Brentford 1976–77 football season
During the 1976–77 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Fourth Division . After a poor start to the season, Bill Dodgin Jr. appointed to replace inexperienced manager John Docherty . With re-election looking likely, Dodgin overhauled the playing squad and the Bees won 14 of the final 18 matches of the season to complete a remarkable turnaround and finish in mid-table.
Season summary
Winger Harry Redknapp made one appearance while on trial in September 1976.[1]
After Brentford 's lowest-ever finish in the Fourth Division at the end of the previous season , manager John Docherty released defenders Alan Nelmes and Keith Lawrence and replaced them with John Fraser and Bobby Goldthorpe respectively.[2] Also arriving at Griffin Park were defender Keith Pritchett and midfielder Steve Aylott , while teenagers Danis Salman , Gary Rolph , Graham Cox and Paul Walker all signed apprentice professional contracts.[2] A catalogue of injuries to Fraser, Aylott, Riddick , Sweetzer, McCulloch , Allen and Johnson and a failure to win any of the first six games of the season led to manager Docherty quitting the club,[2] after failing to win a vote of confidence from chairman Dan Tana .[1] Physiotherapist Eddie Lyons was put in caretaker charge of the team for one match before Bill Dodgin Jr. was appointed manager on 16 September 1976, who followed in his father 's footsteps by taking over the role.[2]
While Brentford were entrenched in the re-election places the first five months of Bill Dodgin Jr.'s reign,[3] behind the scenes he overhauled the squad and sought players who would meld with his attacking philosophy.[2] Between September 1976 and February 1977, Dodgin brought in midfielder Dave Carlton from his previous club Northampton Town and a number of players on loan – goalkeeper Tony Burns and midfielders Allan Glover , Steve Scrivens , Neil Smillie and John Bain .[1] The sales of defender Keith Pritchett and forwards Roger Cross and Micky French generated over £20,000 in transfer fees, a small portion of which was spent on midfielders Paul Shrubb and Steve Phillips .[1] Most significantly, teenage forward Gordon Sweetzer was promoted through the ranks and began to establish himself in the starting lineup in the New Year .[4]
By January 1977, manager Dodgin's new-look squad was starting to produce results on the field, with Gordon Sweetzer scoring a hattrick in a 4–0 victory over Stockport County in the middle of the month.[4] In late February, Brentford set off on a run which would see the club become one of the Fourth Division's form teams,[5] winning 14 and drawing two of the final 18 matches of the season.[3] Gordon Sweetzer established a strike partnership with fit-again Andrew McCulloch and showed prolific form, finishing the season with 23 goals from 28 appearances.[2] In March, despite a shaky start, the £20,000 purchase of central defender Pat Kruse would prove to be an important signing for the future.[2] Brentford finished the season in 15th place.[6]
Two club records were set during the season:
League table
Results
Brentford's goal tally listed first.
Legend
Pre-season
No.
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Scorer(s)
1
21 August 1976
Barnsley
H
0–1
3,903
2
23 August 1976
Stockport County
A
0–2
3,191
3
28 August 1976
Huddersfield Town
A
0–1
4,559
4
4 September 1976
Doncaster Rovers
H
2–2
3,804
Johnson , French
5
10 September 1976
Aldershot
A
1–1
5,129
French
6
18 September 1976
Southport
H
3–0
4,185
Graham , Johnson , Cross
7
25 September 1976
Torquay United
A
1–1
2,456
Cross
8
2 October 1976
Bradford City
A
2–3
4,809
Cross (2)
9
9 October 1976
Newport County
H
1–1
5,894
Goldthorpe
10
15 October 1976
Swansea City
A
3–5
3,656
Allen , Pritchett , Goldthorpe
11
23 October 1976
Darlington
H
0–3
4,303
12
25 October 1976
Workington
H
5–0
3,158
Cross , Sweetzer , McCulloch (2), Fraser
13
30 October 1976
Colchester United
A
1–2
3,607
Cross
14
3 November 1976
Exeter City
A
2–3
2,779
McCulloch , Graham
15
6 November 1976
Bournemouth
H
3–2
4,254
Cross , French , McCulloch
16
13 November 1976
Hartlepool
A
0–2
1,888
17
27 November 1976
Cambridge United
H
0–2
5,040
18
27 December 1976
Southend United
A
1–2
9,239
Cross (pen )
19
1 January 1977
Bournemouth
A
1–3
4,268
Cross
20
3 January 1977
Colchester United
H
1–4
4,629
McCulloch
21
8 January 1977
Crewe Alexandra
A
2–3
2,198
McCulloch , Sweetzer
22
15 January 1977
Stockport County
H
4–0
3,981
Fraser , Sweetzer (3)
23
22 January 1977
Barnsley
A
0–2
4,095
24
25 January 1977
Scunthorpe United
A
1–2
2,867
Sweetzer
25
29 January 1977
Halifax Town
H
2–1
4,517
Sweetzer , French
26
5 February 1977
Huddersfield Town
H
1–3
4,833
Salman
27
12 February 1977
Doncaster Rovers
A
0–5
4,095
28
19 February 1977
Aldershot
H
0–1
4,542
29
22 February 1977
Rochdale
H
3–2
3,307
Johnson , Phillips , Sweetzer
30
5 March 1977
Torquay United
H
3–2
4,172
Sweetzer (3, 1 pen )
31
8 March 1977
Southport
A
2–1
969
Johnson (pen ), Sweetzer
32
12 March 1977
Bradford City
H
4–0
5,742
Shrubb , Johnson , Bain , Phillips
33
18 March 1977
Newport County
A
1–3
1,747
Sweetzer
34
23 March 1977
Watford
H
3–0
7,602
Sweetzer (2), Graham
35
26 March 1977
Swansea City
H
4–0
6,201
Johnson (2, 1 pen ), Sweetzer , Phillips
36
2 April 1977
Darlington
A
2–2
1,681
Johnson , Sweetzer
37
8 April 1977
Southend United
H
1–0
8,951
Phillips
38
9 April 1977
Watford
A
1–0
9,382
McCulloch
39
12 April 1977
Exeter City
H
1–0
7,641
Sweetzer
40
16 April 1977
Workington
A
3–1
1,032
Sweetzer , McCulloch , Phillips
41
19 April 1977
Halifax Town
A
0–0
1,464
42
23 April 1977
Hartlepool
H
3–1
5,978
Kruse , McCulloch , Sweetzer (pen )
43
30 April 1977
Cambridge United
A
2–3
5,617
Sweetzer , Graham
44
2 May 1977
Crewe Alexandra
H
0–0
5,842
45
7 May 1977
Scunthorpe United
H
4–2
5,298
Kruse , Sweetzer (2), Phillips
46
14 May 1977
Rochdale
A
3–2
977
Shrubb , McCulloch , Phillips
FA Cup
Round
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Scorer
1R (1st leg)
14 August 1976
Watford
A
1–1
4,827
Cross
1R (2nd leg)
17 August 1976
Watford
H
0–2 (lost 3–1 on aggregate)
5,542
Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[4] The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies,[9] Statto
Playing squad
Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1976–77 season.
Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies,[10] Timeless Bees[11]
Coaching staff
John Docherty (14 August – 7 September 1976)
Eddie Lyons (7 – 16 September 1976)
Name
Role
Eddie Lyons
Caretaker Manager
Bob Pearson
Chief Scout
Bill Dodgin Jr. (16 September 1976 – 14 May 1977)
Statistics
Appearances and goals
Substitute appearances in brackets.
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years of Brentford[4]
Goalscorers
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years of Brentford[4]
Management
Name
Nat
From
To
Record All Comps
Record League
P
W
D
L
W %
P
W
D
L
W %
John Docherty
14 August 1976
7 September 1976
6
0
2
4
00 0.00
4
0
1
3
00 0.00
Eddie Lyons (caretaker)
7 September 1976
16 September 1976
1
0
1
0
00 0.00
1
0
1
0
00 0.00
Bill Dodgin, Jr.
16 September 1976
14 May 1977
43
19
5
19
0 44.19
41
18
5
18
0 43.90
Summary
Games played
50 (46 Fourth Division , 2 FA Cup , 2 League Cup )
Games won
19 (18 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Games drawn
8 (7 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Games lost
23 (21 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals scored
82 (77 Fourth Division, 4 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals conceded
82 (76 Fourth Division, 3 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
Clean sheets
12 (11 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Biggest league win
5–0 versus Workington , 25 October 1976
Worst league defeat
5–0 versus Doncaster Rovers , 12 February 1977
Most appearances
46, Jackie Graham (42 Fourth Division, 2 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)
Top scorer (league)
23, Gordon Sweetzer
Top scorer (all competitions)
23, Gordon Sweetzer
Transfers & loans
Awards
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 y z aa ab ac ad ae Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 146-151.
^ a b c d e f g White, p. 301-304.
^ a b "Brentford results for the 1976-1977 season - Statto.com" . Archived from the original on 20 March 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2017 .
^ a b c d e White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC. p. 394. ISBN 0951526200 .
^ "English Division Four (old) 1976-1977 Form Table : 10 Games - Statto.com" . Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2017 .
^ "Brentford League Table 1976-1977 - Statto.com" . Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2017 .
^ Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia . Yore Publications. p. 139. ISBN 1 874427 57 7 .
^ Haynes & Coumbe, p. 137.
^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 136-145.
^ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies . Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. ISBN 978-1906796709 .
^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 . Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914 .
^ Haynes & Coumbe, p. 15.
^ "Slough Town FC" . www.sloughtownfc.net . Retrieved 12 February 2017 .
^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 295.
National teams
League competitions
Levels 1–4 Levels 5–6 Levels 7–9
Athenian League (One , Two )
Cheshire County League (level 7 only )
Eastern Counties League (level 7 only )
Essex Senior League (level 7 only )
Hellenic League (Premier , One )
Kent League (level 7 only )
Lancashire Combination (level 7 only )
London Spartan League (One , Two )
Midland Football Combination (level 7 only )
Midland League (Premier , One )
Northern League (level 7 only )
South Midlands League (Premier , One )
Sussex County League (One , Two )
United Counties League (Premier , One , Two )
West Midlands (Regional) League (level 7 only )
Western League (Premier , One )
Yorkshire League (One , Two , Three )
Cup competitions
FA cups Football League cups
European competitions