1908–09 Brentford F.C. season

Brentford
1908–09 season
Chairman	Harry Blundell
Secretary Manager	Fred Halliday
Stadium	Griffin Park
Southern League First Division	21st
FA Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Reid (18); All: Reid (18)
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1907–08 1909–10 →

During the 1908–09 English football season, Brentford competed in the Southern League First Division. A disastrous season ended with a bottom-place finish, but the club was spared relegation after the First Division was expanded in June 1909.

Season summary

Manager Fred Halliday brought right half Phil Richards to Griffin Park from his previous club Bradford Park Avenue.

After encountering severe financial problems during the 1907–08 season, the Brentford committee was forced to dispense with the majority of the first team squad in May 1908, due to many of the players being unwilling to accept lower wages for the 1908–09 season.^[1] Top-scorer Adam Bowman had been sold in April and he was followed out of Griffin Park by Tosher Underwood, Jock Watson, Jock Hamilton, Tom McAllister, George Parsonage, Fred Corbett, Jimmy Tomlinson, Andy Clark, John Montgomery, Vince Hayes and Patsy Hendren, while Oakey Field (who had returned in November 1907), Charlie Williams and Jimmy Jay elected to retire.^[1] Fred Halliday was appointed Brentford manager on 24 June and began assembling an almost entirely new squad, which eventually reduced the wage bill by 20%, to £2,565 across the entire season (equivalent to £337,700 in 2024).^[1]

Brentford endured a forgettable Southern League First Division season, matching the 33 points won during the previous season, but instead finishing five places lower at the bottom of the table.^[2] The return of Jimmy Jay in October helped solidify the back lines, which up to that point were leaking goals.^[1] Forward Alex McCulloch, signed during the 1908 off-season, caught the eye of manager Halliday's former club Bradford Park Avenue and departed for a £350 fee in November, with Geordie Reid arriving at Griffin Park in part-exchange.^[1] Reid would top-score for the Bees during the season with 18 goals.^[1] There was some cheer late in the season, with the Bees winning the Southern Professional Charity Cup.^[1]

Brentford's bottom-place finish was initially no cause for concern, with plans afoot for 16 Southern League clubs, plus another two from a list of six (which included Brentford), to form a Third Division of the Football League.^[1] The chance fell through when the Football League First and Second Division clubs voted against the formation of a Third Division, but Brentford were saved from relegation when the Southern League opted to expand to 22 clubs in June 1909, with Croydon Common being promoted from the Second Division and thus preserving Brentford's First Division status.^[1]

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts
17	West Ham United	40	16	4	20	56	60	0.933	36
18	Brighton & Hove Albion	40	14	7	19	60	61	0.984	35
19	Norwich City	40	12	11	17	59	75	0.787	35
20	Coventry City	40	15	4	21	64	91	0.703	34
21	Brentford	40	13	7	20	59	74	0.797	33

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
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	2 September 1908	Reading	A	2–2	Sugden (2)
2	5 September 1908	Southampton	H	2–2	McCulloch, Glen
3	12 September 1908	Leyton	A	0–2
4	19 September 1908	West Ham United	H	1–0	McCulloch
5	26 September 1908	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	0–4
6	28 September 1908	Queens Park Rangers	H	0–0
7	3 October 1908	Crystal Palace	H	1–3	Connelly
8	10 October 1908	Plymouth Argyle	A	0–2
9	17 October 1908	Luton Town	A	1–3	Ryalls
10	24 October 1908	Swindon Town	H	1–0	McCulloch
11	31 October 1908	Portsmouth	A	3–2	Glen, Connelly, Jay
12	7 November 1908	Queens Park Rangers	A	0–3
13	14 November 1908	Northampton Town	A	2–3	Reid, Glen
14	16 November 1908	Exeter City	H	0–2
15	21 November 1908	New Brompton	H	1–1	Connelly
16	23 November 1908	Southend United	H	4–1	Reid, Connelly (2), Sugden
17	28 November 1908	Millwall	A	1–2	Reid
18	12 December 1908	Coventry City	A	2–1	Buxton, Badger
19	19 December 1908	Bristol Rovers	H	2–2	Reid, Connelly
20	25 December 1908	Watford	H	3–1	Connelly, Sugden, Reid
21	26 December 1908	Norwich City	A	1–6	Buxton
22	28 December 1908	Reading	H	2–3	Buxton, Reid
23	2 January 1909	Southampton	A	0–1
24	9 January 1909	Leyton	H	0–0
25	23 January 1909	West Ham United	A	0–3
26	30 January 1909	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	4–0	Reid (4)
27	13 February 1909	Plymouth Argyle	H	1–0	Reid
28	20 February 1909	Luton Town	H	2–2	Reid, Sugden
29	27 February 1909	Swindon Town	A	1–2	McKenzie
30	13 March 1909	Exeter City	A	2–1	Reid, Sugden
31	20 March 1909	Northampton Town	H	3–1	Connelly (2), Ramsden (pen)
32	27 March 1909	New Brompton	A	1–1	Sugden
33	29 March 1909	Portsmouth	H	1–2	Reid
34	31 March 1909	Crystal Palace	A	1–3	Nicholson
35	3 April 1909	Millwall	H	4–2	McIver (2, 2 pen), Nicholson, Connelly
36	9 April 1909	Norwich City	H	3–1	Sugden, Connelly, Buxton
37	10 April 1909	Southend United	A	0–1
38	12 April 1909	Watford	A	0–2
39	17 April 1909	Coventry City	H	5–2	Reid (2), Nicholson, Sugden, Connelly
40	24 April 1909	Bristol Rovers	A	2–3	Reid (2)

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorer
1R	16 January 1909	Gainsborough Trinity	H	2–0	Richards (2)
2R	6 February 1909	Nottingham Forest	A	0–1

Source: 100 Years of Brentford^[2]

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	ENG	Willie McIver
—	DF	ENG	Dave Ewing
—	DF	ENG	Ernest Ramsden
—	DF	ENG	Dusty Rhodes (c)
—	MF	ENG	Bert Badger
—	MF	SCO	John Gordon
—	MF	ENG	Joe Hisbent
—	MF	ENG	Jimmy Jay
—	MF	ENG	George Podmore
—	MF	ENG	Phil Richards
—	FW	ENG	Steve Buxton


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	FW	ENG	Fred Connelly
—	FW	SCO	Alex Glen
—	FW	SCO	Gladstone Hamilton
—	FW	SCO	William Jaffray
—	FW	SCO	Ronald McKenzie
—	FW	ENG	Arthur Nicholson
—	FW	SCO	Geordie Reid
—	FW	ENG	Joe Ryalls
—	FW	ENG	Sidney Sugden
—	FW	ENG	Lindsay Syrad

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	Alex McCulloch (to Bradford Park Avenue)

Source: 100 Years of Brentford^[2]

Coaching staff

Name	Role
Fred Halliday	Secretary Manager
Tom Cowper	Trainer

Statistics

Appearances

McIver

Rhodes (c)

Ewing

Jay

Badger

Richards

Sugden

Connelly

Ryalls

Buxton

Reid

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

Goalscorers

Pos.	Player	SL1	FAC	Total
FW	Geordie Reid	18	0	18
FW	Fred Connelly	12	0	12
FW	Sidney Sugden	9	0	9
FW	Steve Buxton	4	0	4
FW	Alex Glen	3	0	3
FW	Alex McCulloch	3	0	3
FW	Arthur Nicholson	3	0	3
GK	Willie McIver	2	0	2
HB	Phil Richards	0	2	2
HB	Bert Badger	1	0	1
HB	Jimmy Jay	1	0	1
FW	Ronald McKenzie	1	0	1
DF	Ernest Ramsden	1	0	1
FW	Joe Ryalls	1	0	1
Total		59	2	61

Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years Of Brentford^[2]

Management

Name	Nat	From	To	Record All Comps					Record League
Name	Nat	From	To	P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
Fred Halliday		2 September 1908	24 April 1909	42	14	7	21	033.33	40	13	7	20	032.50

Summary

Games played	42 (40 Southern League First Division, 2 FA Cup)
Games won	14 (13 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Games drawn	7 (7 Southern League First Division, 0 FA Cup)
Games lost	21 (20 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored	61 (59 Southern League First Division, 2 FA Cup)
Goals conceded	75 (74 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Clean sheets	7 (6 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Biggest league win	4–0 versus Brighton & Hove Albion, 30 January 1909
Worst league defeat	6–1 versus Norwich City, 26 December 1908
Most appearances	42, Willie McIver, Joe Ryalls (40 Southern League First Division, 2 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league)	18, Geordie Reid
Top scorer (all competitions)	18, Geordie Reid

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ White, p. 91-93.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 360. ISBN 0951526200.

[White91-93-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ White, p. 91-93.

[White-2] White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 360. ISBN 0951526200.

[1]

[2]

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