1938–39 Brentford F.C. season

Brentford

1938–39 season
Chairman	Louis P. Simon
Manager	Harry Curtis
Stadium	Griffin Park
First Division	18th
FA Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Cheetham (8) All: Cheetham (8)
Highest home attendance	38,535
Lowest home attendance	12,761
Average home league attendance	23,117
← 1937–38 1939–40 →

During the 1938–39 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League First Division. A six-match unbeaten run in February and March 1939 pulled the club clear of a near-certain relegation.

Season summary

After successive top-six finishes in Brentford's first three seasons in the First Division, manager Harry Curtis again elected to not make any significant off-season signings, bringing in only amateur forward Jackie Gibbons.^[1] After youngsters Les Smith and Gerry McAloon were promoted into the first team during the previous two seasons,^[2][3] Curtis would again dip into the reserve and junior ranks and give debuts to left back Doug Anderson and forwards Len Townsend and George Wilkins during 1938–39.^[4][5][6] Long-serving Scottish international wing half Duncan McKenzie was sold to Middlesbrough in May 1938 for a £6,000 fee.^[7]

Brentford started the season with two wins and a draw - the second victory being played in front of a club record 38,535 home crowd versus London rivals Arsenal.^[8][9] Just one point from the following seven matches dropped the Bees to the bottom of the First Division.^[8] Scottish international forward David McCulloch's previous prolific goalscoring form had deserted him and reliable forwards Bobby Reid and Billy Scott also found goalscoring chances hard to come by.^[10][11][12] Having scored just twice in 9 appearances, McCulloch departed Griffin Park to join Derby County for a £9,500 fee on 22 October 1938.^[13] Brentford's form picked up slightly after McCulloch's departure, losing just three of the following 12 matches,^[8] but two other regular starters departed in the midst of the run - forward George Eastham to Blackpool for £5,000 and long-serving captain Arthur Bateman was forced to retire.^[14] Manager Curtis signed Irish international full back Bill Gorman to partner George Poyser in defence and promoted young forwards Len Townsend and George Wilkins to the first team.^[15]

Brentford's bad form continued through to February 1939 and again the team was hit by the loss of a key players, with Scottish international forward Bobby Reid moving to Sheffield United and Gerry McAloon departing for Wolverhampton Wanderers the following month.^[16] Manager Curtis brought in two new forwards, Tommy Cheetham from local rivals Queens Park Rangers and Les Boulter from Charlton Athletic for £5,000 each.^[17] Cheetham scored on his second appearance to begin a run of five wins and a draw,^[18] which took the Bees up to 13th position and effectively saved the club's top-flight status.^[8] Brentford lost seven of the remaining 10 matches and finished in 18th place.^[8]

Despite the poor finish, the season ended on a high note, when on 24 May 1939, 21-year-old forward Les Smith became the second Brentford player to win a full England cap,^[19] which came in a 2–0 friendly win over Romania in Bucharest.^[20]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	Home					Away					F	A	GA	GD	Pts
			W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A
1	Everton	42	17	3	1	60	18	10	2	9	28	34	88	52	1.692	+36	59
2	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	14	6	1	55	12	8	5	8	33	27	88	39	2.256	+49	55
3	Charlton Athletic	42	16	3	2	49	24	6	3	12	26	35	75	59	1.271	+16	50
4	Middlesbrough	42	13	6	2	64	27	7	3	11	29	47	93	74	1.257	+19	49
5	Arsenal	42	14	3	4	34	14	5	6	10	21	27	55	41	1.341	+14	47
6	Derby County	42	12	3	6	39	22	7	5	9	27	33	66	55	1.200	+11	46
7	Stoke City	42	13	6	2	50	25	4	6	11	21	43	71	68	1.044	+3	46
8	Bolton Wanderers	42	10	6	5	39	25	5	9	7	28	33	67	58	1.155	+9	45
9	Preston North End	42	13	7	1	44	19	3	5	13	19	40	63	59	1.068	+4	44
10	Grimsby Town	42	11	6	4	38	26	5	5	11	23	43	61	69	0.884	–8	43
11	Liverpool	42	12	6	3	40	24	2	8	11	22	39	62	63	0.984	–1	42
12	Aston Villa	42	11	3	7	44	25	5	6	10	27	35	71	60	1.183	+9	41
13	Leeds United	42	11	5	5	40	27	5	4	12	19	40	59	67	0.881	–8	41
14	Manchester United	42	7	9	5	30	20	4	7	10	27	45	57	65	0.877	–8	38
15	Blackpool	42	9	8	4	37	26	3	6	12	19	42	56	68	0.824	–12	38
16	Sunderland	42	7	7	7	30	29	6	5	10	24	38	54	67	0.806	–13	38
17	Portsmouth	42	10	7	4	25	15	2	6	13	22	55	47	70	0.671	–23	37
18	Brentford	42	11	2	8	30	27	3	6	12	23	47	53	74	0.716	–21	36
19	Huddersfield Town	42	11	4	6	38	18	1	7	13	20	46	58	64	0.906	–6	35
20	Chelsea	42	10	5	6	43	29	2	4	15	21	51	64	80	0.800	–16	33
21	Birmingham	42	10	5	6	40	27	2	3	16	22	57	62	84	0.738	–22	32
22	Leicester City	42	7	6	8	35	35	2	5	14	13	47	48	82	0.585	–34	29

Key
	League Champions
	FA Cup Winners
	Relegated

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Football League First Division

No.	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1	27 August 1938	Huddersfield Town	H	2–1	26,638	Brown, McCulloch
2	3 September 1938	Everton	A	1–2	35,989	Reid
3	8 September 1938	Arsenal	H	1–0	38,535	McAloon
4	10 September 1938	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	0–1	28,027
5	17 September 1938	Aston Villa	A	0–5	49,092
6	19 September 1938	Blackpool	A	1–4	21,970	Scott
7	24 September 1938	Sunderland	H	2–3	26,128	Eastham, McCulloch
8	1 October 1938	Grimsby Town	A	0–0	12,106
9	8 October 1938	Derby County	H	1–3	23,539	Scott
10	15 October 1938	Stoke City	A	2–3	23,588	Holliday (pen), Hopkins
11	22 October 1938	Chelsea	H	1–0	31,425	Reid
12	29 October 1938	Charlton Athletic	A	1–1	32,191	Scott
13	5 November 1938	Bolton Wanderers	H	2–2	24,594	Atkinson (og), Scott
14	12 November 1938	Leeds United	A	2–3	22,555	Edelston, Brown
15	19 November 1938	Liverpool	H	2–1	20,977	Holliday (2)
16	26 November 1938	Leicester City	A	1–1	16,634	Scott
17	3 December 1938	Middlesbrough	H	2–1	21,746	Holliday, Sneddon
18	10 December 1938	Birmingham	A	1–5	23,333	Holliday
19	17 December 1938	Manchester United	H	2–5	14,919	Gibbons, Vose (og)
20	24 December 1938	Huddersfield Town	A	2–1	11,483	Smith, Townsend
21	27 December 1938	Portsmouth	A	2–2	31,732	Townsend, McAloon
22	31 December 1938	Everton	H	2–0	27,861	Townsend (2)
23	14 January 1939	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	2–5	23,944	Edelston (2)
24	28 January 1939	Sunderland	A	1–1	19,591	Sneddon (pen)
25	4 February 1939	Grimsby Town	H	1–2	17,380	Scott
26	8 February 1939	Aston Villa	H	2–4	21,162	Edelston, Reid (pen)
27	11 February 1939	Derby County	A	2–1	19,707	Hopkins, Cheetham
28	18 February 1939	Stoke City	H	1–0	26,237	Cheetham
29	22 February 1939	Portsmouth	H	2–0	14,290	McAloon, Scott
30	25 February 1939	Chelsea	A	3–1	33,511	Cheetham (2), Smith
31	4 March 1939	Charlton Athletic	H	1–0	24,440	Hopkins
32	11 March 1939	Bolton Wanderers	A	1–1	15,161	Boulter
33	18 March 1939	Leeds United	H	0–1	21,480
34	25 March 1939	Liverpool	A	0–1	18,113
35	1 April 1939	Leicester City	H	2–0	17,238	Smith, Hopkins
36	7 April 1939	Preston North End	H	3–1	30,780	Cheetham (2), Edelston
37	8 April 1939	Middlesbrough	A	1–3	18,191	Cheetham
38	10 April 1939	Preston North End	A	0–2	22,350
39	15 April 1939	Birmingham	H	0–1	15,298
40	22 April 1939	Manchester United	A	0–3	15,353
41	29 April 1939	Blackpool	H	1–1	12,761	Cheetham
42	6 May 1939	Arsenal	A	0–2	30,928

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance
3R	7 January 1939	Newcastle United	H	0–2	27,551

• Sources: Statto, 11v11, 100 Years of Brentford^[21]

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1938–39 season.

Pos.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Joe Crozier		2 December 1914 (aged 23)	East Fife	1937
Defenders
DF	Doug Anderson		25 March 1914 (aged 24)	Hibernian	1937
DF	Bill Gorman		13 January 1911 (aged 27)	Bury	1938
DF	George Poyser		6 February 1910 (aged 28)	Port Vale	1934
DF	Joe Wilson		29 September 1911 (aged 26)	Southend United	1935
Midfielders
HB	Albert Aiken		29 October 1914 (aged 23)	Glentoran	1937
HB	Sam Briddon		26 July 1915 (aged 23)	Port Vale	1935
HB	Buster Brown		6 September 1910 (aged 27)	Huddersfield Town	1937
HB	Joe James (c)		13 January 1910 (aged 28)	Battersea Church	1929
HB	Tally Sneddon		1 April 1914 (aged 24)	Falkirk	1937
Forwards
FW	Les Boulter		31 August 1913 (aged 24)	Charlton Athletic	1939
FW	Tommy Cheetham		11 October 1910 (aged 27)	Queens Park Rangers	1939
FW	Maurice Edelston		27 April 1918 (aged 20)	Wimbledon	1937	Amateur
FW	Jackie Gibbons		10 April 1914 (aged 24)	Tottenham Hotspur	1938	Amateur
FW	Jack Holliday		19 December 1908 (aged 29)	Middlesbrough	1932
FW	Idris Hopkins		11 October 1910 (aged 27)	Crystal Palace	1932
FW	Ernest Muttitt		24 July 1908 (aged 30)	Middlesbrough	1932
FW	Billy Scott		6 December 1907 (aged 30)	Middlesbrough	1932
FW	Les Smith		13 March 1918 (aged 20)	Petersham	1934
FW	Len Townsend		31 August 1917 (aged 20)	Hayes	1937
FW	George Wilkins		27 October 1919 (aged 18)	Hayes	1938
Players who left the club mid-season
DF	Arthur Bateman		1 April 1908 (aged 30)	Southend United	1934	Retired
FW	George Eastham		13 August 1914 (aged 24)	Bolton Wanderers	1937	Transferred to Blackpool
FW	Gerry McAloon		13 September 1916 (aged 21)	St Francis	1934	Transferred to Wolverhampton Wanderers
FW	David McCulloch		5 October 1912 (aged 25)	Heart of Midlothian	1935	Transferred to Derby County
FW	Bobby Reid		19 February 1911 (aged 27)	Hamilton Academical	1936	Transferred to Sheffield United

• Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,^[21] Timeless Bees,^[22] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939^[23]

Coaching staff

Name	Role
Harry Curtis	Manager
Jimmy Bain	Assistant Manager
Bob Kane	Trainer
Jack Cartmell	Assistant Trainer
Joe Edelston	Assistant Trainer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos	Nat	Name	League		FA Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		Joe Crozier	42	0	1	0	43	0
DF		Doug Anderson	1	0	0	0	1	0
DF		Arthur Bateman	7	0	0	0	7	0
DF		Bill Gorman	24	0	1	0	25	0
DF		George Poyser	33	0	1	0	34	0
DF		Joe Wilson	10	0	0	0	10	0
HB		Albert Aiken	3	0	0	0	3	0
HB		Sam Briddon	6	0	1	0	7	0
HB		Buster Brown	33	2	1	0	34	2
HB		Joe James	39	0	1	0	40	0
HB		Tally Sneddon	27	2	0	0	27	2
FW		Les Boulter	16	1	—		16	1
FW		Tommy Cheetham	17	8	—		17	8
FW		George Eastham	11	1	—		11	1
FW		Maurice Edelston	19	5	0	0	19	5
FW		Jackie Gibbons	11	1	0	0	11	1
FW		Jack Holliday	10	5	0	0	10	5
FW		Idris Hopkins	32	4	1	0	33	4
FW		Gerry McAloon	14	3	1	0	15	3
FW		David McCulloch	9	2	—		9	2
FW		Ernest Muttitt	13	0	0	0	13	0
FW		Bobby Reid	17	3	0	0	17	3
FW		Billy Scott	28	7	1	0	29	7
FW		Les Smith	33	3	1	0	34	3
FW		Len Townsend	4	4	1	0	5	4
FW		George Wilkins	3	0	0	0	3	0

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford^[21]

Goalscorers

Pos.	Nat	Player	FL1	FAC	Total
FW		Tommy Cheetham	8	0	8
FW		Billy Scott	7	0	7
FW		Maurice Edelston	5	0	5
FW		Jack Holliday	5	0	5
FW		Idris Hopkins	4	0	4
FW		Len Townsend	4	0	4
FW		Gerry McAloon	3	0	3
FW		Bobby Reid	3	0	3
FW		Les Smith	3	0	3
HB		Buster Brown	2	0	2
FW		David McCulloch	2	—	2
HB		Tally Sneddon	2	0	2
FW		Les Boulter	1	0	1
FW		George Eastham	1	—	1
FW		Jackie Gibbons	1	0	1
Opponents			2	0	2
Total			53	0	53

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford^[21]

International caps

Full

Pos.	Nat	Player	Caps	Goals	Ref
DF		Bill Gorman	1	0	[24]
FW		Les Boulter	1	1	[25]
FW		Idris Hopkins	3	1	[26]
FW		Les Smith	1	0	[20]

Amateur

Pos.	Nat	Player	Caps	Goals	Ref
FW		Maurice Edelston	3	4	[27]
FW		Jackie Gibbons	3	4	[27]

Management

Name	Nat	From	To	Record All Comps					Record League
				P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
Harry Curtis		27 August 1938	6 May 1939	43	14	8	21	32.56|	42	14	8	20	33.33

Summary

Games played	43 (42 First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Games won	14 (14 First Division, 0 FA Cup)
Games drawn	8 (8 First Division, 0 FA Cup)
Games lost	21 (20 First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored	53 (53 First Division, 0 FA Cup)
Goals conceded	76 (74 First Division, 2 FA Cup)
Clean sheets	8 (8 First Division, 0 FA Cup)
Biggest league win	2–0 on three occasions; 3–1 versus Preston North End, 7 April 1939
Worst league defeat	5–0 versus Aston Villa, 17 September 1938
Most appearances	43, Joe Crozier (42 First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league)	8, Tommy Cheetham
Top scorer (all competitions)	8, Tommy Cheetham

Transfers & loans

Cricketers are not included in this list.

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Fee	Ref.
19 June 1938	FW	Fred Durrant	Folkestone	n/a	[28]
June 1938	DF	Bob Allen	Doncaster Rovers	n/a	[29]
June 1938	DF	Harry Oliver	Hartlepools United	£1,500	[30]
July 1938	HB	Ray Ferris	Glentoran	Amateur	[31]
July 1938	FW	Fred Rowell	Sunderland	n/a	[32]
August 1938	FW	Jackie Gibbons	Tottenham Hotspur	Amateur	[33]
December 1938	DF	Bill Gorman	Bury	£7,000	[34]
1938	HB	John Moore	Unattached	Free	[35]
January 1939	FW	Cyril Brown	Felixstowe	n/a	[36]
7 February 1939	FW	Les Boulter	Charlton Athletic	£5,000	[37]
7 February 1939	FW	Tommy Cheetham	Queens Park Rangers	£5,000	[38]
April 1939	DF	Fred Mansfield	Cambridge Town	n/a	[39]
Players transferred out
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
May 1938	HB	Duncan McKenzie	Middlesbrough	£6,000	[7]
21 October 1938	FW	David McCulloch	Derby County	£9,500	[13]
November 1938	FW	George Eastham	Blackpool	£5,000	[14]
February 1939	FW	Bobby Reid	Sheffield United	£6,000	[40]
March 1939	FW	Gerry McAloon	Wolverhampton Wanderers	£5,000	[41]
Players released
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
June 1938	DF	Bob Allen	Dartford	n/a	[29]
May 1939	DF	Doug Anderson	Aberdeen	1939	[42]
May 1939	DF	Arthur Bateman	Retired		[43]
May 1939	HB	Sam Briddon	Swindon Town	June 1939	[44]
May 1939	FW	Maurice Edelston	Corinthian	May 1939	[45]
May 1939	HB	Ray Ferris	Cambridge Town	1939	[46]
May 1939	FW	Jackie Gibbons	Tottenham Hotspur	1939	[30]
May 1939	HB	Tally Sneddon	Swansea Town	July 1939	[47]

References

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8. Brentford results for the 1938-1939 season - Statto.com
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