| Club: | Brentford |
| Season: | 1946–47 |
| Manager: | Harry Curtis |
| Chairman: | Frank Davis |
| Stadium: | Griffin Park |
| League: | First Division |
| League Result: | 21st |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Fourth round |
| League Topscorer: | Townsend (8) |
| Season Topscorer: | Townsend (9) |
| Highest Attendance: | 35,604 |
| Lowest Attendance: | 17,976 |
| Average Attendance: | 25,768 |
| Pattern La1: | _red_stripes |
| Pattern B1: | _redstripes2 |
| Pattern Ra1: | _red_stripes |
| Pattern Sh1: | _whitesides |
| Pattern So1: | _redtop_2whitestripes |
| Shorts1: | 000000 |
| Socks1: | 000000 |
| Prevseason: | 1945–46 |
| Nextseason: | 1947–48 |
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. The club did not play again in the top-tier until 2021–22, 74 years later.
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 the 1938–39 season, which culminated with a near-relegation. 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 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.[1] The majority of the team's goals were scored by forwards Gerry McAloon, Fred Durrant and George Wilkins, but when the goals dried up in September 1946, Brentford's form took a turn for the worse. Matters were made worse when McAloon and Durrant were quickly sold to Celtic and Queens Park Rangers respectively. A supporter, writing to The Brentford & Chiswick Times, commented "it would seem that Brentford were unaware when they allowed them to go that Thomas, Durrant and McAloon had scored very nearly all the side’s goals in the previous season".[2] 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.
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. Despite Len Townsend coming into form and going on to become the Bees' top scorer for the season, the goalscoring problem was compounded by the transfer request and subsequent sale of George Wilkins in February.[3] 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. 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.[4] [5] By the time of the final day of the season on 14 June, Brentford had lost 14 of the final 19 matches.
The relegation was the first suffered by the club since it joined the Football League in 1920 and it was the club's final top-flight season until 2021–22, 74 years later. 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).[6]
Brentford's goal tally listed first.
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| 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 | 26 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 |
See main article: 1946–47 FA Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer(s) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3R | 11 January 1947 | Cardiff City | H | 1–0 | 32,894 | Townsend | ||
| 4R | 25 January 1947 | Leicester City | H | 0–0 | 32,112 | |||
| 4R (replay) | 30 January 1947 | Leicester City | A | 0–0 | 20,339 | |||
| 4R (2nd replay) | 3 February 1947 | Leicester City | N | 1–4 | 7,500 | Scott | [7] |
Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1946–47 season.
| Pos. | Name | Nat. | Date of birth (age) | Signed from | Signed in | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | |||||||
| GK | Joe Crozier | August 31, 1946 | East Fife | 1937 | |||
| Defenders | |||||||
| DF | Bill Gorman |  | August 31, 1946 | Bury | 1938 | ||
| DF | Frank Latimer | August 31, 1946 | Snowdown Colliery Welfare | 1945 | |||
| DF | Malky MacDonald | August 31, 1946 | Kilmarnock | 1946 | Coach | ||
| DF | Roddy Munro | August 31, 1946 | Rangers | 1946 | |||
| DF | Harry Oliver | August 31, 1946 | Hartlepools United | 1938 | |||
| Midfielders | |||||||
| HB | Wally Bragg | August 31, 1946 | Twickenham Celtic | 1946 | Loaned to Hounslow Town | ||
| HB | Buster Brown | August 31, 1946 | Huddersfield Town | 1937 | |||
| HB | Tom Manley | August 31, 1946 | Manchester United | 1939 | |||
| HB | John Moore | August 31, 1946 | Unattached | 1938 | |||
| HB | George Paterson (c) | August 31, 1946 | Celtic | 1946 | |||
| HB | Arthur Shaw | August 31, 1946 | Hayes | 1946 | |||
| HB | George Smith | August 31, 1946 | Charlton Athletic | 1945 | |||
| HB | Cyril Toulouse | August 31, 1946 | St Cuthberts | 1946 | |||
| Forwards | |||||||
| FW | Alec Blakeman | August 31, 1946 | Oxford City | 1946 | |||
| FW | José Gallego |  | August 31, 1946 | Cambridge City | 1947 | ||
| FW | John Gillies | August 31, 1946 | St Mirren | 1946 | |||
| FW | Dickie Girling | August 31, 1946 | Crystal Palace | 1947 | |||
| FW | Idris Hopkins | August 31, 1946 | Crystal Palace | 1932 | |||
| FW | Archie Macaulay | August 31, 1946 | West Ham United | 1946 | |||
| FW | Bill Naylor | August 31, 1946 | Crystal Palace | 1947 | |||
| FW | Maurice Roberts | August 31, 1946 | Unattached | 1946 | Loaned to Guildford City | ||
| FW | Billy Scott | August 31, 1946 | Middlesbrough | 1932 | |||
| FW | Alan Smith | August 31, 1946 | Arsenal | 1946 | |||
| FW | George Stewart | August 31, 1946 | Hamilton Academical | 1946 | |||
| FW | Len Townsend | August 31, 1946 | Hayes | 1937 | |||
| Players who left the club mid-season | |||||||
| FW | Fred Durrant | August 31, 1946 | Folkestone | 1938 | Transferred to Queens Park Rangers | ||
| FW | Gerry McAloon | August 31, 1946 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1945 | Transferred to Celtic | ||
| FW | George Wilkins | August 31, 1946 | Hayes | 1938 | Transferred to Bradford Park Avenue | ||
| Name | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Harry Curtis | Manager | |
| Jimmy Bain | Assistant Manager | |
| Malky MacDonald | Coach | |
| Billy Lane | Coach | |
| Bob Kane | Trainer | |
| Jack Cartmell | Assistant Trainer |
| Pos | Nat | Name | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| GK | Joe Crozier | 42 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 46 | 0 | ||
| DF | Wally Bragg | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| DF | | Bill Gorman | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| DF | Frank Latimer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| DF | Malky MacDonald | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | ||
| DF | Roddy Munro | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 38 | 0 | ||
| DF | Harry Oliver | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| HB | Wally Bragg | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| HB | Buster Brown | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| HB | Tom Manley | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| HB | John Moore | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| HB | George Paterson | 27 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 31 | 0 | ||
| HB | Arthur Shaw | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| HB | George Smith | 41 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 45 | 1 | ||
| HB | Cyril Toulouse | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| FW | Alec Blakeman | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | ||
| FW | Fred Durrant | 4 | 3 | — | 4 | 3 | |||
| FW | | José Gallego | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| FW | John Gillies | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| FW | Dickie Girling | 15 | 1 | — | 15 | 1 | |||
| FW | Idris Hopkins | 39 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 4 | ||
| FW | Gerry McAloon | 7 | 4 | — | 7 | 4 | |||
| FW | Archie Macaulay | 26 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 2 | ||
| FW | Bill Naylor | 11 | 2 | — | 11 | 2 | |||
| FW | Maurice Roberts | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| FW | Billy Scott | 12 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 1 | ||
| FW | Alan Smith | 10 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 3 | ||
| FW | George Stewart | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 3 | ||
| FW | Len Townsend | 29 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 33 | 9 | ||
| FW | George Wilkins | 26 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 7 | ||
| Pos. | Nat | Player | FL1 | FAC | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FW | Len Townsend | 8 | 1 | 9 | ||
| FW | George Wilkins | 7 | 0 | 7 | ||
| FW | Gerry McAloon | 4 | — | 4 | ||
| FW | Alec Blakeman | 4 | 0 | 4 | ||
| FW | Idris Hopkins | 4 | 0 | 4 | ||
| FW | Fred Durrant | 3 | — | 3 | ||
| FW | Alan Smith | 3 | 0 | 3 | ||
| FW | George Stewart | 3 | 0 | 3 | ||
| FW | Bill Naylor | 2 | — | 2 | ||
| FW | Archie Macaulay | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||
| FW | Dickie Girling | 1 | — | 1 | ||
| DF | Malky MacDonald | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| HB | George Smith | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| FW | Billy Scott | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Opponents | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||
| Total | 45 | 2 | 47 | |||
| Pos. | Nat | Player | Caps | Goals | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DF | | Bill Gorman | 2 3 | 0 0 | [11] [12] | |
| FW | Archie Macaulay | 1 | 0 | [13] |
| 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 |
Cricketers are not included in this list.
| Players transferred in | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Pos. | Name | Previous Club | Fee | Ref. | |
| May 1946 | FW | Alec Blakeman | Oxford City | Free | [14] | |
| May 1946 | FW | John Gillies | St Mirren | Nominal | ||
| May 1946 | HB | Arthur Shaw | Hayes | n/a | ||
| May 1946 | HB | Cyril Toulouse | St Cuthberts | Free | ||
| 30 July 1946 | FW | George Stewart | Hamilton Academical | n/a | [15] | |
| 30 July 1946 | FW | J. A. Fyffe | n/a | n/a | ||
| 23 August 1946 | FW | Robert Ross | Murton Colliery Welfare | n/a | [16] | |
| August 1946 | FW | Maurice Roberts | Unattached | Free | ||
| October 1946 | DF | Malky MacDonald | Kilmarnock | £1,500 | ||
| October 1946 | HB | George Paterson | Celtic | Exchange | ||
| November 1946 | FW | Archie Macaulay | West Ham United | n/a | ||
| December 1946 | FW | Alan Smith | Arsenal | Free | [17] | |
| 1946 | HB | Wally Bragg | Twickenham Celtic | Amateur | ||
| January 1947 | FW | José Gallego | Cambridge City | Free | [18] | |
| January 1947 | DF | William Gibson | Arsenal | n/a | ||
| 10 February 1947 | FW | Dickie Girling | Crystal Palace | n/a | ||
| 10 February 1947 | FW | Bill Naylor | Crystal Palace | n/a | ||
| March 1947 | FW | Percy Gleeson | Hounslow Town | n/a | ||
| Players transferred out | ||||||
| Date | Pos. | Name | Subsequent club | Fee | Ref. | |
| 19 June 1946 | DF | Harry Bamford | Brighton & Hove Albion | n/a | [19] | |
| 19 June 1946 | FW | Jim Gotts | Brighton & Hove Albion | n/a | ||
| 19 June 1946 | FW | Albert Hammond | Exeter City | n/a | [20] | |
| 26 June 1946 | HB | Eric Jones | Crewe Alexandra | n/a | [21] | |
| September 1946 | FW | Fred Durrant | Queens Park Rangers | £4,500 | ||
| 4 October 1946 | FW | Gerry McAloon | Celtic | Exchange | [22] | |
| October 1946 | DF | Jimmy Anderson | Carlisle United | Nominal | ||
| 10 February 1947 | FW | George Wilkins | Bradford Park Avenue | £7,000 | [23] | |
| February 1947 | DF | Fred Mansfield | Norwich City | n/a | ||
| Players loaned out | ||||||
| Date | Pos. | Name | Previous Club | Date to | Ref. | |
| 1946 | HB | Wally Bragg | Hounslow Town | 1947 | ||
| November 1946 | FW | Maurice Roberts | Guildford City | 1947 | ||
| Players released | ||||||
| Date | Pos. | Name | Subsequent club | Join date | Ref. | |
| April 1947 | FW | Les Boulter | Yeovil Town | 1947 | ||
| April 1947 | HB | Buster Brown | Leyton Orient | May 1947 | ||
| April 1947 | HB | Collier | n/a | n/a | [24] | |
| April 1947 | FW | J. A. Fyffe | n/a | n/a | ||
| April 1947 | FW | John Gillies | Morton | 1947 | ||
| April 1947 | FW | Idris Hopkins | Bristol City | May 1947 | ||
| April 1947 | FW | Ernest Muttitt | Dover | 1947 | ||
| April 1947 | FW | Maurice Roberts | Bristol City | May 1947 | ||
| April 1947 | FW | T. Ryder | n/a | n/a | ||
| April 1947 | FW | Billy Scott | Aldershot | July 1947 | ||
| April 1947 | FW | John Sutton | n/a | n/a | ||
| April 1947 | FW | Len Townsend | Bristol City | June 1947 | ||