2005–06 Isthmian League

Isthmian League
Division Two
Season	2005–06
Champions	Ware
Promoted	Brook House; Flackwell Heath; Ware; Witham Town
Matches played	240
Goals scored	735 (3.06 per match)
Top goalscorer	29 goals – John Frendo (Ware)
Highest attendance	416 – Ware – Hertford Town, (26 December)
Total attendance	16,276
Average attendance	68 (-5.6% to previous season)
	← 2004–05

Isthmian League
Division One
Season	2005–06
Champions	Ramsgate
Promoted	Horsham; Ramsgate; Tonbridge Angels
Matches played	506
Goals scored	1,451 (2.87 per match)
Top goalscorer	28 goals – Phil Ruggles (Molesey)
Highest attendance	1,734 – Dover Athletic – Ramsgate, (26 December)
Total attendance	117,472
Average attendance	232 (-36.3% to previous season)
	← 2004–05 2006–07 (North); 2006–07 (South) →

Isthmian League
Premier Division
Season	2005–06
Champions	Braintree Town
Promoted	Braintree Town; Fisher Athletic
Relegated	Maldon Town; Redbridge; Windsor & Eton
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,302 (2.82 per match)
Top goalscorer	26 goals – Richard Jolly (Heybridge Swifts); and; Jermaine Beckford (Wealdstone)
Highest attendance	3,315 – AFC Wimbledon – Hampton & Richmond Borough, (18 February)
Total attendance	215,064
Average attendance	466 (+44.3% to previous season)
	← 2004–05 2006–07 →

The 2005–06 season was the 91st in the history of the Isthmian League, which is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from London, East and South East England.

It was the last season in which the Isthmian League consisted of three tiers. At the end of the season Division Two was disbanded, and most of the Division Two clubs were distributed between lower-level leagues, while Division One was divided into Division One North and Division One South.

Premier Division

The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 14 clubs from the previous season and eight new clubs.

Two clubs relegated from the Conference South:
- Margate
- Redbridge
Three clubs promoted from Division One:
Three clubs promoted from Southern Football League Division One East:

Braintree Town won the division and were promoted to the Conference South along with play-off winners Fisher Athletic, who earned a second consecutive promotion. Maldon Town, Windsor & Eton and Redbridge were relegated, while Hendon were initially relegated too as the worst 19th-placed club among the seventh level leagues, but were reprieved after Canvey Island resigned from the Conference.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Braintree Town	42	28	10	4	74	32	+42	94	Promoted to the Conference South
2	Heybridge Swifts	42	28	3	11	70	46	+24	87	Qualified for the play-offs
3	Fisher Athletic	42	26	7	9	84	46	+38	85	Qualified for the play-offs, then promoted to the Conference South
4	AFC Wimbledon	42	22	11	9	67	36	+31	77	Qualified for the play-offs
5	Hampton & Richmond	42	24	3	15	73	54	+19	75	Qualified for the play-offs
6	Staines Town	42	20	10	12	74	56	+18	70
7	Billericay Town	42	19	12	11	69	45	+24	69
8	Worthing	42	19	10	13	71	60	+11	67
9	Walton & Hersham	42	19	7	16	55	50	+5	64
10	Chelmsford City	42	18	10	14	57	62	−5	64
11	Bromley	42	16	14	12	57	49	+8	62
12	East Thurrock United	42	18	5	19	60	60	0	59
13	Folkestone Invicta	42	16	10	16	47	51	−4	58
14	Margate	42	11	17	14	49	55	−6	50
15	Leyton	42	13	9	20	58	61	−3	48
16	Harrow Borough	42	13	9	20	56	73	−17	48
17	Slough Town	42	13	8	21	63	75	−12	47
18	Wealdstone	42	13	5	24	68	82	−14	44	Transferred to the SFL Premier Division
19	Hendon	42	9	12	21	44	64	−20	39	Reprieved from relegation
20	Maldon Town	42	8	11	23	41	73	−32	35	Relegated to Division One North
21	Windsor & Eton	42	8	8	26	37	75	−38	32	Relegated to the SFL Division One South & West
22	Redbridge	42	3	5	34	28	97	−69	14	Relegated to Division One North

Source: ^[1] ^[2]^[3]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Top scorers

Player	Club	Goals^[4]
Richard Jolly	Heybridge Swifts / Wealdstone	26
Jermaine Beckford	Wealdstone	26
Danny Hockton	Billericay Town / Margate	24
Ian Hodges	Slough Town	21
Steve Watts	Fisher Athletic
Alex Revell	Braintree Town
Stafford Browne	Worthing	17
Lawrence Yaku	Hampton & Richmond Borough
Nic McDonnell	Bromley

Play-offs

Semifinals			Final

2	Heybridge Swifts	1(2)

5	Hampton & Richmond	1(4)
			3	Fisher Athletic	3

			5	Hampton & Richmond	0
3	Fisher Athletic	2

4	AFC Wimbledon	1

Stadia and locations

2005–06 Isthmian League is located in South-east England

Slough Town & Windsor & Eton

Staines Town

Walton & Hersham

Worthing

AFC Wimbledon

Bromley

Fisher Athletic

Hampton & Richmond Borough

Harrow Borough

Hendon

Leyton

Redbridge

Wealdstone

Locations of the Premier Division clubs

2005–06 Isthmian League is located in Greater London

Greater London Premier Division football clubs

Club	Stadium
AFC Wimbledon	Kingsmeadow (groundshare with Kingstonian)
Billericay Town	New Lodge
Braintree Town	Cressing Road
Bromley	Hayes Lane
Chelmsford City	Melbourne Stadium
East Thurrock United	Rookery Hill
Fisher Athletic	Champion Hill (groundshare with Dulwich Hamlet)
Folkestone Invicta	Cheriton Road
Hampton & Richmond Borough	Beveree Stadium
Harrow Borough	Earlsmead Stadium
Hendon	Claremont Road
Heybridge Swifts	Scraley Road
Leyton	Leyton Stadium
Maldon Town	Wallace Binder Ground
Margate	Hartsdown Park
Redbridge	Oakside
Slough Town	Stag Meadow (groundshare with Windsor & Eton)
Staines Town	Wheatsheaf Park
Walton & Hersham	The Sports Ground
Wealdstone	Chestnut Avenue (groundshare with Northwood)
Windsor & Eton	Stag Meadow
Worthing	Woodside Road

1.^ Chelmsford City spent start of the season groundsharing with Billericay Town before returning to Chelmsford at January.

Division One

The 2005–06 season was the last of two seasons in which the Isthmian League consisted of a single Division One.

Division One consisted of 23 clubs, including 17 clubs from the previous season and six new clubs:

Dover Athletic, relegated from the Premier Division
Kingstonian, relegated from the Premier Division
Lymington & New Milton, promoted as champions of the Wessex League
Ramsgate, promoted as champions of the Kent League
Tonbridge Angels, relegated from the Premier Division
Walton Casuals, promoted as champions of the Combined Counties League

Ramsgate won the division and were promoted to the Premier Division along with runners-up Horsham, and play-off winners Tonbridge Angels who returned to the Premier Division at the first attempt. There was no relegation from the division this season, though Banstead Athletic resigned from the league at the end of the season.

At the end of the season Division One North and Division One South were created to replace Division One. Most of the clubs remaining in the division were transferred to the new Division One South.