1947–48 Brentford F.C. season
1947–48 season of Brentford F.C.
Brentford 1947–48 football season
During the 1947–48 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Second Division . In the Bees' first second-tier season since 1934–35 , the club slumped to a 15th-place finish.
Season summary
After relegation to the Second Division at the end of the 1946–47 season, Brentford were forced to cash in on their assets and received £16,000 from the sales of George Smith and Scotland international Archie Macaulay . No less than 14 players departed Griffin Park during the off-season, with five players coming in at a cost of nearly £20,000 – half back David Nelson and forwards Peter Buchanan , Tommy Dawson , Tommy Dougall and Jackie Gibbons , with Gibbons rejoining the club after making 11 appearances while an amateur during the 1938–39 season. After a poor start to the season, Jimmy Hogan was brought in as a coach. It was long-serving trainer Bob Kane's final season with the club.[ 2]
Brentford had an awful start to the season, winning one and losing eight of the opening 9 matches to leave the club rooted to the bottom of the table.[ 3] Bit-part half back Cyril Toulouse was transferred to Tottenham Hotspur in exchange for Jack Chisholm , who lead the team's recovery from the centre of the field. Just three defeats in 13 matches between late-September and mid-December 1946 finally lifted the club out of the relegation places.[ 3] More players came and went in the second half of the season – Tony Harper and Fred Monk came in from non-League football , with Percy Gleeson , George Stewart and Arthur Shaw transferring out.[ 6] [ 7]
Brentford finished a tumultuous season in 15th place, 11 points above the relegation zone and lost just four of the final 20 matches of the league campaign.[ 3] The season ended with an irksome 1–0 defeat to local rivals (and Second Division champions) Queens Park Rangers in the Ealing Hospital Cup final. The club record for fewest goalscorers in a season was equalled, with just eight players registering a goal.[ 8]
League table
Source:
[citation needed ] Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
Results
Brentford's goal tally listed first.
Legend
No.
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Scorer(s)
1
23 August 1947
Fulham
A
0–5
32,823
2
27 August 1947
Luton Town
H
0–3
17,022
3
30 August 1947
Coventry City
H
1–4
19,107
Gibbons
4
3 September 1947
Luton Town
A
0–3
20,921
5
6 September 1947
Newcastle United
A
0–1
56,692
6
10 September 1947
Nottingham Forest
H
3–1
15,005
Buchanan , Nelson , Blakeman
7
13 September 1947
Birmingham City
H
1–2
25,523
Dawson
8
17 September 1947
Nottingham Forest
A
0–2
18,617
9
20 September 1947
West Bromwich Albion
A
2–3
29,445
Buchanan , Gibbons
10
27 September 1947
Barnsley
H
3–3
22,137
Gleeson , Gibbons , Buchanan
11
4 October 1947
Plymouth Argyle
A
0–0
23,959
12
11 October 1947
Bradford Park Avenue
H
2–1
24,682
Dawson , Girling
13
18 October 1947
Cardiff City
H
0–0
34,483
14
25 October 1947
Sheffield Wednesday
H
1–0
29,112
Gibbons
15
1 November 1947
Tottenham Hotspur
A
0–4
42,362
16
8 November 1947
Millwall
H
2–1
26,251
Buchanan , Girling
17
15 November 1947
Chesterfield
A
0–4
11,320
18
22 November 1947
West Ham United
H
1–1
24,105
Dawson
19
29 November 1947
Bury
A
2–2
12,856
Dawson , Gibbons
20
6 December 1947
Southampton
H
2–2
18,735
Dawson , Nelson
21
13 December 1947
Doncaster Rovers
A
0–0
16,916
22
20 December 1947
Fulham
H
0–2
20,717
23
25 December 1947
Leicester City
H
2–2
21,291
Dawson (2)
24
27 December 1947
Leicester City
A
2–1
32,440
Dawson , Girling
25
3 January 1948
Coventry City
A
0–3
20,180
26
17 January 1948
Newcastle United
H
1–0
29,684
Gibbons
27
31 January 1948
Birmingham City
A
0–0
37,542
28
7 February 1948
West Bromwich Albion
H
1–0
25,234
Nelson
29
14 February 1948
Barnsley
A
1–1
21,399
Gibbons
30
21 February 1948
Plymouth Argyle
H
0–0
13,723
31
28 February 1948
Bradford Park Avenue
A
1–1
11,666
Buchanan
32
6 March 1948
Cardiff City
A
0–1
41,032
33
20 March 1948
Tottenham Hotspur
H
2–0
31,297
Buchanan , Monk
34
26 March 1948
Leeds United
H
3–0
30,538
Girling , Gibbons (2)
35
27 March 1948
Millwall
A
1–0
27,519
Monk
36
29 March 1948
Leeds United
A
1–1
26,775
Dawson
37
3 April 1948
Chesterfield
H
0–3
24,164
38
10 April 1948
West Ham United
A
1–0
21,471
Gibbons
39
12 April 1948
Sheffield Wednesday
A
1–1
36,130
Gibbons
40
17 April 1948
Bury
H
4–1
20,419
Blakeman , Gibbons , Buchanan , Dawson
41
24 April 1948
Southampton
A
1–2
18,511
Gibbons
42
1 May 1948
Doncaster Rovers
H
2–1
16,939
Buchanan , Girling
FA Cup
Playing squad
Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1947–48 season.
Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[ 9] Timeless Bees[ 10]
Coaching staff
Statistics
Appearances and goals
Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Football League season.
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[ 9]
Goalscorers
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[ 9]
Management
Name
Nat
From
To
Record All Comps
Record League
P
W
D
L
W %
P
W
D
L
W %
Harry Curtis
23 August 1947
1 May 1948
44
14
14
16
0 31.82
42
13
14
15
0 30.95
Summary
Games played
44 (42 Second Division , 2 FA Cup )
Games won
14 (13 Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Games drawn
14 (14 Second Division, 0 FA Cup)
Games lost
16 (15 Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored
48 (44 Second Division, 4 FA Cup)
Goals conceded
63 (61 Second Division, 2 FA Cup)
Clean sheets
13 (12 Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Biggest league win
3–0 versus Leeds United , 26 March 1948; 4–1 versus Bury , 17 April 1948
Worst league defeat
5–0 versus Fulham , 23 August 1947
Most appearances
46, Jackie Gibbons , Malky MacDonald (41 Second Division, 2 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league)
13, Jackie Gibbons
Top scorer (all competitions)
14, Jackie Gibbons
Transfers & loans
Cricketers are not included in this list.
References
^ Lucas, Eric (21 May 1948). "Jimmy Hogan Will Be Leaving Brentford – Famous Coach's Contract Not To Be Renewed – Four Teams Next Season – Junior Side For Up To Eighteen Will Compete In Hounslow League". The Brentford & Chiswick Times .
^ a b c "Brentford results for the 1947–1948 season" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016 .
^ "George Stewart" . Barry Hugman's Footballers . Retrieved 13 June 2016 .
^ a b "Arthur Shaw, 1924–2015" . www.arsenal.com . Retrieved 13 June 2016 .
^ Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia . Yore Publications. p. 63. ISBN 1 874427 57 7 .
^ a b c d White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC. p. 379. ISBN 0951526200 .
^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 . Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914 .
^ "Signatures To-Day". The Brentford & Chiswick Times . 1 August 1947.
^ "Critical Days Are Ahead At Griffin Park Preview Of Prospects – Confidence And Team Spirit – Key To Success". The Brentford & Chiswick Times . 15 August 1947.
^ "Appearance Records – C" . Scottish Football Historical Archive . p. 137. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2018 .
^ Lucas, Eric (22 August 1947). "Famous Irish International Not For Brentford – Dr. O'Flanagan Decides To Again Help Arsenal – Gallego Gets His Place – Surprises In Saturday's Public Trial". The Brentford & Chiswick Times .
^ a b c "Sportsman's Roundabout – "Bees" Sign Centre-Forward and Centre-Half". The Brentford & Chiswick Times . 30 April 1948.
^ a b c "Paterson Makes Request To Be Transferred – Brentford Place Oliver, Gleeson and Moore On List". The Brentford & Chiswick Times . 23 April 1948.
^ "Frank Clack" . Citystats – Unofficial archive of results, players and managers . Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016 .
^ "Two More. Naylor And Brown For Third Division Club. Surprise In Store". The Brentford & Chiswick Times . 6 June 1947.
^ "Seasonal Stats – 1947/48" . QPRnet . Retrieved 9 May 2018 .
^ "José Gallego" . Barry Hugman's Footballers . Retrieved 13 June 2016 .
^ "Eric Ventom" . Barry Hugman's Footballers . Retrieved 13 June 2016 .