1952–53 Brentford F.C. season explained

Club:Brentford
Season:1952–53
Manager:
(until 2 January 1953)
Tommy Lawton
(from 2 January 1953)
Chairman:Frank Davis
Stadium:Griffin Park
League:Second Division
League Result:17th
Cup1:FA Cup
Cup1 Result:Fourth round
League Topscorer:Lawton (13)
Season Topscorer:Lawton (15)
Highest Attendance:29,241
Lowest Attendance:8,565
Average Attendance:17,474
Pattern La1:_red_stripes
Pattern B1:_redstripes2
Pattern Ra1:_red_stripes
Pattern Sh1:_whitesides
Pattern So1:_redtop_2whitestripes
Shorts1:000000
Socks1:000000
Prevseason:1951–52
Nextseason:1953–54

During the 1952–53 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Second Division. A forgettable season, during which Tommy Lawton was appointed as the club's player-manager, ended with a 17th-place finish.

Season summary

Brentford's 1952–53 pre-season preparations were thrown into disarray by the departure of secretary-manager Jackie Gibbons in August 1952. In his letter of resignation, Gibbons wrote of having failed to see "eye to eye" with the Brentford board. Long-serving assistant manager Jimmy Bain took over as caretaker until a permanent appointment could be made. 34-year-old forward Les Smith was the club's only signing and returned to Griffin Park after six years with Aston Villa. Half backs Bill Slater and forwards Johnny Paton and Jimmy Bowie were the only departures of note.

Brentford had a poor start to the Second Division season and won just five of the opening 20 matches.[1] Four defeats and no wins in a five-match spell in September 1952 led caretaker Bain to break up his settled XI and experiment with moving players into different positions. Want-away captain Ron Greenwood left for First Division club Chelsea in October 1952 and forward Jimmy D'Arcy arrived in part-exchange. The tide began to turn after back to back victories over Barnsley on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Forward Tommy Lawton was announced as Brentford's player-manager on 2 January 1953 and Jimmy Bain reverted to his role as assistant. Lawton was unbeaten in 9 of his first 12 matches, but the team lost confidence after a pair of heavy defeats in March and slumped to a 17th-place finish.

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

WinDrawLoss

Football League Second Division

No.DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorer(s)
123 August 1952Lincoln CityH1–027,787Goodwin
227 August 1952Huddersfield TownA0–021,358
330 August 1952Hull CityA2–235,993Dare, Monk (pen)
43 September 1952Huddersfield TownH1–321,733Lawton
56 September 1952Blackburn RoversH3–221,904Sperrin, Lawton, Monk (pen)
68 September 1952Sheffield UnitedA2–317,397Goodwin, Ledgerton
713 September 1952Nottingham ForestA0–326,923
817 September 1952Sheffield UnitedH0–011,707
920 September 1952EvertonH2–421,042Lawton, Harper
1027 September 1952BuryA0–312,398
114 October 1952Doncaster RoversA2–013,465Monk, Goodwin
1211 October 1952SouthamptonH3–017,225Lawton, Monk (pen), Smith
1318 October 1952Notts CountyA0–426,033
1425 October 1952Leicester CityH4–221,655Goodwin, Lawton (2), Dare
151 November 1952West Ham UnitedA1–323,263D'Arcy
168 November 1952FulhamH2–229,241D'Arcy, Monk (pen)
1715 November 1952Rotherham UnitedA1–415,427Monk (pen)
1822 November 1952Plymouth ArgyleH1–217,192Lawton
1929 November 1952Leeds UnitedA2–316,077Dare, Ledgerton
2013 December 1952Birmingham CityA1–39,963Lawton
2120 December 1952Lincoln CityA0–011,953
2225 December 1952BarnsleyH4–015,976Sperrin, Dare, Lawton (2)
2326 December 1952BarnsleyA2–013,725McNeil (og), Ledgerton
243 January 1953Hull CityH1–016,035D'Arcy
2517 January 1953Blackburn RoversA0–321,487
2624 January 1953Nottingham ForestH1–115,110Ledgerton
277 February 1953EvertonA0–536,431
2814 February 1953BuryH2–29,387Sperrin, Bloomfield
2921 February 1953Doncaster RoversH1–016,716Lawton
3028 February 1953SouthamptonA2–020,327Ellerington (og), Dare
317 March 1953Notts CountyH5–016,147Monk (pen), Harper, Dare, Lawton (2)
3214 March 1953Leicester CityA3–221,307Morrad, Latimer
3321 March 1953West Ham UnitedH1–418,117Latimer
3428 March 1953FulhamA0–525,550
353 April 1953Swansea TownH0–017,876
364 April 1953Rotherham UnitedH1–114,411Bloomfield
376 April 1953Swansea TownA2–321,695Ledgerton, Godwin
3811 April 1953Plymouth ArgyleA0–119,955
3918 April 1953Leeds UnitedH3–312,783Ledgerton, Coote, Lawton
4022 April 1953Luton TownH1–116,347Ledgerton
4125 April 1953Luton TownA1–015,826Dare
421 May 1953Birmingham CityH1–28,565

FA Cup

See main article: 1952–53 FA Cup.

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorer(s)
3R10 January 1953Leeds UnitedH2–127,000Ledgerton, Lawton
4R31 January 1953Aston VillaA0–040,625
4R (replay)4 February 1953Aston VillaH1–221,735Lawton

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1952–53 season.

Pos.NameNat.Date of birth (age)Signed fromSigned inNotes
Goalkeepers
GKAlf JefferiesAugust 23, 1952Oxford City1945
GKReg NewtonAugust 23, 1952Leyton Orient1949
Defenders
DFKen HorneAugust 23, 1952Blackpool1950
DFTecwyn JonesAugust 23, 1952Holywell Town1950
DFFred MonkAugust 23, 1952Guildford City1948
DFRoddy MunroAugust 23, 1952Rangers1946
Midfielders
HBWally BraggAugust 23, 1952Twickenham Celtic1946
HBGeorge BristowAugust 23, 1952Youth1950
HBKen CooteAugust 23, 1952Wembley1949
HBIan DargieAugust 23, 1952Tonbridge1952
HBTony HarperAugust 23, 1952Headington United1948
HBFrank LatimerAugust 23, 1952Snowdown Colliery Welfare1945
Forwards
FWJimmy BloomfieldAugust 23, 1952Hayes1952
FWMicky BullAugust 23, 1952Youth1948
FWJimmy D'ArcyAugust 23, 1952Chelsea1952
FWBilly DareAugust 23, 1952Hendon1948
FWVerdi GodwinAugust 23, 1952Grimsby Town1952
FWJackie GoodwinAugust 23, 1952Birmingham City1949
FWTommy LawtonAugust 23, 1952Notts County1952
FWTerry LedgertonAugust 23, 1952Huyton1950
FWFrank MorradAugust 23, 1952Brighton & Hove Albion1951
FWLes SmithAugust 23, 1952Aston Villa1952
FWBilly SperrinAugust 23, 1952Guildford City1949
Players who left the club mid-season
HBRon Greenwood (c)August 23, 1952Bradford Park Avenue1949Transferred to Chelsea

Coaching staff

Jimmy Bain (23 August 1952 – 2 January 1953)

NameRole
Jimmy BainCaretaker Manager
David RichardsTrainer
Jack CartmellAssistant trainer

Tommy Lawton (2 January 1953 – 1 May 1953)

NameRole
Tommy LawtonPlayer-Manager
Jimmy BainAssistant manager
David RichardsTrainer
Jack CartmellAssistant trainer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

PosNatNameLeagueFA CupTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GKAlf Jefferies35030380
GKReg Newton700070
DFKen Horne10000100
DFTecwyn Jones400040
DFFred Monk40730437
DFRoddy Munro34030370
HBWally Bragg38030410
HBGeorge Bristow500050
HBKen Coote17100171
HBIan Dargie10000100
HBRon Greenwood90—90
HBTony Harper36330393
HBFrank Latimer30330333
FWJimmy Bloomfield15200152
FWMicky Bull300030
FWJimmy D'Arcy13300133
FWBilly Dare33830368
FWVerdi Godwin610061
FWJackie Goodwin24430274
FWTommy Lawton3413323715
FWTerry Ledgerton28731318
FWFrank Morrad510051
FWLes Smith14100141
FWBilly Sperrin12330153

Goalscorers

Pos.NatPlayerFL2FACTotal
FWTommy Lawton13215
FWBilly Dare808
FWTerry Ledgerton718
DFFred Monk707
FWJackie Goodwin404
FWJimmy D'Arcy303
HBTony Harper303
HBFrank Latimer303
FWBilly Sperrin303
FWJimmy Bloomfield202
HBKen Coote101
FWVerdi Godwin101
FWFrank Morrad101
FWLes Smith101
Opponents202
Total59362

Management

NameNatFromToRecord All CompsRecord League
PWDLW %PWDLW %
Jimmy Bain23 August 195226 December 1952
Tommy Lawton3 January 19521 May 1953

Summary

Games played 45 (42 Second Division, 3 FA Cup)
Games won 13 (13 Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Games drawn 12 (11 Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Games lost 19 (18 Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored 62 (59 Second Division, 3 FA Cup)
Goals conceded 79 (76 Second Division, 3 FA Cup)
Clean sheets 15 (14 Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Biggest league win 5–0 versus Notts County, 7 March 1953
Worst league defeat 5–0 on two occasions
Most appearances 43, Fred Monk (43 Second Division, 3 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league) 13, Tommy Lawton
Top scorer (all competitions) 15, Tommy Lawton

Transfers & loans

Players transferred in
DatePos.NamePrevious ClubFeeRef.
June 1952FW Les Smith Aston Villan/a
October 1952FW Bert Allum Hereford Unitedn/a
October 1952HB Jimmy Bloomfield Hayesn/a[5]
October 1952FW Jimmy D'Arcy ChelseaPart-exchange
November 1952FW Vernon AvisUnattachedn/a
November 1952FW John Pearson Chase of Chertseyn/a
March 1953HB Leonard Geard Fulhamn/a
Players transferred out
DatePos.NameSubsequent clubFeeRef.
July 1952FW Jimmy Bowie Watfordn/a[6]
July 1952FW Johnny Paton Watfordn/a[7]
August 1952DF Wally Quinton Shrewsbury Townn/a
August 1952HB Bill Slater Wolverhampton WanderersAmateur
October 1952HB Ron Greenwood ChelseaPart-exchange
Players released
DatePos.NameSubsequent clubJoin dateRef.
May 1953DF Frank Morrad Bedford Townn/a
May 1953DF Roddy Munro Cambridge Cityn/a

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Brentford results for the 1952–1953 season . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160827175607/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/brentford/1952-1953/results . 27 August 2016 . 19 November 2016 . Statto.com.
  2. Book: 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC . 1989 . 0951526200 . White . Eric . 382.
  3. Book: Haynes, Graham . Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 . Coumbe . Frank . Yore Publications . 2006 . 978-0955294914.
  4. Web site: Jimmy D'Arcy . 22 November 2016 . nifootball.blogspot.co.uk.
  5. Web site: Bloom – Bossu . 18 November 2016 . Hayes & Yeading United FC: The Official Website.
  6. Web site: Player: James Duncan Bowie . 1 June 2024 . Watford Football Club Archive . en.
  7. Web site: Player: John Paton . 1 June 2024 . Watford Football Club Archive . en.

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