1989–90 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1989–90 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division. After showing relegation form during the first three months of the season, a revival between November 1989 and February 1990 ensured a mid-table finish.

Brentford
1989–90 season
ChairmanMartin Lange
Player-managerSteve Perryman
StadiumGriffin Park
Third Division13th
FA CupFirst round
League CupSecond round
Football League TrophyQuarter-final
Top goalscorerLeague: Holdsworth (24)
All: Holdsworth (28)
Highest home attendance7,962
Lowest home attendance2,544
Average home league attendance5,662

Season summary

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After a long season in which the sheer amount of cup fixtures ultimately affected Brentford's hopes of a finish in the Third Division play-offs, manager Steve Perryman saw fit to make only minor changes to his squad.[1] Released were bit-part players and late-season signings Andy Feeley, Graham Pearce, Jon Purdie, Jeremy Roberts and Tony Sealy and in came just two players – club record £167,000 midfielder Eddie May from Hibernian (as a direct replacement for March 1989 departee Andy Sinton) and left back Mark Fleming on a free transfer from Queens Park Rangers.[1]

Aside from progressing to the second round of the League Cup, Brentford had a torrid start to the Third Division season and dropped into the relegation places on 9 September 1989.[2] Manager Perryman entered the transfer market to bring Watford forward Dean Holdsworth back to Griffin Park, after a one-month loan spell during the previous season.[3] The £125,000 paid for Holdsworth made him the club's most expensive forward at the time.[4] The signing of Holdsworth had little immediate impact and the Bees' slump continued from September into mid-November, when the club occupied bottom place in the division for three weeks in a row.[2] A 2–0 win over Northampton Town at the County Ground on 25 November provided the spark that changed the team's fortunes, with Holdsworth coming into form and inspiring a run of 10 wins and 1 draw from a 13-match spell, which lifted Brentford from 24th to 9th place.[2] The Bees stumbled through to the end of the season and the products of Colin Lee's youth team were given game time.[1] Brentford ended the campaign in 13th place.[2]

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
11 Shrewsbury Town 46 16 15 15 59 54 +5 63
12 Crewe Alexandra 46 15 17 14 56 53 +3 62
13 Brentford 46 18 7 21 66 66 0 61
14 Leyton Orient 46 16 10 20 52 56 −4 58
15 Mansfield Town 46 16 7 23 50 65 −15 55
Source: [citation needed]


Results

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Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Pre-season and friendlies

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s)
19 July 1989 Ashford Town (Middlesex) A 3–0 n/a Haag, Gayle, Cronk
22 July 1989 Farnborough Town A 2–3 n/a Blissett, Cockram
24 July 1989 Crewe United A 1–0 n/a Gayle
29 July 1989 St Albans City A 6–0 n/a Haag (2), Godfrey (2), May, Buttigieg
1 August 1989 Fully A 3–1 n/a Jones (2, 1 pen), Smillie
7 August 1989 Yeading H 2–2 n/a Jenkins, Funnell
9 August 1989 Queens Park Rangers H 1–0 4,667 Gayle
12 August 1989 Wimbledon H 0–1 2,200
14 August 1989 Dartford A 1–2 n/a Moabi
18 October 1989 Hayes A 0–3 n/a
11 May 1990 Sheffield United H 4–2 1,531 Driscoll, Holdsworth, Godfrey, Booker (pen)

Football League Third Division

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No. Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s)
1 19 August 1989 Bristol Rovers A 0–1 5,851
2 26 August 1989 Chester City H 1–1 5,153 Evans
3 2 September 1989 Cardiff City A 2–2 3,499 May (2)
4 9 September 1989 Bury H 0–1 5,010
5 16 September 1989 Huddersfield Town A 0–1 5,578
6 23 September 1989 Birmingham City H 0–1 5,386
7 26 September 1989 Crewe Alexandra A 3–2 3,496 Smillie, Jones, Godfrey
8 30 September 1989 Wigan Athletic H 3–1 4,647 Blissett, Holdsworth, May
9 7 October 1989 Bristol City H 0–2 7,421
10 14 October 1989 Preston North End A 2–4 5,956 May, Holdsworth
11 17 October 1989 Bolton Wanderers H 1–2 4,537 Holdsworth
12 21 October 1989 Shrewsbury Town A 0–1 3,073
13 28 October 1989 Fulham H 2–0 7,962 Evans, Smillie
14 31 October 1989 Notts County A 1–3 4,586 Moncur
15 4 November 1989 Tranmere Rovers H 2–4 5,720 May, Ratcliffe
16 11 November 1989 Blackpool A 0–4 2,512
17 25 November 1989 Northampton Town A 2–0 3,165 May, Holdsworth
18 3 December 1989 Leyton Orient H 4–3 6,434 Smillie, May, Holdsworth (pen), Blissett
19 17 December 1989 Mansfield Town H 2–1 5,022 Holdsworth (2)
20 26 December 1989 Reading A 0–1 5,590
21 30 December 1989 Swansea City A 1–2 4,537 Blissett
22 1 January 1990 Walsall H 4–0 5,259 Blissett, Smillie, Holdsworth, Jones
23 6 January 1990 Rotherham United H 4–2 5,624 Holdsworth (3), Stanislaus
24 12 January 1990 Chester City A 1–1 2,302 Cockram
25 20 January 1990 Bristol Rovers H 2–1 7,414 Ratcliffe, Cadette
26 27 January 1990 Bury A 2–0 2,963 May, Holdsworth
27 10 February 1990 Huddersfield Town H 2–1 6,774 Holdsworth (2)
28 18 February 1990 Leyton Orient A 1–0 6,572 Holdsworth
29 21 February 1990 Cardiff City H 0–1 5,174
30 25 February 1990 Northampton Town H 3–2 6,391 Blissett (2), Holdsworth
31 3 March 1990 Rotherham United A 1–2 5,603 Blissett
32 6 March 1990 Wigan Athletic A 1–2 1,938 Blissett
33 10 March 1990 Crewe Alexandra H 0–2 5,815
34 13 March 1990 Birmingham City A 1–0 8,169 Holdsworth
35 17 March 1990 Bristol City A 0–2 10,813
36 20 March 1990 Preston North End H 2–2 4,673 Holdsworth, Blissett
37 24 March 1990 Bolton Wanderers A 1–0 6,156 Holdsworth
38 31 March 1990 Shrewsbury Town H 1–1 5,387 Smillie
39 7 April 1990 Notts County H 0–1 5,105
40 10 April 1990 Fulham A 0–1 6,729
41 14 April 1990 Walsall A 1–2 2,903 Sparham
42 16 April 1990 Reading H 1–1 5,594 Driscoll
43 21 April 1990 Mansfield Town A 3–2 2,347 Holdsworth (2, 1 pen), Blissett
44 28 April 1990 Blackpool H 5–0 4,784 Evans, Cockram, Holdsworth, Driscoll, Blissett
45 2 May 1990 Swansea City H 2–1 4,950 Holdsworth (2)
46 5 May 1990 Tranmere Rovers A 2–2 5,379 Godfrey, Evans

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance
1R 18 November 1989 Colchester United H 0–1 4,171

Football League Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s)
R1 (1st leg) 23 August 1989 Brighton & Hove Albion A 3–0 6,405 Millen, Godfrey, May
R1 (2nd leg) 29 August 1989 Brighton & Hove Albion H 1–1 (won 4–1 on aggregate) 4,306 Blissett
R2 (2nd leg) 19 September 1989 Manchester City H 2–1 6,065 Evans, Blissett
R2 (1st leg) 4 October 1989 Manchester City A 1–4 (lost 5–3 on aggregate) 17,864 May

Football League Trophy

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer
SPR (match 1) 7 November 1989 Leyton Orient H 3–0 2,544 Holdsworth (2), May
SPR (match 2) 9 December 1989 Mansfield Town A 1–2 1,445 Holdsworth
SR1 23 January 1990 Reading H 2–1 3,928 May, Cadette
SQF 6 February 1990 Bristol Rovers H 2–2 (a.e.t.), lost 4–3 on pens) 4,409 Smillie, Holdsworth
  • Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties,[5][6] Statto

Playing squad

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Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1989–90 season.
Pos. Name Nat. Date of birth (age) Signed from Signed in Notes
Goalkeepers
GK Ashley Bayes   (1972-04-19)19 April 1972 (aged 17) Youth 1990
GK Tony Parks   (1963-01-26)26 January 1963 (aged 26) Tottenham Hotspur 1988
Defenders
DF Jamie Bates   (1968-02-24)24 February 1968 (aged 21) Youth 1986
DF John Buttigieg   (1963-10-05)5 October 1963 (aged 25) Sliema Wanderers 1988
DF Jason Cousins   (1970-10-04)4 October 1970 (aged 18) Youth 1989
DF Terry Evans   (1965-04-12)12 April 1965 (aged 24) Hillingdon 1985
DF Mark Fleming   (1969-08-11)11 August 1969 (aged 20) Queens Park Rangers 1989
DF Keith Millen   (1966-09-26)26 September 1966 (aged 22) Youth 1985
DF Steve Perryman   (1951-12-21)21 December 1951 (aged 37) Oxford United 1986 Manager
DF Robbie Peters   (1971-05-18)18 May 1971 (aged 18) Youth 1989
DF Sean Sparham   (1968-12-04)4 December 1968 (aged 20) Millwall 1990 On loan from Millwall
DF Roger Stanislaus   (1968-11-02)2 November 1968 (aged 20) Arsenal 1987
Midfielders
MF Paul Buckle   (1970-12-16)16 December 1970 (aged 18) Youth 1989
MF Allan Cockram   (1963-10-08)8 October 1963 (aged 25) St Albans City 1988
MF Andy Driscoll   (1971-10-21)21 October 1971 (aged 17) Youth 1989
MF Marcus Gayle   (1970-09-27)27 September 1970 (aged 18) Youth 1988 Loaned to KuPS
MF Kevin Godfrey   (1960-02-24)24 February 1960 (aged 29) Leyton Orient 1988
MF Keith Jones (c)   (1965-10-14)14 October 1965 (aged 23) Chelsea 1987
MF Eddie May   (1967-08-30)30 August 1967 (aged 21) Hibernian 1989
MF Simon Ratcliffe   (1967-02-08)8 February 1967 (aged 22) Norwich City 1989
MF Neil Smillie   (1958-07-19)19 July 1958 (aged 31) Reading 1988
Forwards
FW Gary Blissett   (1964-05-29)29 May 1964 (aged 25) Crewe Alexandra 1987
FW Richard Cadette   (1965-03-21)21 March 1965 (aged 24) Sheffield United 1988 Loaned to Bournemouth
FW Kelly Haag   (1970-10-06)6 October 1970 (aged 18) Youth 1989
FW Dean Holdsworth   (1968-11-08)8 November 1968 (aged 20) Watford 1989
Players who left the club mid-season
GK Keith Branagan   (1966-07-10)10 July 1966 (aged 23) Millwall 1989 Returned to Millwall after loan
GK Colin Scott   (1970-05-19)19 May 1970 (aged 19) Rangers 1990 Returned to Rangers after loan
DF Paul Miller   (1959-10-11)11 October 1959 (aged 29) Bournemouth 1989 Returned to Bournemouth after loan
MF John Moncur   (1966-09-22)22 September 1966 (aged 22) Tottenham Hotspur 1989 Returned to Tottenham Hotspur after loan
FW Andy Ansah   (1969-03-19)19 March 1969 (aged 20) Dorking 1989 Transferred to Southend United
  • Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties,[7] Timeless Bees[8]

Coaching staff

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Name Role
  Steve Perryman Manager
  Phil Holder Assistant Manager
  Roy Clare Physiotherapist

Statistics

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Appearances and goals

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Substitute appearances in brackets.
Pos Nat Name League FA Cup League Cup FL Trophy Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK   Ashley Bayes 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
GK   Tony Parks 37 0 1 0 4 0 3 0 45 0
DF   Jamie Bates 10 (5) 0 0 0 1 (2) 0 3 0 14 (7) 0
DF   John Buttigieg 12 (10) 0 0 0 3 (1) 0 0 (2) 0 15 (13) 0
DF   Jason Cousins 12 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 1 (1) 0 13 (2) 0
DF   Terry Evans 44 4 1 0 4 1 3 0 52 5
DF   Mark Fleming 15 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 16 (2) 0
DF   Keith Millen 32 0 1 0 4 1 0 0 37 1
DF   Steve Perryman 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 5 0
DF   Robbie Peters 1 (1) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 (1) 0
DF   Roger Stanislaus 31 1 0 0 4 0 3 0 38 1
MF   Paul Buckle 6 (4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 (4) 0
MF   Allan Cockram 21 (5) 2 0 0 0 (2) 0 3 0 24 (7) 2
MF   Andy Driscoll 10 (2) 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 (2) 2
MF   Marcus Gayle 1 (8) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 (8) 0
MF   Kevin Godfrey 16 (11) 2 0 (1) 0 2 1 0 (3) 0 18 (15) 3
MF   Keith Jones 42 2 1 0 4 0 3 0 50 2
MF   Eddie May 30 8 1 0 4 2 4 2 39 12
MF   Simon Ratcliffe 35 2 1 0 4 0 4 0 44 2
MF   Neil Smillie 43 5 1 0 4 0 4 1 52 6
FW   Andy Ansah 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 (2) 0
FW   Gary Blissett 36 (1) 11 1 0 4 2 1 (1) 0 45 (2) 13
FW   Richard Cadette 7 (9) 1 0 0 1 (1) 0 3 1 11 (10) 2
FW   Kelly Haag 1 (4) 0 0 (1) 0 0 (1) 0 0 0 1 (6) 0
FW   Dean Holdsworth 39 24 1 0 1 0 4 4 45 28
Players loaned in during the season
GK   Keith Branagan 2 0 1 0 3 0
GK   Colin Scott 6 0 6 0
DF   Paul Miller 3 0 1 0 4 0
DF   Sean Sparham 5 1 5 1
MF   John Moncur 5 1 1 0 6 1
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties[9]

Goalscorers

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Pos. Nat Player FL3 FAC FLC FLT Total
FW   Dean Holdsworth 24 0 0 4 28
FW   Gary Blissett 11 0 2 0 13
MF   Eddie May 8 0 2 2 12
MF   Neil Smillie 5 0 0 1 6
DF   Terry Evans 4 0 1 0 5
MF   Kevin Godfrey 2 0 1 0 3
MF   Allan Cockram 2 0 0 0 2
MF   Andy Driscoll 2 0 0 0 2
MF   Keith Jones 2 0 0 0 2
MF   Simon Ratcliffe 2 0 0 0 2
FW   Richard Cadette 1 0 0 1 2
DF   Sean Sparham 1 1
MF   John Moncur 1 0 1
DF   Roger Stanislaus 1 0 0 0 1
DF   Keith Millen 0 0 1 0 1
Total 66 0 7 8 81
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties[9]

Management

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Name Nat From To Record All Comps Record League
P W D L W % P W D L W %
Steve Perryman   19 August 1989 5 May 1990 55 22 9 24 040.00 46 18 7 21 039.13

Summary

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Games played 55 (46 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 4 League Cup, 4 Football League Trophy)
Games won 22 (18 Third Division, 0 FA Cup, 2 League Cup, 2 Football League Trophy)
Games drawn 9 (7 Third Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy)
Games lost 24 (21 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy)
Goals scored 81 (66 Third Division, 0 FA Cup, 7 League Cup, 8 Football League Trophy)
Goals conceded 78 (66 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 6 League Cup, 5 Football League Trophy)
Clean sheets 10 (8 Third Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy)
Biggest league win 5–0 versus Blackpool, 28 April 1990
Worst league defeat 4–0 versus Blackpool, 11 November 1989
Most appearances 52, Terry Evans (44 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 4 League Cup, 3 Football League Trophy), Neil Smillie (43 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 4 League Cup, 4 Football League Trophy)
Top scorer (league) 24, Dean Holdsworth
Top scorer (all competitions) 28, Dean Holdsworth

Transfers & loans

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Players transferred in
Date Pos. Name Previous Club Fee Ref.
26 July 1989 MF   Eddie May   Hibernian £167,000 [10]
July 1989 DF   Mark Fleming   Queens Park Rangers Free [11]
29 September 1989 FW   Dean Holdsworth   Watford £125,000 [12]
Players loaned in
Date from Pos. Name From Date to Ref.
19 October 1989 MF   John Moncur   Tottenham Hotspur November 1989 [13]
24 November 1989 GK   Keith Branagan   Millwall December 1989 [14]
November 1989 DF   Paul Miller   Bournemouth December 1989 [11]
22 March 1990 GK   Colin Scott   Rangers April 1990 [15]
22 March 1990 DF   Sean Sparham   Millwall End of season [16]
Players transferred out
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Fee Ref.
29 March 1990 FW   Andy Ansah   Southend United Free [17]
Players loaned out
Date from Pos. Name To Date to Ref.
October 1989 MF   Matthew Howard   St Albans City January 1990 [11]
22 March 1990 FW   Richard Cadette   Bournemouth End of season [18]
March 1990 MF   Marcus Gayle   KuPS September 1990 [11]
Players released
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Join date Ref.
January 1990 MF   Matthew Howard   St Albans City January 1990 [11]
May 1990 FW   Kelly Haag   Fulham August 1990 [11]

Supplier: Hobot
Sponsor(s): KLM

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Away

Source: Brentford F.C.

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 260.
  2. ^ a b c d "Brentford results for the 1989–1990 season". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  3. ^ Haynes & Coumbe, p. 78.
  4. ^ Brentford Football Club Official Matchday Magazine versus Hull City. 7 May 2005. pp. 46–47.
  5. ^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 262-275.
  6. ^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 412-415.
  7. ^ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. ISBN 978-1906796716.
  8. ^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  9. ^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 431.
  10. ^ Eddie May at Soccerbase
  11. ^ a b c d e f Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 276-281.
  12. ^ Dean Holdsworth at Soccerbase
  13. ^ John Moncur at Soccerbase
  14. ^ Keith Branagan at Soccerbase
  15. ^ Colin Scott at Soccerbase
  16. ^ "Transfer Out". www.millwall-history.org.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  17. ^ Andy Ansah at Soccerbase
  18. ^ Richard Cadette at Soccerbase
  19. ^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 383.