1926–27 Brentford F.C. season

Brentford
1926–27 season
Chairman W. Flewitt
Manager Harry Curtis
Stadium Griffin Park
Third Division South 11th
FA Cup Fifth round
Top goalscorer League: Watkins (20)
All: Watkins (24)
Average home league attendance 9,713

During the 1926–27 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division South. In Harry Curtis' first season as manager, the club finished 11th and advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time.

Season summary

Harry Curtis would go on to be Brentford's longest-serving and most successful manager.

After just one top-half finish in the Third Division South since entering the Football League in 1920, Brentford appointed former Gillingham manager Harry Curtis to the position on a one-year deal in May 1926,[1] still seeking to find a winning formula after generally poor league placings from previous managers Fred Halliday and Archie Mitchell.[2] The directors of the club cleared the decks, retaining just 9 of the previous season's squad.[3] Curtis brought with him assistant trainer Jack Cartmell (an ex-Brentford player) and five Gillingham players - full backs Wally Barnard and Charlie Butler, half back Charlie Reddock and forwards Bill Berry and Joe Craddock.[4] Former Gillingham half back Frank Marshall would also sign in January 1927.[5] Jim Ferguson replaced the departed John Thomson in goal, with defenders John Hodgson, Ted Winship, half backs Bert Bellamy, Joe Hodnett and forwards George Anderson and Stephen Dearn also coming in.

A 4–0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening day put Brentford at the top of the Third Division South table, the first time since joining the Football League that the club had occupied the top spot.[6] Defeat in the following match to Luton Town dropped the Bees back to 6th, but three successive wins in the following matches saw the club rise back to the top and stay there until 15 September.[6] The goalscoring of Ernie Watkins was a factor in the bright start, with the forward scoring 10 goals in the first 9 matches.[7] Brentford dropped down to 11th by 4 December and the side's league form was affected by a run to the fifth round of the FA Cup, which caused a fixture pile-up after replays were needed to defeat Clapton, Gillingham and West Ham United in the first, second and fourth rounds.[6] The 9 FA Cup matches played in a single season is the most ever by the club.[8] The run was a financial success for Brentford, generating enough money for the club to build a new grandstand on the Braemar Road side of Griffin Park.[2]

A goal drought suffered by forwards Ernie Watkins,[7] Jack Lane,[9] Stephen Dearn and the departure of Jack Allen to The Wednesday in March 1927 saw Brentford limp through the final three months of the season,[10][11] winning just five of the remaining 18 matches and drawing six of the last 10.[6] The Bees finished the campaign in 11th place, having been rooted in mid-table since 5 February 1927.[6] Ernie Watkins top-scored with 24 goals, then the highest tally for a Brentford player since the club joined the Football League.[7] Four consecutive home league draws between 2 April and 30 April 1927 equalled the club record.[12]

A notable departure after the season was that of 38-year old cricketer Patsy Hendren,[13] who had played intermittently as an outside forward for Brentford since 1907.[14] During the season he had become the first Bees player since the club joined the Football League to score four goals in a match (during a 7–3 rout of Coventry City on 23 October 1926) and an 11,000 crowd turned up to see his final match against Newport County on Easter Saturday 1927.[13][15] Upon his departure, Hendren's 400-plus Brentford appearances was then the club record and he was posthumously inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in May 2015.[16][17]

League table

Pos Team Pld Home Away F A GA GD Pts
W D L F A W D L F A
1Bristol City42191171248763330104541.926+5062
2Plymouth Argyle4217405214867434795611.557+3460
3Millwall4216235519786343289511.745+3856
4Brighton & Hove Albion4215426124678182679501.580+2953
5Swindon Town421632643156103654100851.176+1551
6Crystal Palace42126357336312274884811.037+345
7Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic42132649245610294278661.182+1244
8Luton Town42129048193513204768661.030+244
9Newport County42154240204215175157710.803–1444
10Bristol Rovers42124546284512325278800.975–241
11Brentford42109246203513244170611.148+940
12Exeter City42144346181614305576731.041+340
13Charlton Athletic42135344223315163960610.984–140
14Queens Park Rangers4298441276114244465710.915–639
15Coventry City [notes3 1]42114644334314275371860.826–1537
16Norwich City42105641252613184659710.831–1235
17Merthyr Town42115542252415215563800.787–1735
18Northampton Town42134436232118236459870.678–2835
19Southend United42123644252316205264770.831–1334
20Gillingham42105636261515184654720.750–1832
21Watford4296636273216216057870.655–3032
22Aberdare Athletic428211384815152453621010.614–3925

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against;
GA = Goal average; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

  1. Coventry City was transferred to Third Division South for this season.
Key
Division Champions, promoted
New club in the league (none)
Re-elected
Failed re-election

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Football League Third Division South

No. DateOpponentVenueResultScorer(s)
1 28 August 1926Brighton & Hove AlbionH4–0Rae (pen), Berry, Watkins (2)
2 30 August 1926Luton TownA1–2Dearn
3 4 September 1926Northampton TownA3–2Berry (2), Douglas
4 6 September 1926Southend United H3–1Watkins (2), Dearn
5 11 September 1926Queens Park Rangers H4–2Lane, Watkins (2), Douglas
6 15 September 1926Southend United A1–3Dearn
7 18 September 1926MillwallH0–0
8 25 September 1926Bristol RoversA3–1Lane, Watkins (2)
9 2 October 1926Swindon TownH2–2Watkins (2)
10 9 October 1926Exeter CityA1–3Lane
11 16 October 1926Crystal PalaceA3–4Berry (2), Lane
12 23 October 1926Coventry CityH7–3Hendren (4, 2 pens), Watkins, Dearn (2)
13 30 October 1926Charlton AthleticA1–1Rae
14 6 November 1926Bristol City H3–0Anderson (2), Dearn
15 20 November 1926Plymouth Argyle H0–0
16 4 December 1926Aberdare Athletic H1–4Baynham (og)
17 18 December 1926WatfordH3–0Watkins, Dearn, Douglas
18 25 December 1926Norwich CityA1–2Hendren
19 27 December 1926Norwich CityH3–0Allen, Watkins, Douglas
20 1 January 1927Luton TownH2–2Lane, Dearn
21 15 January 1927Brighton & Hove Albion A1–1Hendren
22 22 January 1927Northampton TownH1–1Allen
23 5 February 1927MillwallA0–3
24 12 February 1927Bristol Rovers H0–2
25 26 February 1927Exeter CityH6–1Watkins (2), Lane (2), Craddock, Douglas
26 5 March 1927Crystal PalaceH3–0Watkins, Allen, Lane
27 9 March 1927Swindon TownA2–4Craddock, Hendren
28 12 March 1927Coventry City A1–3Watkins
29 16 March 1927Bournemouth & Boscombe AthleticA1–3Watkins
30 19 March 1927Charlton AthleticH2–0Donnelly (pen), Craddock
31 26 March 1927Bristol CityA0–1
32 30 March 1927GillinghamA2–1Watkins, Lawson
33 2 April 1927Bournemouth & Boscombe AthleticH0–0
34 9 April 1927Plymouth ArgyleA1–2Craddock
35 15 April 1927Merthyr TownH1–1Lane
36 16 April 1927Newport CountyH1–1Watkins
37 19 April 1927Merthyr TownA0–1
38 23 April 1927Aberdare AthleticA1–3Craddock
39 25 April 1927Newport CountyA0–0
40 30 April 1927GillinghamA0–0
41 5 May 1927Queens Park RangersA1–1
42 7 May 1927WatfordA0–0Lawson

FA Cup

Main article: 1926–27 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResult Scorer(s)
1R 27 November 1926 Clapton A 1–1 Anderson
1R (replay) 1 December 1926 Clapton H 7–3 Lane (2), Watkins (3), Hendren (2)
2R 11 December 1926 Gillingham A 1–1 Hendren
2R (replay) 15 December 1926 Gillingham H 1–0 Dearn
3R 10 January 1927 Oldham Athletic A 4–2 Allen (3), Watkins
4R 29 January 1927 West Ham United A 1–1 Lane
4R (replay) 2 February 1927 West Ham United H 2–0 Lane, Allen
5R19 February 1927Reading A0–1

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1926–27 season.
Pos. Name Nat. Date of birth (age) Signed from Signed in Notes
Goalkeepers
GK Arthur Collins England 16 September 1902 (aged 23) Derby County 1926
GK Jim Ferguson Scotland 30 August 1896 (aged 29) St Roch's 1926
Defenders
DF Charlie Butler England 10 October 1897 (aged 28) Gillingham 1926
DF James Donnelly Republic of Ireland 18 December 1899 (aged 26) Southend United 1925
DF John Hodgson England 28 September 1900 (aged 25) Sunderland 1926
DF Ted Winship England 1900 (aged 25–26) Kidderminster Harriers 1926
Midfielders
HB Jack Beacham England 15 August 1902 (aged 24) Weymouth 1925
HB Bert Bellamy England 7 April 1896 (aged 30) Swansea Town 1926
HB Archie Clark England 4 April 1902 (aged 24) Grays Thurrock United 1927
HB Joe Hodnett England 18 July 1896 (aged 30) Merthyr Town 1926
HB Frank Marshall Scotland 1904 (aged 21–22) Gillingham 1927
HB Alan Noble England 19 June 1900 (aged 26) Leeds United 1925
HB Harry Rae Scotland 1896 (aged 29–30) Clyde 1925
HB Charlie Reddock Scotland 1902 (aged 23–24) Gillingham 1926
Forwards
FW George Anderson Scotland 24 October 1904 (aged 21) Airdrieonians 1926
FW Bill Berry England 18 August 1904 (aged 22) Gillingham 1926
FW Joe Craddock England 3 August 1902 (aged 24) Gillingham 1926
FW Stephen Dearn England March 1901 (aged 24–25) Portsmouth 1926
FW Alfred Douglas England 26 March 1899 (aged 27) Washington Colliery 1925
FW Patsy Hendren England 5 February 1889 (aged 37) Queens Park Rangers 1911 Played when his cricket commitments allowed
FW Jack Lane (c) England 29 May 1898 (aged 28) Chesterfield 1925
FW Herbert Lawson England 12 April 1905 (aged 21) Arsenal 1927
FW Ernie Watkins England 3 April 1898 (aged 28) Southend United 1926
Players who left the club mid-season
FW Jack Allen England 31 January 1903 (aged 23) Leeds United 1924 Transferred to The Wednesday

Coaching staff

Name Role
England Harry Curtis Manager
England Tom Ratcliff Trainer
England Jack Cartmell Assistant Trainer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos Nat Name League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England Arthur Collins 4 0 0 0 4 0
GK Scotland Jim Ferguson 38 0 8 0 46 0
DF EnglandCharlie Butler 27080350
DF Republic of IrelandJames Donnelly 3915 0441
DF EnglandJohn Hodgson 400 040
DF EnglandTed Winship 1103 0140
HB England Jack Beacham 14 0 6 0 20 0
HB EnglandBert Bellamy 3306 0390
HB EnglandArchie Clark 10 10
HB England Joe Hodnett 9 0 0 0 9 0
HB Scotland Frank Marshall 21 0 21 0
HB England Alan Noble 10 0 2 0 12 0
HB Scotland Harry Rae 30 2 8 0 38 2
HB Scotland Charlie Reddock 6 0 0 0 6 0
FW EnglandJack Allen 7344117
FW Scotland George Anderson 8 2 1 1 9 3
FW England Bill Berry 22 5 2 0 24 5
FW England Joe Craddock 12 5 0 0 12 5
FW EnglandStephen Dearn 3086 1369
FW EnglandAlfred Douglas 2656 0325
FW England Patsy Hendren 21 7 8 3 29 10
FW EnglandJack Lane 4198 44913
FW England Herbert Lawson 13 2 0 0 13 2
FW EnglandErnie Watkins 35207 44224

Goalscorers

Pos. Nat Player FL3 FAC Total
FW England Ernie Watkins 20 4 24
FW England Jack Lane 9 4 13
FW England Patsy Hendren 7 3 10
FW England Stephen Dearn 8 1 9
FW England Jack Allen 3 4 7
FW England Bill Berry 5 0 5
FW England Joe Craddock 5 0 5
FW England Alfred Douglas505
FW Scotland George Anderson 2 1 3
FW England Herbert Lawson 2 0 2
HB Scotland Harry Rae 2 0 2
FW England Bert Young 2 0 2
DF Republic of Ireland James Donnelly 1 0 1
Opponent 1 0 1
Total701787

Management

Name Nat From To Record All Comps Record League
PWDLW %PWDLW %
Harry Curtis England 28 August 1926 7 May 1927 50 17 17 16 34.00|42 13 14 15 30.95

Summary

Games played 50 (42 Third Division South, 8 FA Cup)
Games won 17 (13 Third Division South, 4 FA Cup)
Games drawn 17 (14 Third Division South, 3 FA Cup)
Games lost 16 (15 Third Division South, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored 87 (70 Third Division South, 17 FA Cup)
Goals conceded 70 (61 Third Division South, 9 FA Cup)
Clean sheets 14 (12 Third Division South, 2 FA Cup)
Biggest league win 6–1 versus Exeter City, 26 February 1927
Worst league defeat 3–0 versus Millwall, 5 February 1927; 4–1 versus Aberdare Athletic, 4 December 1926
Most appearances 48, Jim Ferguson (38 Third Division South, 8 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league) 20, Ernie Watkins
Top scorer (all competitions) 24, Ernie Watkins

Transfers & loans

Cricketers are not included in this list.
Players transferred in
Date Pos. Name Previous Club Fee Ref.
May 1926 HB England Bert Bellamy Wales Swansea Town Free [21]
May 1926 GK England Arthur Collins England Derby County Free [22]
May 1926 GK Scotland Jim Ferguson Scotland St Roch's Free [23]
1926 FW Scotland George Anderson Scotland Airdrieonians Free [24]
1926 DF England Wally Barnard England Gillingham Free [25]
1926 FW England Bill Berry England Gillingham Free [26]
1926 DF England Charlie Butler England Gillingham Free [27]
1926 HB England Archie Clark England Grays Thurrock United Free [28]
1926 FW England Joe Craddock England Gillingham Free [29]
1926 FW England Stephen Dearn England Portsmouth Free [30]
1926 DF England John Hodgson England Sunderland Free [31]
1926 HB England Joe Hodnett Wales Merthyr Town Free [31]
1926 HB Scotland Charlie Reddock England Gillingham Free [32]
1926 DF England Ted Winship England Kidderminster Harriers Free [33]
January 1927 HB Scotland Frank Marshall England Gillingham £500 [5]
March 1927 FW England Herbert Lawson England Arsenal Free [34]
Players transferred out
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Fee Ref.
March 1927 FW England Jack Allen England The Wednesday n/a [35]
Players released
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Join date Ref.
September 1926FWScotland Bill FinlaysonUnited States Springfield Babes1926[36]
May 1927 DF England Wally Barnard Retired [37]
May 1927 HB England Bert Bellamy England Wellingborough Town May 1927 [21]
May 1927 GK England Arthur Collins England Scarborough 1927 [22]
May 1927 HB England Jimmy Elliott Retired [38]
May 1927DFEngland John HodgsonEngland Hartlepools United1927[31]
May 1927 HB England Joe Hodnett England Gillingham 1927 [31]
May 1927 HB England Alan Noble England Millwall 1927 [39]
May 1927 DF England Jack Price England Torquay United 1927 [33]
May 1927 DF England Percival Whitton Retired [37]

References

  1. Chapman, Mark. "Remembering The Guvnor: Harry Curtis". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  2. 1 2 Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 175-176.
  3. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 121–123. ISBN 0951526200.
  4. Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia. Harefield, Middlesex: Yore Publications. p. 100. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
  5. 1 2 Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 100-101.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford results for the 1926-1927 season - Statto.com". Statto.com. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  7. 1 2 3 "Brentford Football Club History". www.brentfordfchistory.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-05-06. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  8. Haynes 1998, p. 49.
  9. "Brentford Football Club History". www.brentfordfchistory.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-04-15. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  10. "Brentford Football Club History". www.brentfordfchistory.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  11. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 9.
  12. Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford scoring and sequence records - Statto.com". Statto.com. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
  13. 1 2 Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 74-75.
  14. Joyce 2012, p. 135.
  15. "Brentford Football Club History". www.brentfordfchistory.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-06-20. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  16. Haynes 1998, p. 38.
  17. Wickham, Chris. "Kevin O'Connor and Marcus Gayle join others in being added to Brentford FC Hall of Fame". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  18. 1 2 3 4 White 1989, p. 369.
  19. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920-2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  20. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 190589161X.
  21. 1 2 "Watford Football Club archive 1881-2016: Players - Battocchio to Bolton" (PDF).
  22. 1 2 Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 39.
  23. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 55.
  24. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 11.
  25. Brown, Tony (2003). The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record. Soccerdata. p. 118. ISBN 1-899468-20-X.
  26. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 20.
  27. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 32.
  28. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 37.
  29. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 42.
  30. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 47.
  31. 1 2 3 4 Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 77.
  32. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 131.
  33. 1 2 Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 127-128.
  34. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 95.
  35. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 120.
  36. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 56.
  37. 1 2 Dorey, F.W. (1926). Brentford Football Club Season 1926–27 Official Handbook. p. 9.
  38. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 53.
  39. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 116.
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