Brentford 1914–15 football season
During the 1914–15 English football season, Brentford competed in the Southern League Second Division. The season began one month after Britain entered the First World War , which unsettled the squad as players left to undertake military or munitions duties. The Bees finished in mid-table in what would be the club's last season of competitive football until 1919–20 .
Season summary
Player-manager Dusty Rhodes stood down at the end of the season to serve in the Royal Army Pay Corps .
Brentford's players were due to report back for pre-season training during the week beginning 3 August 1914, but those preparations were disrupted by Britain 's declaration of war on Germany on 4 August. Just two players had been signed, forwards Jack Curtis and Stephen Stonley . As the season got underway, Brentford lost just two of the first 10 Southern League Second Division matches,[ 3] but by that point it had become obvious that the war would not be over by Christmas as predicted. Beginning in mid-October 1914, the squad was decimated by departures to serve in the army (Kent, Sloley , Hendren , Amos ), work in munitions at the Royal Arsenal (McGovern , Johnson , Stonley) or on transfers (J. Curtis, Spratt ).[ 4] Reserves , guest players, free transfers and local amateurs were brought in to plug gaps in the squad, with full back Fred Price, half backs Mick O'Brien , Charles Allwright and forwards Michael Donaghy, Walter Chalk, F. Arnold and Charles Hibbert making up for the departures of the professionals in the second half of the season.[ 3] Amateur Walter Chalk would become something of a minor success, scoring six goals in 9 appearances.[ 3]
Notably, a 10–0 win over Abertillery on 28 November 1914 set a new club record, but the result was declared void two days later when Abertillery resigned from the Southern League. Earlier wins over Leyton and Mardy were also chalked off when those clubs also left the league.[ 3] Brentford won just three of the final 15 matches of the season, with the one bright spot being the emergence of inside right Henry White .[ 3] Low attendances meant the Bees finished a mid-table season £7,000 in debt (equivalent to £708,500 in 2024) and 1914–15 would become the final season of competitive football until 1919–20 , after the war ended in November 1918.
Two former Brentford players died during the season:
League table
Source:
[citation needed ] Rules for classification: The system of using
goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976–77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Results
Brentford's goal tally listed first.
Legend
Southern League Second Division
No.
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Scorer(s)
1
5 September 1914
Coventry City
H
3–1
Sloley , Stonley (2, 1 pen )
2
12 September 1914
Barry
A
1–0
White
3
14 September 1914
Mid Rhondda
A
0–0
4
26 September 1914
Ton Pentre
A
0–0
5
13 October 1914
Stalybridge Celtic
A
1–5
J. Curtis
6
31 October 1914
Ebbw Vale
H
3–0
Sloley (3)
7
7 November 1914
Llanelly
A
0–3
8
14 November 1914
Newport County
H
1–0
Stonley (pen )
9
12 December 1914
Swansea Town
H
2–0
Johnson , Hendren
10
25 December 1914
Stoke
H
2–2
Stonley , Sloley
11
26 December 1914
Stoke
A
0–3
12
2 January 1915
Coventry City
A
2–3
Stonley , White
13
9 January 1915
Pontypridd
A
0–1
14
16 January 1915
Barry
H
0–0
15
30 January 1915
Ton Pentre
H
3–3
Hibbert, White , F. Price
16
13 February 1915
Stalybridge Celtic
H
1–3
Chalk
17
6 March 1915
Ebbw Vale
A
4–1
Arnold (2), White , Chalk
18
13 March 1915
Llanelly
H
2–2
Martin (og ), Chalk
19
20 March 1915
Newport County
A
0–5
20
27 March 1915
Mid Rhondda
H
3–1
White , Chalk (2)
21
2 April 1915
Merthyr Town
H
1–1
O'Brien
22
3 April 1915
Swansea Town
A
0–8
23
5 April 1915
Merthyr Town
A
0–3
24
10 April 1915
Pontypridd
H
6–0
O'Brien (2), Chalk, White (2), Barclay
FA Cup
Round
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Scorer
QR4
21 November 1914
Nunhead
A
1–0
Stonley
QR5
5 December 1914
Boscombe
A
0–0
QR5 (replay)
9 December 1914
Boscombe
H
0–1
Source: 100 Years Of Brentford [ 3]
Playing squad
Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1914–15 season.
Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[ 3] Timeless Bees,[ 8] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939,[ 9] Bees Review[ 4]
Coaching staff
Statistics
Appearances and goals
Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Southern League season.
Pos
Nat
Name
League
FA Cup
Total
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
GK
Ted Price
22
0
3
0
25
0
DF
Fred Price
10
1
—
10
1
DF
Dusty Rhodes
22
0
2
0
24
0
DF
Bertie Rosier
1
0
0
0
1
0
DF
Walter Spratt
15
0
3
0
18
0
HB
Charles Allwright
5
0
—
5
0
HB
Alf Amos
23
0
3
0
26
0
HB
Alec Barclay
12
1
3
0
15
1
HB
Bobby Jackson
1
0
0
0
1
0
HB
Joe Johnson
11
1
2
0
13
1
HB
Jack Land
1
0
0
0
1
0
HB
Tom McGovern
15
0
3
0
18
0
HB
Mick O'Brien
9
3
—
9
3
FW
Herbert Allwright
2
0
—
2
0
FW
F. Arnold
7
2
—
7
2
FW
Walter Chalk
9
6
—
9
6
FW
Jack Chapman
2
0
0
0
2
0
FW
Jack Curtis
14
1
2
0
16
1
FW
Michael Donaghy
7
0
—
7
0
FW
Patsy Hendren
13
1
1
0
14
1
FW
Charles Hibbert
11
1
—
11
1
FW
Tommy Kent
4
0
1
0
5
0
FW
Richard Sloley
3
5
1
0
4
5
FW
Stephen Stonley
14
4
3
1
17
5
FW
Charles Symes
1
0
2
0
3
0
FW
Henry White
16
7
0
0
16
7
Players guested during the season
GK
William Hughes
2
0
—
2
0
HB
Harry Crane
1
0
—
1
0
FW
Charles Bedell
1
0
—
1
0
FW
Norman Carson
2
0
—
2
0
FW
George Curtis
1
0
—
1
0
FW
Richard Fraser
3
0
—
3
0
FW
Percy Matthews
3
0
—
3
0
FW
Cecil Salisbury
1
0
—
1
0
FW
James Sangster
—
2
0
2
0
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years of Brentford [ 3]
Goalscorers
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years of Brentford [ 3]
Management
Name
Nat
From
To
Record All Comps
Record League
P
W
D
L
W %
P
W
D
L
W %
Dusty Rhodes
5 September 1914
10 April 1915
27
9
8
10
0 33.33
24
8
7
9
0 33.33
Summary
Games played
27 (24 Southern League Second Division, 3 FA Cup )
Games won
9 (8 Southern League Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Games drawn
8 (7 Southern League Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Games lost
10 (9 Southern League Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored
36 (35 Southern League Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Goals conceded
46 (45 Southern League Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Clean sheets
9 (8 Southern League Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Biggest league win
6–0 versus Pontypridd , 10 April 1915
Worst league defeat
8–0 versus Swansea Town , 3 April 1915
Most appearances
26, Alf Amos (23 Southern League Second Division, 3 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league)
7, Henry White
Top scorer (all competitions)
7, Henry White
Transfers & loans
Guest players' arrival and departure dates correspond to their first and last appearances of the season.
References
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC. p. 363. ISBN 0951526200 .
^ a b c d e f g h Bees Review: Brentford Official Matchday Programme vs Hull City . Milton Keynes: Regal Sports Press. 3 November 2015. pp. 61–67.
^ "Casualty Details: Harry Gould" . Commonwealth War Graves Commission . Retrieved 2 October 2017 .
^ "England Matches – The Amateurs 1906–1939" . www.englandfootballonline.com . Retrieved 15 November 2016 .
^ "Casualty Details: George Albert Littler" . Commonwealth War Graves Commission . Retrieved 15 November 2016 .
^ 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 .
^ The Southern Football League – Season 1914–15 – Players Registered or Transferred from June 1st to June 30th 1914 . 1915.
^ The Southern Football League – Season 1914–15 – Players Registered or Transferred from July 1st to July 31st 1914 . 1915.
^ a b c The Southern Football League – Season 1914–15 – Players Registered or Transferred from August 1st to August 31st 1914 . 1915.
^ a b The Southern Football League – Season 1914–15 – Players Registered or Transferred from September 1st to September 30th 1914 . 1915.
^ a b "The Football Association – Season 1914–15 – Summary Of Professional Registrations" . Sky is Blue – The Chesterfield FC history resource . Retrieved 1 January 2021 .{{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link )
^ a b The Southern Football League – Season 1914–15 – Players Registered or Transferred from October 1st to October 31st 1914 . 1915.
^ a b The Southern Football League – Season 1914–15 – Players Registered or Transferred from November 1st to November 30th 1914 . 1915.
^ a b The Southern Football League – Season 1914–15 – Players Registered or Transferred from January 1st to February 28th 1915 . 1915.
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