1920–21 Brentford F.C. season

Brentford

1920–21 season
Chairman	H. Jason-Saunders
Secretary Manager	Fred Halliday
Stadium	Griffin Park
Third Division	21st
FA Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: King (17) All: King (18)
Average home league attendance	8,660
← 1919–20 1921–22 →

During the 1920–21 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division. It was Brentford's inaugural season in the Football League and ended with the club successfully applying for re-election.

Season summary

Harry King was the leading goalscorer during the season and was the first Brentford player to register a Football League hattrick.

Brentford competed in the First Division of the Southern League during the 1919–20 season and were named as founder members of the new Football League Third Division for 1920–21.^[1] In preparation, 11 new players were signed and £2,000 was spent on improvements to Griffin Park prior to the beginning of the season.^[2] Despite flirting with a position in mid-table during August and September 1920, the club endured a torrid season, sinking to the re-election places by October and largely remaining there for the rest of the season, in addition to exiting the FA Cup in the first round.^[3] Brentford successfully applied for re-election to the Football League at the end of the season without going to a poll.^[4] Three directors resigned after the season, due to a deficit of nearly £6,000.^[2]

The goalscoring of former Arsenal forward Harry King provided one of the rare bright spots of the season, with his 18 goals accounting for nearly half that of the team's total.^[5] King also became the first Brentford player to register a Football League hat-trick in a 5–0 thrashing of Grimsby Town on 28 March 1921,^[5] the Bees' biggest win of the season.^[3] which established the club record for the highest winning margin in a Football League match, which would stand until broken in September 1929.^[6] Secretary manager Fred Halliday stood down after the season and reverted to an administrative role within the club,^[7] with management advisor Billy Brawn also stepping down.^[8] Brentford's 9 league victories during the season is the joint-fewest in the club's history and Jimmy Hodson became the club's record-oldest player when he appeared in the final match of the season at age 40 years, 8 months and two days.^[9]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	Home					Away					F	A	GA	GD	Pts
			W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A
1	Crystal Palace	42	15	4	2	45	17	9	7	5	25	17	70	34	2.059	+36	59
2	Southampton	42	14	5	2	46	10	5	11	5	18	18	64	28	2.286	+36	54
3	Queens Park Rangers	42	14	4	3	38	11	8	5	8	23	21	61	32	1.906	+29	53
4	Swindon Town	42	14	5	2	51	17	7	5	9	22	32	73	49	1.490	+24	52
5	Swansea Town	42	9	10	2	32	19	9	5	7	24	26	56	45	1.244	+11	51
6	Watford	42	14	4	3	40	15	6	4	11	19	29	59	44	.341	+15	48
7	Millwall	42	11	5	5	25	8	7	6	8	17	22	42	30	1.400	+12	47
8	Merthyr Town	42	13	5	3	46	20	2	10	9	14	29	60	49	1.224	+11	45
9	Luton Town	42	14	6	1	51	15	2	6	13	10	41	61	56	1.089	+5	44
10	Bristol Rovers	42	15	3	3	51	22	3	4	14	17	35	68	57	1.193	+11	43
11	Plymouth Argyle	42	10	7	4	25	13	1	14	6	10	21	35	34	1.029	+1	43
12	Portsmouth	42	10	8	3	28	14	2	7	12	18	34	46	48	0.958	–2	39
13	Grimsby Town	42	12	5	4	32	16	3	4	14	17	43	49	59	0.831	–10	39
14	Northampton Town	42	11	4	6	32	23	4	4	13	27	52	59	75	0.787	–16	38
15	Newport County	42	8	5	8	20	23	6	4	11	23	41	43	64	0.672	–21	37
16	Norwich City	42	9	10	2	31	14	1	6	14	13	39	44	53	0.830	–9	36
17	Southend United	42	13	2	6	32	20	1	6	14	12	41	44	61	0.721	–17	36
18	Brighton & Hove Albion	42	11	6	4	28	20	3	2	16	14	41	42	61	0.689	–19	36
19	Exeter City	42	9	7	5	27	15	1	8	12	12	39	39	54	0.722	–15	35
20	Reading	42	8	4	9	26	22	4	3	14	16	37	42	59	0.712	–17	31
21	Brentford	42	7	9	5	27	23	2	3	16	15	44	42	67	0.627	–25	30
22	Gillingham	42	6	9	6	19	24	2	3	16	15	50	34	74	0.459	–40	28

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against;
GA = Goal average; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Key
	Division Champions, promoted
	New club in the league: all except Grimsby Town
	Re-elected
	Failed re-election (none)

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Football League Third Division

No.	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorer(s)
1	28 August 1920	Exeter City	A	0–3
2	30 August 1920	Millwall	H	1–0	Boyne
3	4 September 1920	Exeter City	H	0–0
4	6 September 1920	Millwall	A	0–0
5	11 September 1920	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	2–0	Amos, Challinor
6	18 September 1920	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	0–4
7	25 September 1920	Crystal Palace	H	0–4
8	2 October 1920	Crystal Palace	A	2–4	King (2)
9	9 October 1920	Norwich City	A	0–0
10	16 October 1920	Norwich City	H	3–1	King (2), Thompson
11	23 October 1920	Southampton	A	0–3
12	30 October 1920	Southampton	H	1–1	Thompson (pen)
13	6 November 1920	Bristol Rovers	A	1–2	King
14	13 November 1920	Bristol Rovers	H	0–0
15	20 November 1920	Reading	A	1–2	Spreadbury
16	27 November 1920	Reading	H	3–2	Boyne (2), King
17	4 December 1920	Luton Town	A	0–2
18	11 December 1920	Luton Town	H	1–0	Boyne
19	18 December 1920	Newport County	H	2–2	King (2, 1 pen)
20	25 December 1920	Queens Park Rangers	H	0–2
21	27 December 1920	Queens Park Rangers	A	0–1
22	1 January 1921	Newport County	A	1–3	King
23	15 January 1921	Gillingham	A	3–1	Boyne (2), King
24	22 January 1921	Gillingham	H	3–3	Amos, King (pen), Boyne
25	5 February 1921	Swansea Town	H	1–2	Elliott
26	12 February 1921	Swindon Town	A	0–1
27	19 February 1921	Swindon Town	H	0–1
28	26 February 1921	Portsmouth	A	2–0	Henery, Anstiss
29	5 March 1921	Portsmouth	H	1–2	Boyne
30	12 March 1921	Watford	A	0–1
31	19 March 1921	Watford	H	1–0	Anstiss
32	25 March 1921	Grimsby Town	A	0–2
33	26 March 1921	Northampton Town	H	1–1	King
34	28 March 1921	Grimsby Town	H	5–0	King (3, 1 pen), Boyne, Anstiss
35	2 April 1921	Northampton Town	A	2–6	King, Elliott
36	9 April 1921	Southend United	H	2–2	Spreadbury, Boyne
37	16 April 1921	Southend United	A	1–4	Anstiss
38	25 April 1921	Merthyr Town	H	0–0
39	28 April 1921	Swansea Town	A	1–1	King (pen)
40	30 April 1921	Merthyr Town	A	1–3	Challinor
41	2 May 1921	Plymouth Argyle	A	0–0
42	7 May 1921	Plymouth Argyle	H	0–1

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorer
R1	8 January 1921	Huddersfield Town	H	1–2	King

• Sources: Statto, 100 Years of Brentford^[10]

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1920–21 season.

Pos.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Jack Durston		11 July 1893 (aged 27)	Queens Park Rangers	1919	Played when his cricket commitments allowed
GK	William Young		4 August 1892 (aged 28)	South Shields	1920
Defenders
DF	Jimmy Hodson		5 September 1880 (aged 39)	Belfast Celtic	1919
DF	William Kearney		18 September 1895 (aged 24)	Sunderland Celtic	1920
DF	Bertie Rosier		21 March 1893 (aged 27)	Southall	1913
DF	Walter Spratt		14 April 1889 (aged 31)	Manchester United	1920
Midfielders
HB	Alf Amos		9 February 1893 (aged 27)	Old Kingstonians	1913
HB	Samuel Challinor		2 April 1890 (aged 30)	Unattached	1920
HB	Jimmy Elliott		1891 (aged 28–29)	Tottenham Hotspur	1920
HB	Fred Howe		1895 (aged 24–25)	Coventry City	1921
HB	Sam Morris		23 October 1886 (aged 33)	Unattached	1919
Forwards
FW	Harry Anstiss		22 August 1899 (aged 21)	Hammersmith Athletic	1920
FW	Billy Baker		8 January 1894 (aged 26)	Unattached	1920
FW	Reginald Boyne		16 November 1891 (aged 28)	Loughborough Brush	1919
FW	Jack Cartmell		28 August 1890 (aged 30)	Unattached	1919
FW	Herbert Cock		7 October 1900 (aged 19)	Unattached	1921
FW	Patsy Hendren		5 February 1889 (aged 31)	Queens Park Rangers	1911	Played when his cricket commitments allowed
FW	John Henery		n/a	Houghton Rovers	1920
FW	Harry King		4 January 1886 (aged 34)	Leicester City	1920
FW	George Smith		n/a	South Shields	1920
FW	Bert Spreadbury		30 April 1892 (aged 28)	Royal Ordnance Woolwich	1920
FW	George Taylor		3 June 1900 (aged 20)	Brentford Thursday	1920
FW	Alfred Thompson		28 April 1891 (aged 29)	Unattached	1919
Players who left the club mid-season
HB	Ernest Levitt		2 April 1893 (aged 27)	New Silksworth	1920	Released
FW	Fred Morley		1 March 1888 (aged 32)	Blackpool	1913	Released

• Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,^[10] Timeless Bees,^[11] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939^[12]

Coaching staff

Name	Role
Fred Halliday	Secretary Manager
Billy Brawn	Advisory Manager
Michael Witham	Trainer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos	Nat	Name	League		FA Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		Jack Durston	24	0	0	0	24	0
GK		William Young	18	0	1	0	19	0
DF		Jimmy Hodson	33	0	1	0	34	0
DF		William Kearney	6	0	0	0	6	0
DF		Bertie Rosier	34	0	1	0	35	0
DF		Walter Spratt	4	0	0	0	4	0
HB		Alf Amos	35	2	1	0	36	2
HB		Samuel Challinor	31	2	1	0	32	2
HB		Jimmy Elliott	38	2	1	0	39	2
HB		Fred Howe	2	0	—		2	0
HB		Ernest Levitt	6	0	0	0	6	0
HB		Sam Morris	27	0	0	0	27	0
FW		Harry Anstiss	19	4	0	0	19	4
FW		Billy Baker	4	0	0	0	4	0
FW		Reginald Boyne	21	10	1	0	22	10
FW		Jack Cartmell	29	0	1	0	30	0
FW		Herbert Cock	1	0	—		1	0
FW		Patsy Hendren	2	0	—		2	0
FW		John Henery	20	1	1	0	21	0
FW		Harry King	33	17	1	1	34	18
FW		Fred Morley	16	0	1	0	17	0
FW		George Smith	9	0	0	0	9	0
FW		Bert Spreadbury	12	2	0	0	12	2
FW		George Taylor	23	0	0	0	23	0
FW		Alfred Thompson	15	2	0	0	15	2

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford^[10]

Goalscorers

Pos.	Nat	Player	FL3	FAC	Total
FW		Harry King	17	1	18
FW		Reginald Boyne	10	0	10
FW		Harry Anstiss	4	0	4
HB		Alf Amos	2	0	2
HB		Samuel Challinor	2	0	2
HB		Jimmy Elliott	2	0	2
FW		Bert Spreadbury	2	0	2
FW		Alfred Thompson	2	0	2
Total			42	1	43

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford^[10]

Management

Name	Nat	From	To	Record All Comps					Record League
				P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
Fred Halliday		28 August 1920	7 May 1921	43	9	12	22	20.93|	42	9	12	21	21.43

Summary

Games played	43 (42 Third Division, 1 FA Cup)
Games won	9 (9 Third Division, 0 FA Cup)
Games drawn	12 (12 Third Division, 0 FA Cup)
Games lost	22 (21 Third Division, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored	43 (42 Third Division, 1 FA Cup)
Goals conceded	69 (67 Third Division, 2 FA Cup)
Clean sheets	12 (12 Third Division, 0 FA Cup)
Biggest league win	5–0 versus Grimsby Town, 28 March 1921
Worst league defeat	4–0 on two occasions, 6–2 versus Northampton Town, 2 April 1921
Most appearances	39, Jimmy Elliott (38 Third Division, 1 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league)	17, Harry King
Top scorer (all competitions)	18, Harry King

Transfers & loans

Cricketers are not included in this list.

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Fee	Ref.
June 1920	DF	Walter Spratt	Manchester United	Free	[13]
August 1920	FW	Harry Anstiss	Hammersmith Athletic	Amateur	[14]
1920	FW	Billy Baker	Unattached	Free	[15]
1920	HB	Samuel Challinor	Unattached	Free	[16]
1920	HB	Jimmy Elliott	Tottenham Hotspur	Free	[17]
1920	DF	William Kearney	Sunderland Celtic	Free	[18]
1920	FW	Harry King	Leicester City	Free	[19]
1920	HB	Ernest Levitt	New Silksworth	Free	[20]
1920	FW	George Smith	South Shields	Free	[19]
1920	FW	George Taylor	Brentford Thursday	Free	[21]
1920	GK	William Young	South Shields	Free	[22]
1921	HB	Fred Howe	Coventry City	Free	[23]
Players released
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
December 1920	HB	Ernest Levitt	West Stanley	n/a	[20]
January 1921	FW	Fred Morley	Philadelphia Field Club	1921	[24]
May 1921	FW	Reginald Boyne	Retired		[25]
May 1921	FW	Billy Baker	Hampstead Town	n/a	[15]
May 1921	HB	Jack Cartmell	Boscombe	1921	[26]
May 1921	HB	Samuel Challinor	Halifax Town	1921	[16]
May 1921	FW	Herbert Cock	Retired		[27]
May 1921	FW	John Henery	Darlington	1921	[28]
May 1921	DF	Jimmy Hodson	Guildford United	1921	[29]
May 1921	DF	William Kearney	Retired		[18]
May 1921	FW	Harry King	Retired		[5]
May 1921	HB	Sam Morris	Maidstone United	1921	[30]
May 1921	FW	George Smith	Retired		[19]
May 1921	DF	Walter Spratt	Sittingbourne	1921	[13]
May 1921	FW	Bert Spreadbury	Woolwich	1921	[13]
May 1921	FW	George Taylor	Millwall	1921	[21]
May 1921	FW	Alfred Thompson	Guildford United	1921	[21]

References

1. Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia. Harefield, Middlesex: Yore Publications. p. 55. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
2. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 113–114. ISBN 0951526200.
3. Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford results for the 1920-1921 season - Statto.com". Statto.com. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
4. Haynes 1998, p. 107.
5. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 92.
6. Haynes 1998, p. 133.
7. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 174-175.
8. Haynes 1998, p. 20-21.
9. Haynes 1998, p. 78, 99.
10. White 1989, p. 366.
11. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920-2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
12. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 190589161X.
13. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 153.
14. "Watford Football Club archive 1881-2016: Players - Abdi to Aston" (PDF).
15. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 15.
16. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 36.
17. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 53.
18. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 91.
19. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 148.
20. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 97.
21. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 158.
22. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 172.
23. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 82.
24. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 110.
25. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 25.
26. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 35.
27. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 38.
28. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 75.
29. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 78.
30. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 111.