1901–02 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1901–02 English football season, Brentford competed in the Southern League First Division. After a torrid season, the Bees were spared relegation after Second Division club Grays United forfeited promotion at the end of the campaign.

Brentford
1901–02 season
ChairmanCharlie Dorey
StadiumYork Road
Southern League First Division15th
FA CupFourth qualifying round
Top goalscorerLeague: Shanks (9)
All: Shanks (11)

Season summary

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Wing half Bill Regan joined Brentford during the 1901 off-season.

Despite having won election to the Southern League First Division in July 1901, the Brentford committee did not rest on its laurels and quickly realised that the team which finished top of the Second Division during the previous season needed drastic improvement if the club was to retain its First Division status.[1] Almost a whole new XI was signed, which included goalkeeper Tommy Spicer, full back David Robson, half backs Bill Regan, Robert Stormont, Charlie McEleny and three new forwards.[1] Half back Ralph McElhaney and forwards E. Andrews, Roddy McLeod and Peter Turnbull, all lynchpins of the promotion team, would play a part in the upcoming season.[2] In late August, the club was registered as a limited liability company.[1]

Brentford began the season in poor form and it took the signings of forwards Tommy Shanks, Paddy Logan and Tom Grieve to inspire the team to its first league victory of the campaign on 9 November 1901.[1] The result inspired three wins and three draws from a seven-match spell through to January 1902, but the team soon regained the habit of losing.[2] Despite the loss of captain Robert Stormont due to an FA suspension and injury problems in February, Brentford struggled on until mid-April and with two matches to go, were level on points with fellow promotion-relegation test match contenders Watford, New Brompton and Wellingborough near the bottom of the First Division.[1] The Bees closed out the season with 7–1 and 3–0 defeats to Portsmouth and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, the top two sides in the First Division.[2] Brentford's 15th-place finish led to a promotion-relegation test match with Grays United, in which the Second Division side forfeited promotion by refusing to play extra time while the score was at 1–1, which preserved the Bees' First Division status.[1]

One club record was set during the season:

  • Least Southern League away wins in a season: 0[3]

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification
12 Queens Park Rangers 30 9 6 15 34 55 0.618 24
13 Watford 30 9 4 17 36 58 0.621 22
14 Wellingborough 30 9 3 18 34 72 0.472 21
15 Brentford 30 7 6 17 34 61 0.557 20 Relegation test matches
16 Swindon Town 30 2 3 25 17 92 0.185 7
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.

Results

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Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Southern League First Division

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No. Date Opponent Venue Result Scorer(s)
1 7 September 1901 Swindon Town A 0–0
2 14 September 1901 West Ham United A 0–2
3 21 September 1901 Kettering A 1–3 McLeod
4 28 September 1901 Luton Town H 0–1
5 5 October 1901 Millwall Athletic A 1–4 McSwan
6 12 October 1901 Queens Park Rangers H 1–1 Turnbull
7 19 October 1901 Reading A 0–2
8 26 October 1901 Southampton A 0–1
9 9 November 1901 New Brompton H 3–2 McElhaney, Shanks, Logan
10 30 November 1901 Wellingborough A 1–3 Crump
11 7 December 1901 Wellingborough H 3–0 Shanks, Andrews, McEleny
12 14 December 1901 Southampton H 1–1 Regan
13 21 December 1901 Swindon Town H 2–0 Stormont, Andrews
14 4 January 1902 Kettering H 1–1 Shanks
15 11 January 1902 Luton Town A 1–1 Regan
16 18 January 1902 Millwall Athletic H 0–2
17 25 January 1902 Queens Park Rangers A 2–3 Parkinson, Shanks
18 1 February 1902 Reading H 0–1
19 15 February 1902 Bristol Rovers H 2–0 Shanks, Jury
20 22 February 1902 New Brompton A 0–2
21 1 March 1902 Northampton Town H 4–2 Jury, Shanks, Grieve, Regan
22 3 March 1902 West Ham United H 0–2
23 8 March 1902 Watford A 1–2 Regan (pen)
24 15 March 1902 Tottenham Hotspur H 2–1 Logan, Shanks
25 28 March 1902 Bristol Rovers A 0–5
26 29 March 1902 Portsmouth H 1–4 Andrews
27 1 April 1902 Northampton Town A 2–2 Logan, Shanks
28 12 April 1902 Watford H 4–3 Shanks, Logan, Andrews, Regan (pen)
29 19 April 1902 Portsmouth A 1–7 Jury
30 26 April 1902 Tottenham Hotspur A 0–3

Southern League Test Match

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Date Opponent Venue Result Scorer Notes
28 April 1902 Grays United N 1–1 Andrews [nb 1]

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Scorer(s)
3QR 2 November 1901 Marlow A 3–0 McLeod (pen), Broughton, McElhaney
4QR 23 November 1901 Shepherd's Bush H 2–3 Shanks, Turnbull
  • Source: 100 Years of Brentford[2]

Playing squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   ENG Billy Green
GK   ENG Tommy Spicer
DF   SCO Harry Gilmour
DF   ENG Alfred Mattocks
DF   SCO Ralph McElhaney
DF   SCO David Robson
DF   SCO A. Wylie
MF   ENG Harry Crump
MF   ENG William Hainsworth
MF   EIR Charlie McEleny
MF   ENG Bill Regan
MF   SCO Robert Stormont (c)
FW   ENG E. Andrews
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW   ENG Frederick Broughton
FW   SCO Tom Grieve
FW   ENG Harry Harris
FW   ENG Horace Jury
FW   SCO Paddy Logan
FW   SCO Roddy McLeod
FW   SCO Ranald McSwan
FW   ENG John Parkinson
FW   EIR Tommy Shanks
FW   ENG Henry Spawton
FW   ENG Henry Squires
FW   ENG Joe Turner

Left club during season

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   ENG Thomas Briddon (to Ilkeston Town)
FW   ENG Francis Dexter (to Pinxton)
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW   SCO Peter Turnbull (to Barrow)
  • Source: 100 Years of Brentford,[2] The Football Association[4]

Coaching staff

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Name Role
  Tom King Trainer

Statistics

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Appearances

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Gilmour
Robson
Jury
Andrews
Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Southern League season.

Goalscorers

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Pos. Nat Player SL1 FAC TM Total
FW   Tommy Shanks 9 2 0 11
HB   Bill Regan 5 0 0 5
FW   E. Andrews 4 0 1 5
FW   Paddy Logan 4 0 0 4
FW   Horace Jury 3 0 0 3
FW   Peter Turnbull 1 2 0 3
DF   Ralph McElhaney 1 1 0 2
FW   Roddy McLeod 1 1 0 2
HB   Harry Crump 1 0 0 1
FW   Tom Grieve 1 0 0 1
HB   Charlie McEleny 1 0 0 1
FW   Ranald McSwan 1 0 0 1
FW   John Parkinson 1 0 0 1
HB   Robert Stormont 1 0 0 1
Total 34 6 1 41
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[2]

Management

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Name From To Record All Comps Record League
P W D L W % P W D L W %
Committee 7 September 1901 28 April 1902 33 8 7 18 024.24 30 7 6 17 023.33

Summary

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Games played 33 (30 Southern League First Division, 1 Southern League Test Match, 2 FA Cup)
Games won 8 (7 Southern League First Division, 0 Southern League Test Match, 1 FA Cup)
Games drawn 7 (6 Southern League First Division, 1 Southern League Test Match, 0 FA Cup)
Games lost 18 (17 Southern League First Division, 0 Southern League Test Match, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored 40 (34 Southern League First Division, 1 Southern League Test Match, 5 FA Cup)
Goals conceded 65 (61 Southern League First Division, 1 Southern League Test Match, 3 FA Cup)
Clean sheets 5 (4 Southern League First Division, 0 Southern League Test Match, 1 FA Cup)
Biggest league win 3–0 versus Wellingborough, 7 December 1901
Worst league defeat 7–1 versus Portsmouth, 19 April 1902
Most appearances 29, Charlie McEleny (26 Southern League First Division, 1 Southern League Test Match, 2 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league) 9, Tommy Shanks
Top scorer (all competitions) 10, Tommy Shanks

Notes

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  1. ^ Match played at Memorial Grounds, Canning Town. With the score at 1–1, Grays United forfeited promotion by refusing to play extra time.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f White, p. 76-78.
  2. ^ a b c d e f White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 356. ISBN 0951526200.
  3. ^ Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia. Yore Publications. pp. 117–120. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
  4. ^ "The Football Association – Season 1901–02 – Summary Of Professional Registrations". Sky is Blue – The Chesterfield FC history resource. Retrieved 1 January 2021.