Despite falling at the first hurdle to League Two club Hereford United in the first round of the League Cup, Brentford enjoyed a strong start to the league season, winning five of the opening seven matches to climb as high as 4th place.[6] By the end of 2011, the Bees were on the edge of the playoff places and had exited all the cup competitions, having been knocked out of the FA Cup and Football League Trophy at the second round and Southern Area semi-final stages respectively.[6] Manager Uwe Rösler spent much of the first half of the season overhauling the squad, loaning out Pim Balkestein, Ryan Blake, Michael Spillane and Sam Wood,[7] with six loan players arriving between 8 September and 24 November as cover during an injury crisis.[4] Leading goalscorer Gary Alexander was loaned out for the final two months of the season.[8]
Just 3 wins from a 16-match spell between 17 December 2011 and 20 March 2012 dropped Brentford back into mid-table and though the team finished the season strongly (winning six and drawing two of the final 9 matches), too many dropped points at home saw the Bees finish in 9th place,[6] six points below the playoff zone.[9] The season had proved to be one of transition and manager Uwe Rösler's loan signings of left backJake Bidwell, centre backHarlee Dean and midfielder Adam Forshaw proved to be shrewd,[4] with the trio returning for the 2012–13 season (Bidwell on loan, Dean and Forshaw on permanent transfers) and the youngsters would play a major part in Brentford's future success.[10] Teenage Development Squad midfielder Jake Reeves was blooded during the season and was described as "a big option" by Rösler.[11]
51, Clayton Donaldson (46 League One, 2 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 2 Football League Trophy), Jonathan Douglas (46 League One, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 3 Football League Trophy)