1925–26 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1925–26 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division South and finished in 18th place, conceding a club record 94 goals.

Brentford

1925–26 season
Chairman	Alderman A.W. Bradford
Manager	Fred Halliday
Stadium	Griffin Park
Third Division South	18th
FA Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Watkins (11) All: Watkins (11)
Highest home attendance	16,893
Lowest home attendance	5,632
Average home league attendance	9,146
Home colours

Season summary

Brentford's 1925–26 team photograph.

Brentford manager Fred Halliday overhauled the club's squad during the 1925 off-season, with all but seven players being released.[1] Despite running a deficit of £6,000 (equivalent to £344,700 in 2021), the board of directors pledged a "substantial sum of money" for the transfer of quality players and in came new goalkeeper John Thomson, four full backs, four half backs and new forwards Bill Finlayson and Bert Young.[1] The club's colours were changed to the now-traditional red-and-white stripes, black shorts and black socks.[1]

9 defeats from the opening 10 matches of the season left Brentford rooted to the bottom of the Third Division South and forward Reginald Parker (one of the club's highest scorers during the previous two seasons) elected to transfer to South Shields.[2][3] Griffin Park was closed by the Football League for the first and only time due to crowd disturbance during a 6–1 thrashing at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion on 12 September 1925.[4] The ground was reopened 14 days later.[4] The poor run ended with the first victory of the season on 17 October, 2–1 over Bristol Rovers.[2] Five wins in the following seven matches lifted the Bees out of the re-election places,[2] with forwards Jack Lane, Bill Finlayson and full back Percival Whitton (who had been deployed up front by manager Halliday) all coming into form,[5] with half back Alex Graham converting a number of penalties.[6]

By 20 February 1926, a run of just five defeats in 19 matches lifted Brentford to 13th in the table.[2] The signing of forward Ernie Watkins from Southend United for a then-club record fee of £1,000 in January 1928 proved to be money well-spent,[7] with Watkins scoring 11 goals in his first 12 matches, including a hat-trick in the Bees' biggest victory of the season, 5–1 versus Norwich City on 2 April.[6] The Bees' form petered out in the final two months of the season, winning just 3 of the final 12 matches to finish 18th with the worst defensive record in the division.[1][2] The 94 goals conceded during the 1925–26 season is a club record.[8]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
16	Norwich City	42	15	9	18	58	73	0.795	39
17	Newport County	42	14	10	18	64	74	0.865	38
18	Brentford	42	16	6	20	69	94	0.734	38
19	Bristol Rovers	42	15	6	21	66	69	0.957	36
20	Exeter City	42	15	5	22	72	70	1.029	35

Source:

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Football League Third Division South

No.	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1	29 August 1925	Northampton Town	H	3–4	12,317	Allen (2), Graham
2	2 September 1925	Southend United	A	1–3	8,224	Allen
3	5 September 1925	Aberdare Athletic	A	0–3	4,140
4	7 September 1925	Southend United	H	1–3	6,409	Douglas
5	12 September 1925	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	1–6	8,803	Parker
6	19 September 1925	Watford	A	2–2	4,771	Young, Parker
7	23 September 1925	Plymouth Argyle	A	0–4	8,384
8	26 September 1925	Queens Park Rangers	H	1–2	9,719	Beacham
9	3 October 1925	Crystal Palace	A	0–2	15,724
10	10 October 1925	Bristol City	A	0–3	11,095
11	17 October 1925	Bristol Rovers	A	2–1	7,095	Lane, Whitton
12	24 October 1925	Swindon Town	H	3–1	8,282	Whitton, Finlayson, Graham (pen)
13	31 October 1925	Newport County	A	3–2	4,933	Lane (2), Finlayson
14	7 November 1925	Luton Town	H	1–0	7,533	Lane
15	14 November 1925	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	A	2–3	4,530	Whitton (2)
16	21 November 1925	Charlton Athletic	H	4–0	8,017	Whitton, Allen, Lane, Graham (pen)
17	5 December 1925	Merthyr Town	H	1–1	6,932	Graham (pen)
18	19 December 1925	Reading	H	1–0	7,064	Graham
19	25 December 1925	Millwall	A	1–2	13,333	Hendren
20	26 December 1925	Millwall	H	2–0	16,893	Allen (2)
21	28 December 1925	Exeter City	A	1–6	5,493	Finlayson
22	2 January 1926	Northampton Town	A	1–6	4,649	Allen
23	9 January 1926	Gillingham	A	3–1	6,093	Watkins, Douglas (2)
24	16 January 1926	Aberdare Athletic	H	1–0	5,632	Douglas
25	23 January 1926	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	2–3	6,107	Lane, Watkins
26	30 January 1926	Watford	H	4–3	7,711	Graham (2), Rae, Hendren
27	6 February 1926	Queens Park Rangers	A	1–1	13,085	Plunkett (og)
28	13 February 1926	Crystal Palace	H	3–2	10,140	Watkins (2), Douglas
29	20 February 1926	Bristol City	H	2–1	11,956	Watkins, Graham
30	27 February 1926	Bristol Rovers	H	4–1	9,902	Watkins, Douglas, Graham (pen), Rae
31	6 March 1926	Swindon Town	A	1–2	4,932	Hendren
32	13 March 1926	Newport County	H	3–3	9,643	Watkins (2), Rae
33	20 March 1926	Luton Town	A	2–4	6,072	Lane, Till (og)
34	27 March 1926	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	H	0–2	7,687
35	2 April 1926	Norwich City	H	5–1	11,463	Hendren, Watkins (3)
36	3 April 1926	Charlton Athletic	A	2–0	6,812	Young, Rae
37	5 April 1926	Norwich City	A	0–1	11,694
38	10 April 1926	Gillingham	H	0–0	7,942
39	17 April 1926	Merthyr Town	A	0–6	2,329
40	24 April 1926	Exeter City	H	2–0	7,889	Finlayson, Douglas
41	26 April 1926	Plymouth Argyle	H	2–2	10,123	Finlayson, Douglas
42	1 May 1926	Reading	A	1–7	17,432	Lane

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1R	28 November 1925	Barnet	H	3–1	9,480	Lane, Whitton, Graham (pen)
2R	12 December 1925	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	H	1–2	8,200	Whitton

• Sources: Statto, 11v11, 100 Years Of Brentford[6]

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1925–26 season.

Pos.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Harry Stanford		31 May 1899 (aged 26)	Southend United	1925
GK	John Thomson		27 July 1896 (aged 29)	Aberdare Athletic	1925
Defenders
DF	James Donnelly		18 December 1893 (aged 31)	Southend United	1925
DF	James McClennon		16 December 1900 (aged 24)	Grimsby Town	1925
DF	Jack Price		9 June 1900 (aged 25)	Swindon Town	1925
Midfielders
HB	Jack Beacham		15 August 1902 (aged 23)	Weymouth	1925
HB	Tommy Cain		10 November 1892 (aged 32)	Sheppey United	1924
HB	Evan Evans		25 July 1903 (aged 22)	Llanidloes Town	1925
HB	Alex Graham (c)		11 July 1889 (aged 36)	Arsenal	1924	Assistant manager
HB	Alan Noble		19 June 1900 (aged 25)	Leeds United	1925
HB	Harry Rae		22 October 1895 (aged 29)	Clyde	1925
HB	Jimmy Walton		3 November 1898 (aged 26)	Bristol Rovers	1924
Forwards
FW	Jack Allen		31 January 1903 (aged 22)	Leeds United	1924
FW	Alfred Douglas		26 March 1899 (aged 26)	Washington Colliery	1925
FW	Bill Finlayson		29 March 1899 (aged 26)	Clapton Orient	1925
FW	Patsy Hendren		5 February 1889 (aged 36)	Queens Park Rangers	1911	Played when his cricket commitments allowed
FW	Jack Lane		29 May 1898 (aged 27)	Chesterfield	1925
FW	Ernie Watkins		3 April 1898 (aged 27)	Southend United	1926
FW	Frank Watson		15 November 1898 (aged 26)	Leeds United	1925
FW	Percival Whitton		14 January 1892 (aged 33)	Newport County	1925
FW	Bert Young		4 September 1899 (aged 25)	Aberdare Athletic	1925
Players who left the club mid-season
FW	Reginald Parker		8 July 1902 (aged 23)	Boldon Comrades	1922	Transferred to South Shields

• Sources: Timeless Bees,[9] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939,[10] 100 Years Of Brentford[6]

Coaching staff

Name	Role
Fred Halliday	Manager
Tom Ratcliff	Trainer
Alex Graham	Assistant Trainer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Thomson

Donnelly

McClennon

Rae

Noble

Walton

Lane

Finlayson

Watkins

Hendren

Douglas

Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Football League season.

Pos	Nat	Name	League		FA Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		Harry Stanford	2	0	0	0	2	0
GK		John Thomson	40	0	2	0	42	0
DF		James Donnelly	39	0	2	0	41	0
DF		James McClennon	24	0	2	0	26	0
DF		Jack Price	12	0	0	0	12	0
HB		Jack Beacham	4	1	0	0	4	1
HB		Tommy Cain	2	0	0	0	2	0
HB		Evan Evans	7	0	1	0	8	0
HB		Alex Graham	25	9	2	1	27	10
HB		Alan Noble	31	0	1	0	32	0
HB		Harry Rae	37	4	1	0	38	4
HB		Jimmy Walton	36	0	1	0	37	0
FW		Jack Allen	11	7	2	0	13	7
FW		Alfred Douglas	27	8	0	0	27	8
FW		Bill Finlayson	21	5	1	0	22	5
FW		Patsy Hendren	28	5	2	0	30	5
FW		Jack Lane	38	8	2	1	40	9
FW		Reginald Parker	5	2	—		5	2
FW		Ernie Watkins	19	11	—		19	11
FW		Frank Watson	7	0	0	0	7	0
FW		Percy Whitton	25	5	2	2	27	7
FW		Bert Young	22	2	1	0	23	2

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford[6]

Goalscorers

Pos.	Nat	Player	FL3	FAC	Total
FW		Ernie Watkins	11	—	11
HB		Alex Graham	9	1	10
FW		Jack Lane	8	1	9
FW		Alfred Douglas	8	0	8
FW		Jack Allen	7	0	7
FW		Percy Whitton	5	2	7
FW		Bill Finlayson	5	0	5
FW		Patsy Hendren	5	0	5
HB		Harry Rae	4	0	4
FW		Reginald Parker	2	—	2
FW		Bert Young	2	0	2
HB		Jack Beacham	1	0	1
Opponents			2	0	2
Total			62	4	68

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford[6]

Management

Name	Nat	From	To	Record All Comps					Record League
				P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
Fred Halliday		29 August 1925	1 May 1926	44	17	6	21	038.64|	42	16	6	20	038.10

Summary

Games played	44 (42 Third Division South, 2 FA Cup)
Games won	17 (16 Third Division South, 1 FA Cup)
Games drawn	6 (6 Third Division South, 0 FA Cup)
Games lost	21 (20 Third Division South, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored	73 (69 Third Division South, 4 FA Cup)
Goals conceded	97 (94 Third Division South, 3 FA Cup)
Clean sheets	8 (8 Third Division South, 0 FA Cup)
Biggest league win	5–1 versus Norwich City, 2 April 1926
Worst league defeat	6–0 versus Merthyr Town, 2 April 1926; 7–1 versus Reading, 1 May 1926
Most appearances	42, John Thomson (40 Third Division South, 2 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league)	11, Ernie Watkins
Top scorer (all competitions)	11, Ernie Watkins

Transfers & loans

Cricketers are not included in this list.

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Fee	Ref.
May 1925	HB	Alan Noble	Leeds United	Free	[11]
30 June 1925	HB	Harry Rae	Clyde	n/a	[12]
July 1925	DF	James Donnelly	Southend United	Free	[13]
July 1925	FW	Percival Whitton	Newport County	Free	[14]
26 August 1925	GK	John Thomson	Aberdare Athletic	Free	[12]
August 1925	FW	Alfred Douglas	Washington Colliery	Free	[15]
August 1925	DF	James McClennon	Grimsby Town	Free	[16]
1925	HB	Jack Beacham	Weymouth	Free	[17]
1925	HB	Evan Evans	Llanidloes Town	Amateur	[18]
1925	FW	Bill Finlayson	Clapton Orient	Free	[19]
1925	DF	Jack Price	Swindon Town	Free	[20]
1925	GK	Harry Stanford	Southend United	Free	[21]
1925	FW	Frank Watson	Leeds United	Free	[22]
January 1926	FW	Ernie Watkins	Southend United	£1,000	[7]
Players transferred out
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Fee	Ref.
September 1925	FW	Reginald Parker	South Shields	Nominal	[3]
Players released
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
August 1925	FB	Charles Alton	Northfleet United	1925	[23]
May 1926	HB	Tommy Cain	Retired		[24]
May 1926	HB	Alex Graham	Folkestone	1926	[25]
May 1926	DF	James McClennon	Grimsby Town	1926	[26]
May 1926	FW	William Relph	Blyth Spartans	1926	[27]
May 1926	GK	Harry Stanford	Bristol Rovers	1926	[21]
May 1926	DF	John Steel	Retired		[24]
May 1926	GK	John Thomson	Plymouth Argyle	1926	[28]
May 1926	HB	Jimmy Walton	Hartlepools United	1926	[29]
May 1926	FW	Frank Watson	Southend United	1926	[22]

References

1. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 119–120. ISBN 0951526200.
2. "Brentford results for the 1925–1926 season". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
3. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 120.
4. Haynes 1998, p. 38-39.
5. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 168.
6. White 1989, p. 368.
7. Brentford Football Club Official Matchday Magazine versus Hull City 07/05/05. 2005. pp. 46–47.
8. Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia. Harefield, Middlesex: Yore Publications. p. 79. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
9. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
10. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 190589161X.
11. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 116.
12. Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
13. "Brentford's New Back". Chiswick Times. 3 July 1925.
14. "Whitton Percy Newport County 1922". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
15. "Public Practice Game Tomorrow". Chiswick Times. 21 August 1925.
16. "Brentford Football Club". Chiswick Times. 14 August 1925.
17. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 18.
18. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 53.
19. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 56.
20. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 127-128.
21. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 153.
22. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 166.
23. "Sports Items". Chiswick Times. 28 August 1925.
24. Dorey, F.W. (1925). Season 1925–26 Brentford Football Club Official Handbook. p. 19.
25. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 69.
26. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 103.
27. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 133.
28. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 160.
29. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 164.