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1971–72 Brentford F.C. season

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Brentford
1971–72 season
ChairmanEric Radley-Smith
(until January 1972)
Les Davey & Walter Wheatley
(from January 1972)
ManagerFrank Blunstone
StadiumGriffin Park
Fourth Division3rd (promoted)
FA CupFirst round
League CupFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague: O'Mara (25)
All: O'Mara (27)
Highest home attendance18,521
Lowest home attendance8,712
Average home league attendance11,738

During the 1971–72 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Fourth Division. The club led the division for much of the first half of the season and 10 wins in the final 14 matches secured automatic promotion with a 3rd-place finish.

Season summary

[edit]

Despite the reduction of the club's debt to a manageable level and an average attendance higher than all but the top three finishers in the Third Division, Fourth Division Brentford went into the 1971–72 season with a squad of just 14 professionals.[1] Long-time goalkeeper Chic Brodie was released, as was bit-part winger Brian Tawse and in came two defensive youngsters on free transfers – Terry Scales and Steven Tom.[1]

Despite the club record £30,000 departure of Roger Cross to rivals Fulham and Alan Hawley also moving to Craven Cottage on loan, Brentford's 12-man squad met pre-season expectations in the early part of the season,[1] holding onto top spot intermittently until a minor blip in October and November 1971.[2] Utility player Michael Allen was signed from Middlesbrough for an £8,000 fee in October and proved to be a vital cog in the midfield.[1] The team owed much of its success to prolific goalscoring from John O'Mara, with the centre forward reaching 20 goals for the season after a 6–2 thrashing of Darlington on 8 January 1972, a result which made Brentford the top scorers in the Football League and was also notable for a 13-minute hattrick from John Docherty.[1]

After another blip caused by the suspension of John O'Mara for five weeks dropped Brentford out of the promotion places,[3] the team was buoyed by the loan signing of winger Stewart Houston and entered the final five weeks of the season strongly,[1] winning five matches in a row in March.[2] Two draws and a defeat over Easter threatened to drop the Bees out of the promotion places,[2] but four successive wins meant that automatic promotion was assured with two matches to play, when captain Bobby Ross' penalty was enough to beat Exeter City at Griffin Park on 22 April.[1] Despite going top of the Fourth Division after victory over Barrow in the following match, a 3–0 defeat away to Workington in the final match of the season dropped the Bees to a 3rd-place finish.[2]

Two club records were set during the season:

Brentford finished top of the Fourth Division charts in the following statistical categories:

  • Best away record[6]
  • Highest overall goal difference[6]
  • Highest away goal difference[6]
  • Highest average attendance[7]

League table

[edit]
Main article: 1971–72 Football League Fourth Division

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Grimsby Town 46 28 7 11 88 56 1.571 63 Division Champions, promoted
2 Southend United 46 24 12 10 81 55 1.473 60 Promoted
3 Brentford 46 24 11 11 76 44 1.727 59
4 Scunthorpe United 46 22 13 11 56 37 1.514 57
5 Lincoln City 46 21 14 11 77 59 1.305 56 Qualified for 1972 Watney Cup[a]
Source: rsssf.com
Notes:
  1. ^ The two teams who scored the most goals in each division, and did not qualify for Europe and were not promoted, qualified for the Watney Cup.

Results

[edit]
Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

[edit]
Win Draw Loss

Pre-season and friendlies

[edit]
Date Opponent Venue Result Scorer(s)
31 July 1971 Southampton H 1–3 Untraced (og)
4 August 1971 Hillingdon Borough A 2–1 O'Mara, Scales
7 August 1971 Oxford United H 2–4 O'Mara, Cross
2 May 1972 Guernsey XI A 6–0 O'Mara (4), Houston, Bence
4 May 1972 Guernsey XI A 7–1 O'Mara (2), Houston (2), Ross, Graham, Docherty
9 May 1972 Wimbledon A 2–2 Docherty, Graham

Football League Fourth Division

[edit]
No. Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s)
1 14 August 1971 Bury A 2–0 2,957 Gelson, Tom
2 21 August 1971 Aldershot H 1–1 8,920 Turner
3 28 August 1971 Darlington A 0–0 2,514
4 30 August 1971 Barrow H 4–0 8,866 O'Mara, Cross, Turner, Ross
5 4 September 1971 Hartlepool H 6–0 8,712 Turner (2), O'Mara (3), Cross
6 11 September 1971 Grimsby Town A 1–3 11,683 O'Mara
7 18 September 1971 Peterborough United H 5–1 8,770 Neilson, Graham, Docherty, O'Mara, Ross
8 25 September 1971 Chester A 0–0 4,088
9 27 September 1971 Stockport County H 2–0 10,445 Ross (2)
10 2 October 1971 Northampton Town H 6–1 11,004 Gelson, Docherty, O'Mara (3), Neilson
11 8 October 1971 Southport A 0–0 5,371
12 16 October 1971 Bury H 2–0 9,851 O'Mara, Graham
13 20 October 1971 Reading A 1–2 10,473 O'Mara
14 23 October 1971 Southend United H 1–2 14,001 O'Mara
15 30 October 1971 Scunthorpe United A 0–0 6,121
16 6 November 1971 Newport County H 3–1 10,484 Docherty, Ross (2, 1 pen)
17 13 November 1971 Colchester United A 1–1 6,898 O'Mara
18 27 November 1971 Gillingham H 1–3 10,945 Ross
19 4 December 1971 Exeter City A 1–0 3,809 O'Mara
20 11 December 1971 Southport H 1–0 9,624 Peat (og)
21 18 December 1971 Hartlepool A 2–1 2,199 Allen (2)
22 27 December 1971 Crewe Alexandra H 1–0 18,237 O'Mara
23 1 January 1972 Peterborough United A 2–2 7,027 O'Mara (2)
24 8 January 1972 Darlington H 6–2 10,582 Ross (pen), O'Mara (2), Docherty (3)
25 15 January 1972 Lincoln City A 1–4 7,552 O'Mara
26 25 January 1972 Stockport County A 1–0 3,247 Ross
27 29 January 1972 Reading H 1–2 12,144 Docherty
28 5 February 1972 Cambridge United A 1–1 6,861 Graham
29 12 February 1972 Southend United A 1–3 9,841 Ross (pen)
30 19 February 1972 Scunthorpe United H 0–3 11,912
31 26 February 1972 Newport County A 0–0 3,271
32 4 March 1972 Colchester United H 0–2 9,210
33 13 March 1972 Lincoln City H 2–0 12,065 O'Mara, Scales
34 18 March 1972 Aldershot A 2–1 6,989 O'Mara, Ross
35 21 March 1972 Doncaster Rovers A 3–0 5,256 Graham (2), Ross
36 25 March 1972 Grimsby Town H 2–0 14,635 Docherty, O'Mara
37 27 March 1972 Workington H 2–0 13,972 Docherty, Houston
38 31 March 1972 Chester H 1–1 18,521 Docherty
39 1 April 1972 Crewe Alexandra A 1–2 2,072 Docherty
40 3 April 1972 Northampton Town A 0–0 5,314
41 8 April 1972 Cambridge United H 2–1 9,061 Docherty, Graham
42 15 April 1972 Gillingham A 1–0 5,819 Docherty
43 17 April 1972 Doncaster Rovers H 2–1 13,484 O'Mara (2)
44 22 April 1972 Exeter City H 1–0 14,540 Ross (pen)
45 24 April 1972 Barrow A 3–0 2,646 Houston, Allen, Graham
46 29 April 1972 Workington A 0–3 1,751

FA Cup

[edit]
Main article: 1971–72 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s)
1R 20 November 1971 Swansea City A 1–1 7,915 O'Mara
1R (replay) 22 November 1971 Swansea City H 2–3 15,000 Ross, O'Mara

Football League Cup

[edit]
Main article: 1971–72 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer
1R 18 August 1971 Colchester United A 1–3 6,125 Ross
  • Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[8] The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies,[9][10] Statto

Playing squad

[edit]
Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1971–72 season.
Pos. Name Nat. Date of birth (age) Signed from Signed in Notes
Goalkeepers
GK Gordon Phillips England (1946-11-17)17 November 1946 (aged 24) Hayes 1963
Defenders
DF Paul Bence England (1948-12-21)21 December 1948 (aged 22) Reading 1970
DF Peter Gelson England (1941-10-18)18 October 1941 (aged 29) Youth 1961
DF Alan Hawley England (1946-06-07)7 June 1946 (aged 25) Youth 1962 Loaned to Fulham
DF Alan Nelmes England (1948-10-20)20 October 1948 (aged 22) Chelsea 1967
DF Terry Scales England (1951-01-18)18 January 1951 (aged 20) West Ham United 1971
DF Steven Tom England (1951-05-01)1 May 1951 (aged 20) Queens Park Rangers 1971
Midfielders
MF Michael Allen England (1949-03-30)30 March 1949 (aged 22) Middlesbrough 1971
MF John Docherty Scotland (1940-04-29)29 April 1940 (aged 31) Reading 1970
MF Jackie Graham Scotland (1946-07-16)16 July 1946 (aged 25) Guildford City 1970
MF Gordon Neilson Scotland (1947-05-28)28 May 1947 (aged 24) Arsenal 1968
MF Brian Turner New Zealand (1949-07-31)31 July 1949 (aged 22) Portsmouth 1970
Forwards
FW Stewart Houston Scotland (1949-08-20)20 August 1949 (aged 21) Chelsea 1972 On loan from Chelsea
FW John O'Mara England (1947-03-19)19 March 1947 (aged 24) Wimbledon 1971
FW Bobby Ross (c) Scotland (1942-05-10)10 May 1942 (aged 29) Shrewsbury Town 1966
Players who left the club mid-season
FW Roger Cross England (1948-10-20)20 October 1948 (aged 22) West Ham United 1970 Transferred to Fulham
FW Trevor Dawkins England (1945-10-17)17 October 1945 (aged 25) Crystal Palace 1971 Returned to Crystal Palace after loan
FW Ken Wallace England (1952-06-08)8 June 1952 (aged 19) West Ham United 1972 Returned to West Ham United after loan
  • Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies,[11] Timeless Bees[12]

Coaching staff

[edit]
Name Role
England Frank Blunstone Manager
England Eddie Lyons Trainer

Statistics

[edit]

Appearances and goals

[edit]
Substitute appearances in brackets.
Pos Nat Name League FA Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England Gordon Phillips 46 0 2 0 1 0 49 0
DF England Paul Bence 32 (2) 0 2 0 1 0 35 (2) 0
DF England Peter Gelson 36 (1) 2 0 0 1 0 37 (1) 2
DF England Alan Hawley 20 0 0 0 0 0 20 0
DF England Alan Nelmes 46 0 2 0 1 0 49 0
DF England Terry Scales 43 1 2 0 1 0 46 1
DF England Steven Tom 13 (5) 1 2 0 1 0 16 (5) 1
MF England Michael Allen 29 (1) 3 2 0 — 31 (1) 3
MF Scotland John Docherty 44 13 2 0 0 0 46 13
MF Scotland Jackie Graham 45 7 2 0 1 0 48 7
MF Scotland Gordon Neilson 8 (4) 2 0 0 0 (1) 0 8 (5) 2
MF New Zealand Brian Turner 34 (1) 4 2 0 1 0 37 (1) 4
FW England Roger Cross 5 2 — 1 0 6 2
FW England John O'Mara 40 25 2 2 1 0 43 27
FW Scotland Bobby Ross 44 (1) 13 2 1 1 1 47 (1) 15
Players loaned in during the season
FW England Trevor Dawkins 3 (1) 0 — — 3 (1) 0
FW Scotland Stewart Houston 15 2 — — 15 2
FW England Ken Wallace 3 0 — — 3 0
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: 100 Years of Brentford[8]

Goalscorers

[edit]
Pos. Nat Player FL4 FAC FLC Total
FW England John O'Mara 25 2 0 27
FW Scotland Bobby Ross 13 1 1 15
MF Scotland John Docherty 13 0 0 13
MF Scotland Jackie Graham 7 0 0 7
MF New Zealand Brian Turner 4 0 0 4
MF England Michael Allen 3 0 — 3
FW Scotland Stewart Houston 2 — — 2
FW England Roger Cross 2 — 0 2
DF England Peter Gelson 2 0 0 2
MF Scotland Gordon Neilson 2 0 0 2
DF England Terry Scales 1 0 0 1
DF England Steven Tom 1 0 0 1
Opponents 1 0 0 1
Total 76 3 1 80
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: 100 Years of Brentford[8]

Management

[edit]
Name Nat From To Record All Comps Record League
P W D L W % P W D L W %
Frank Blunstone England 14 August 1971 29 April 1972 49 24 12 13 048.98 46 24 11 11 052.17

Summary

[edit]
Games played 49 (46 Fourth Division, 2 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Games won 24 (24 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Games drawn 12 (11 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Games lost 13 (11 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals scored 80 (76 Fourth Division, 3 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals conceded 51 (44 Fourth Division, 4 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
Clean sheets 22 (22 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Biggest league win 6–0 versus Hartlepool, 4 September 1971
Worst league defeat 3–0 on two occasions; 4–1 versus Lincoln City, 15 January 1972
Most appearances 49, Alan Nelmes, Gordon Phillips (46 Fourth Division, 2 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Top scorer (league) 25, John O'Mara
Top scorer (all competitions) 27, John O'Mara

Transfers & loans

[edit]
Players transferred in
Date Pos. Name Previous Club Fee Ref.
June 1971 DF England Steven Tom England Crystal Palace Free [13]
July 1971 DF England Terry Scales England West Ham United Free [13]
October 1971 MF England Michael Allen England Middlesbrough £8,000 [13]
Players loaned in
Date from Pos. Name From Date to Ref.
September 1971 FW England Trevor Dawkins England Crystal Palace October 1971 [13]
February 1972 FW England Ken Wallace England West Ham United March 1972 [13]
March 1972 FW Scotland Stewart Houston England Chelsea End of season [13]
Players transferred out
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Fee Ref.
September 1971 FW England Roger Cross England Fulham £30,000 [13]
Players loaned out
Date from Pos. Name To Date to Ref.
September 1971 MF England Alan Hawley England Fulham October 1971 [13]
Players released
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Join date Ref.
May 1972 MF Scotland Gordon Neilson England Hillingdon Borough 1972 [13]
May 1972 DF England Steven Tom England Barnet 1972 [13]
May 1972 MF New Zealand Brian Turner New Zealand Mount Wellington 1972 [13]

Awards

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h White, p. 284-287.
  2. ^ a b c d "Brentford results for the 1971–1972 season". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  3. ^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 34.
  4. ^ Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia. Yore Publications. p. 30. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
  5. ^ Haynes & Coumbe, p. 179.
  6. ^ a b c "Brentford Home Page for the 1971–1972 season". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  7. ^ Haynes, p. 13.
  8. ^ a b c White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 391. ISBN 0951526200.
  9. ^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 36-48.
  10. ^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 300.
  11. ^ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. ISBN 978-1906796709.
  12. ^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 50-53.
  14. ^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 295.
  15. ^ Haynes & Coumbe, p. 118.
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