1946–47 Brentford F.C. season

Brentford
1946–47 season
ChairmanFrank Davis
ManagerHarry Curtis
StadiumGriffin Park
First Division21st
FA CupFourth round
Top goalscorerLeague: Townsend (8)
All: Townsend (9)
Highest home attendance35,604
Lowest home attendance17,976
Average home league attendance25,768

During the 1946–47 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League First Division. The Bees' 12-year run in the First Division ended with relegation to the Second Division after a disastrous season, which tied the club record for fewest league victories and most league defeats. The club did not play again in the top-tier until 2021–22, 74 years later.

Season summary

After three successive top-six finishes in the First Division beginning in 1935–36, Brentford's decline began with the departure of key players during the 1938–39 season,[1] which culminated with a near-relegation.[2] For 1946–47, the first Football League season since the end of the Second World War, manager Harry Curtis was able to call on many of his regular players from the final pre-war seasons, though the elder players, such as Irish international full back Bill Gorman, utility man Buster Brown and former Wales forward Idris Hopkins, were all at age 35.[3] Long-serving forward and once-capped England international Billy Scott had remained with the club and was then aged 38.[3] The team fielded versus Aston Villa on 1 February 1947 was the oldest in club history, with an average age of over 31.5 years.[4] Curtis supplemented the squad by bringing in wing half Cyril Toulouse and forwards John Gillies, Maurice Roberts and George Stewart. As in the final pre-war seasons, Curtis would also promote players from the Bees' reserve ranks, signing amateur Roddy Munro to a professional contract and handing debuts to Frank Latimer, John Moore and Wally Bragg, with Bragg going on to become the youngest-ever Brentford debutant at that time.[5]

Brentford had a good start to the season, winning four of the first five matches and going top on the opening day.[6] The majority of the team's goals were scored by forwards Gerry McAloon, Fred Durrant and George Wilkins,[7] but when the goals dried up in September 1946, Brentford's form took a turn for the worse.[6] Matters were made worse when McAloon and Durrant were quickly sold to Celtic and Queens Park Rangers respectively.[8] A supporter, writing to The Brentford & Chiswick Times, commented "it would seem that Brentford were unaware when they allowed them to go that Thomas, Durrant and McAloon had scored very nearly all the side’s goals in the previous season".[9] Manager Curtis received half back George Paterson from Celtic in part exchange for McAloon and also strengthened the team with full back Malky Macdonald and forward Archie Macaulay.[10] By December, Brentford had dropped into the relegation places and a run of 11 losses in 15 matches culminated in the heaviest defeat of the season – 6–1 away to Sheffield United on Christmas Day.[6]

Brentford's form improved after the Christmas Day thrashing, going undefeated in four of the following five matches to climb out of the relegation places, but from February 1947 onwards, the team's form evaporated.[6] Despite Len Townsend coming into form and going on to become the Bees' top scorer for the season,[7] the goalscoring problem was compounded by the transfer request and subsequent sale of George Wilkins in February.[11] Bill Naylor and Dickie Girling were signed in February to bolster the forward line,[12] but scored just three goals between them before the end of the season.[7] On 24 May, defeat to Sunderland and a draw for 20th-place Charlton Athletic away to Everton consigned the Bees to relegation to the Second Division.[13][14] By the time of the final day of the season on 14 June, Brentford had lost 14 of the final 19 matches.[6]

The relegation was the first suffered by the club since it joined the Football League in 1920 and it was the club's final top-flight season until 2021–22, 74 years later.[2] A number of club Football League records were equalled or broken during the season, including fewest victories (9), fewest home victories (5), most defeats (26), most home defeats (11), fewest home goals scored (19) and highest average attendance (25,768).[15][16]

League table

Main article: 1946–47 Football League First Division

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Relegation
18 Bolton Wanderers 42 13 8 21 57 69 0.826 34
19 Charlton Athletic 42 11 12 19 57 71 0.803 34
20 Huddersfield Town 42 13 7 22 53 79 0.671 33
21 Brentford (R) 42 9 7 26 45 88 0.511 25 Relegation to the Second Division
22 Leeds United (R) 42 6 6 30 45 90 0.500 18
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(R) 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 31 August 1946 Everton A 2–1 55,338 Wilkins (pen), McAloon
2 2 September 1946 Blackpool A 2–4 24,230 Durrant, Wilkins (pen)
3 7 September 1946 Huddersfield Town H 2–0 31,407 Wilkins, McAloon
4 14 September 1946 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 2–1 34,446 Durrant (2)
5 18 September 1946 Blackpool H 2–1 25,621 McAloon, G. Smith
6 21 September 1946 Sunderland H 0–3 33,766
7 28 September 1946 Aston Villa A 2–5 45,350 Wilkins (pen), McAloon
8 5 October 1946 Derby County H 0–3 34,746
9 12 October 1946 Arsenal A 2–2 43,367 Blakeman (2)
10 19 October 1946 Preston North End H 2–3 25,303 Blakeman (2)
11 26 October 1946 Liverpool A 0–1 43,892
12 2 November 1946 Bolton Wanderers H 1–0 23,782 Howe (og)
13 9 November 1946 Chelsea A 2–3 50,242 Hopkins (2)
14 16 November 1946 Charlton Athletic H 1–4 26,648 Townsend
15 23 November 1946 Grimsby Town A 2–2 16,750 Macaulay, Townsend
16 30 November 1946 Leeds United H 1–1 20,352 Townsend
17 7 December 1946 Manchester United A 1–4 31,956 Macaulay
18 14 December 1946 Stoke City H 1–5 30,189 Macdonald
19 21 December 1946 Middlesbrough A 0–2 28,750
20 25 December 1946 Sheffield United A 1–6 36,156 Townsend
21 26 December 1946 Sheffield United H 2–1 29,535 A. Smith, Wilkins
22 28 December 1946 Everton H 1–1 29,360 Hopkins
23 1 January 1947 Blackburn Rovers A 3–0 29,067 Townsend, Wilkins, Stewart
24 4 January 1947 Huddersfield Town A 0–3 27,759
25 18 January 1947 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 4–1 35,604 Wilkins, Stewart, Townsend, A. Smith
26 1 February 1947 Aston Villa H 0–2 21,692
27 22 February 1947 Preston North End A 2–5 25,591 Townsend, A. Smith
28 1 March 1947 Derby County A 1–2 18,691 Leuty (og)
29 15 March 1947 Chelsea H 0–2 33,498
30 22 March 1947 Charlton Athletic A 0–3 29,327
31 29 March 1947 Grimsby Town H 0–1 19,778
32 4 April 1947 Portsmouth H 1–3 24,570 Hopkins
33 5 April 1947 Leeds United A 2–1 23,962 Naylor, Girling
34 7 April 1947 Portsmouth A 0–3 33,409
35 12 April 1947 Manchester United H 0–0 22,035
36 19 April 1947 Stoke City A 1–3 28,966 Naylor
37 26 April 1947 Middlesbrough H 0–0 19,020
38 3 May 1947 Blackburn Rovers H 0–3 18,022
39 10 May 1947 Bolton Wanderers A 0–1 19,887
40 17 May 1947 Liverpool H 1–1 18,228 Stewart
41 24 May 1947 Sunderland A 1–2 20,160 Townsend
42 26 May 1947 Arsenal H 0–1 17,976

FA Cup

Main article: 1946–47 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s) Notes
3R 11 January 1947 Cardiff City H 1–0 32,894 Townsend
4R 25 January 1947 Leicester City H 0–0 32,112
4R (replay) 30 January 1947 Leicester City A 0–0 20,339
4R (2nd replay) 3 February 1947 Leicester City N 1–4 7,500 Scott [nb 1]

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1946–47 season.
Pos. Name Nat. Date of birth (age) Signed from Signed in Notes
Goalkeepers
GK Joe Crozier Scotland (1914-12-02)2 December 1914 (aged 31) East Fife 1937
Defenders
DF Bill Gorman Republic of Ireland (1911-01-13)13 January 1911 (aged 35) Bury 1938
DF Frank Latimer England (1923-10-03)3 October 1923 (aged 22) Snowdown Colliery Welfare 1945
DF Malky MacDonald Scotland (1913-10-26)26 October 1913 (aged 32) Kilmarnock 1946 Coach
DF Roddy Munro Scotland (1920-07-27)27 July 1920 (aged 26) Rangers 1946
DF Harry Oliver England (1921-02-16)16 February 1921 (aged 25) Hartlepools United 1938
Midfielders
HB Wally Bragg England (1929-07-08)8 July 1929 (aged 17) Twickenham Celtic 1946 Loaned to Hounslow Town
HB Buster Brown England (1910-09-06)6 September 1910 (aged 35) Huddersfield Town 1937
HB Tom Manley England (1912-10-07)7 October 1912 (aged 33) Manchester United 1939
HB John Moore England (1923-09-25)25 September 1923 (aged 22) Unattached 1938
HB George Paterson (c) Scotland (1914-09-26)26 September 1914 (aged 31) Celtic 1946
HB Arthur Shaw England (1924-04-09)9 April 1924 (aged 22) Hayes 1946
HB George Smith England (1915-04-23)23 April 1915 (aged 31) Charlton Athletic 1945
HB Cyril Toulouse England (1923-12-24)24 December 1923 (aged 22) St Cuthberts 1946
Forwards
FW Alec Blakeman England (1918-06-11)11 June 1918 (aged 28) Oxford City 1946
FW José Gallego Spain (1923-04-08)8 April 1923 (aged 23) Cambridge City 1947
FW John Gillies Scotland (1918-10-22)22 October 1918 (aged 27) St Mirren 1946
FW Dickie Girling England (1922-05-24)24 May 1922 (aged 24) Crystal Palace 1947
FW Idris Hopkins Wales (1910-10-11)11 October 1910 (aged 35) Crystal Palace 1932
FW Archie Macaulay Scotland (1915-07-30)30 July 1915 (aged 31) West Ham United 1946
FW Bill Naylor England (1919-11-23)23 November 1919 (aged 26) Crystal Palace 1947
FW Maurice Roberts England (1922-07-05)5 July 1922 (aged 24) Unattached 1946 Loaned to Guildford City
FW Billy Scott England (1907-12-06)6 December 1907 (aged 38) Middlesbrough 1932
FW Alan Smith England (1921-10-15)15 October 1921 (aged 24) Arsenal 1946
FW George Stewart Scotland (1920-10-18)18 October 1920 (aged 25) Hamilton Academical 1946
FW Len Townsend England (1917-08-31)31 August 1917 (aged 29) Hayes 1937
Players who left the club mid-season
FW Fred Durrant England (1921-06-19)19 June 1921 (aged 25) Folkestone 1938 Transferred to Queens Park Rangers
FW Gerry McAloon Scotland (1916-09-13)13 September 1916 (aged 29) Wolverhampton Wanderers 1945 Transferred to Celtic
FW George Wilkins England (1919-10-27)27 October 1919 (aged 26) Hayes 1938 Transferred to Bradford Park Avenue
  • Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[7] Timeless Bees,[17] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939[18]

Coaching staff

Name Role
England Harry Curtis Manager
Scotland Jimmy Bain Assistant Manager
Scotland Malky MacDonald Coach
England Billy Lane Coach
England Bob Kane Trainer
England Jack Cartmell Assistant Trainer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Football League season.
Pos Nat Name League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK Scotland Joe Crozier 42 0 4 0 46 0
DF England Wally Bragg 1 0 0 0 1 0
DF Republic of Ireland Bill Gorman 34 0 4 0 38 0
DF England Frank Latimer 1 0 0 0 1 0
DF Scotland Malky MacDonald 16 1 0 0 16 1
DF Scotland Roddy Munro 34 0 4 0 38 0
DF England Harry Oliver 14 0 0 0 14 0
HB England Wally Bragg 1 0 0 0 1 0
HB England Buster Brown 8 0 0 0 8 0
HB England Tom Manley 9 0 0 0 9 0
HB England John Moore 2 0 0 0 2 0
HB Scotland George Paterson 27 0 4 0 31 0
HB England Arthur Shaw 4 0 0 0 4 0
HB England George Smith 41 1 4 0 45 1
HB England Cyril Toulouse 10 0 0 0 10 0
FW England Alec Blakeman 8 4 0 0 8 4
FW England Fred Durrant 4 3 — 4 3
FW Spain José Gallego 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW Scotland John Gillies 5 0 0 0 5 0
FW England Dickie Girling 15 1 — 15 1
FW Wales Idris Hopkins 39 4 4 0 43 4
FW Scotland Gerry McAloon 7 4 — 7 4
FW Scotland Archie Macaulay 26 2 4 0 30 2
FW England Bill Naylor 11 2 — 11 2
FW England Maurice Roberts 10 0 0 0 10 0
FW England Billy Scott 12 0 3 1 15 1
FW England Alan Smith 10 3 4 0 14 3
FW Scotland George Stewart 16 3 1 0 17 3
FW England Len Townsend 29 8 4 1 33 9
FW England George Wilkins 26 7 4 0 30 7
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: 100 Years of Brentford[7]

Goalscorers

Pos. Nat Player FL1 FAC Total
FW England Len Townsend 8 1 9
FW England George Wilkins 7 0 7
FW Scotland Gerry McAloon 4 — 4
FW England Alec Blakeman 4 0 4
FW Wales Idris Hopkins 4 0 4
FW England Fred Durrant 3 — 3
FW England Alan Smith 3 0 3
FW Scotland George Stewart 3 0 3
FW England Bill Naylor 2 — 2
FW Scotland Archie Macaulay 2 0 2
FW England Dickie Girling 1 — 1
DF Scotland Malky MacDonald 1 0 1
HB England George Smith 1 0 1
FW England Billy Scott 0 1 1
Opponents 2 0 2
Total 45 2 47
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: 100 Years of Brentford[7]

International caps

Pos. Nat Player Caps Goals Ref
DF Republic of Ireland
Ireland 		Bill Gorman 2
3 		0
0 		[19]
[20]
FW Scotland Archie Macaulay 1 0 [21]

Management

Name Nat From To Record All Comps Record League
P W D L W % P W D L W %
Harry Curtis England 31 August 1946 14 June 1947 46 10 9 27 021.74 42 9 7 26 021.43

Summary

Games played 46 (42 First Division, 4 FA Cup)
Games won 10 (9 First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Games drawn 9 (7 First Division, 2 FA Cup)
Games lost 27 (26 First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored 47 (45 First Division, 2 FA Cup)
Goals conceded 92 (88 First Division, 4 FA Cup)
Clean sheets 8 (5 First Division, 3 FA Cup)
Biggest league win 3–0 versus Blackburn Rovers, 1 January 1947; 4–1 versus Wolverhampton Wanderers, 18 January 1947
Worst league defeat 6–1 versus Sheffield United, 25 December 1946
Most appearances 46, Joe Crozier (42 First Division, 4 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league) 8, Len Townsend
Top scorer (all competitions) 9, Len Townsend

Transfers & loans

Cricketers are not included in this list.
Players transferred in
Date Pos. Name Previous Club Fee Ref.
May 1946 FW England Alec Blakeman England Oxford City Free [22]
May 1946 FW Scotland John Gillies Scotland St Mirren Nominal [23]
May 1946 HB England Arthur Shaw England Hayes n/a [24]
May 1946 HB England Cyril Toulouse England St Cuthberts Free [25]
30 July 1946 FW Scotland George Stewart Scotland Hamilton Academical n/a [26]
30 July 1946 FW Scotland J. A. Fyffe n/a n/a [26]
23 August 1946 FW England Robert Ross England Murton Colliery Welfare n/a [27]
August 1946 FW England Maurice Roberts Unattached Free [28]
October 1946 DF Scotland Malky MacDonald Scotland Kilmarnock £1,500 [10]
October 1946 HB Scotland George Paterson Scotland Celtic Exchange [10]
November 1946 FW Scotland Archie Macaulay England West Ham United n/a [10]
December 1946 FW England Alan Smith England Arsenal Free [29]
1946 HB England Wally Bragg England Twickenham Celtic Amateur [5]
January 1947 FW Spain José Gallego England Cambridge City Free [30]
January 1947 DF Scotland William Gibson England Arsenal n/a [31]
10 February 1947 FW England Dickie Girling England Crystal Palace n/a [23]
10 February 1947 FW England Bill Naylor England Crystal Palace n/a [32]
March 1947 FW England Percy Gleeson England Hounslow Town n/a [33]
Players transferred out
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Fee Ref.
19 June 1946 DF England Harry Bamford England Brighton & Hove Albion n/a [34]
19 June 1946 FW England Jim Gotts England Brighton & Hove Albion n/a [34]
19 June 1946 FW England Albert Hammond England Exeter City n/a [35]
26 June 1946 HB England Eric Jones England Crewe Alexandra n/a [36]
September 1946 FW England Fred Durrant England Queens Park Rangers £4,500 [8]
4 October 1946 FW Scotland Gerry McAloon Scotland Celtic Exchange [37]
October 1946 DF England Jimmy Anderson England Carlisle United Nominal [38]
10 February 1947 FW England George Wilkins England Bradford Park Avenue £7,000 [39]
February 1947 DF England Fred Mansfield England Norwich City n/a [40]
Players loaned out
Date Pos. Name Previous Club Date to Ref.
1946 HB England Wally Bragg England Hounslow Town 1947 [5]
November 1946 FW England Maurice Roberts England Guildford City 1947 [28]
Players released
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Join date Ref.
April 1947 FW Wales Les Boulter England Yeovil Town 1947 [41]
April 1947 HB England Buster Brown England Leyton Orient May 1947 [42]
April 1947 HB Collier n/a n/a [43]
April 1947 FW Scotland J. A. Fyffe n/a n/a [43]
April 1947 FW Scotland John Gillies Scotland Morton 1947 [23]
April 1947 FW Wales Idris Hopkins England Bristol City May 1947 [44]
April 1947 FW England Ernest Muttitt England Dover 1947 [45]
April 1947 FW England Maurice Roberts England Bristol City May 1947 [28]
April 1947 FW T. Ryder n/a n/a [43]
April 1947 FW England Billy Scott England Aldershot July 1947 [46]
April 1947 FW England John Sutton n/a n/a [43]
April 1947 FW England Len Townsend England Bristol City June 1947 [47]

Notes

  1. ^ Match played at Villa Park, Birmingham.

References

  1. ^ White 1989, p. 162-165.
  2. ^ a b Brentford F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  3. ^ a b White 1989, p. 179-184.
  4. ^ Haynes 1998, p. 99.
  5. ^ a b c Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 25-26.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Brentford results for the 1946–1947 season". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 379. ISBN 0951526200.
  8. ^ a b Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 51, 102–103.
  9. ^ "Brentford Needs Goal Scorers. Mcaloon's Transfer "Disastrous." Reader's View". The Brentford & Chiswick Times. 20 December 1946.
  10. ^ a b c d Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 98, 105, 121–122.
  11. ^ "Moment in time: Wolverhampton Wanderers". Brentford FC. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  12. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 168.
  13. ^ "11v11 league table generator". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  14. ^ "All of the results on Saturday 24th May 1947". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  15. ^ Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia. Harefield, Middlesex: Yore Publications. pp. 78–79. ISBN 1-874427-57-7.
  16. ^ Haynes 1998, p. 13.
  17. ^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  18. ^ Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 978-1905891610.
  19. ^ "Bill Gorman". 11v11.com. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  20. ^ "Bill Gorman". NIFG. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  21. ^ "Archie MacAulay". 11v11.com. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  22. ^ "Captures". The Brentford & Chiswick Times. 10 May 1946.
  23. ^ a b c Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 65.
  24. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 144.
  25. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 161-162.
  26. ^ a b "Stewart Signs For Brentford. Bees Report For Training On Wednesday". Middlesex Chronicle. 3 August 1946.
  27. ^ "Transfer Blow. Housing Snag Stops "Bees" Getting Pivot. Private Trial". The Brentford & Chiswick Times. 23 August 1946.
  28. ^ a b c "Maurice Roberts". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  29. ^ "Alan Smith". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  30. ^ "Refugee Footballers in Britain" (PDF). Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  31. ^ "Bill Gibson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  32. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 114.
  33. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 66.
  34. ^ a b "Bamford and Gotts for Brighton". The Brentford & Chiswick Times. 21 June 1946.
  35. ^ Western Morning News. Plymouth, Devon. 1946.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  36. ^ "Jones Gets Off At Crewe". The Brentford & Chiswick Times. 28 June 1946.
  37. ^ "McAloon, Gerald". The Celtic Wiki. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  38. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 11-12.
  39. ^ "Wilkins: Ernest George (George)". Leeds United F.C. History. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  40. ^ "Fred Mansfield". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  41. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 24.
  42. ^ "Billy Brown". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  43. ^ a b c d "The Sportsman's Roundabout – Retained List". The Brentford & Chiswick Times. 25 April 1947.
  44. ^ "Dai Hopkins". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  45. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 113.
  46. ^ "Billy Scott". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  47. ^ "Len Townsend". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 June 2016.