| Club: | Brentford |
| Season: | 1907–08 |
| Manager: | (until January 1908) George Parsonage (from January 1908) |
| Chairman: | Charlie Dorey |
| Stadium: | Griffin Park |
| League: | Southern League First Division |
| League Result: | 16th |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | First round |
| League Topscorer: | Bowman (21) |
| Mgrtitle: | Secretary Manager |
| Season Topscorer: | Bowman (22) |
| Pattern La1: | _brentford early 1900s |
| Pattern B1: | _brentford 1906_09 |
| Pattern Ra1: | _brentford early 1900s |
| Leftarm1: | 0000FF |
| Body1: | 0000FF |
| Rightarm1: | 0000FF |
| Shorts1: | FFFFFF |
| Socks1: | 0000FF |
| Prevseason: | 1906–07 |
| Nextseason: | 1908–09 |
During the 1907–08 English football season, Brentford competed in the Southern League First Division. A poor season ended with a 16th-place finish.
Though Brentford manager William Brown managed to retain most of his key players for the 1907–08 season, his release of future England international forward Fred Pentland was seen as being ill-advised.[1] In came goalkeeper John Montgomery, full back Vince Hayes, half back Jock Hamilton and centre forward Adam Bowman. Brentford started the Southern League First Division season poorly and with the club entering a period of financial instability, the relationship between the committee and the players began to deteriorate. Hopes of a money-spinning FA Cup run ended in the first round at the hands of Lancashire Combination club Carlisle United and in January 1908 manager Brown tendered his resignation, which was accepted.
Captain George Parsonage was named as player-caretaker manager in January 1908 and after reshuffling the lineup, he oversaw an upturn in form which led the Bees to a 16th-place finish. One of the highlights of a dreadful season was the goalscoring of forward Adam Bowman, who scored 22 goals in all competitions before being sold to Leeds City for £300 in April. There was some cheer to be had in the United League, in which the first team won the division title, while the reserve team finished the season as Great Western Suburban League champions.
The season marked a beginning of a period of financial trouble for Brentford, with Fulham's election to the Football League and Chelsea's home fixtures clashing with those at Griffin Park conspiring to draw potential support in West London away from the Bees. By mid-April 1908, the club owed its players £500 in unpaid wages (equivalent to £ in), which necessitated the sale of top-scorer Bowman.
One club record was set during the season:[2]
Brentford's goal tally listed first.
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| No. | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 September 1907 | Leyton | A | 0–2 | ||
| 2 | 7 September 1907 | Bristol Rovers | A | 0–3 | ||
| 3 | 14 September 1907 | Leyton | H | 2–0 | Hagan, Parsonage | |
| 4 | 21 September 1907 | Reading | A | 1–5 | Bowman | |
| 5 | 28 September 1907 | Watford | H | 4–1 | Bowman (2), Corbett (2) | |
| 6 | 5 October 1907 | Norwich City | A | 2–3 | Bowman (2) | |
| 7 | 12 October 1907 | Northampton Town | H | 3–1 | Bowman (3) | |
| 8 | 19 October 1907 | Southampton | A | 0–3 | ||
| 9 | 26 October 1907 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 2–1 | Parsonage, Corbett | |
| 10 | 2 November 1907 | West Ham United | A | 1–5 | Hagan (pen) | |
| 11 | 9 November 1907 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–1 | Hagan (pen) | |
| 12 | 16 November 1907 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–1 | ||
| 13 | 23 November 1907 | Swindon Town | H | 2–0 | Corbett, Hagan | |
| 14 | 30 November 1907 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–2 | McAllister | |
| 15 | 7 December 1907 | Luton Town | H | 3–1 | Underwood, Bowman (2) | |
| 16 | 14 December 1907 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 0–1 | ||
| 17 | 21 December 1907 | Portsmouth | H | 1–1 | Corbett | |
| 18 | 25 December 1907 | Millwall | H | 1–2 | Corbett | |
| 19 | 26 December 1907 | New Brompton | A | 1–2 | Bowman | |
| 20 | 28 December 1907 | Bradford Park Avenue | A | 0–2 | ||
| 21 | 4 January 1908 | Bristol Rovers | H | 0–3 | ||
| 22 | 18 January 1908 | Reading | H | 1–0 | Parsonage | |
| 23 | 25 January 1908 | Watford | A | 2–1 | Corbett, Bowman | |
| 24 | 8 February 1908 | Northampton Town | A | 0–0 | ||
| 25 | 15 February 1908 | Southampton | H | 4–0 | Corbett, Bowman (2), Underwood | |
| 26 | 22 February 1908 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 1–2 | Black (og) | |
| 27 | 29 February 1908 | West Ham United | H | 4–0 | Bowman (2), Corbett, Parsonage | |
| 28 | 7 March 1908 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–1 | ||
| 29 | 9 March 1908 | Norwich City | H | 2–1 | Bowman, Brown | |
| 30 | 14 March 1908 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 3–0 | Bowman (3) | |
| 31 | 21 March 1908 | Swindon Town | A | 0–0 | ||
| 32 | 28 March 1908 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–1 | Corbett | |
| 33 | 4 April 1908 | Luton Town | A | 0–1 | ||
| 34 | 11 April 1908 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 2–0 | Underwood, Bowman | |
| 35 | 17 April 1908 | Millwall | A | 0–2 | ||
| 36 | 18 April 1908 | Portsmouth | A | 2–3 | Underwood, Tomlinson | |
| 37 | 20 April 1908 | New Brompton | H | 1–0 | Corbett | |
| 38 | 25 April 1908 | Bradford Park Avenue | H | 1–2 | Underwood |
See main article: 1907–08 FA Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1R | 11 January 1908 | Carlisle United | A | 2–2 | Bowman, Corbett | |
| 1R (replay) | 15 January 1908 | Carlisle United | H | 1–3 | Tomlinson |
| Name | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| William Brown | Secretary Manager | |
| Bob Crone | Trainer |
| Name | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| George Parsonage | Caretaker Manager | |
| Bob Crone | Trainer |
| Pos. | Nat | Player | SL1 | FAC | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FW | Adam Bowman | 21 | 1 | 22 | ||
| FW | Fred Corbett | 11 | 1 | 12 | ||
| FW | Tosher Underwood | 5 | 0 | 5 | ||
| FW | Patrick Hagan | 4 | 0 | 4 | ||
| HB | George Parsonage | 4 | 0 | 4 | ||
| HB | Jimmy Tomlinson | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| FW | Norman Brown | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| FW | Tom McAllister | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Opponents | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| Total | 49 | 3 | 52 | |||
| Games played | 40 (38 Southern League First Division, 2 FA Cup) | |
| Games won | 14 (14 Southern League First Division, 0 FA Cup) | |
| Games drawn | 6 (5 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup) | |
| Games lost | 20 (19 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup) | |
| Goals scored | 52 (49 Southern League First Division, 3 FA Cup) | |
| Goals conceded | 58 (53 Southern League First Division, 5 FA Cup) | |
| Clean sheets | 10 (10 Southern League First Division, 0 FA Cup) | |
| Biggest league win | 4–0 on two occasions | |
| Worst league defeat | 5–1 on two occasions | |
| Most appearances | 40, George Parsonage (38 Southern League First Division, 2 FA Cup) | |
| Top scorer (league) | 21, Adam Bowman | |
| Top scorer (all competitions) | 22, Adam Bowman |