Brentford 1946–47 football season
During the 1946–47 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League First Division . The Bees' 12-year run in the First Division ended with relegation to the Second Division after a disastrous season, which tied the club record for fewest league victories and most league defeats. As of the end of the 2015–16 season, Brentford have not since played in the top-flight.
Season summary
After three successive top-six finishes in the First Division beginning in 1935–36 , Brentford's decline began with the departure of key players during 1938–39 , which culminated with a near-relegation.[1] For 1946–47, the first Football League season since the end of the Second World War , manager Harry Curtis was able to call on many of his regular players from the final pre-war seasons, though the elder players, such as Irish international full back Bill Gorman , utility man Buster Brown and former Wales forward Idris Hopkins , were all at age 35. Long-serving forward and once-capped England international Billy Scott had remained with the club and was then aged 38. The team fielded versus Aston Villa on 1 February 1947 was the oldest in club history, with an average age of over 31.5 years. Curtis supplemented the squad by bringing in wing half Cyril Toulouse and forwards John Gillies , Maurice Roberts , Alan Smith and George Stewart . As in the final pre-war seasons, Curtis would also promote players from the Bees' reserve ranks , signing amateur Roddy Munro to a professional contract and handing debuts to Frank Latimer , John Moore and Wally Bragg , with Bragg going on to become the youngest-ever Brentford debutant at that time.
Brentford had a good start to the season, winning four of the first five matches and going top on the opening day.[4] The majority of the team's goals were scored by forwards Gerry McAloon , Fred Durrant and George Wilkins ,[5] but when the goals dried up in September 1946, Brentford's form took a turn for the worse and matters were made worse when McAloon and Durrant were quickly sold to Celtic and Queens Park Rangers respectively. Manager Curtis received half back George Paterson from Celtic in part exchange for McAloon and also strengthened the team with full back Malky Macdonald and forward Archie Macaulay . By December, Brentford had dropped into the relegation places and a run of 11 losses in 15 matches culminated in the heaviest defeat of the season – 6–1 away to Sheffield United on Christmas Day .[4]
Brentford's form improved after the Christmas Day thrashing, going undefeated in four of the following five matches to climb out of the relegation places, but from February 1947 onwards, the team's form evaporated.[4] Despite Len Townsend coming into form and going on to become the Bees' top scorer for the season,[5] the goalscoring problem was compounded by the transfer request and subsequent sale of George Wilkins in February.[8] Bill Naylor and Dickie Girling were signed in February to bolster the forward line, but scored just three goals between them before the end of the season.[5] On 24 May, defeat to Sunderland and a draw for 20th-place Charlton Athletic away to Everton consigned the Bees to relegation to the Second Division.[10] [11] By the time of the final day of the season on 14 June, Brentford had lost 14 of the final 19 matches.[4]
The relegation was the first suffered by the club since it joined the Football League in 1920.[1] A number of club Football League records were equalled or broken during the season, including fewest victories (9), fewest home victories (5), most defeats (26), most home defeats (11), fewest home goals scored (19) and highest average attendance (25,768).[12] As of the end of the 2015–16 season, Brentford have not since played in the top-flight.[1]
League table
Pos
Team
Pld
Home
Away
F
A
GA
GD
Pts
W
D
L
F
A
W
D
L
F
A
1
Liverpool
42
13
3
5
42
24
12
4
5
42
28
84
52
1.615
+32
57
2
Manchester United
42
17
3
1
61
19
5
9
7
34
35
95
54
1.759
+41
56
3
Wolverhampton Wanderers
42
15
1
5
66
31
10
5
6
32
25
98
56
1.750
+42
56
4
Stoke City
42
14
5
2
52
21
10
2
9
38
32
90
53
1.698
+37
55
5
Blackpool
42
14
1
6
38
32
8
5
8
33
38
71
70
1.014
+1
50
6
Sheffield United
42
12
4
5
51
32
9
3
9
38
43
89
75
1.187
+14
49
7
Preston North End
42
10
7
4
45
27
8
4
9
31
47
76
74
1.027
+2
47
8
Aston Villa
42
9
6
6
39
24
9
3
9
28
29
67
53
1.264
+14
45
9
Sunderland
42
11
3
7
33
27
7
5
9
32
39
65
66
0.985
–1
44
10
Everton
42
13
5
3
40
24
4
4
13
22
43
62
67
0.925
–5
43
11
Middlesbrough
42
11
3
7
46
32
6
5
10
27
36
73
68
1.074
+5
42
12
Portsmouth
42
11
3
7
42
27
5
6
10
24
33
66
60
1.100
+6
41
13
Arsenal
42
9
5
7
43
33
7
4
10
29
37
72
70
1.029
+2
41
14
Derby County
42
13
2
6
44
28
5
3
13
29
51
73
79
0.924
–6
41
15
Chelsea
42
9
3
9
33
39
7
4
10
36
45
69
84
0.821
–15
39
16
Grimsby Town
42
9
6
6
37
35
4
6
11
24
47
61
82
0.744
–21
38
17
Blackburn Rovers
42
6
5
10
23
27
8
3
10
22
26
45
53
0.849
–8
36
18
Bolton Wanderers
42
8
5
8
30
28
5
3
13
27
41
57
69
0.826
–12
34
19
Charlton Athletic
42
6
6
9
34
32
5
6
10
23
39
57
71
0.803
–14
34
20
Huddersfield Town
42
11
4
6
34
24
2
3
16
19
55
53
79
0.671
–26
33
21
Brentford
42
5
5
11
19
35
4
2
15
26
53
45
88
0.511
–33
25
22
Leeds United
42
6
5
10
30
30
0
1
20
15
60
45
90
0.500
–45
18
P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Key
League Champions
FA Cup winners
Relegated
Results
Brentford's goal tally listed first.
Legend
No.
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Scorer(s)
1
31 August 1946
Everton
A
2–1
55,338
Wilkins (pen ), McAloon
2
2 September 1946
Blackpool
A
2–4
24,230
Durrant , Wilkins (pen )
3
7 September 1946
Huddersfield Town
H
2–0
31,407
Wilkins , McAloon
4
14 September 1946
Wolverhampton Wanderers
A
2–1
34,446
Durrant (2)
5
18 September 1946
Blackpool
H
2–1
25,621
McAloon , G. Smith
6
21 September 1946
Sunderland
H
0–3
33,766
7
28 September 1946
Aston Villa
A
2–5
45,350
Wilkins (pen ), McAloon
8
5 October 1946
Derby County
H
0–3
34,746
9
12 October 1946
Arsenal
A
2–2
43,367
Blakeman (2)
10
19 October 1946
Preston North End
H
2–3
25,303
Blakeman (2)
11
26 October 1946
Liverpool
A
0–1
43,892
12
2 November 1946
Bolton Wanderers
H
1–0
23,782
Howe (og )
13
9 November 1946
Chelsea
A
2–3
50,242
Hopkins (2)
14
16 November 1946
Charlton Athletic
H
1–4
26,648
Townsend
15
23 November 1946
Grimsby Town
A
2–2
16,750
Macaulay , Townsend
16
30 November 1946
Leeds United
H
1–1
20,352
Townsend
17
7 December 1946
Manchester United
A
1–4
31,956
Macaulay
18
14 December 1946
Stoke City
H
1–5
30,189
Macdonald
19
21 December 1946
Middlesbrough
A
0–2
28,750
20
25 December 1946
Sheffield United
A
1–6
36,156
Townsend
21
25 December 1946
Sheffield United
H
2–1
29,535
A. Smith , Wilkins
22
28 December 1946
Everton
H
1–1
29,360
Hopkins
23
1 January 1947
Blackburn Rovers
A
3–0
29,067
Townsend , Wilkins , Stewart
24
4 January 1947
Huddersfield Town
A
0–3
27,759
25
18 January 1947
Wolverhampton Wanderers
H
4–1
35,604
Wilkins , Stewart , Townsend , A. Smith
26
1 February 1947
Aston Villa
H
0–2
21,692
27
22 February 1947
Preston North End
A
2–5
25,591
Townsend , A. Smith
28
1 March 1947
Derby County
A
1–2
18,691
Leuty (og )
29
15 March 1947
Chelsea
H
0–2
33,498
30
22 March 1947
Charlton Athletic
A
0–3
29,327
31
29 March 1947
Grimsby Town
H
0–1
19,778
32
4 April 1947
Portsmouth
H
1–3
24,570
Hopkins
33
5 April 1947
Leeds United
A
2–1
23,962
Naylor , Girling
34
7 April 1947
Portsmouth
A
0–3
33,409
35
12 April 1947
Manchester United
H
0–0
22,035
36
19 April 1947
Stoke City
A
1–3
28,966
Naylor
37
26 April 1947
Middlesbrough
H
0–0
19,020
38
3 May 1947
Blackburn Rovers
H
0–3
18,022
39
10 May 1947
Bolton Wanderers
A
0–1
19,887
40
17 May 1947
Liverpool
H
1–1
18,228
Stewart
41
24 May 1947
Sunderland
A
1–2
20,160
Townsend
42
26 May 1947
Arsenal
H
0–1
17,976
FA Cup
Playing squad
Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1946–47 season.
Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[5] Timeless Bees,[14] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939[15]
Coaching staff
Statistics
Appearances and goals
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years of Brentford[5]
Goalscorers
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years of Brentford[5]
International caps
Management
Name
Nat
From
To
Record All Comps
Record League
P
W
D
L
W %
P
W
D
L
W %
Harry Curtis
31 August 1946
14 June 1947
46
10
9
27
0 21.74
42
9
7
26
0 21.43
Summary
Games played
46 (42 First Division , 4 FA Cup )
Games won
10 (9 First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Games drawn
9 (7 First Division, 2 FA Cup)
Games lost
27 (26 First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored
47 (45 First Division, 2 FA Cup)
Goals conceded
92 (88 First Division, 4 FA Cup)
Clean sheets
8 (5 First Division, 3 FA Cup)
Biggest league win
3–0 versus Blackburn Rovers , 1 January 1947; 4–1 versus Wolverhampton Wanderers , 18 January 1947
Worst league defeat
6–1 versus Sheffield United , 25 December 1946
Most appearances
46, Joe Crozier (42 First Division, 4 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league)
8, Len Townsend
Top scorer (all competitions)
9, Len Townsend
Transfers & loans
Cricketers are not included in this list.
Notes
References
^ a b c Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford Complete History - Statto.com" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016 .
^ a b c d Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford results for the 1946-1947 season - Statto.com" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016 .
^ a b c d e f g White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC. p. 379. ISBN 0951526200 .
^ "Brentford FC Moment in time: Wolverhampton Wanderers" . Retrieved 3 January 2018 .
^ Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford Table on Saturday 24th May 1947 - Statto.com" . Statto.com . Retrieved 23 December 2016 . [permanent dead link ]
^ Ltd, Statto Organisation. "All of the results on Saturday 24th May 1947 - Statto.com" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016 .
^ Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia . Harefield, Middlesex: Yore Publications. pp. 78–79. ISBN 1 874427 57 7 .
^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 . Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914 .
^ Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 . Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 190589161X .
^ "Bill Gorman" . 11v11.com . Retrieved 23 May 2016 .
^ "NIFG: Bill Gorman" . nifootball.blogspot.co.uk . Retrieved 24 May 2016 .
^ "Archie MacAulay" . 11v11.com . Retrieved 25 May 2016 .
^ a b "Barry Hugman's Footballers – Maurice Roberts" . hugmansfootballers.com . Retrieved 9 June 2016 .
^ "Refugee Footballers in Britain" (PDF) . Retrieved 9 May 2018 .
^ "Barry Hugman's Footballers – Bill Gibson" . hugmansfootballers.com . Retrieved 19 June 2016 .
^ Western Morning News . Plymouth, Devon. 1946.{{cite book }}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link )
^ "McAloon, Gerald – The Celtic Wiki" . www.thecelticwiki.com . Retrieved 9 June 2016 .
^ "Barry Hugman's Footballers – Fred Mansfield" . hugmansfootballers.com . Retrieved 29 June 2016 .
^ "Leeds United F.C. History" . www.ozwhitelufc.net.au . Retrieved 9 June 2016 .
^ "Barry Hugman's Footballers – Billy Brown" . hugmansfootballers.com . Retrieved 9 June 2016 .
^ "Barry Hugman's Footballers – Dai Hopkins" . hugmansfootballers.com . Retrieved 9 June 2016 .
^ "Barry Hugman's Footballers – Billy Scott" . hugmansfootballers.com . Retrieved 9 June 2016 .
^ "Barry Hugman's Footballers – Len Townsend" . hugmansfootballers.com . Retrieved 9 June 2016 .
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