1903–04 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1903–04 English football season, Brentford competed in the Southern League First Division. Despite leading the division in September 1903, disruption behind the scenes and the suspension of manager Dick Molyneux for the final month of the season led to a 13th-place finish.

Brentford
1903–04 season
ChairmanCharlie Dorey
Secretary ManagerDick Molyneux
(until March 1904)
William Lewis
(from March 1904)
StadiumYork Road
Southern League First Division13th
FA CupIntermediate round
Top goalscorerLeague: Buchanan,
Underwood (6)

All: Buchanan,
Underwood (10)

Season summary

Wing half Jimmy Jay was signed from Bristol City during the 1903 off-season and would go on to make more Southern League appearances for Brentford than any other player.

Directly after the end of the dire 1902–03 season, the Brentford committee decided to act and appoint a first team manager.[1] Dick Molyneux became the first official manager in the club's history and arrived at York Road having served as manager at Everton for 12 years,[1] with a CV boasting one Football League First Division championship and two FA Cup runners-up medals.[2] One of the first major changes Molyneux enacted was to request that the board raise funds to pay adequate summer wages for the playing squad, which would put an end to the failures of previous seasons, when the board waited until almost before the beginning of the season to transfer players in, so as to cut down on off-season wages.[1] Due to the majority of clubs conducting their transfer business shortly after the end of the season, the tactic meant that Brentford were always short on transfer options, when conducting business close to the beginning of the following season.[1] The board raised £330 in donations (equivalent to £35,700 in 2021) and Molyneux set about building a 16-man all-professional squad which could compete in the Southern League First Division.[1] Of the previous season's squad, only goalkeeper Tommy Spicer, inside left Percy Turner and outside left Tosher Underwood were retained and by early June 1903, Molyneux had signed an almost entirely new XI.[1] Brentford's colours were changed for the first time since the mid-1890s, with the old claret and blue replaced by a kit consisting of gold shirts with blue stripes, white shorts and black socks.[1]

Dick Molyneux's team started season strongly, reaching top spot in the First Division after five matches.[1] The demands on the small squad led Brentford to fall back into mid-table and a goalkeeping crisis suffered in early 1904 exacerbated the problem.[1] Molyneux brought in former trialist John Bishop and paid him money to play, an illegal move as Bishop was a serving soldier with the Scots Guards and therefore an amateur player.[1] After his third appearance, Bishop returned late to barracks, was reported to his commanding officer and then made a statement in writing about his involvement with Brentford.[1] The statement was passed on to the FA, who fined Brentford £25 and suspended director Bill Dodge for two years and manager Molyneux for the final month of the season.[1] With secretary William Lewis in caretaker charge, the Bees took one point from the remaining five matches of the season to finish in 13th position.[3]

One club record was set during the season:

  • Most Southern League away draws in a season: 5[4]

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
11 Fulham 34 9 12 13 34 36 0.944 30
12 West Ham United 34 10 7 17 39 44 0.886 27
13 Brentford 34 9 9 16 34 48 0.708 27
14 Wellingborough 34 11 5 18 44 63 0.698 27
15 Northampton Town 34 10 7 17 36 60 0.600 27
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Southern League First Division

No. DateOpponentVenueResultScorer(s)
1 5 September 1903Queens Park RangersA0–1
2 7 September 1903Swindon Town H2–1Turner, Swarbrick
3 12 September 1903Plymouth ArgyleH1–0Leigh
4 14 September 1903Tottenham HotspurH0–0
5 19 September 1903ReadingA1–1Underwood
6 26 September 1903 Wellingborough H 0–1
7 3 October 1903Bristol RoversA1–5Parsonage
8 10 October 1903 Brighton & Hove Albion H 1–0 Leigh
9 17 October 1903PortsmouthA1–3Atherton
10 24 October 1903Northampton TownH4–1Buchanan, Bell (2), Durber (og)
11 7 November 1903West Ham UnitedA1–0Underwood
12 21 November 1903 Luton Town A 0–1
13 5 December 1903Kettering A0–1
14 26 December 1903 Fulham H 1–1 Leigh
15 28 December 1903 Millwall H 1–3 Bellingham
16 2 January 1904 Queens Park Rangers H 1–4 Buchanan
17 4 January 1904 Kettering H 4–2 Buchanan (3), Jay
18 9 January 1904 Plymouth Argyle A 2–2 Atherton, Davidson
19 16 January 1904 Reading H 0–0
20 23 January 1904 Wellingborough A 0–2
21 30 January 1904 Bristol Rovers H 1–2 Parsonage (pen)
22 1 February 1904New Brompton H1–1Parsonage
23 6 February 1904Brighton & Hove Albion A1–3Underwood
24 13 February 1904Portsmouth H4–0Underwood (2), Brett (pen), Jay
25 20 February 1904Northampton Town A0–3
26 27 February 1904 Swindon Town A 1–1 Barron
27 5 March 1904 West Ham United H 2–0 Underwood, Barron
28 12 March 1904 Tottenham Hotspur A 1–1 Buchanan
29 19 March 1904 Luton Town H 2–1 Bell (2)
30 26 March 1904 New Brompton A 0–3
31 2 April 1904 Southampton H 0–1
32 9 April 1904 Southampton A 0–1
33 16 April 1904 Fulham A 0–0
34 23 April 1904 Millwall A 0–2

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResult Scorer(s)
3QR 31 October 1903 Uxbridge H 8–0 Bell (2), Leigh, Parsonage, Buchanan (2), Underwood (2)
4QR 14 November 1903 Oxford City A 3–1 Underwood, Leigh, Parsonage
5QR 28 November 1903 Wycombe Wanderers A 4–1 Leigh (2), Bell, Buchanan
IR 12 December 1903 Plymouth Argyle H 1–1 Underwood
IR (replay)16 December 1903 Plymouth Argyle A1–4 Buchanan
  • Source: 100 Years of Brentford[3]

Playing squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK  ENG George Bishop
GK  ENG Bill Howarth
GK  ENG Tommy Spicer
GK  SCO Bob Watson
DF  SCO Tommy Davidson (c)
DF  ENG Thomas Howarth
DF  SCO Jock Watson
MF  SCO James Bellingham
MF  SCO Alex Caie
MF  ENG Jimmy Jay
MF  ENG George Parsonage
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW  ENG Tommy Atherton (on loan from Grimsby Town)
FW  SCO John Barron
FW  SCO Lawrence Bell
FW  ENG Ralph Brett
FW  SCO Dave Buchanan
FW  ENG Charles Lanham
FW  ENG Tommy Leigh
FW  ENG James Swarbrick
FW  ENG Percy Turner
FW  ENG Tosher Underwood

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK  ENG Joe Frail (to Stalybridge Rovers)
  • Source: 100 Years of Brentford[3]

Coaching staff

Dick Molyneux (5 September 1903 – March 1904)

Name Role
Dick Molyneux Secretary Manager
Bob Crone Trainer

William Lewis (March – 23 April 1904)

Name Role
William Lewis Caretaker Manager
Bob Crone Trainer

Statistics

Appearances

Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Southern League season.

Goalscorers

Pos. Nat Player SL1 FAC Total
FW Dave Buchanan 6 4 10
FW Tosher Underwood 6 4 10
FW Tommy Leigh 4 4 8
FW Lawrence Bell 4 3 7
HB George Parsonage 3 2 5
FW John Barron2 2
FW Tommy Atherton 2 0 2
HB James Bellingham 1 0 1
FW Ralph Brett 1 0 1
DF Tommy Davidson 1 0 1
HB Jimmy Jay 1 0 1
FW Percy Turner 1 0 1
FW James Swarbrick 1 0 1
Opponents 1 0 1
Total341751
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[3]

Management

Name Nat From To Record All Comps Record League
PWDLW %PWDLW %
Dick Molyneux 5 September 1903 19 March 1904 34 12 9 13 035.29 29 9 8 12 031.03
William Lewis (caretaker) 26 March 1904 23 April 1904 5 0 1 4 000.00 5 0 1 4 000.00

Summary

Games played39 (34 Southern League First Division, 5 FA Cup)
Games won12 (9 Southern League First Division, 3 FA Cup)
Games drawn10 (9 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Games lost17 (16 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored51 (34 Southern League First Division, 17 FA Cup)
Goals conceded55 (48 Southern League First Division, 7 FA Cup)
Clean sheets9 (8 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup)
Biggest league win4–0 versus Portsmouth, 13 February 1904
Worst league defeat 5–1 versus Bristol Rovers, 3 October 1903
Most appearances39, George Parsonage, Jock Watson (34 Southern League First Division, 5 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league)6, Dave Buchanan, Tosher Underwood
Top scorer (all competitions)10, Dave Buchanan, Tosher Underwood

References

  1. White, p. 81-82.
  2. "Honours | Everton Football Club". www.evertonfc.com. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  3. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 357. ISBN 0951526200.
  4. Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia. Yore Publications. pp. 117–120. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
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