1961–62 Brentford F.C. season

Brentford

1961–62 season
Chairman	Frank Davis (until October 1961) Jack Dunnett (from October 1961)
Manager	Malky MacDonald
Stadium	Griffin Park
Third Division	23rd (relegated)
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: Francis (14) All: Francis (15)
Highest home attendance	19,700
Lowest home attendance	3,500
Average home league attendance	3,600
← 1960–61 1962–63 →

During the 1961–62 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division. Financial cutbacks and a reduction in size of the playing squad led to Brentford's relegation to the Fourth Division for the first time in the club's history.

Season summary

Off-season

After a number of seasons in which Brentford challenged and failed to win promotion from the Third Division with a wafer-thin squad, low attendances and a debt of over £50,000 meant that the 1961 off-season would be a period of turmoil.^[1] A threat of a players' strike in support of the removal of the maximum wage during the second half of the previous season was averted and it was revealed that the club had turned down £12,000 and £9,000 bids respectively for prolific strike partners Jim Towers and George Francis during the 1959–60 season - a period when the club was still confident of promotion from the Third Division.^[1] With those expectations dampened by mediocre performances in the 1960–61 season, up-and-coming outside left John Docherty was sold for £17,000 during the final months of the campaign.^[1] Towers and particularly Francis performed poorly by their standards during the 1960–61 season and consequently bids of a similar amount to that of the previous year failed to materialise.^[1]

Future Nottingham Central MP Jack Dunnett joined the board in July 1961 and would take over as chairman from Frank Davis three months later.^[2] For the first time since relegation to the Third Division South in 1953, Brentford conducted an end-of-season clearout in a bid to reduce the squad size and wage bill.^[3] Ken Horne, Billy Goundry, George Bristow, Dennis Heath and Eric Parsons, who had all made over 100 appearances for the club were released, as were five other bit-part players.^[3] Most galling for the Brentford supporters was the sale of forwards Jim Towers and George Francis (who had accounted for 299 goals between them since 1954) to divisional and local rivals Queens Park Rangers for a combined £8,000 fee.^[4] £6,000 Cardiff City forward Brian Edgley was signed as a replacement and Ray Reeves and Jimmy Belcher were brought in to strengthen the back lines.^[3] The signings took the squad size to just 16 players, six of whom held a part-time status (Cakebread, Dargie, Gelson, Gitsham, Reeves and Ryecraft) and of those, two (Gelson and Ryecraft) were juniors who had yet to make their senior debuts.^[3] In addition, assistant trainer Jack Holliday (the club's record goalscorer) was sacked and trainer Fred Monk would resign in April 1962.^[3][5]

Season

Brentford had a dreadful start to the 1961–62 season, losing 8 of the first 9 matches in all competitions.^[6] The signing of £6,000 former England international forward Johnny Brooks in early September 1961 helped boost the team's morale enough for them to register their first point of the season on 9 September 1961,^[3] courtesy of a goalless draw with Southend United at Griffin Park.^[6] After another loss and the Bees' first two victories of the season, three successive defeats led manager Malky MacDonald to re-sign forward George Francis from Queens Park Rangers on 6 October.^[3] Francis' return helped inspire a victory over Swindon Town 24 hours later, courtesy of a Johnny Rainford goal.^[3] The FA Cup provided a welcome distraction from the league, in which Brentford were firmly rooted in the relegation zone.^[6] The Bees advanced to the third round of the FA Cup, taking high-flying Second Division club Leyton Orient to a replay before being knocked out.^[6] After the defeat, the board again reached for the chequebook and signed outside forward Micky Block from Chelsea for a £5,000 fee.^[3]

Poor form in the opening months of 1962 failed to avert the relegation threat and a bid to buy back Jim Towers from Queens Park Rangers failed,^[3] but a run of three wins and one draw in late March and early April lifted Brentford to 21st, the club's highest position of the season so far.^[6] Of the following four matches, a victory, a draw and two defeats left the Bees' in 23rd place, with their destiny out of their own hands.^[6] Victory for 21st-place Barnsley over 20th-place Torquay United on 2 May ended the Bees' hopes of survival.^[7] Brentford's 9 year stay in the Third Division officially ended the following day after a 2–0 defeat to Hull City at Boothferry Park.^[6] The relegation completed a drop from the First Division in 1947 to the Fourth Division in 1962, a 15-year fall from grace.^[3]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	Home					Away					F	A	GA	GD	Pts
			W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A
1	Portsmouth	46	15	6	2	48	23	12	5	6	39	24	87	47	1.851	+40	65
2	Grimsby Town	46	18	3	2	49	18	10	3	10	31	38	80	56	1.429	+24	62
3	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	46	14	8	1	42	18	7	9	7	27	27	69	45	1.533	+24	59
4	Queens Park Rangers	46	15	3	5	65	31	9	8	6	46	42	111	73	1.521	+38	59
5	Peterborough United	46	16	0	7	60	38	10	6	7	47	44	107	82	1.305	+25	58
6	Bristol City	46	15	3	5	56	27	8	5	10	38	45	94	72	1.306	+22	54
7	Reading	46	14	5	4	46	24	8	4	11	31	42	77	66	1.167	+11	53
8	Northampton Town	46	12	6	5	52	24	8	5	10	33	33	85	57	1.491	+28	51
9	Swindon Town	46	11	8	4	48	26	6	7	10	30	45	78	71	1.099	+7	49
10	Hull City	46	15	2	6	43	20	5	6	12	24	34	67	54	1.241	+13	48
11	Bradford Park Avenue	46	13	5	5	47	27	7	2	14	33	51	80	78	1.026	+2	47
12	Port Vale	46	12	4	7	41	23	5	7	11	24	35	65	58	1.121	+7	45
13	Notts County	46	14	5	4	44	23	3	4	16	23	51	67	74	0.905	–7	43
14	Coventry City	46	11	6	6	38	26	5	5	13	26	45	64	71	0.901	–7	43
15	Crystal Palace	46	8	8	7	50	41	6	6	11	33	39	83	80	1.038	+3	42
16	Southend United	46	10	7	6	31	26	3	9	11	26	43	57	69	0.826	–12	42
17	Watford	46	10	9	4	37	26	4	4	15	26	48	63	74	0.851	–11	41
18	Halifax Town	46	9	5	9	34	35	6	5	12	28	49	62	84	0.738	–22	40
19	Shrewsbury Town	46	8	7	8	46	37	5	5	13	27	47	73	84	0.869	–11	38
20	Barnsley	46	9	6	8	45	41	4	6	13	26	54	71	95	0.747	–24	38
21	Torquay United	46	9	4	10	48	44	6	2	15	28	56	76	100	0.760	–24	36
22	Lincoln City	46	4	10	9	31	43	5	7	11	26	44	57	87	0.655	–30	35
23	Brentford	46	11	3	9	34	29	2	5	16	19	64	53	93	0.570	–40	34
24	Newport County	46	6	5	12	29	38	1	3	19	17	64	46	102	0.451	–56	22

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
	Promoted
	Relegated

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Football League Third Division

No.	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorer(s)
1	19 August 1961	Queens Park Rangers	A	0–3
2	22 August 1961	Halifax Town	H	0–2
3	26 August 1961	Reading	H	1–2	Spiers (og)
4	28 August 1961	Halifax Town	A	0–1
5	2 September 1961	Newport County	A	1–6	Edgley
6	5 September 1961	Grimsby Town	A	0–1
7	9 September 1961	Southend United	H	0–0
8	16 September 1961	Notts County	A	1–3	Edgley
9	19 September 1961	Coventry City	H	2–1	Higginson, Belcher
10	23 September 1961	Shrewsbury Town	H	4–0	Edgley (2), Brooks, Rainford
11	25 September 1961	Coventry City	A	0–2
12	30 September 1961	Peterborough United	A	0–6
13	3 October 1961	Bristol City	A	0–3
14	7 October 1961	Swindon Town	H	1–0	Rainford
15	10 October 1961	Bristol City	H	0–2
16	14 October 1961	Torquay United	A	0–3
17	21 October 1961	Portsmouth	H	3–2	Brooks, Edgley, Francis
18	28 October 1961	Barnsley	A	2–2	Summers, Edgley
19	11 November 1961	Watford	A	1–2	Francis
20	18 November 1961	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	H	2–2	Francis, Edgley
21	2 December 1961	Lincoln City	H	1–0	Summers
22	9 December 1961	Northampton Town	A	0–5
23	16 December 1961	Queens Park Rangers	H	1–4	Francis
24	23 December 1961	Reading	A	0–4
25	26 December 1961	Bradford Park Avenue	H	2–0	Edgley (pen), Francis
26	13 January 1962	Newport County	H	3–1	Francis, Higginson, McLeod
27	20 January 1962	Southend United	A	0–0
28	27 January 1962	Crystal Palace	A	2–2	Brooks, Block
39	2 February 1962	Notts County	H	0–1
30	10 February 1962	Shrewsbury Town	A	3–1	Brooks, Francis, McLeod
31	17 February 1962	Peterborough United	H	2–0	Brooks (pen), McLeod
32	23 February 1962	Swindon Town	A	2–5	Summers, Francis
33	3 March 1962	Torquay United	H	0–2
34	10 March 1962	Portsmouth	A	0–4
35	17 March 1962	Barnsley	H	1–1	Francis
36	24 March 1962	Hull City	A	0–3
37	30 March 1962	Watford	H	3–0	Francis (2), Summers
38	4 April 1962	Bradford Park Avenue	A	2–1	Francis, Summers
39	7 April 1962	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	A	1–1	Block
40	13 April 1962	Crystal Palace	H	4–2	Brooks (2, 1 pen), Francis, Wood (og)
41	20 April 1962	Port Vale	H	1–2	Brooks (pen)
42	21 April 1962	Lincoln City	A	3–3	Summers (2), Gelson
43	23 April 1962	Port Vale	A	0–3
44	27 April 1962	Northampton Town	H	3–0	Francis, Brooks, Summers
45	1 May 1962	Grimsby Town	H	0–2
46	3 May 1962	Hull City	H	0–2

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorer(s)
1R	4 November 1961	Oxford United	H	3–0	Summers, Edgley (2)
2R	25 November 1961	Aldershot	A	2–2	Edgley, Francis
2R (replay)	28 November 1961	Aldershot	H	2–0	Edgley, Brooks
3R	6 January 1962	Leyton Orient	H	1–1	Summers
3R (replay)	8 January 1962	Leyton Orient	A	1–2	Higginson

Football League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorer
1R	13 September 1961	Leeds United	A	1–4	McLeod

• Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford,^[8] Statto

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1961–62 season.

Pos.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in
Goalkeepers
GK	Gerry Cakebread		1 April 1936 (aged 25)	Youth	1954
Defenders
DF	Ken Coote (c)		19 May 1928 (aged 33)	Wembley	1949
DF	Jimmy Gitsham		12 May 1942 (aged 19)	Youth	1959
DF	Ray Reeves		12 August 1931 (aged 30)	Reading	1961
DF	Tom Wilson		3 July 1930 (aged 31)	Fulham	1957
Midfielders
HB	Jimmy Belcher		31 October 1932 (aged 28)	Ipswich Town	1961
HB	Ian Dargie		3 October 1931 (aged 29)	Tonbridge	1952
HB	Peter Gelson		18 October 1941 (aged 19)	Youth	1961
HB	Tommy Higginson		6 January 1937 (aged 24)	Kilmarnock	1959
Forwards
FW	Micky Block		28 January 1940 (aged 21)	Chelsea	1962
FW	Johnny Brooks		23 December 1931 (aged 29)	Chelsea	1961
FW	Brian Edgley		26 August 1937 (aged 23)	Cardiff City	1961
FW	George Francis		4 February 1934 (aged 27)	Queens Park Rangers	1961
FW	Johnny Hales		15 May 1940 (aged 21)	St Roch's	1958
FW	George McLeod		30 November 1932 (aged 28)	Luton Town	1958
FW	Danny O'Donnell		27 February 1939 (aged 22)	Kirkintilloch Rob Roy	1960
FW	Johnny Rainford		11 December 1930 (aged 30)	Cardiff City	1953
FW	George Summers		30 July 1941 (aged 20)	Shawfield	1959

• Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford,^[8] Timeless Bees,^[9] Barry Hugman's Footballers

Coaching staff

Name	Role
Malky MacDonald	Manager
Fred Monk	Trainer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos	Nat	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		Gerry Cakebread	46	0	5	0	1	0	52	0
DF		Ken Coote	45	0	5	0	1	0	51	0
DF		Jimmy Gitsham	34	0	5	0	0	0	39	0
DF		Ray Reeves	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
DF		Tom Wilson	16	0	0	0	1	0	17	0
HB		Jimmy Belcher	30	1	5	0	1	0	36	1
HB		Ian Dargie	35	0	1	0	1	0	37	0
HB		Peter Gelson	24	1	4	0	0	0	28	1
HB		Tommy Higginson	46	2	5	1	1	0	52	3
FW		Micky Block	20	2	—		—		20	2
FW		Johnny Brooks	38	10	5	1	0	0	43	11
FW		Brian Edgley	27	8	5	4	1	0	33	12
FW		George Francis	32	14	5	1	—		37	15
FW		Johnny Hales	8	0	0	0	1	0	9	0
FW		George McLeod	46	3	5	0	1	1	52	4
FW		Danny O'Donnell	9	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
FW		Johnny Rainford	15	2	1	0	1	0	17	2
FW		George Summers	30	8	4	2	1	0	35	10

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years Of Brentford^[8]

Goalscorers

Pos.	Nat	Player	FL3	FAC	FLC	Total
FW		George Francis	14	1	—	15
FW		Brian Edgley	8	4	0	12
FW		Johnny Brooks	10	1	0	11
FW		George Summers	8	2	0	10
FW		George McLeod	3	0	1	4
HB		Tommy Higginson	2	1	0	3
FW		Johnny Rainford	2	0	0	2
FW		Micky Block	2	—	—	2
HB		Jimmy Belcher	1	0	0	1
HB		Peter Gelson	1	0	0	1
Opponents			2	0	0	2
Total			53	9	1	63

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years Of Brentford^[8]

Management

Name	Nat	From	To	Record All Comps					Record League
				P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
Malky MacDonald		19 August 1961	3 May 1962	52	15	10	27	28.85	46	13	8	25	28.26

Summary

Games played	52 (46 Third Division, 5 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Games won	15 (13 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Games drawn	10 (8 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Games lost	27 (25 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals scored	63 (53 Third Division, 9 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals conceded	102 (93 Third Division, 5 FA Cup, 4 League Cup)
Clean sheets	12 (10 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Biggest league win	4–0 versus Shrewsbury Town, 23 September 1961
Worst league defeat	6–0 versus Peterborough United, 30 September 1961
Most appearances	52, Gerry Cakebread, Tommy Higginson, George McLeod (46 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
Top scorer (league)	14, George Francis
Top scorer (all competitions)	15, George Francis

Transfers & loans

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Fee	Ref.
June 1961	FW	Brian Edgley	Cardiff City	£6,000	[10]
July 1961	HB	Jimmy Belcher	Ipswich Town	n/a	[11]
July 1961	DF	Ray Reeves	Reading	n/a	[12]
2 September 1961	FW	Dick Lowrie	St Roch's	n/a	[13]
2 September 1961	FW	Hugh McLaughlin	St Roch's	n/a	[13]
September 1961	FW	Johnny Brooks	Chelsea	£6,000	[14]
6 October 1961	FW	George Francis	Queens Park Rangers	n/a	[4]
December 1961	DF	Tom Anthony	n/a	n/a	[15]
1961	DF	Tim Soutar	n/a	n/a	[16]
January 1962	FW	Micky Block	Chelsea	£5,000	[3]
Players transferred out
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Fee	Ref.
May 1961	FW	George Francis	Queens Park Rangers	£4,000	[4]
May 1961	FW	Jim Towers	Queens Park Rangers	£4,000	[4]
Players released
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
1962	FW	Johnny Rainford	Tonbridge	1962	[17]
May 1962	HB	Jimmy Belcher	Margate	1962	[11]
May 1962	DF	Ray Reeves	Dover	1962	[12]
May 1962	DF	Tom Wilson	Folkestone Town	1962	[18]

References

1. White 1989, p. 240-241.
2. Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopaedia. Yore Publications. p. 27. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
3. White 1989, p. 242-245.
4. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 186-188.
5. White 1989, p. 246.
6. Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford results for the 1961-1962 season - Statto.com". Statto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
7. Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Torquay United results for the 1961-1962 season - Statto.com". Statto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
8. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 386. ISBN 0951526200.
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. 52.
11. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 18-19.
12. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 132.
13. "Scottish Football Historical Archive - 1961".
14. White 1989, p. 28.
15. "Barry Hugman's Footballers - Tom Anthony". hugmansfootballers.com. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
16. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 152.
17. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 129-130.
18. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 170-171.