During the

1902–03 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

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 First Division. An appalling season led to a bottom-place finish in the First Division, but the Bees retained their First Division status with a victory over Second Division champions

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in a promotion-relegation test match.

Season summary

After a rude awakening to the Southern League First Division during the previous season and despite having become a professional club in 1900, the

committee continued with an amateur attitude with regards to the running of first team affairs.White, p. 78-80. Despite almost all of the First Division clubs utilising a first team manager, the committee would continue to run first team affairs. Had Brentford been relegated at the end of the previous season, the £557 loss on the season (equivalent to £ in ) would have spelt the end of the club, but attendances had almost doubled at York Road and gate receipts of £1,244 were taken (£ in ). Frustratingly, Brentford's promotion to the First Division had necessitated a trebling of the wage bill, which offset the increased gate receipts. To increase revenue, the club would also enter into the London League and Western League during the season and the squad was expanded to 26 professionals, which led to a 60% expansion of the wage bill. Previous regulars

Grieve The Grieve was a Peruvian automobile that was built in 1908 by Juan Alberto Grieve, a Peruvian engineer with extensive knowledge in Internal combustion engine, combustion engines. The vehicle became the first automobile designed and built in So ...

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gover ...

, McEleny, McElhaney and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Stormont all left the club and were replaced by full backs Gilson,

Nidd Nidd is a small village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. The population of the village taken at the 2011 census was 168. It is situated 3 miles north of Harrogate, east of Ripley on the B6165 Pateley ...

, half backs Green, Newsome and forwards Maher, Pickering, Turner and

Underwood Underwood may refer to: People *Underwood (surname), people with the surname Places United States * Underwood, Shelby County, Alabama * Underwood, Indiana * Underwood, Iowa * Underwood, Minnesota * Underwood, New York * Underwood, North Dakota * ...

. Brentford began the First Division season in even worse form than it had the last, losing the first 9 matches.

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 ...

trainer

Bob Crone Robert Crone (4 January 1870 – 15 January 1943) was an Irish football player and coach. He was the younger brother of fellow player Billy Crone. Career Playing career Crone, who played as a full back, played club football in both Ireland a ...

was brought in to replace Tom King and while the team's fitness improved, its form did not. The FA Cup provided a welcome distraction and the team's form belied that of in the league, scoring 16 goals in six matches to advance from the third qualifying round to the intermediate round and a matchup with

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

club Woolwich Arsenal. The Bees took the Gunners to a replay at the Manor Ground, but the run ended with a 5–0 defeat. While the cup exploits had inspired Brentford to a first league victory of the season on 22 November 1902, it had raised the profile of forward

Tommy Shanks Thomas Shanks (30 March 1880 – 1 March 1919) was an Irish footballer. Career Shanks was born in Wexford and started his playing career with local club Wexford before moving to England to play for Derby West End and then Derby County in 1898. ...

, who had scored in 9 goals in a 10-match spell through November and December 1902. 1903 began with the shock transfer of Tommy Shanks to Woolwich Arsenal, with Brentford receiving £200 and forward Joe Connor, who on 21 March 1903 would become Brentford's first international player when he played and scored for Ireland in a 2–0 victory over Scotland. The Bees took just 3 points from a possible 34 during the rest of the season and finished bottom of the First Division, which led to a promotion-relegation test match versus Second Division champions

on 28 April. The team put in its best performance of the season to run out 7–2 victors, with Joe Connor scoring four goals. Statistically, 1902–03 was Brentford's worst Southern League season, winning just twice and drawing once. A number of club records were set or equalled during the season: * Most Southern League home defeats in a season: 12 * Most Southern League away defeats in a season: 0 * Least Southern League wins in a season: 2 * Least Southern League home wins in a season: 2 * Least Southern League away wins in a season: 0 * Least Southern League draws in a season: 1 * Least Southern League home draws in a season: 1 * Least Southern League away draws in a season: 0 * Most FA Cup goals in a season: 8 – Tommy Shanks

League table

Results

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

Legend

Southern League First Division

Southern League Test Match

FA Cup

* Source: 100 Years of Brentford

Playing squad

Left club during season

* Source: 100 Years of Brentford, The Football Association

Coaching staff

Statistics

Appearances

Goalscorers

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