1955–56 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1955–56 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division South. A promising 6th-place finish was achieved with a squad mainly drawn from the club's youth system.

Season summary

Brentford went into the 1955–56 Third Division South season full of optimism,^[1] with the side having lost only four of the final 18 matches of the 1954–55 season, winning 9.^[2] Of the productive youth system (now led by former player Ernest Muttitt), forwards Jim Towers and Dennis Heath had established themselves in the first team, while George Francis and Gerry Cakebread had also made their debuts.^[3] Full backs Alan Bassham, George Lowden and half backs Wally Bragg and George Bristow also made up the ranks of home-grown players in the first team squad and forward John Pearson would be another to graduate from the youth team during the 1955–56 season.^[3] Chelsea full back Sid Tickridge was manager Bill Dodgin Sr.'s only major signing of the off-season and he replaced Frank Latimer as club captain.^[1]

Despite winning more games than they had lost, Brentford hovered in mid-table during the opening three months of the season.^[4] Forward Jeff Taylor led the attack, scoring 11 goals in as many matches during a five-week period in September and October 1955.^[3] Buoyed by four goals in five league matches by Wendell Morgan and news from the boardroom that a £9,000 profit had been made on the year ending in May 1955,^[3] the Bees moved as high as 8th-place in early December, before losing form again later in the month.^[2] Victory over Exeter City on 4 February 1956 (courtesy of a George Francis brace) was the first win of a strong run which lasted for the remainder of the season, with the team's record almost mirroring that of the final 18 matches of the previous campaign.^[3] Brentford finished the season in 6th-place, 11 points behind the leading three clubs, but 22-goal Jim Towers and goalkeeper Gerry Cakebread had established themselves as two of the best players in the Third Division South.^[1]

Long-serving Jimmy Bain retired at the end of season, after nearly 27 years as a player, assistant manager and caretaker manager at Griffin Park.^[5] He received a Long Service Medal from the Football League in recognition of his long service.^[5]

League table

Main article: 1955–56 Football League Third Division South

Pos	Team	Pld	Home					Away					F	A	GA	GD	Pts
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GA	GD	Pts
1	Leyton Orient	46	18	3	2	76	20	11	5	7	30	29	106	49	2.163	+57	66
2	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	20	2	1	73	16	9	5	9	39	34	112	50	2.240	+62	65
3	Ipswich Town	46	16	6	1	59	28	9	8	6	47	32	106	60	1.767	+46	64
4	Southend United	46	16	4	3	58	25	5	7	11	30	55	88	80	1.100	+8	53
5	Torquay United	46	11	10	2	48	21	9	2	12	38	42	86	63	1.365	+23	52
6	Brentford	46	11	8	4	40	30	8	6	9	29	36	69	66	1.045	+3	52
7	Norwich City	46	15	4	4	56	31	4	9	10	30	51	86	82	1.049	+4	51
8	Coventry City	46	16	4	3	54	20	4	5	14	19	40	73	60	1.217	+13	49
9	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	46	13	6	4	39	14	6	4	13	24	37	63	51	1.235	+12	48
10	Gillingham	46	12	3	8	38	28	7	7	9	31	43	69	71	0.972	–3	48
11	Northampton Town	46	14	3	6	44	27	6	4	13	23	44	67	71	0.944	–3	47
12	Colchester United	46	14	4	5	56	37	4	7	12	20	44	76	81	0.938	–5	47
13	Shrewsbury Town	46	12	9	2	47	21	5	3	15	22	45	69	66	1.045	+3	46
14	Southampton	46	13	6	4	60	30	5	2	16	31	51	91	81	1.123	+10	44
15	Aldershot	46	9	9	5	36	33	3	7	13	34	57	70	90	0.778	–20	40
16	Exeter City	46	10	6	7	39	30	5	4	14	19	47	58	77	0.753	–19	40
17	Reading	46	10	2	11	40	37	5	7	11	30	42	70	79	0.886	–9	39
18	Queens Park Rangers	46	10	7	6	44	32	4	4	15	20	54	64	86	0.744	–22	39
19	Newport County	46	12	2	9	32	26	3	7	13	26	53	58	79	0.734	–21	39
20	Walsall	46	13	5	5	43	28	2	3	18	25	56	68	84	0.810	–16	38
21	Watford	46	8	5	10	31	39	5	6	12	21	46	52	85	0.612	–23	37
22	Millwall	46	13	4	6	56	31	2	2	19	27	69	83	100	0.830	–17	36
23	Crystal Palace	46	7	3	13	27	32	5	7	11	27	51	54	83	0.651	–29	34
24	Swindon Town	46	4	10	9	18	22	4	4	15	16	56	34	78	0.436	–44	30

P = 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 (none)
	Re-elected
	Failed re-election (none)

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

Football League Third Division South

No.	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1	20 August 1955	Gillingham	H	1–4	12,247	Towers (pen)
2	22 August 1955	Queens Park Rangers	A	1–1	11,688	Stobbart
3	27 August 1955	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	A	0–0	10,451
4	30 August 1955	Queens Park Rangers	H	2–0	12,947	Towers, Taylor
5	3 September 1955	Norwich City	H	1–2	12,565	Dudley
6	5 September 1955	Millwall	A	0–4	6,911
7	10 September 1955	Colchester United	A	3–0	7,843	Towers (2), Taylor
8	12 September 1955	Millwall	H	2–2	7,597	Taylor, Stobbart
9	17 September 1955	Leyton Orient	H	1–0	17,847	Taylor
10	19 September 1955	Watford	H	0–0	6,864
11	24 September 1955	Exeter City	A	3–2	9,454	Taylor (3)
12	26 September 1955	Coventry City	A	1–2	12,584	Taylor
13	1 October 1955	Southend United	H	2–1	14,329	Taylor, Towers
14	8 October 1955	Aldershot	A	1–4	7,395	Towers
15	15 October 1955	Crystal Palace	H	3–0	13,636	Taylor (2), Towers
16	22 October 1955	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	0–3	12,771
17	29 October 1955	Southampton	H	2–1	12,300	Morgan, Rainford
18	5 November 1955	Shrewsbury Town	A	1–1	10,551	Morgan
19	12 November 1955	Ipswich Town	H	3–2	14,795	Francis, Morgan, Towers
20	26 November 1955	Torquay United	H	1–3	11,547	Heath
21	3 December 1955	Newport County	A	2–1	8,035	Morgan, Dudley
22	17 December 1955	Gillingham	A	2–1	5,867	Francis, Bristow
23	24 December 1955	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	H	2–1	8,592	Coote, Taylor
24	26 December 1955	Reading	H	2–2	12,556	Robertson, Rainford
25	27 December 1955	Reading	A	2–5	11,910	Bragg (pen), Francis
26	31 December 1955	Norwich City	A	0–1	18,542
27	14 January 1956	Colchester United	H	2–2	8,492	Rainford, Taylor
28	21 January 1956	Leyton Orient	A	1–2	14,009	Morgan
29	4 February 1956	Exeter City	H	2–0	6,309	Francis (2)
30	11 February 1956	Southend United	A	2–2	5,124	Towers, Stirling (og)
31	18 February 1956	Aldershot	H	2–0	7,026	Towers (2)
32	25 February 1956	Crystal Palace	A	2–0	10,054	Towers (2)
33	3 March 1956	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	4–2	11,061	Robertson (2), Goundry, Francis
34	10 March 1956	Southampton	A	1–1	11,678	Towers
35	12 March 1956	Swindon Town	H	1–2	7,249	Towers
36	17 March 1956	Shrewsbury Town	H	1–1	9,156	Towers
37	24 March 1956	Ipswich Town	A	1–1	13,672	Towers
38	31 March 1956	Walsall	H	2–2	8,933	Towers, Coote
39	2 April 1956	Northampton Town	H	2–1	9,527	Towers (2)
40	3 April 1956	Northampton Town	A	0–1	8,248
41	7 April 1956	Torquay United	A	1–3	5,574	Taylor
42	14 April 1956	Newport County	H	1–1	5,291	Towers
43	21 April 1956	Swindon Town	A	1–0	5,790	Peplow
44	23 April 1956	Coventry City	H	1–1	6,078	Bragg (pen)
45	28 April 1956	Watford	A	2–0	7,192	Robinson, Francis
46	3 May 1956	Walsall	A	2–1	9,033	Taylor, Newcombe

FA Cup

Main article: 1955–56 FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1R	19 November 1955	March Town United	H	4–0	13,300	Stobbart (2), Towers (pen), Francis
2R	10 December 1955	Leyton Orient	A	1–4	17,490	Taylor

Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford,^[3] Statto, 11v11

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1955–56 season.

Pos.	Name	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Gerry Cakebread	(1936-04-01)1 April 1936 (aged 19)	Youth	1954
GK	Reg Newton	(1926-06-30)30 June 1926 (aged 29)	Leyton Orient	1949
Defenders
DF	Alan Bassham	(1933-10-03)3 October 1933 (aged 21)	Youth	1953
DF	Ken Horne	(1926-06-25)25 June 1926 (aged 29)	Blackpool	1950
DF	George Lowden	(1933-03-02)2 March 1933 (aged 22)	Unattached	1951
DF	Sid Tickridge (c)	(1923-04-10)10 April 1923 (aged 32)	Chelsea	1955
Midfielders
HB	Wally Bragg	(1929-07-08)8 July 1929 (aged 26)	Twickenham Celtic	1946
HB	George Bristow	(1933-06-25)25 June 1933 (aged 22)	Youth	1950
HB	Ken Coote	(1928-05-19)19 May 1928 (aged 27)	Wembley	1949
HB	Ian Dargie	(1931-10-03)3 October 1931 (aged 23)	Tonbridge	1952
HB	Leonard Geard	(1934-02-12)12 February 1934 (aged 21)	Fulham	1953
HB	Frank Latimer	(1923-10-03)3 October 1923 (aged 31)	Snowdown Colliery Welfare	1945
HB	Johnny Rainford	(1930-12-11)11 December 1930 (aged 24)	Cardiff City	1953
HB	Terry Robinson	(1929-11-08)8 November 1929 (aged 25)	Loughborough College	1954	Amateur
HB	Len Roe	(1932-01-11)11 January 1932 (aged 23)	Ruislip Manor	1951
Forwards
FW	Frank Dudley	(1925-05-09)9 May 1925 (aged 30)	Cardiff City	1953
FW	George Francis	(1934-02-04)4 February 1934 (aged 21)	Youth	1955
FW	Billy Goundry	(1934-03-28)28 March 1934 (aged 21)	Huddersfield Town	1955
FW	Dennis Heath	(1934-09-28)28 September 1934 (aged 20)	Youth	1954
FW	Wendell Morgan	(1935-04-22)22 April 1935 (aged 20)	Cardiff City	1954
FW	Len Newcombe	(1931-02-28)28 February 1931 (aged 24)	Fulham	1956
FW	John Pearson	(1935-04-23)23 April 1935 (aged 20)	Youth	1955
FW	Ron Peplow	(1935-05-04)4 May 1935 (aged 20)	Southall	1955
FW	James Robertson	(1929-02-20)20 February 1929 (aged 26)	Arsenal	1953
FW	Billy Sperrin	(1922-04-09)9 April 1922 (aged 33)	Guildford City	1949
FW	George Stobbart	(1921-01-09)9 January 1921 (aged 34)	Millwall	1954
FW	Jeff Taylor	(1930-09-20)20 September 1930 (aged 24)	Fulham	1954
FW	Jim Towers	(1933-04-15)15 April 1933 (aged 22)	Youth	1954

Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford,^[3] Timeless Bees,^[6] Barry Hugman's Footballers

Coaching staff

Name	Role
Bill Dodgin Sr.	Manager
Jimmy Bain	Assistant Manager
Tom Egglestone	Trainer
Jack Holliday	Assistant Trainer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos	Nat	Name	League		FA Cup		Total
Pos	Nat	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		Gerry Cakebread	45	0	2	0	47	0
GK		Reg Newton	1	0	0	0	1	0
DF		Alan Bassham	10	0	0	0	10	0
DF		Ken Horne	7	0	0	0	7	0
DF		George Lowden	15	0	0	0	15	0
DF		Sid Tickridge	39	0	2	0	41	0
HB		Wally Bragg	29	2	0	0	29	2
HB		George Bristow	27	1	1	0	28	1
HB		Ken Coote	45	2	2	0	47	2
HB		Ian Dargie	4	0	0	0	4	0
HB		Leonard Geard	3	0	0	0	3	0
HB		Frank Latimer	10	0	1	0	11	0
HB		Johnny Rainford	37	3	2	0	39	3
HB		Terry Robinson	15	1	2	0	17	1
HB		Len Roe	4	0	1	0	5	0
FW		Frank Dudley	14	2	1	0	15	2
FW		George Francis	17	7	1	1	18	8
FW		Billy Goundry	23	1	0	0	23	1
FW		Dennis Heath	17	1	1	0	18	1
FW		Wendell Morgan	16	5	1	0	17	5
FW		Len Newcombe	3	1	—		3	1
FW		John Pearson	4	0	0	0	4	0
FW		Ron Peplow	3	1	0	0	3	1
FW		James Robertson	22	3	0	0	22	3
FW		Billy Sperrin	2	0	0	0	2	0
FW		George Stobbart	12	2	1	2	13	4
FW		Jeff Taylor	43	15	2	1	45	16
FW		Jim Towers	39	21	2	1	41	22

Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years Of Brentford^[3]

Goalscorers

Pos.	Player	FL3	FAC	Total
FW	Jim Towers	21	1	22
FW	Jeff Taylor	15	1	16
FW	George Francis	7	1	8
FW	Wendell Morgan	5	0	5
FW	George Stobbart	2	2	4
HB	Johnny Rainford	3	0	3
FW	James Robertson	3	0	3
HB	Wally Bragg	2	0	2
HB	Ken Coote	2	0	2
FW	Frank Dudley	2	0	2
FW	Len Newcombe	1	—	1
HB	George Bristow	1	0	1
FW	Billy Goundry	1	0	1
FW	Dennis Heath	1	0	1
FW	Ron Peplow	1	0	1
HB	Terry Robinson	1	0	1
Opponents		1	0	1
Total		69	5	74

Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years Of Brentford^[3]

Amateur international caps

Pos.	Nat	Player	Caps	Goals	Ref
HB		Terry Robinson	2	0	^[7]

Management

Name	Nat	From	To	Record All Comps					Record League
Name	Nat	From	To	P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
Bill Dodgin Sr.		20 August 1955	3 May 1956	7001480000000000000♠48	7001200000000000000♠20	7001140000000000000♠14	7001140000000000000♠14	7001416700000000000♠41.67	7001460000000000000♠46	7001190000000000000♠19	7001140000000000000♠14	7001130000000000000♠13	7001413009999900000♠41.30

Summary

Games played	48 (46 Third Division South, 2 FA Cup)
Games won	20 (19 Third Division South, 1 FA Cup)
Games drawn	14 (14 Third Division South, 0 FA Cup)
Games lost	14 (13 Third Division South, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored	74 (69 Third Division South, 5 FA Cup)
Goals conceded	70 (66 Third Division South, 4 FA Cup)
Clean sheets	12 (11 Third Division South, 1 FA Cup)
Biggest league win	3–0 on two occasions
Worst league defeat	4–0 versus Millwall, 5 September 1955
Most appearances	47, Gerry Cakebread, Ken Coote (45 Third Division South, 2 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league)	21, Jim Towers
Top scorer (all competitions)	22, Jim Towers

Transfers & loans

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Fee	Ref.
May 1955	FW	Billy Goundry	Huddersfield Town	Free	^[8]
July 1955	DF	Sid Tickridge	Chelsea	n/a	^[9]
August 1955	FW	Ken Morgan	Northampton Town	n/a	^[10]
August 1955	FW	Ron Peplow	Southall	n/a	^[11]
April 1956	FW	Len Newcombe	Fulham	n/a	^[12]
Players transferred out
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Fee	Ref.
October 1955	FW	Ken Morgan	Crystal Palace	n/a	^[10]
April 1956	DF	Ken Moffitt	Berwick Rangers	n/a	^[13]
Players released
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
May 1956	HB	Leonard Geard	Kettering Town	1956	^[14]
May 1956	HB	Frank Latimer	Gravesend & Northfleet	1956	^[15]
May 1956	FW	James Robertson	Gravesend & Northfleet	1956	^[16]
May 1956	FW	Billy Sperrin	Tunbridge Wells United	1956	^[17]
May 1956	FW	George Stobbart	Bedford Town	1956	^[18]

References

1 2 3 White 1989, p. 218-220.
1 2 Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford results for the 1954-1955 season - Statto.com". Statto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 383. ISBN 0951526200.
↑ Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford results for the 1955-1956 season - Statto.com". Statto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
1 2 Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 14-15.
↑ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920-2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
↑ "England Matches - The Amateurs 1947-1962". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
↑ "Barry Hugman's Footballers - Bill Goundry". hugmansfootballers.com. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
↑ "Barry Hugman's Footballers - Sid Tickridge". hugmansfootballers.com. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
1 2 "Barry Hugman's Footballers - Ken Morgan". hugmansfootballers.com. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
↑ "Barry Hugman's Footballers - Ron Peplow". hugmansfootballers.com. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
↑ "Barry Hugman's Footballers - Len Newcombe". hugmansfootballers.com. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
↑ "Scottish Football Historical Archive - M". p. 443.
↑ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 63.
↑ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 94.
↑ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 136.
↑ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 152.
↑ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 155.

Brentford Football Club

Players Managers Seasons Non-playing staff Reserves and Academy Records Current season

General	The Club Hall of Fame All articles

History	1889–1954 1954–1986 1986–present Matches

Grounds	Griffin Park Brentford Community Stadium

Affiliated clubs	FC Midtjylland

Players	100+ appearances 25–99 appearances 1–24 appearances International Player of the Year

Rivalries	West London derby

Brentford F.C. seasons

1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–00

1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10

1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20

1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30

1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40

1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50

1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60

1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70

1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80

1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90

1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00

2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10

2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

1955–56 in English football

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Third Division

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