During the 1900–01 English football season,

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

competed in the Southern League Second Division. An unbeaten league season led to Brentford topping the division, before failing to beat

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...

in a promotion-relegation test match. Promotion was finally assured when the club was elected into the Southern League First Division in July 1901.

Season summary

Despite the final implications of jumping the hurdle from amateur to professional status during the previous season,

went into the 1900–01 Southern League Second Division campaign in a healthy state.White, p. 74-76. The club moved from Cross Roads (near South Ealing station) back to

and would play their matches at Boston Park Cricket Club's ground York Road, a move which was beneficial for both clubs. Harry Underwood, a member of the Brentford committee, also managed to persuade a number of local tradesmen, to whom the club owed over £100 (equivalent to £ in ), to write off the debt. Now under the charge of

William Lewis William or Willie Lewis may refer to: Politicians * William Lewis (MP for Anglesey) (by 1526–1601 or later), MP for Anglesey in 1553 and 1555 * William Lewis (MP for Helston), MP for Helston in 1584 * William Lewis (MP for King's Lynn) (died 15 ...

as a team manager of sorts, Brentford trimmed down the playing staff and signed two new professional players –

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Harry Gilmour and

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

Joe Turner. Because of the reduction in size of the Southern League Second Division, Brentford also entered the London League to help generate revenue. Brentford began the Southern League season in fine form, but suffered a number of defeats in the early London League matches and consequently five new players were signed –

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Dave Clear, full back Jack Graham, half back William Hainsworth,

inside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

Roddy McLeod and

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

Peter Turnbull. McLeod and Turnbull proved to be master-stroke signings and along with existing forwards Ralph McElhaney, E. Andrews and Joe Turner, the quintet fired Brentford to an unbeaten Southern League season. The Bees' 1st-place finish in the Second Division led to a

test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

at the end of the season versus

, who had finished bottom of the First Division. With Brentford needing to win to secure promotion and with the score at 0–0, the match at

Elm Park Elm Park is a suburban planned community in East London within the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is identified as a district centre in the London Plan with several streets of shops and a priority for r ...

went into

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

and was called off after 107 minutes due to bad light. In the aftermath of the abandoned test match, the Brentford committee resolved to apply for the place in the First Division left vacant by

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

, who had been elected into the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

. Brentford were passed over in favour of

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

at the Southern League's

AGM AGM or agm may refer to: Military * Air-to-ground missile, a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft * Artillery Gun Module, an air-portable self-propelled howitzer * Missile Range Instrumentation Ship (US Navy hull classification ...

on 1 June, but Gravesend United's departure from the First Division due to financial problems in July led to Brentford's election into the First Division for the 1901–02 season. A number of club records were set during the season: * Most Southern League away wins in a season: 7 * Least Southern League home draws in a season: 1 * Least Southern League defeats in a season: 0 * Least Southern League home defeats in a season: 0 * Least Southern League away defeats in a season: 0 * Record Southern League win: 11–1 versus Wycombe Wanderers, 16 February 1901 *Least goalscorers in all competitions in a Southern League season

League table

Results

:''Brentford's goal tally listed first.''

Legend

Southern League Second Division

Southern League Test Match

FA Cup

* Source: 100 Years of Brentford

Playing squad

* Source: 100 Years of Brentford

Statistics

Appearances

Goalscorers

*Players listed in ''italics'' left the club mid-season. *Source: 100 Years Of Brentford