | Hitchin Town (P) | 4–0 | Arlesey Town (M) | |
| 22 | Leighton Town (M) | 3–0 | Slough Town (SW) | |
| 23 | Malvern Town (M) | 1–2 | Cirencester Town (SW) | |
| 24 | Mangotsfield United (P) | 3–1 | Clevedon Town (P) | |
| 25 | Merthyr Tydfil (P) | 4–2 | Bishops Cleeve (SW) | |
| 26 | Paulton Rovers (SW) | 0–1 | Yate Town (P) | |
| 27 | Rugby Town (P) | 1–2 | Bedworth United (M) | |
| 28 | Soham Town Rangers (M) | 3–4 | Cambridge City (P) | |
| 29 | Stourport Swifts (M) | 3–4 | Cinderford Town (SW) | |
| 30 | Thatcham Town (SW) | 2-4 | Chesham United (M) | |
| 31 | Tiverton Town (P) | 3–4 | Truro City (SW) | |
| 32 | Uxbridge (SW) | 3–4 | A.F.C. Hayes (SW) | |
| 33 | Winchester City (SW) | 3–4 | Bashley (P) | |
| 34 | Woodford United (M) | 0–1 | North Leigh (SW) |
| Tie | Home team (tier) | Score | Away team (tier) | |
| 35 | A.F.C. Hayes (SW) | 2–4 | Chesham United (M) | |
| 36 | Andover (SW) | 2–1 | Bashley (P) | |
| 37 | Atherstone Town (M) | 2–1 | Leamington (M) | |
| 38 | Brackley Town (P) | 3–2 | Romulus (M) | |
| 39 | Cinderford Town (SW) | 4–3 | Merthyr Tydfil (P) | |
| 40 | Gloucester City (P) | 3–0 | Abingdon United (SW) | |
| 41 | Hitchin Town (P) | 1–0 | Cambridge City (P) | |
| 42 | Gosport Borough (SW) | 1–2 | Beaconsfield SYCOB (SW) |
| Tie | Home team (tier) | Score | Away team (tier) | |
| 43 | Hemel Hempstead Town (P) | 4–4 | Dunstable Town (M) | |
| Dunstable Town won 5–4 on penalties | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | Leighton Town (M) | 1–3 | Bury Town (M) | |
| 45 | Mangotsfield United (P) | 1–2 | Yate Town (P) | |
| 46 | North Leigh (SW) | 4–0 | Rothwell Town (M) | |
| 47 | Bedworth United (M) | 0–2 | Halesowen Town (P) | |
| 48 | Aylesbury United (M) | 1–2 | Windsor & Eton (SW) | |
| 49 | Swindon Supermarine (P) | 1–0 | Cirencester Town (SW) | |
| 50 | Truro City (SW) | 0–3 | Bridgwater Town (SW) | |
| Tie | Home team (tier) | Score | Away team (tier) | ||
| 51 | Brackley Town (P) | 3–0 | North Leigh (SW) | ||
| 52 | Bury Town (M) | 2–0 | Hitchin Town (P) | ||
| 53 | Chesham United (M) | 4–1 | Beaconsfield SYCOB (SW) | ||
| 54 | Cinderford Town (SW) | 2–2 | Bridgwater Town (SW) | ||
| Bridgwater Town won 5–3 on penalties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tie | Home team (tier) | Score | Away team (tier) | |
| 55 | Dunstable Town (M) | 1–2 | Windsor & Eton (SW) | |
| 56 | Gloucester City (P) | 3–0 | Yate Town (P) | |
| 57 | Halesowen Town (P) | 0–2 | Atherstone Town (SW) | |
| 58 | Andover (SW) | 2–6 | Swindon Supermarine (P) |
| Tie | Home team (tier) | Score | Away team (tier) | |
| 59 | Atherstone Town (M) | 2–0 | Brackley Town (P) | |
| 60 | Bridgwater Town (SW) | 2–1 | Gloucester City (P) |
| Tie | Home team (tier) | Score | Away team (tier) | |
| 61 | Bury Town (M) | 3–1 | Chesham United (M) | |
| 62 | Swindon Supermarine (P) | 3–0 | Windsor & Eton (SW) |
| Tie | Home team (tier) | Score | Away team (tier) | |
| 63 | Atherstone Town (M) | 2–2 | Bury Town (M) | |
| Atherstone Town won 3–1 on penalties | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | Bridgwater Town (SW) | 3–0 | Swindon Supermarine (P) | |
| Tie | Home team (tier) | Score | Away team (tier) | ||
| First Leg | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | Atherstone Town (M) | 2–1 | Bridgwater Town (SW) | ||
| Second Leg | |||||
| 66 | Bridgwater Town (SW) | 1–3 | Atherstone Town (M) | ||
| Atherstone Town won 5–2 on aggregate | |||||