1907–08 Brentford F.C. season

Brentford
1907–08 season
Chairman	Charlie Dorey
Secretary Manager	William Brown; (until January 1908); George Parsonage; (from January 1908)
Stadium	Griffin Park
Southern League First Division	16th
FA Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: Bowman (21); All: Bowman (22)
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1906–07 1908–09 →

During the 1907–08 English football season, Brentford competed in the Southern League First Division. A poor season ended with a 16th-place finish.

Season summary

Though Brentford manager William Brown managed to retain most of his key players for the 1907–08 season, his release of future England international forward Fred Pentland was seen as being ill-advised.^[1] In came goalkeeper John Montgomery, full back Vince Hayes, half back Jock Hamilton and centre forward Adam Bowman.^[1] Brentford started the Southern League First Division season poorly and with the club entering a period of financial instability, the relationship between the committee and the players began to deteriorate.^[1] Hopes of a money-spinning FA Cup run ended in the first round at the hands of Lancashire Combination club Carlisle United and in January 1908 manager Brown tendered his resignation, which was accepted.^[1]

Captain George Parsonage was named as player-caretaker manager in January 1908 and after reshuffling the lineup, he oversaw an upturn in form which led the Bees to a 16th-place finish.^[1] One of the highlights of a dreadful season was the goalscoring of forward Adam Bowman, who scored 22 goals in all competitions before being sold to Leeds City for £300 in April.^[1] There was some cheer to be had in the United League, in which the first team won the division title, while the reserve team finished the season as Great Western Suburban League champions.^[1]

The season marked a beginning of a period of financial trouble for Brentford, with Fulham's election to the Football League and Chelsea's home fixtures clashing with those at Griffin Park conspiring to draw potential support in West London away from the Bees.^[1] By mid-April 1908, the club owed its players £500 in unpaid wages (equivalent to £65,900 in 2024), which necessitated the sale of top-scorer Bowman.^[1]

One club record was set during the season:^[2]

Most Southern League away defeats in a season: 16

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts
14	Watford	38	12	10	16	47	59	0.797	34
15	Norwich City	38	12	9	17	46	49	0.939	33
16	Brentford	38	14	5	19	49	53	0.925	33
17	Brighton & Hove Albion	38	12	8	18	46	59	0.780	32
18	Luton Town	38	12	6	20	33	56	0.589	30

Source: ^[3]
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

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

Southern League First Division

No.	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorer(s)
1	3 September 1907	Leyton	A	0–2
2	7 September 1907	Bristol Rovers	A	0–3
3	14 September 1907	Leyton	H	2–0	Hagan, Parsonage
4	21 September 1907	Reading	A	1–5	Bowman
5	28 September 1907	Watford	H	4–1	Bowman (2), Corbett (2)
6	5 October 1907	Norwich City	A	2–3	Bowman (2)
7	12 October 1907	Northampton Town	H	3–1	Bowman (3)
8	19 October 1907	Southampton	A	0–3
9	26 October 1907	Plymouth Argyle	H	2–1	Parsonage, Corbett
10	2 November 1907	West Ham United	A	1–5	Hagan (pen)
11	9 November 1907	Queens Park Rangers	H	1–1	Hagan (pen)
12	16 November 1907	Tottenham Hotspur	A	0–1
13	23 November 1907	Swindon Town	H	2–0	Corbett, Hagan
14	30 November 1907	Crystal Palace	A	1–2	McAllister
15	7 December 1907	Luton Town	H	3–1	Underwood, Bowman (2)
16	14 December 1907	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	0–1
17	21 December 1907	Portsmouth	H	1–1	Corbett
18	25 December 1907	Millwall	H	1–2	Corbett
19	26 December 1907	New Brompton	A	1–2	Bowman
20	28 December 1907	Bradford Park Avenue	A	0–2
21	4 January 1908	Bristol Rovers	H	0–3
22	18 January 1908	Reading	H	1–0	Parsonage
23	25 January 1908	Watford	A	2–1	Corbett, Bowman
24	8 February 1908	Northampton Town	A	0–0
25	15 February 1908	Southampton	H	4–0	Corbett, Bowman (2), Underwood
26	22 February 1908	Plymouth Argyle	A	1–2	Black (og)
27	29 February 1908	West Ham United	H	4–0	Bowman (2), Corbett, Parsonage
28	7 March 1908	Queens Park Rangers	A	0–1
29	9 March 1908	Norwich City	H	2–1	Bowman, Brown
30	14 March 1908	Tottenham Hotspur	H	3–0	Bowman (3)
31	21 March 1908	Swindon Town	A	0–0
32	28 March 1908	Crystal Palace	H	1–1	Corbett
33	4 April 1908	Luton Town	A	0–1
34	11 April 1908	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	2–0	Underwood, Bowman
35	17 April 1908	Millwall	A	0–2
36	18 April 1908	Portsmouth	A	2–3	Underwood, Tomlinson
37	20 April 1908	New Brompton	H	1–0	Corbett
38	25 April 1908	Bradford Park Avenue	H	1–2	Underwood

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorer(s)
1R	11 January 1908	Carlisle United	A	2–2	Bowman, Corbett
1R (replay)	15 January 1908	Carlisle United	H	1–3 (a.e.t.)	Tomlinson

Source: 100 Years of Brentford^[4]

Playing squad

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	SCO	John Montgomery
—	GK	ENG	Charlie Williams
—	DF	ENG	Raymond Abbott
—	DF	SCO	Andy Clark
—	DF	ENG	Vince Hayes
—	DF	SCO	Jock Watson
—	MF	ENG	Albert Bull
—	MF	SCO	Jock Hamilton
—	MF	ENG	Jimmy Jay


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ENG	George Parsonage (c)
—	MF	ENG	Jimmy Tomlinson
—	FW	ENG	Norman Brown
—	FW	ENG	Fred Corbett
—	FW	ENG	Patsy Hendren
—	FW	ENG	James Lloyd-Evans
—	FW	SCO	Tom McAllister
—	FW	ENG	Lindsay Syrad
—	FW	ENG	Tosher Underwood

Left club during season

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	FW	SCO	Adam Bowman (to Leeds City)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	FW	SCO	Patrick Hagan (to Hibernian)

Source: 100 Years of Brentford,^[4] The Football Association^[5]

Coaching staff

William Brown (3 September 1907 – January 1908)

Name	Role
William Brown	Secretary Manager
Bob Crone	Trainer

George Parsonage ( – 25 January April 1908)

Name	Role
George Parsonage	Caretaker Manager
Bob Crone	Trainer

Statistics

Appearances

Williams

Watson

Clark

Parsonage (c)

Jay

Tomlinson

Hagan

Corbett

Brown

Underwood

Bowman

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

Goalscorers

Pos.	Player	SL1	FAC	Total
FW	Adam Bowman	21	1	22
FW	Fred Corbett	11	1	12
FW	Tosher Underwood	5	0	5
FW	Patrick Hagan	4	0	4
HB	George Parsonage	4	0	4
HB	Jimmy Tomlinson	1	1	2
FW	Norman Brown	1	0	1
FW	Tom McAllister	1	0	1
Opponents		1	0	1
Total		49	3	52

Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years Of Brentford^[4]

Summary

Games played	40 (38 Southern League First Division, 2 FA Cup)
Games won	14 (14 Southern League First Division, 0 FA Cup)
Games drawn	6 (5 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Games lost	20 (19 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored	52 (49 Southern League First Division, 3 FA Cup)
Goals conceded	58 (53 Southern League First Division, 5 FA Cup)
Clean sheets	10 (10 Southern League First Division, 0 FA Cup)
Biggest league win	4–0 on two occasions
Worst league defeat	5–1 on two occasions
Most appearances	40, George Parsonage (38 Southern League First Division, 2 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league)	21, Adam Bowman
Top scorer (all competitions)	22, Adam Bowman

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ White, p. 90-91.
^ Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia. Yore Publications. pp. 117–120. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
^ "England - Southern League Final Tables". RSSSF.
^ ^a ^b ^c White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 359. ISBN 0951526200.
^ "The Football Association – Season 1907–08 – Summary Of Professional Registrations". Sky is Blue – The Chesterfield FC history resource. Retrieved 1 January 2021.

[White90-91-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ White, p. 90-91.

[2] Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia. Yore Publications. pp. 117–120. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.

[tables-3] "England - Southern League Final Tables". RSSSF.

[White-4] White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 359. ISBN 0951526200.

[5] "The Football Association – Season 1907–08 – Summary Of Professional Registrations". Sky is Blue – The Chesterfield FC history resource. Retrieved 1 January 2021.

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