The signing of former Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur winger David Jenkins promised much, but he left the club on loan in March 1973. Brentford 's promotion to the Third Division at the end of the 1971–72 season meant that the club would compete in the third-tier for the first time since 1965–66 .[ 1] Fourth Division had enabled the club's large debts to be paid off, but despite promotion and increasing attendances, manager Frank Blunstone would again be forced to maintain a small playing squad.[ 1] Everton during the off-season.[ 1] defender Steven Tom , midfielder Brian Turner and winger Gordon Neilson and in came amateur goalkeeper Paul Priddy , midfielders David Court and Alan Murray , winger David Jenkins and Stewart Houston 's loan was turned into a permanent transfer for a £15,000 fee.[ 1] youth team was also reactivated after being disbanded due to the budget cuts of 1967 , with Kevin Harding , Richard Poole and Graham Pearce being taken on as apprentices.[ 1] England Youth cap during the season.[ 1]
Despite losing and drawing the first two league matches of the season, three consecutive wins put Brentford in 2nd position by 2 September 1972.[ 2] forward John O'Mara , the previous season's Gallagher's Divisional Footballer Of The Year, was sold to Third Division rivals Blackburn Rovers for a club-record £50,000 fee.[ 1] Chelsea had recently paid Southend United £100,000 for 25-goal forward Bill Garner , it was felt amongst the Brentford supporters that O'Mara had been sold cheaply.[ 1] captain Bobby Ross shortly afterwards contributed a great deal to Brentford's relegation at the end of the season, given that the two players had scored over half of Brentford's goals during the previous campaign.[ 1]
By early October 1972, Brentford were in the bottom-six of the Third Division, but a profit of nearly £80,000 from the first eight league matches of the season and the £50,000 from the sale of John O'Mara allowed manager Frank Blunstone to pay £10,000 for Carlisle United forward Stan Webb .[ 1] Roger Cross , Barry Salvage and Andy Woon , Brentford's slide towards relegation continued through the early months of 1973.[ 1] [ 2] John Docherty top-scored with 8), Brentford lost 15 consecutive away league matches during the season, a new club record.[ 3]
Brentford's goal tally listed first. Pre-season and friendlies
edit
No.
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Scorer(s)
1
12 August 1972
Halifax Town H
0–1
10,164
2
19 August 1972
Oldham Athletic A
1–1
6,106
Houston
3
26 August 1972
Blackburn Rovers H
4–0
9,427
Arentoft (og ), Houston , O'Mara , Graham
4
28 August 1972
Bolton Wanderers H
2–1
11,803
Allen , Murray
5
2 September 1972
Plymouth Argyle A
1–0
7,833
Murray
6
9 September 1972
Swansea City
H
0–2
9,986
7
16 September 1972
Port Vale A
0–1
4,663
8
20 September 1972
Chesterfield A
0–3
6,507
9
23 September 1972
Bournemouth H
1–1
11,100
Docherty
10
25 September 1972
Bristol Rovers H
2–1
9,720
Docherty , Jenkins
11
30 September 1972
Notts County A
0–1
8,152
12
7 October 1972
Scunthorpe United A
0–1
3,378
13
9 October 1972
Tranmere Rovers H
2–0
8,154
Docherty , D'Arcy (og )
14
14 October 1972
Walsall
H
2–0
9,493
Houston , Docherty
15
21 October 1972
Southend United A
0–4
7,205
16
28 October 1972
Rochdale H
1–0
9,201
Docherty
17
4 November 1972
Bristol Rovers
A
1–3
7,916
Houston
18
11 November 1972
Chesterfield
H
3–1
8,078
Murray (pen ), Webb , Houston
19
25 November 1972
York City H
2–0
7,111
Webb , Graham
20
28 November 1972
Charlton Athletic
A
1–2
6,192
Docherty
21
2 December 1972
Shrewsbury Town
A
0–2
2,079
22
16 December 1972
Grimsby Town A
0–4
9,110
23
23 December 1972
Wrexham H
1–0
6,067
Docherty
24
26 December 1972
Bournemouth A
2–3
14,372
Houston , Graham
25
30 December 1972
Oldham Athletic H
1–1
7,719
Webb
26
6 January 1973
Blackburn Rovers
A
1–2
6,534
Graham
27
13 January 1973
Rotherham United
H
1–1
7,446
Cross
28
20 January 1973
Plymouth Argyle H
0–2
7,075
39
26 January 1973
Swansea City A
1–2
2,119
Murray
30
2 February 1973
Tranmere Rovers A
2–6
6,650
Court , Murray
31
10 February 1973
Port Vale H
5–0
6,694
Woon (3), Graham , Salvage
32
24 February 1973
Grimsby Town H
0–1
9,302
33
26 February 1973
Charlton Athletic H
1–0
9,929
Salvage
34
3 March 1973
Scunthorpe United H
1–0
7,896
Murray
35
6 March 1973
Rotherham United A
1–2
3,758
Webb
36
10 March 1973
Walsall A
0–3
4,192
37
17 March 1973
Southend United
H
1–2
8,051
Cross
38
19 March 1973
Watford
H
1–1
8,232
Cross
39
24 March 1973
Rochdale A
1–0
1,747
Allen
40
31 March 1973
York City
A
1–0
2,307
Allen
41
4 April 1973
Halifax Town A
2–3
970
Webb , Allen
42
7 April 1973
Shrewsbury Town H
1–2
6,758
Salvage
43
14 April 1973
Watford A
2–2
7,813
Cross , Murray
44
20 April 1973
Notts County
H
1–1
11,658
Graham
45
23 April 1973
Wrexham
A
1–4
2,611
Webb
46
28 April 1973
Bolton Wanderers
A
0–2
21,917
Round
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Scorer
1R
18 November 1972
Yeovil Town
A
1–2
9,447
Allen
Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[ 4] [ 5] [ 6] Statto
Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1972–73 season. Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies,[ 7] [ 8]
Appearances and goals
edit
Substitute appearances in brackets. Players listed in italics left the club mid-season. Source: 100 Years of Brentford[ 4] Players listed in italics left the club mid-season. Source: 100 Years of Brentford[ 4]
Name
Nat
From
To
Record All Comps
Record League
P
W
D
L
W %
P
W
D
L
W %
Frank Blunstone
12 August 1972
28 April 1973
49
16
7
26
0 32.65
46
15
7
24
0 32.61
Games played
49 (46 Fourth Division , 1 FA Cup , 2 League Cup )
Games won
16 (15 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Games drawn
7 (7 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Games lost
26 (24 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals scored
53 (51 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals conceded
73 (69 Fourth Division, 2 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)
Clean sheets
13 (12 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Biggest league win
5–0 versus Port Vale , 10 February 1973
Worst league defeat
4–0 on two occasions; 6–2 versus Tranmere Rovers , 2 February 1973
Most appearances
48, Alan Murray (45 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)
Top scorer (league)
7, John Docherty , Alan Murray
Top scorer (all competitions)
8, John Docherty
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l White, p. 288-291.
^ a b "Brentford results for the 1972-1973 season" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 20 March 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2017 .^ "Brentford scoring and sequence records" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2017 .^ a b c White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC. p. 392. ISBN 0951526200 ^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 58-69.
^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 301-302.
^ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies . Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. ISBN 978-1906796709 ^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 . Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914 ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 70-74.
^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 358.
^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 266.
^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 295.
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