1945–46 Southern Football League
The 1945–46 season was the first following the end of World War II and the 43rd in the history of the Southern League. Chelmsford City won the title. Not all league competitions resumed in 1945 (the Football League did not restart until 1946–47) and fourteen clubs that had featured in the 1938–39 season had left the league, whilst there were only two new clubs, Bedford Town and Hereford United.[1] As the Football League did not resume until the following season, there were no elections to the League.
Several matches were left unplayed, with clubs who had only played 18 matches (as opposed to the scheduled 20) awarded an additional three points, and Bedford Town (who only played 16 games) awarded an extra six points.
Final table
| Season | 1945-46 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Chelmsford City |
| Promoted | none |
| Relegated | Swindon Town II (resigned) Cardiff City II (resigned) |
| Matches played | 104 |
| Goals scored | 515 (4.95 per match) |
← 1939–40 1946–47 → | |
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF1 | GA1 | GAv2 | Pts3 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelmsford City | 18 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 66 | 23 | 2.87 | 34 | Three points added |
| 2 | Hereford United | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 59 | 31 | 1.9 | 29 | |
| 3 | Bath City | 20 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 62 | 32 | 1.94 | 26 | |
| 4 | Cheltenham Town | 18 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 35 | 54 | 0.65 | 22 | Three points added |
| 5 | Barry Town | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 42 | 42 | 1 | 20 | |
| 6 | Yeovil & Petters | 18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 57 | 52 | 1.1 | 18 | Three points added, changed name to Yeovil Town at end of season |
| 7 | Worcester City | 20 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 60 | 58 | 1.03 | 18 | |
| 8 | Colchester United | 20 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 29 | 47 | 0.62 | 17 | |
| 9 | Bedford Town | 16 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 30 | 49 | 0.61 | 15 | Six points added |
| 10 | Swindon Town II | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 36 | 65 | 0.55 | 14 | Three points added, left league at end of season |
| 11 | Cardiff City II | 20 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 39 | 60 | 0.65 | 13 | Left league at end of season |
1 Number of goals for and/or against is inaccurate.
2 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season.
3 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.