During the 1907–08 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. A poor season ended with a 16th-place finish.

Season summary

Though

manager William Brown managed to retain most of his key players for the 1907–08 season, his release of future

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

international

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Fred Pentland Frederick Beaconsfield Pentland (29 July 1883 – 16 March 1962) was an English football player and coach. Pentland played club football in the Football League for Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers and Middlesbrough, in the Southern Football League f ...

was seen as being ill-advised.White, p. 90-91. In came

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 ...

John Montgomery, full back

Vince Hayes James Vincent Hayes (24 March 1879 – 1 June 1964), also known as Vic Hayes, was an English footballer who primarily played as a full-back. Born in Miles Platting, Manchester, he was trained in boilermaking in his early years. He made his debu ...

, half back

Jock Hamilton A. John "Jock" Hamilton (31 July 1869 in Ayr, Scotland – 30 October 1931 in Keynsham Keynsham ( ) is a town and civil parish located between Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. It has a population of 16,000. It was listed in the Do ...

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 ...

Adam Bowman. Brentford started the Southern League First Division season poorly and with the club entering a period of financial instability, the relationship between the committee and the players began to deteriorate. Hopes of a money-spinning

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

run ended in the first round at the hands of

Lancashire Combination The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League. In 1982 it ...

club

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

and in January 1908 manager Brown tendered his resignation, which was accepted.

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 ...

George Parsonage was named as player-

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...

in January 1908 and after reshuffling the lineup, he oversaw an upturn in form which led the Bees to a 16th-place finish. One of the highlights of a dreadful season was the goalscoring of forward Adam Bowman, who scored 22 goals in all competitions before being sold to

Leeds City Leeds City Football Club was the leading professional club in Leeds, England, before the First World War. It was dissolved in 1919 due to financial irregularities, after which Leeds United was established as a replacement. History The club was ...

for £300 in April. There was some cheer to be had in the United League, in which the first team won the division title, while the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

finished the season as

Great Western Suburban League The Great Western Suburban League was a football league that was primarily held in the Home counties, founded in 1904. History The Great Western Suburban League was founded in 1904, drawing its membership from the Home counties to the west of Lo ...

champions. The season marked a beginning of a period of financial trouble for Brentford, with

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 ...

's election to 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 ...

and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

's home fixtures clashing with those at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

conspiring to draw potential support in West

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

away from the Bees. By mid-April 1908, the club owed its players £500 in unpaid wages (equivalent to £ in ), which necessitated the sale of top-scorer Bowman. One club record was set during the season: * Most Southern League away defeats in a season: 16

League table

Results

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

Legend

Southern League First Division

FA Cup

* Source: 100 Years of Brentford

Playing squad

Left club during season

* Source: 100 Years of Brentford, The Football Association

Coaching staff

William Brown (3 September 1907 – January 1908)

George Parsonage ( – 25 January April 1908)

Statistics

Appearances

Goalscorers

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

Summary

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1907-08 Brentford F.C. season Brentford F.C. seasons