1963–64 Brentford F.C. season

Brentford
1963–64 season
ChairmanJack Dunnett
ManagerMalky MacDonald
StadiumGriffin Park
Third Division15th
FA CupFourth round
League CupSecond round
Top goalscorerLeague: Ward (19)
All: Ward (22)
Highest home attendance26,000
Lowest home attendance6,800
Average home league attendance11,883

During the 1963–64 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division. Despite expectations that the club could achieve a second-successive promotion, poor form in late 1963 and early 1964 led to a mid-table finish.

Season summary

After a single-season stay in the Fourth Division, Brentford had returned to the Third Division as champions for the 1963–64 season.[1] A large outlay had been made on new signings during the previous 12 months and though chairman Jack Dunnett stated that the club's big-spending days were a thing of the past, he would continue to make money available to manager Malky MacDonald during the season.[1] There was very little transfer activity during the 1963 off-season, with half backs Willie Smith and Bill Slater coming in (Slater returned to Griffin Park after 11 years away) and £5,000 was spent on Liverpool full back Allan Jones as a replacement for the inexperienced Tom Anthony.[1] Redevelopment work was carried out on Griffin Park throughout the summer, with floodlight pylons erected at each corner of the ground, while new club offices and a bar were built into the Braemar Road stand.[1]

Brentford had what was perceived to be a poor start to the season and sat in mid-table after 10 matches.[1][2] Expectations had been high after the Fourth Division championship triumph at the end of the previous season, but defeat to an attractive Coventry City side (managed by former Brentford player Jimmy Hill) on 5 October 1963 highlighted the gulf between the Third and Fourth Divisions.[1] In the wake of the defeat, Brentford rapidly recovered and won six and drew two of the following 10 matches, which included a 9–0 thrashing of Wrexham at Griffin Park,[2] a result which remains as the club's record Football League win.[3] The team's form collapsed in late November 1963 and despite something of a recovery after a spell of over three months without a league win, the Bees were consigned to a 15th-place finish.[2] Some success was had in the FA Cup with a run to the fourth round, but after seeing off Second Division Middlesbrough in the third round, Fourth Division strugglers Oxford United took Brentford to a replay in the fourth round and then emerged 2–1 victors at Griffin Park.[2]

100 goals were scored during the season,[2] just two shy of the total set during the previous campaign,[4] but the team's achilles heel was the goalkeeping position, with four players vying for the position, though November 1963 signing Chic Brodie would eventually make the position his own.[5] The end of the 1963–64 season was notable for the retirement of full back and captain Ken Coote.[6] He had made 559 appearances and scored 15 goals over the course of 15 seasons for Brentford and is the club's all-time record appearance maker.[6]

A large number of record were set or equalled during the season:

  • Record Football League win: 9–0 versus Wrexham, 15 October 1963[3]
  • Most goals conceded in a home Football League defeat: 6 (2–6 versus Luton Town, 8 February 1964)[3]
  • Most consecutive matches without failing to score a Football League goal: 26 (4 March – 14 September 1963)[3]
  • Most consecutive matches without failing to score a home Football League goal: 41 (21 August 1962 – 28 March 1964)[3]
  • Most Football League away draws in a season: 10[7]
  • Most home Football League goals conceded in a season: 36[7]
  • Quickest time to reach 50 Football League goals in a season: 22 matches[8]

League table

Main article: 1963–64 Football League Third Division

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
14 Southend United 46 15 15 16 77 78 0.987 45
15 Queens Park Rangers 46 18 9 19 76 78 0.974 45
16 Brentford 46 15 14 17 87 80 1.088 44
17 Colchester United 46 12 19 15 70 68 1.029 43
18 Luton Town 46 16 10 20 64 80 0.800 42
Source: [citation needed]

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Football League Third Division

No. Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s)
1 24 August 1963 Notts County H 4–1 13,200 Block, Brooks, Loxley (og), McAdams
2 27 August 1963 Bristol City H 1–2 16,800 Dick
3 31 August 1963 Crewe Alexandra A 1–1 6,729 McLeod
4 7 September 1963 Crystal Palace H 2–1 15,800 Block, McAdams
5 10 September 1963 Bristol City A 3–3 12,689 Dick (2), Kurila (og)
6 14 September 1963 Walsall A 2–2 6,448 McAdams, Block
7 16 September 1963 Port Vale A 0–3 11,559
8 21 September 1963 Reading H 4–2 12,360 Dick (3), Block
9 28 September 1963 Luton Town A 2–0 7,479 Dick, McAdams
10 1 October 1963 Port Vale H 1–2 11,900 McAdams
11 5 October 1963 Coventry City H 2–3 15,830 Dick, McAdams
12 9 October 1963 Wrexham A 4–2 7,923 Slater (2), McAdams, Dick
13 12 October 1963 Bristol Rovers H 2–5 13,400 Fielding, Dick
14 15 October 1963 Wrexham H 9–0 10,500 McAdams (2), Ward (2), Fox (og), Hales, Brooks (2), Summers
15 19 October 1963 Barnsley A 1–1 6,602 Brooks
16 21 October 1963 Mansfield Town A 2–2 12,115 Dick, Ward
17 26 October 1963 Millwall H 3–1 15,200 McAdams, Block (2)
18 29 October 1963 Mansfield Town H 4–0 14,900 Dick, Ward (3)
19 2 November 1963 Colchester United A 2–1 7,117 Block, Dick
20 9 November 1963 Watford H 1–2 17,000 Dick
21 23 November 1963 Peterborough United H 2–0 15,900 Dick (2)
22 30 November 1963 Oldham Athletic A 1–4 14,385 Block
23 14 December 1963 Notts County A 0–2 3,744
24 21 December 1963 Crewe Alexandra H 2–2 7,520 Fielding, Dick
25 28 December 1963 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic A 0–2 7,992
26 11 January 1964 Crystal Palace A 0–1 16,630
27 18 January 1964 Walsall H 1–1 10,650 Ward
28 1 February 1964 Reading A 3–4 10,783 Block, Lazarus, Ward
29 8 February 1964 Luton Town H 2–6 9,000 McAdams, Lazarus
30 15 February 1964 Coventry City A 2–2 22,971 Dick, Ward
31 22 February 1964 Bristol Rovers A 1–3 8,703 Block
32 29 February 1964 Queens Park Rangers H 2–2 12,200 Block, Lazarus
33 7 March 1964 Millwall A 3–1 9,140 McAdams, Ward (2)
34 14 March 1964 Colchester United H 3–1 7,050 Ward (2), Lazarus
35 16 March 1964 Southend United A 1–2 6,846 Ward
36 20 March 1964 Queens Park Rangers A 2–2 9,351 Ward (2)
37 28 March 1964 Southend United H 3–0 9,200 Higginson, Fielding, McAdams
38 30 March 1964 Shrewsbury Town H 0–1 10,040
39 31 March 1964 Shrewsbury Town A 1–1 5,058 Summers
40 4 April 1964 Peterborough United A 0–3 5,550
41 11 April 1964 Oldham Athletic H 2–0 8,930 Ward (2)
42 13 April 1964 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic H 2–0 10,200 Jones, Ward
43 18 April 1964 Hull City A 0–0 6,798
44 21 April 1964 Watford A 2–2 19,279 Fielding, McAdams
45 25 April 1964 Barnsley H 1–1 8,350 Thomson
46 28 April 1964 Hull City H 1–3 6,800 Hales

FA Cup

Main article: 1963–64 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s)
1R 16 November 1963 Margate H 2–2 12,150 Block, Dick
1R (replay) 20 November 1963 Margate A 2–0 6,212 Ward (2)
2R 7 December 1963 Gravesend & Northfleet H 1–0 11,850 Block
3R 4 January 1964 Middlesbrough H 2–1 16,100 Dick, McAdams
4R 25 January 1964 Oxford United A 2–2 15,517 Block, Ward
4R (replay) 28 January 1964 Oxford United H 1–2 26,000 McAdams

Football League Cup

Main article: 1963–64 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s)
1R (1st leg) 4 September 1963 Reading A 1–1 7,582 Block
1R (replay) 23 September 1963 Reading H 2–0 10,360 Spiers (og), McLaughlin
2R 25 September 1963 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic H 0–0 10,830
2R (replay) 4 November 1963 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic A 0–2 8,057

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1963–64 season.
Pos. Name Nat. Date of birth (age) Signed from Signed in Notes
Goalkeepers
GK Chic Brodie Scotland (1937-02-22)22 February 1937 (aged 26) Northampton Town 1963
GK Gerry Cakebread England (1936-04-01)1 April 1936 (aged 27) Youth 1954
GK Gordon Phillips England (1946-11-17)17 November 1946 (aged 16) Hayes 1963
GK Fred Ryecraft England (1939-08-28)28 August 1939 (aged 23) Southall 1959
Defenders
DF Tom Anthony England (1943-08-16)16 August 1943 (aged 20) Youth 1961
DF Ken Coote (c) England (1928-05-19)19 May 1928 (aged 35) Wembley 1949
DF Alan Hawley England (1946-06-07)7 June 1946 (aged 17) Youth 1962
DF Allan Jones Wales (1940-01-06)6 January 1940 (aged 23) Liverpool 1963
DF George Thomson Scotland (1936-10-19)19 October 1936 (aged 26) Everton 1963
Midfielders
HB Matt Crowe Scotland (1932-07-04)4 July 1932 (aged 31) Norwich City 1962
HB Peter Gelson England (1941-10-18)18 October 1941 (aged 21) Youth 1961
HB Tommy Higginson Scotland (1937-01-06)6 January 1937 (aged 26) Kilmarnock 1959
HB Hugh McLaughlin Scotland (1943-09-02)2 September 1943 (aged 19) St Roch's 1961
HB Mel Scott England (1939-09-26)26 September 1939 (aged 23) Chelsea 1963
HB Bill Slater England (1927-04-29)29 April 1927 (aged 36) Wolverhampton Wanderers 1963 Amateur
HB Willie Smith Scotland (1943-12-06)6 December 1943 (aged 19) Celtic 1963
Forwards
FW Micky Block England (1940-01-28)28 January 1940 (aged 23) Chelsea 1962
FW John Dick Scotland (1930-03-19)19 March 1930 (aged 33) West Ham United 1962
FW John Fielding England (1939-09-02)2 September 1939 (aged 23) Southport 1963
FW Johnny Hales Scotland (1940-05-15)15 May 1940 (aged 23) St Roch's 1958
FW Mark Lazarus England (1938-12-05)5 December 1938 (aged 24) Queens Park Rangers 1964
FW Billy McAdams Northern Ireland (1934-01-20)20 January 1934 (aged 29) Leeds United 1962
FW Tim Soutar England (1946-02-25)25 February 1946 (aged 17) Youth 1961
FW George Summers Scotland (1941-07-30)30 July 1941 (aged 22) Shawfield 1959
FW Dai Ward Wales (1934-07-13)13 July 1934 (aged 29) Watford 1963
Players who left the club mid-season
FW Johnny Brooks England (1931-12-23)23 December 1931 (aged 31) Chelsea 1961 Transferred to Crystal Palace
FW George McLeod Scotland (1932-11-30)30 November 1932 (aged 30) Luton Town 1958 Transferred to Queens Park Rangers
  • Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford,[5] Timeless Bees[9]

Coaching staff

Name Role
Scotland Malky MacDonald Manager
England Tommy Cavanagh Trainer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Football League season.
Pos Nat Name League FA Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK Scotland Chic Brodie 25 0 4 0 — 29 0
GK England Gerry Cakebread 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
GK England Gordon Phillips 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
GK England Fred Ryecraft 15 0 1 0 4 0 20 0
DF England Tom Anthony 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
DF England Ken Coote 19 0 1 0 4 0 24 0
DF Wales Allan Jones 45 1 6 0 4 0 55 1
DF England Alan Hawley 12 0 0 0 0 0 12 0
DF Scotland George Thomson 23 1 4 0 — 27 1
HB Scotland Matt Crowe 34 0 6 0 1 0 41 0
HB England Peter Gelson 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
HB Scotland Tommy Higginson 37 1 5 0 1 0 43 1
HB Scotland Hugh McLaughlin 2 0 0 0 2 1 4 1
HB England Mel Scott 44 0 6 0 4 0 54 0
HB England Bill Slater 5 2 0 0 0 0 5 2
HB Scotland Willie Smith 13 0 1 0 4 0 18 0
FW England Micky Block 35 11 6 3 4 1 45 15
FW England Johnny Brooks 6 4 0 0 2 0 8 4
FW Scotland John Dick 30 18 6 2 4 0 40 20
FW England John Fielding 28 4 0 0 3 0 31 4
FW Scotland Johnny Hales 9 2 3 0 0 0 12 2
FW England Mark Lazarus 20 4 — — 20 4
FW Northern Ireland Billy McAdams 39 14 6 2 3 0 48 16
FW Scotland George McLeod 14 1 3 0 3 0 20 1
FW England Tim Soutar 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW Scotland George Summers 9 2 0 0 1 0 10 2
FW Wales Dai Ward 33 19 6 3 — 39 22
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[5]

Goalscorers

Pos. Nat Player FL3 FAC FLC Total
FW Wales Dai Ward 19 3 — 22
FW Scotland John Dick 18 2 0 20
FW Northern Ireland Billy McAdams 14 2 0 16
FW England Micky Block 11 3 1 15
FW England Mark Lazarus 4 — — 4
FW England Johnny Brooks 4 0 0 4
FW England John Fielding 4 0 0 4
FW Scotland Johnny Hales 2 0 0 2
HB England Bill Slater 2 0 0 2
FW Scotland George Summers 2 0 0 2
HB Scotland Tommy Higginson 1 0 0 1
DF Wales Allan Jones 1 0 0 1
FW Scotland George McLeod 1 0 0 1
DF Scotland George Thomson 1 0 0 1
HB Scotland Hugh McLaughlin 0 0 1 1
Opponents 3 0 0 3
Total 87 10 3 100
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[5]

Management

Name Nat From To Record All Comps Record League
P W D L W % P W D L W %
Malky MacDonald Scotland 24 August 1963 28 April 1964 56 19 18 19 033.93 46 15 14 17 032.61

Summary

Games played 56 (46 Third Division, 6 FA Cup, 4 League Cup)
Games won 19 (15 Third Division, 3 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Games drawn 18 (14 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)
Games lost 19 (17 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals scored 100 (87 Third Division, 10 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
Goals conceded 90 (80 Third Division, 7 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
Clean sheets 10 (8 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)
Biggest league win 9–0 versus Wrexham, 12 September 1963
Worst league defeat 6–2 versus Luton Town, 8 February 1964
Most appearances 55, Allan Jones (45 Third Division, 6 FA Cup, 4 League Cup)
Top scorer (league) 19, Dai Ward
Top scorer (all competitions) 22, Dai Ward

Transfers & loans

Players transferred in
Date Pos. Name Previous Club Fee Ref.
June 1963 HB Scotland Willie Smith Scotland Celtic Free [10]
July 1963 HB England Bill Slater England Wolverhampton Wanderers Amateur [11]
August 1963 DF Wales Allan Jones England Liverpool £5,000 [12]
15 October 1963 FW Wales Dai Ward England Watford £8,000 [13]
November 1963 GK Scotland Chic Brodie England Northampton Town £10,000 [14]
November 1963 DF Scotland George Thomson England Everton n/a [15]
1963 GK England Gordon Phillips England Hayes n/a [16]
1963 n/a England John Todd n/a n/a [1]
January 1964 FW England Mark Lazarus England Queens Park Rangers Part-exchange [17]
Players transferred out
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Fee Ref.
January 1964 FW Scotland George McLeod England Queens Park Rangers Part-exchange [18]
January 1964 FW England Johnny Brooks England Crystal Palace n/a [19]
Players released
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Join date Ref.
April 1964 DF England Ken Coote Retired [6]
April 1964 HB Scotland Matt Crowe South Africa Port Elizabeth City n/a [20]
April 1964 FW Scotland Johnny Hales Retired [21]
April 1964 GK England Fred Ryecraft England Gravesend & Northfleet n/a [22]
April 1964 HB England Graham Sawyer England Bexley United 1964 [23]
April 1964 HB England Bill Slater England Northern Nomads n/a [11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g White 1989, p. 250-254.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Brentford results for the 1963–1964 season". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Brentford scoring and sequence records". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Brentford results for the 1962–1963 season". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 387. ISBN 0951526200.
  6. ^ a b c Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 40-41.
  7. ^ a b Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia. Yore Publications. pp. 78–79. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
  8. ^ Haynes 1998, p. 50.
  9. ^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  10. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 150.
  11. ^ a b Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 146.
  12. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 88-89.
  13. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 164-165.
  14. ^ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. pp. 255–256. ISBN 978-1906796709.
  15. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 160.
  16. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 124.
  17. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 96.
  18. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 107.
  19. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 28.
  20. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 43.
  21. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 71.
  22. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 139-140.
  23. ^ "Graham Sawyer". Retrieved 23 January 2017.