Brentford F.C.

Brentford

Full name	Brentford Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Bees
Founded	1889
Ground	Griffin Park Brentford, London (Capacity: 12,763)
Owner	Bees United Supporters' Trust
Chairman	Greg Dyke
Manager	Andy Scott
League	League One
2009–10	League One, 9th
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One.

They were founded in 1889 and play their home games at Griffin Park, their home stadium since 1904. Brentford's most successful spell came during the 1930s, when they achieved consecutive top six finishes in the First Division. Since the War, they have spent most of their time in the third and fourth tiers of English football. Brentford have been FA Cup quarter-finalists on four occasions, and have twice been Football League Trophy runners-up.

History

Foundation to 1939

Founded in 1889 to serve as a winter pursuit for the Brentford Rowing Club, the club spent its early years in the lower divisions of the Football League and achieved little of note, save for a move to its present day home ground, Griffin Park, in 1904. In 1920, it was a founder member of the Third Division South. During the late 1920s and 1930s, the club began to make real progress. In the 1929-30 season, the side won all 21 of its home matches in the Third Division South, but still missed out on promotion. They are the last of six teams in English football to amass a perfect home record, and the only one to do so over a season of 42 matches or more. After several more near-misses, promotion to the Second Division was finally achieved in 1932-33. Two years later, Brentford reached the First Division and finished 5th in its debut season - which is still the club's highest ever league position - to complete a remarkable rise for the club. Brentford achieved more impressive placings in the league for the rest of the decade (6th in the following two seasons) before the Second World War interrupted.

1945-1989

League positions since the 1920-21 season.
Note - Dotted horizontal lines indicate league divisions.
Note - From 1920-1958 the 3rd tier was split into North and South divisions, graph indicates Brentford's position in the South division

During the war, Brentford competed in the London War Cup, losing in the 1941 final at Wembley Stadium to Reading and winning in the final against Portsmouth a year later. The club was relegated in the first season after the War, and a downward spiral set in, which culminated in relegation to the Third Division in 1953-54 and the Fourth Division in 1961-62. The survival of Brentford FC was threatened by a projected takeover by Queens Park Rangers in the late 1960s - a bid that was only narrowly averted with an emergency loan of £104,000 - while the club continued to yo-yo between the third and fourth divisions during the next three decades. The club won promotion in 1962-63, 1971-72 and 1977-78 but only on the final occasion was it able to consolidate its place in English football's third tier. Other bright spots in this period included reaching the final of the Freight Rover Trophy at Wembley in 1985, where it lost to Wigan, and a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals in 1989 which included wins over three higher-division sides and was only ended by the reigning league champions Liverpool.

1990 to present

After a 45-year absence, Brentford were promoted back to the Second Division (renamed the First Division with the advent of the Premier League in 1992) in the 1991-92 season as Third Division champions, though they were relegated again the following year.

There followed several seasons of the club narrowly missing out on promotion. Former Chelsea FA Cup hero David Webb was appointed manager in 1993 and twice led the side into the play-offs. In 1996-97 he led them to the play-off final at Wembley, but the side were beaten by Crewe Alexandra. The club were then relegated to the Third Division (by then the bottom division of the Football League) the following year. Brentford won promotion as champions again in 1998-99 under manager and chairman Ron Noades.

The club suffered more promotion agony in 2002 under manager Steve Coppell as they lost out to Stoke City in the play-off final having been just minutes away from automatic promotion on the final day of the season, and again under manager Martin Allen in 2004-05, on that occasion losing 3-1 on aggregate to Sheffield Wednesday in the semi-finals after finishing 4th in League One.

Former BBC Director-General and Bees fan Greg Dyke was announced as chairman of Brentford on 20 January 2006 as part of the takeover by Bees United, the Brentford Supporters Trust. On 28 January 2006, Brentford beat Premier League strugglers Sunderland 2-1 in the 4th Round of the FA Cup, but lost 3-1 to another Premier League club Charlton Athletic in the 5th Round. Brentford finished 3rd in the league and lost to Swansea City in the play-off semi-final.

On 30 May 2006 Allen announced his resignation as manager of Brentford^[1] and the club named Leroy Rosenior as his successor on 14 June 2006. On 18 November 2006, following a run of 16 matches without a win - leaving the side in the relegation zone - Rosenior was sacked as manager, after the team lost 4-0 at home to Crewe. Following Rosenior's departure, youth team coach Scott Fitzgerald was appointed manager on a full-time basis on 21 December 2006 with Alan Reeves acting as his assistant.^[2] Fitzgerald was unable to turn around the club's fortunes, and Brentford were relegated to Football League Two - English Football's 4th tier - in April 2007. Fitzgerald left the day following confirmation of Brentford's relegation, with youth team manager Barry Quin due to act as caretaker in the managerial role until the end of the season.^[3]

Ex-England captain Terry Butcher was appointed as manager on 24 April 2007. Butcher's assistant was former Brentford winger Andy Scott, who was appointed on 9 May 2007. Butcher's reign at Griffin Park was, however, not a successful one, and his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 11 December 2007^[4], after winning just 5 matches in 23. Butcher's assistant Andy Scott was appointed as manager on 4 January 2008 following a successful caretaker spell. (Scott's assistant is the experienced coach Terry Bullivant).

On 25 April 2009 Brentford sealed the Coca-Cola League Two Championship (English Football's 4th tier) with a 3-1 win at Darlington. The Bees were awarded the Trophy in front of 10,223 fans at Griffin Park on May 2. They were the second team (after Doncaster Rovers) to win the fourth tier three times, and the first to win the tier under its three names (Fourth Division, Division Three and League Two).

Scott's excellent first calendar year in charge was recognised with an award, the BBC London 'Manager of the Year 2008'. Scott was also awarded the 'Coca Cola League Two Manager of the Month' award for April/May 2009, which recognised the above title was won in difficult circumstances; with 4 strikers hospitalised in 8 games.

During the 2008-09 campaign, three players also picked up awards:

• Marcus Bean — 'Powerade Player of the Month' for League Two December 2008
• Charlie MacDonald — 'Powerade Player of the Month' for League Two February 2009
• Jordan Rhodes — League Two 'PFA Fans' Player of the Season 2009' and League Two 'PFA Fans' Player of the Month' March 2009.

2009-10: A total of 13 new players were bought in, mostly on free transfers.

On 5 August 2009, the amalgamation of fans' groups which help run the club - Bees United - announced they had ".. negotiated terms with Matthew Benham that will enable BU to continue in its role of ensuring the club is governed well, of protecting the long term interests of Brentford Football Club, and of giving you, our members, the right of veto over any unreasonable sale of the ground in which Brentford plays, so long as Brentford FC remains solvent".

The 2009-10 season was regarded as great success, with Brentford finishing 9th in Coca Cola League One. A shaky start led to changes in personnel, notably loanees from Arsenal (Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny) and Tottenham Hotspur (winger John Bostock). While the other promoted teams struggled, Brentford thrived, thanks to excellent home form, (Brentford have only lost four home league games in two years) and some impressive displays against the richer clubs in the division (e.g. Leeds United, Norwich City, Southampton & Huddersfield Town). A new CEO was appointed, Andrew Mills.

Grounds

Griffin Park

Brentford have played at Griffin Park since 1904. The ground is unique in British football in that there is a pub in each corner of Griffin Park, Royal Oak, New Inn, The Griffin - which was used in the film Green Street - and The Princess Royal which is owned by the club.

In 2007 The Ealing Road end of the ground has had a roof installed after a grant by the Football Trust and makes all 4 stands of the ground covered. The Ealing Road remains a terrace but has been "given back" to home supporters and was re-opened for the first game of the season of the 2007/08 season on Saturday 11 August 2007 against Mansfield Town (4,909 watched the game).

The dug-outs will be switched from the Braemar Road side of the ground to the Bill Axbey side for the 2010/11 season.

The Braemar Road stand will be renamed the Bees United stand for the 2010/11 season. The stand opposite is called The Bill Axbey stand. The away fans' end is known to Brentford fans as 'The Wendy House'.

A fan's guide to Griffin Park can be found at Duncan Adams's website. www.footballgroundguide.co.uk

Lionel Road

Brentford, with the aim of securing a more financially sustainable future, have been considering relocation since 2002. Plans were announced in October 2002 for a new 20,000 capacity stadium at a state-of-the-art arena complex in Lionel Road, Brentford. It was announced on 7 December 2007 that the club had secured an option to purchase the site - a major breakthrough in the club's plans to relocate.^[5]

The new stadium moved another step closer on 22 February 2008 when it was announced that Brentford's development partner, Barratt Homes, had acquired a 7.6 acre regeneration site in Lionel Road, Brentford.^[6] Following this news, it was anticipated that the stadium would be completed in time for the 2012/13 season, and be used as a training venue for teams participating in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. However, due to the on-going economic downturn and fall in property prices, the club and Barratt Homes admitted in early 2009 that this date would no longer be feasible.

Current squad

As of 13th August 2010

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Richard Lee 2 MF Kevin O'Connor (captain) 3 DF Craig Woodman 4 MF Marcus Bean 5 DF David McCracken 6 DF Pim Balkestein 7 MF Sam Saunders 8 FW Nicky Forster 9 FW Carl Cort 10 FW Charlie MacDonald 11 MF Myles Weston 12 DF Michael Spillane

No. Position Player 13 MF David Hunt 14 FW Kirk Hudson 16 MF Sam Wood 17 DF Ryan Blake 20 MF Toumani Diagouraga 21 GK Simon Royce 22 DF Karleigh Osborne 23 FW Robbie Simpson (on loan from Huddersfield Town) 29 FW Gary Alexander 31 GK Simon Moore 32 DF Leon Legge 41 GK Alex McCarthy (on loan from Reading)

Coaching staff

As of 1 July 2010

Name	Role
Andy Scott	Manager
Terry Bullivant	Assistant Manager
Simon Royce	Goalkeeping Coach
Michael Preston	Physiotherapist
Alisdair Lane	Fitness Coach
Ose Aibangee	Director of Youth Development
Darren Sarll	Reserve & Youth Team Manager
David Carter	Kit Man / Chef

Managers

As of 5 April 2010. Only competitive matches are counted.

Name	Nat	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	Win %
William Lewis		August 1900	May 1903
Dick Molyneux		August 1903	May 1906
W G Brown		August 1906	May 1908
Fred Halliday		August 1908	May 1912
Ephraim Rhodes		August 1912	May 1915
Fred Halliday		August 1915	August 1921
Archie Mitchell		August 1921	December 1922	60	22	13	25	37
Fred Halliday		December 1924	May 1926	68	22	12	34	32
Harry Curtis		May 1926	February 1949	705	305	157	243	43
Jackie Gibbons		February 1949	August 1952	150	53	40	57	35
Jimmy Bain		August 1952	January 1953	23	7	5	11	30
Tommy Lawton		January 1953	September 1953	33	8	10	15	24
Bill Dodgin, Sr.		October 1953	May 1957	182	65	57	60	36
Malcolm MacDonald		May 1957	January 1965	379	160	94	125	42
Tommy Cavanagh		January 1965	March 1966	46	16	10	20	35
Billy Gray		1 August 1966	30 August 1967	48	19	13	16	40
Jimmy Sirrel		1 September 1967	30 November 1969	111	45	26	40	41
Frank Blunstone		1 December 1969	11 July 1973	164	67	35	62	41
Mike Everitt		1 September 1973	15 January 1975	70	21	22	27	30
John Docherty		20 January 1975	7 September 1976	69	23	20	26	33
Bill Dodgin, Jr.		16 September 1976	1 April 1980	166	71	35	60	43
Fred Callaghan		1 April 1980	2 February 1984	176	59	52	65	32
Frank Blunstone		2 February 1984	9 February 1984	1	0	0	1	0
Frank McLintock		9 February 1984	1 January 1987	151	51	43	57	34
Steve Perryman		1 January 1987	15 August 1990	182	71	48	63	39
Phil Holder		24 August 1990	11 May 1993	158	66	33	59	41
David Webb		17 May 1993	4 August 1997	216	85	65	66	39
Eddie May		5 August 1997	5 November 1997	20	5	5	10	25
Micky Adams		5 November 1997	1 July 1998	33	7	15	11	21
Ron Noades		1 July 1998	20 November 2000	130	51	33	46	39
Ray Lewington		20 November 2000	7 May 2001	37	14	11	12	38
Steve Coppell		8 May 2001	5 June 2002	54	27	12	15	50
Wally Downes		28 June 2002	14 March 2004	97	29	22	46	30
Garry Thompson[7]		14 March 2004	18 March 2004	1	0	1	0	0
Martin Allen		18 March 2004	30 May 2006	124	54	36	34	44
Leroy Rosenior		14 June 2006	18 November 2006	23	3	10	10	13
Scott Fitzgerald[8]		18 November 2006	9 April 2007	24	4	5	15	17
Barry Quin[7]		9 April 2007	7 May 2007	4	1	0	3	25
Terry Butcher		7 May 2007	11 December 2007	23	5	5	13	22
Andy Scott[8]		11 December 2007	Present	130	52	43	35	40

See also:Category:Brentford F.C. managers - a list of all Brentford F.C. managers with a Wikipedia article

Players with most appearances

as at 8 May 2010

Name	Appearances in League and Cup	Career at Brentford
Ken Coote	559 (514 lge 35 FAC 10 LC)	1949–1964
Jamie Bates	524 (419 lge 21 FAC 40 LC 44 Other)	1986–1999
Peter Gelson	516 (471 lge 28 FAC 17 LC)	1960–1975
Tommy Higginson	433 (388 lge 27 FAC 18 LC)	1959–1970
Jackie Graham	409 (374 lge 21 FAC 14 LC)	1970–1980
Kevin O'Connor	401 (344 lge 27 FAC 11 LC 19 other)	2000–Present
Keith Millen	379 (305 lge 18 FAC 26 LC 30 other)	1984–1992
Gerry Cakebread	374 (348 lge 20 FAC 6 LC)	1955–1964
Danis Salman	371 (325 lge 17 FAC 19 LC 10 other)	1975–1986
Alan Nelmes	350 (316 lge 19 FAC 15 LC)	1967–1976

Highest goalscorers

as at 1 October 2009

Name	Goal Scorers in League and Cup	Career at Brentford
Jim Towers	163 (153 lge 9 FAC 1 LC)	1951–1961
George Francis	136 (124 lge 12 FAC)	1953–1962
Jack Holliday	122 (119 lge 3 FAC)	1932–1939
Gary Blissett	105 (79 lge 7 FAC 9 LC 10 other)	1987–1993
Dave McCulloch	90 (85 lge 5 FAC)	1935–1938
Bill Lane	89 (79 lge 10 FAC)	1929–1932
Billy Scott	88 (83 lge 3 FAC)	1932–1947
Lloyd Owusu	87 (76 lge 4 FAC 3 LC 4 other)	1998–2002; 2005-2007
Jack Lane	86 (74 lge 12 FAC)	1925–1931
Idris Hopkins	80 (77 lge 3 FAC)	1932–1947

Capped international players

The following players earned international caps whilst playing for Brentford (number of caps awarded whilst at Brentford FC in brackets, if known and confirmed):

Full International

U-21 International

Youth International

Schoolboy International

England

• Paul Walker

Amateur Internationals to have played whilst at Brentford FC are:

Martin Woosnam, Kevin O'Flanagan, Jackie Burns, Alec Barclay, Vivian Gibbins, T.H. Robinson, Maurice Edelston, A.H. Gibbons, Bill Slater

Victory International (Matches played soon after WWI)

England

• Patsy Hendren (1)

War Time International (Matches played from 1939–1945)

Honours

• Football League First Division
  • Best finish: 5th - 1935/36

• Football League Second Division
  • Champions: 1934/35

• Football League Third Division
  • Champions: 1932/33 (South), 1991/92, 1998/99

• Football League Fourth Division
  • Champions: 1962/63, 2008/09

• FA Cup
  • Best performance: Sixth Round/Quarter-Final - 1937/38, 1945/46, 1948/49, 1988/89

• Football League Cup
  • Best performance: Fourth Round - 1982/83

• Football League Trophy
  • Best performance: Finalists - 1984/85, 2000/01

• London War Cup
  • Winners: 1941/42

Rivalry

Brentford’s main rivals are Fulham and Queens Park Rangers.

In recent years, Brentford's main rivals have been Queens Park Rangers. The two clubs competed regularly up until the 1965/66 season, when Brentford were relegated from the Third Division. It was not until the 2001/02 season that the two clubs competed again. The rivalry intensified in 1967, when Queens Park Rangers failed in a controversial attempt to buy Brentford and amalgamate the two clubs together. The last competitive match between the two clubs took place at Griffin Park on 14 February 2004; Brentford 1-1 Queens Park Rangers (in what is now League 1).

Brentford also have a long standing rivalry with Fulham. The two clubs competed regularly up until Fulham were bought by Egyptian millionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed during the summer of 1997. The last competitive match between the two clubs took place at Griffin Park on 11 April 1998; Brentford 0-2 Fulham (in what is now League 1).

Mascot

Brentford's mascot is named Buzz Bee.

Club songs

Brentford's club song is "Hey Jude" by The Beatles. This is played at every home game and sung by the Brentford supporters throughout the game. In 1993 the band One Touch To Go recorded the song Red On White for the team. The track can be found on the album Greatest Hiss 1983/1999. The song has been played at the ground till at least 2002. In 2001 Status Quo bassist John 'Rhino' Edwards recorded a track called Brentford's Big Day Out after the Bees reached the final of the LDV Trophy at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. Lloyd Owusu, on his short comeback to Brentford recorded a track about himself and his connections with the club. Surprisingly, this spent a short while being downloaded rapidly off music websites. The track's main word is Owusu as during his time at the club Lloyd was a fan favourite and whenever his name was read out the fans shouted back his surname as well as raised their hands. This referred to how he liked to 'raise the roof'.

Celebrity connections

Celebrity supporters include:

• Comedian Dominic Holland
• Ex-Eastenders actor Dean Gaffney
• Hollywood actor Jim Carrey
• Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz^[9]
• Sky Sports News presenter Natalie Sawyer
• Hard-Fi leads singer/guitarist Richard Archer
• The Bluetones guitarist Adam Devlin
• Status Quo bassist John 'Rhino' Edwards
• Author Robert Rankin
• The Who guitarist Pete Townshend
• Saint Etienne singer Sarah Cracknell^[10]

Actor and comedian, Bradley Walsh was a professional at the club in the late 1970s but never made the first team squad.

Late Jazz Band Leader, Billy Cotton, who hosted the long-running Billy Cotton's Band Show on Radio and TV, played for Brentford as an amateur in his youth.

Singer/pop icon Rod Stewart is often reported to be a former player, but this is believed to be a myth. Stewart admitted to not have been signed by Brentford in a 1995 issue of Q Magazine, but possibly had trials in 1961 and left before being offered any 'deal' to stay on.

Club records

• Record Victory: 9-0 v Wrexham, Division 3, 15 October 1963
• Record Defeat: 0-7 on three occasions, most recently v Peterborough United, Coca Cola League Two, 24 November 2007
• Most League Points (2 for a win): 62, Division Three South, 1932–33
• Most League Points (3 for a win): 85, Division 2, 1994-95 & Division 3, 1998–99, League 2 2008-09
• Most League Goals Scored in a season: 98, Division 4, 1962–63
• Most League Goals Conceded in a season: 94, Division Three South, 1925–26
• Highest League Scorer in a season: Jack Holliday, 39, 1932–33
• Most League Goals in Total Aggregate: Jim Towers, 153, 1954–1961
• Most Capped Player: John Buttigieg, gained 22 caps whilst at Brentford for Malta (awarded 97 full caps in total for Malta)
• Most League Appearances: Ken Coote, 514, 1949–1964
• Record Transfer Fee Received: £2,500,000 from Wimbledon for Hermann Hreiðarsson, October 1999
• Record Transfer Fee Paid: £750,000 to Crystal Palace for Hermann Hreiðarsson, September 1998
• Highest home attendance: 38,678 v Leicester City, 26 February 1949
• Most league games without a defeat: 26, 20 February 1999 to 16 October 1999
• Most league games without a win: 18, 9 September 2006 to 26 December 2006

See also

• List of Fan Owned Teams

References

External links

• Brentford FC - the club's website
• Bees United - The Brentford Supporters' Trust and owners of the majority of shares in BFC
• BIAS - Brentford Independent Association of Supporters
• The Griffin Park Grapevine - The Griffin Park Grapevine, the "Communication Never Centre" of BFC
• "In The Blood" Documentary - Independent film chronicling the fight over the future of Brentford FC
• Brentford on BBC Sport: Club News – Recent results – Upcoming fixtures – Club stats