1951–52 Brentford F.C. season explained
Club: | Brentford |
Season: | 1951–52 |
Manager: | Jackie Gibbons |
Chairman: | Frank Davis |
Stadium: | Griffin Park |
League: | Second Division |
League Result: | 10th |
Cup1: | FA Cup |
Cup1 Result: | Fourth round |
League Topscorer: | Dare (14) |
Mgrtitle: | Secretary-Manager |
Season Topscorer: | Dare (16) |
Highest Attendance: | 35,827 |
Lowest Attendance: | 10,243 |
Average Attendance: | 23,022 |
Pattern La1: | _red_stripes |
Pattern B1: | _redstripes2 |
Pattern Ra1: | _red_stripes |
Pattern Sh1: | _whitesides |
Pattern So1: | _redtop |
Shorts1: | 000000 |
Socks1: | 000000 |
Prevseason: | 1950–51 |
Nextseason: | 1952–53 |
During the 1951–52 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Second Division. The Bees secured a third-consecutive top 10 finish and reached the fourth round of the FA Cup, taking Luton Town to two replays before being knocked out.
Season summary
After two consecutive 9th-place finishes in the Second Division, Brentford manager Jackie Gibbons elected to keep his squad together for the 1951–52 season, with former Brighton & Hove Albion utility player Frank Morrad being his only first team signing.
Aided by the goalscoring of full back-cum-centre forward Fred Monk, Brentford showed excellent form in the first half of the season and just five losses in the opening 21 matches put the club into the promotion places.[1] The push for promotion was derailed during the Christmas period, after consecutive defeats to Southampton on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.[2] A dressing room ruckus ensued between manager Gibbons on one side and half backs Ron Greenwood and Jimmy Hill on the other. The bust-up resulted in Greenwood and Hill requesting transfers, with Hill eventually moving to local rivals Fulham in March 1952 in exchange for inside forward Jimmy Bowie.
Centre forward Billy Dare came into goalscoring in the second half of the season, but the disruption to the Harper-Hill-Greenwood half back line (Greenwood later rescinded his transfer request) led to an increase in the number of goals conceded and Brentford drifted out of contention for promotion to finish in 10th place. Amid much fanfare, former England international Tommy Lawton was signed for a club record £16,000 fee in March 1952, but he managed to contribute only two goals in his 10 appearances. In 2010, full back Ken Horne commented that "I'm sure we could have gone up that year but the spirit completely went out the team. We'd got by on spirit. The team had been kept together for so long that they had been fighting for each other".
The end of the season saw the retirement of Brentford's final two players signed prior to the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 – goalkeeper Ted Gaskell and utility man Tom Manley. Both received a joint-testimonial in April 1954.
Results
Brentford's goal tally listed first.
Legend
Football League Second Division
No. | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer(s) | Notes |
---|
1 | 18 August 1951 | Leeds United | A | 1–1 | 20,268 | Paton | |
2 | 22 August 1951 | Everton | A | 0–1 | 32,722 | | |
3 | 25 August 1951 | Rotherham United | H | 2–0 | 24,904 | Sperrin, Monk | |
4 | 27 August 1951 | Everton | H | 1–0 | 19,525 | Sperrin | |
5 | 1 September 1951 | Cardiff City | A | 0–2 | 27,772 | | |
6 | 5 September 1951 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 2–1 | 21,154 | Goodwin, Monk (pen) | |
7 | 8 September 1951 | Birmingham City | H | 1–0 | 25,029 | Monk | |
8 | 15 September 1951 | Leicester City | A | 1–1 | 23,757 | Monk | |
9 | 22 September 1951 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–1 | 26,350 | Hill | |
10 | 29 September 1951 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–3 | 25,339 | Monk | |
11 | 6 October 1951 | Notts County | H | 1–0 | 28,214 | Coote | |
12 | 13 October 1951 | Luton Town | A | 2–0 | 18,521 | Sperrin, Monk | |
13 | 20 October 1951 | Bury | H | 4–0 | 20,726 | Sperrin (2), Coote, Paton | |
14 | 27 October 1951 | Swansea Town | A | 1–1 | 19,235 | Sperrin | |
15 | 3 November 1951 | Coventry City | H | 4–0 | 22,899 | Monk | |
16 | 10 November 1951 | West Ham United | A | 0–1 | 26,288 | | |
17 | 17 November 1951 | Sheffield United | H | 4–1 | 26,288 | Paton, Monk (2), Sperrin | |
18 | 24 November 1951 | Barnsley | A | 0–0 | 10,149 | | |
19 | 1 December 1951 | Hull City | H | 2–1 | 26,072 | Monk (2) | |
20 | 8 December 1951 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0–3 | 13,617 | | |
21 | 15 December 1951 | Leeds United | H | 2–1 | 17,957 | Dare (2) | |
22 | 22 December 1951 | Rotherham United | A | 1–1 | 14,809 | Monk | |
23 | 25 December 1951 | Southampton | H | 1–2 | 25,841 | Dare | |
24 | 26 December 1951 | Southampton | A | 1–2 | 21,625 | Sperrin | |
25 | 29 December 1951 | Cardiff City | H | 1–1 | 27,547 | Paton | |
26 | 5 January 1952 | Birmingham City | A | 2–1 | 28,368 | Dare, Badham (og) | |
27 | 19 January 1952 | Leicester City | H | 1–3 | 19,923 | Dare | |
28 | 26 January 1952 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–2 | 21,649 | | |
29 | 9 February 1952 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0–0 | 25,645 | | |
30 | 16 February 1952 | Notts County | A | 2–5 | 22,503 | Dare, Sperrin | |
31 | 1 March 1952 | Luton Town | H | 3–3 | 21,218 | Dare (2), Horne | |
32 | 8 March 1952 | Bury | A | 0–1 | 12,140 | | |
33 | 15 March 1952 | Swansea Town | H | 3–1 | 29,753 | Coote, Dare (2) | |
34 | 22 March 1952 | Coventry City | A | 1–2 | 27,577 | Dare | |
35 | 5 April 1952 | Sheffield United | A | 4–1 | 23,435 | Lawton, Paton, Dare, Harper | |
36 | 11 April 1952 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–3 | 35,827 | Bragg, Dare | |
37 | 12 April 1952 | Barnsley | H | 1–1 | 19,912 | Goodwin | |
38 | 14 April 1952 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–2 | 43,935 | | |
39 | 19 April 1952 | Hull City | A | 1–4 | 30,891 | Dare | |
40 | 21 April 1952 | West Ham United | H | 1–1 | 12,563 | Lawton | [3] |
41 | 26 April 1952 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–1 | 16,195 | Slater | |
42 | 30 April 1952 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 1–0 | 10,243 | Morrad | | |
FA Cup
See main article: 1951–52 FA Cup.
Playing squad
Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1951–52 season.
Pos. | Name | Nat. | Date of birth (age) | Signed from | Signed in | Notes |
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Goalkeepers | |
---|
GK | Ted Gaskell | | August 18, 1951 | Buxton | 1937 | |
GK | Alf Jefferies | | August 18, 1951 | Oxford City | 1945 | |
GK | Reg Newton | | August 18, 1951 | Leyton Orient | 1949 | |
Defenders | |
---|
DF | Wally Bragg | | August 18, 1951 | Twickenham Celtic | 1946 | |
DF | Ian Dargie | | August 18, 1951 | Tonbridge | 1952 | |
DF | Ken Horne | | August 18, 1951 | Blackpool | 1950 | |
DF | Tecwyn Jones | | August 18, 1951 | Holywell Town | 1950 | |
DF | Frank Morrad | | August 18, 1951 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1951 | |
DF | Roddy Munro | | August 18, 1951 | Rangers | 1946 | |
Midfielders | |
---|
HB | George Bristow | | August 18, 1951 | Youth | 1950 | |
HB | Ron Greenwood (c) | | August 18, 1951 | Bradford Park Avenue | 1949 | |
HB | Tony Harper | | August 18, 1951 | Headington United | 1948 | |
HB | Frank Latimer | | August 18, 1951 | Snowdown Colliery Welfare | 1945 | |
HB | Bill Slater | | August 18, 1951 | Blackpool | 1951 | Amateur |
Forwards | |
---|
FW | Jimmy Bowie | | August 18, 1951 | Fulham | 1952 | |
FW | Ken Coote | | August 18, 1951 | Wembley | 1949 | |
FW | Billy Dare | | August 18, 1951 | Hendon | 1948 | |
FW | Verdi Godwin | | August 18, 1951 | Grimsby Town | 1952 | |
FW | Jackie Goodwin | | August 18, 1951 | Birmingham City | 1949 | |
FW | Tommy Lawton | | August 18, 1951 | Notts County | 1952 | |
FW | Terry Ledgerton | | August 18, 1951 | Huyton | 1950 | |
FW | Fred Monk | | August 18, 1951 | Guildford City | 1948 | |
FW | Johnny Paton | | August 18, 1951 | Celtic | 1949 | |
FW | Billy Sperrin | | August 18, 1951 | Guildford City | 1949 | |
Players who left the club mid-season |
---|
HB | Jimmy Hill | | August 18, 1951 | Reading | 1949 | Transferred to Fulham | |
- Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford, Timeless Bees[6]
Coaching staff
Statistics
Appearances and goals
- Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
- Source: 100 Years Of Brentford
Goalscorers
- Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
- Source: 100 Years Of Brentford
Summary
Games played | 46 (42 Second Division, 4 FA Cup) |
Games won | 16 (15 Second Division, 1 FA Cup) |
Games drawn | 14 (12 Second Division, 2 FA Cup) |
Games lost | 16 (15 Second Division, 1 FA Cup) |
Goals scored | 61 (54 Second Division, 7 FA Cup) |
Goals conceded | 61 (55 Second Division, 6 FA Cup) |
Clean sheets | 11 (10 Second Division, 1 FA Cup) |
Biggest league win | 4–0 on two occasions |
Worst league defeat | 3–0 versus Blackburn Rovers, 8 December 1951; 4–1 versus Hull City, 19 April 1952; 5–2 versus Notts County, 16 February 1952 |
Most appearances | 46, Billy Dare (42 Second Division, 4 FA Cup) |
Top scorer (league) | 14, Billy Dare |
Top scorer (all competitions) | 16, Billy Dare | |
Transfers & loans
Notes
- Web site: Brentford results for the 1951–1952 season . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160910090752/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/brentford/1951-1952/results . 10 September 2016 . 23 June 2016 . Statto.com.
- Web site: Bruzon . Nick . Where Are They Now? Ken Horne – Part 2 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180215084158/http://world.brentfordfc.co.uk/page/WhereAreTheyDetail/0,,10421~2055360,00.html . 15 February 2018 . 31 December 2017.
- The original fixture on 29 March 1952 was abandoned at half time due to snow, with the score at 1–1.
- Match played at Arsenal Stadium, London.
- Book: 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC . 1989 . 0951526200 . White . Eric . 381.
- Book: Haynes, Graham . Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 . Coumbe . Frank . Yore Publications . 2006 . 978-0955294914.
- Web site: England Matches – The Amateurs 1947–1962 . 2 July 2017 . www.englandfootballonline.com.
- Web site: Player Appearances and goalscoring records – N . 18 April 2022 . Scottish Football Historical Archive . 577.
- Book: Lane, David . Cult Bees & Legends: Volume Two . Legends Publishing . 2005 . 0954368282 . Hampton Hill . 98–115.