1971–72 Brentford F.C. season explained

Club:	Brentford
Season:	1971–72
Manager:	Frank Blunstone
Chairman:	(until January 1972) Les Davey & Walter Wheatley (from January 1972)
Stadium:	Griffin Park
League:	Fourth Division
League Result:	3rd (promoted)
Cup1:	FA Cup
Cup1 Result:	First round
Cup2:	League Cup
Cup2 Result:	First round
League Topscorer:	O'Mara (25)
Season Topscorer:	O'Mara (27)
Highest Attendance:	18,521
Lowest Attendance:	8,712
Average Attendance:	11,738
Pattern La1:	_red_stripes
Pattern B1:	_redstripes2
Pattern Ra1:	_red_stripes
Pattern Sh1:	_white stripes
Pattern So1:	_redtop_2whitestripes
Shorts1:	000000
Socks1:	000000
Prevseason:	1970–71
Nextseason:	1972–73

During the 1971–72 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Fourth Division. The club led the division for much of the first half of the season and 10 wins in the final 14 matches secured automatic promotion with a 3rd-place finish.

Season summary

Despite the reduction of the club's debt to a manageable level and an average attendance higher than all but the top three finishers in the Third Division, Fourth Division Brentford went into the 1971–72 season with a squad of just 14 professionals.^[1] Long-time goalkeeper Chic Brodie was released, as was bit-part winger Brian Tawse and in came two defensive youngsters on free transfers – Terry Scales and Steven Tom.

Despite the club record £30,000 departure of Roger Cross to rivals Fulham and Alan Hawley also moving to Craven Cottage on loan, Brentford's 12-man squad met pre-season expectations in the early part of the season, holding onto top spot intermittently until a minor blip in October and November 1971.^[2] Utility player Michael Allen was signed from Middlesbrough for an £8,000 fee in October and proved to be a vital cog in the midfield. The team owed much of its success to prolific goalscoring from John O'Mara, with the centre forward reaching 20 goals for the season after a 6–2 thrashing of Darlington on 8 January 1972, a result which made Brentford the top scorers in the Football League and was also notable for a 13-minute hattrick from John Docherty.

After another blip caused by the suspension of John O'Mara for five weeks dropped Brentford out of the promotion places,^[3] the team was buoyed by the loan signing of winger Stewart Houston and entered the final five weeks of the season strongly, winning five matches in a row in March. Two draws and a defeat over Easter threatened to drop the Bees out of the promotion places, but four successive wins meant that automatic promotion was assured with two matches to play, when captain Bobby Ross' penalty was enough to beat Exeter City at Griffin Park on 22 April. Despite going top of the Fourth Division after victory over Barrow in the following match, a 3–0 defeat away to Workington in the final match of the season dropped the Bees to a 3rd-place finish.

Two club records were set during the season:

Most clean sheets in a Football League season: 22 – Gordon Phillips^[4]
Fewest players used in a Football League season: 14^[5]

Brentford finished top of the Fourth Division charts in the following statistical categories:

Best away record^[6]
Highest overall goal difference
Highest away goal difference
Highest average attendance^[7]

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

Pre-season and friendlies

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorer(s)
31 July 1971	Southampton	H	1–3	Untraced (og)
4 August 1971	Hillingdon Borough	A	2–1	O'Mara, Scales
7 August 1971	Oxford United	H	2–4	O'Mara, Cross
2 May 1972	Guernsey XI	A	6–0	O'Mara (4), Houston, Bence
4 May 1972	Guernsey XI	A	7–1	O'Mara (2), Houston (2), Ross, Graham, Docherty
9 May 1972	Wimbledon	A	2–2	Docherty, Graham

Football League Fourth Division

No.	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1	14 August 1971	Bury	A	2–0	2,957	Gelson, Tom
2	21 August 1971	Aldershot	H	1–1	8,920	Turner
3	28 August 1971	Darlington	A	0–0	2,514
4	30 August 1971	Barrow	H	4–0	8,866	O'Mara, Cross, Turner, Ross
5	4 September 1971	Hartlepool	H	6–0	8,712	Turner (2), O'Mara (3), Cross
6	11 September 1971	Grimsby Town	A	1–3	11,683	O'Mara
7	18 September 1971	Peterborough United	H	5–1	8,770	Neilson, Graham, Docherty, O'Mara, Ross
8	25 September 1971	Chester	A	0–0	4,088
9	27 September 1971	Stockport County	H	2–0	10,445	Ross (2)
10	2 October 1971	Northampton Town	H	6–1	11,004	Gelson, Docherty, O'Mara (3), Neilson
11	8 October 1971	Southport	A	0–0	5,371
12	16 October 1971	Bury	H	2–0	9,851	O'Mara, Graham
13	20 October 1971	Reading	A	1–2	10,473	O'Mara
14	23 October 1971	Southend United	H	1–2	14,001	O'Mara
15	30 October 1971	Scunthorpe United	A	0–0	6,121
16	6 November 1971	Newport County	H	3–1	10,484	Docherty, Ross (2, 1 pen)
17	13 November 1971	Colchester United	A	1–1	6,898	O'Mara
18	27 November 1971	Gillingham	H	1–3	10,945	Ross
19	4 December 1971	Exeter City	A	1–0	3,809	O'Mara
20	11 December 1971	Southport	H	1–0	9,624	Peat (og)
21	18 December 1971	Hartlepool	A	2–1	2,199	Allen (2)
22	27 December 1971	Crewe Alexandra	H	1–0	18,237	O'Mara
23	1 January 1972	Peterborough United	A	2–2	7,027	O'Mara (2)
24	8 January 1972	Darlington	H	6–2	10,582	Ross (pen), O'Mara (2), Docherty (3)
25	15 January 1972	Lincoln City	A	1–4	7,552	O'Mara
26	25 January 1972	Stockport County	A	1–0	3,247	Ross
27	29 January 1972	Reading	H	1–2	12,144	Docherty
28	5 February 1972	Cambridge United	A	1–1	6,861	Graham
29	12 February 1972	Southend United	A	1–3	9,841	Ross (pen)
30	19 February 1972	Scunthorpe United	H	0–3	11,912
31	26 February 1972	Newport County	A	0–0	3,271
32	4 March 1972	Colchester United	H	0–2	9,210
33	13 March 1972	Lincoln City	H	2–0	12,065	O'Mara, Scales
34	18 March 1972	Aldershot	A	2–1	6,989	O'Mara, Ross
35	21 March 1972	Doncaster Rovers	A	3–0	5,256	Graham (2), Ross
36	25 March 1972	Grimsby Town	H	2–0	14,635	Docherty, O'Mara
37	27 March 1972	Workington	H	2–0	13,972	Docherty, Houston
38	31 March 1972	Chester	H	1–1	18,521	Docherty
39	1 April 1972	Crewe Alexandra	A	1–2	2,072	Docherty
40	3 April 1972	Northampton Town	A	0–0	5,314
41	8 April 1972	Cambridge United	H	2–1	9,061	Docherty, Graham
42	15 April 1972	Gillingham	A	1–0	5,819	Docherty
43	17 April 1972	Doncaster Rovers	H	2–1	13,484	O'Mara (2)
44	22 April 1972	Exeter City	H	1–0	14,540	Ross (pen)
45	24 April 1972	Barrow	A	3–0	2,646	Houston, Allen, Graham
46	29 April 1972	Workington	A	0–3	1,751

FA Cup

See main article: 1971–72 FA Cup.

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1R	20 November 1971	Swansea City	A	1–1	7,915	O'Mara
1R (replay)	22 November 1971	Swansea City	H	2–3	15,000	Ross, O'Mara

Football League Cup

See main article: 1971–72 Football League Cup.

Sources: 100 Years of Brentford, The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies,^[8] ^[9] Statto

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1971–72 season.

Pos.	Name	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Gordon Phillips	August 14, 1971	Hayes	1963
Defenders
DF	Paul Bence	August 14, 1971	Reading	1970
DF	Peter Gelson	August 14, 1971	Youth	1961
DF	Alan Hawley	August 14, 1971	Youth	1962	Loaned to Fulham
DF	Alan Nelmes	August 14, 1971	Chelsea	1967
DF	Terry Scales	August 14, 1971	West Ham United	1971
DF	Steven Tom	August 14, 1971	Queens Park Rangers	1971
Midfielders
MF	Michael Allen	August 14, 1971	Middlesbrough	1971
MF	John Docherty	August 14, 1971	Reading	1970
MF	Jackie Graham	August 14, 1971	Guildford City	1970
MF	Gordon Neilson	August 14, 1971	Arsenal	1968
MF	Brian Turner	August 14, 1971	Portsmouth	1970
Forwards
FW	Stewart Houston	August 14, 1971	Chelsea	1972	On loan from Chelsea
FW	John O'Mara	August 14, 1971	Wimbledon	1971
FW	Bobby Ross (c)	August 14, 1971	Shrewsbury Town	1966
Players who left the club mid-season
FW	Roger Cross	August 14, 1971	West Ham United	1970	Transferred to Fulham
FW	Trevor Dawkins	August 14, 1971	Crystal Palace	1971	Returned to Crystal Palace after loan
FW	Ken Wallace	August 14, 1971	West Ham United	1972	Returned to West Ham United after loan

Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies,^[10] Timeless Bees^[11]

Coaching staff

Name	Role
Frank Blunstone	Manager
Eddie Lyons	Trainer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Substitute appearances in brackets.

Pos	Nat	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
Pos	Nat	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		Gordon Phillips	46	0	2	0	1	0	49	0
DF		Paul Bence	32 (2)	0	2	0	1	0	35 (2)	0
DF		Peter Gelson	36 (1)	2	0	0	1	0	37 (1)	2
DF		Alan Hawley	20	0	0	0	0	0	20	0
DF		Alan Nelmes	46	0	2	0	1	0	49	0
DF		Terry Scales	43	1	2	0	1	0	46	1
DF		Steven Tom	13 (5)	1	2	0	1	0	16 (5)	1
MF		Michael Allen	29 (1)	3	2	0	—		31 (1)	3
MF		John Docherty	44	13	2	0	0	0	46	13
MF		Jackie Graham	45	7	2	0	1	0	48	7
MF		Gordon Neilson	8 (4)	2	0	0	0 (1)	0	8 (5)	2
MF		Brian Turner	34 (1)	4	2	0	1	0	37 (1)	4
FW		Roger Cross	5	2	—		1	0	6	2
FW		John O'Mara	40	25	2	2	1	0	43	27
FW		Bobby Ross	44 (1)	13	2	1	1	1	47 (1)	15
Players loaned in during the season
FW		Trevor Dawkins	3 (1)	0	—		—		3 (1)	0
FW		Stewart Houston	15	2	—		—		15	2
FW		Ken Wallace	3	0	—		—		3	0

Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years of Brentford^[12]

Goalscorers

Pos.	Player	FL4	FAC	FLC	Total
FW	John O'Mara	25	2	0	27
FW	Bobby Ross	13	1	1	15
MF	John Docherty	13	0	0	13
MF	Jackie Graham	7	0	0	7
MF	Brian Turner	4	0	0	4
MF	Michael Allen	3	0	—	3
FW	Stewart Houston	2	—	—	2
FW	Roger Cross	2	—	0	2
DF	Peter Gelson	2	0	0	2
MF	Gordon Neilson	2	0	0	2
DF	Terry Scales	1	0	0	1
DF	Steven Tom	1	0	0	1
Opponents		1	0	0	1
Total		76	3	1	80

Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years of Brentford

Summary

Games played	49 (46 Fourth Division, 2 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Games won	24 (24 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Games drawn	12 (11 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Games lost	13 (11 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals scored	80 (76 Fourth Division, 3 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals conceded	51 (44 Fourth Division, 4 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
Clean sheets	22 (22 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Biggest league win	6–0 versus Hartlepool, 4 September 1971
Worst league defeat	3–0 on two occasions; 4–1 versus Lincoln City, 15 January 1972
Most appearances	49, Alan Nelmes, Gordon Phillips (46 Fourth Division, 2 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Top scorer (league)	25, John O'Mara
Top scorer (all competitions)	27, John O'Mara

Transfers & loans

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Fee	Ref.
June 1971	DF	Steven Tom	Crystal Palace	Free	^[13]
July 1971	DF	Terry Scales	West Ham United	Free
October 1971	MF	Michael Allen	Middlesbrough	£8,000
Players loaned in
Date from	Pos.	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
September 1971	FW	Trevor Dawkins	Crystal Palace	October 1971
February 1972	FW	Ken Wallace	West Ham United	March 1972
March 1972	FW	Stewart Houston	Chelsea	End of season
Players transferred out
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Fee	Ref.
September 1971	FW	Roger Cross	Fulham	£30,000
Players loaned out
Date from	Pos.	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
September 1971	MF	Alan Hawley	Fulham	October 1971
Players released
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
May 1972	MF	Gordon Neilson	Hillingdon Borough	1972
May 1972	DF	Steven Tom	Barnet	1972
May 1972	MF	Brian Turner	Mount Wellington	1972

Awards

Supporters' Player of the Year: John O'Mara^[14]
Players' Player of the Year: Jackie Graham
Gallaghers Divisional Footballer of the Year: John O'Mara^[15]
Football League Fourth Division Manager of the Month: Frank Blunstone (September 1971, March 1972)

Notes and References

White, p. 284-287.
Web site: Brentford results for the 1971–1972 season . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20161109085543/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/brentford/1971-1972/results . 9 November 2016 . 25 August 2016 . Statto.com.
Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 34.
Book: Haynes, Graham . A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia . 1998 . Yore Publications . 1 874427 57 7 . 30.
Haynes & Coumbe, p. 179.
Web site: Brentford Home Page for the 1971–1972 season . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20161220033454/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/brentford/1971-1972 . 20 December 2016 . 3 December 2016 . Statto.com.
Haynes, p. 13.
Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 36-48.
Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 300.
Book: Croxford, Mark . The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies . Lane . David . Waterman . Greville . Legends Publishing . 2011 . 978-1906796709 . Sunbury, Middlesex.
Book: Haynes, Graham . Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 . Coumbe . Frank . Yore Publications . 2006 . 978-0955294914.
Book: 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC . 1989 . 0951526200 . White . Eric . 391.
Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 50-53.
Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 295.
Haynes & Coumbe, p. 118.