During the 1908–09 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 disastrous season ended with a bottom-place finish, but the club was spared relegation after the First Division was expanded in June 1909.

Season summary

After encountering severe financial problems during the 1907–08 season, the

committee was forced to dispense with the majority of the first team squad in May 1908, due to many of the players being unwilling to accept lower wages for the 1908–09 season.White, p. 91-93. Top-scorer

Adam Bowman Adam Bowman (4 August 1880 – 4 February 1937) was a Scottish professional footballer who played in the Football League for Blackburn Rovers, Leeds City and Everton as an inside left or centre forward. Personal life After retiring from f ...

had been sold in April and he was followed out of

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 ...

Tosher Underwood Alexander Austin Underwood (January 1878 – 28 November 1960) was an English professional footballer who played as an outside forward in the Football League for Glossop and Clapton Orient. He spent the majority of his career in the Southern ...

, Jock Watson, Jock Hamilton, Tom McAllister,

George Parsonage George Parsonage (November 1880 – 22 May 1919) was an English professional footballer, most notable for his time as a half back and player-manager in the Southern League with Brentford. He was banned from football for life by the Football As ...

Fred Corbett Frederick Corbett (1 January 1881 – 15 April 1924) was a professional footballer who played for Thames Ironworks (where he worked as a labourer) and the club's successor West Ham United, before spending three spells at Bristol Rovers punctua ...

, Jimmy Tomlinson, Andy Clark, John Montgomery,

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 ...

and Patsy Hendren, while Oakey Field (who had returned in November 1907), Charlie Williams and

Jimmy Jay James Jay (July 1879 – 13 March 1927) was an English professional footballer who played as a wing half in the Football League for Bristol City. He is the record Southern League appearance-maker for Brentford and was posthumously inducted into ...

elected to retire. Fred Halliday was appointed Brentford manager on 24 June and began assembling an almost entirely new squad, which eventually reduced the wage bill by 20%, to £2,565 across the entire season (equivalent to £ in ). Brentford endured a forgettable Southern League First Division season, matching the 33 points won during the previous season, but instead finishing five places lower at the bottom of the table. The return of Jimmy Jay in October helped solidify the back lines, which up to that point were leaking goals.

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 ...

Alex McCulloch, signed during the 1908 off-season, caught the eye of manager Halliday's former club

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

and departed for a £350 fee in November, with Geordie Reid arriving at Griffin Park in part-exchange. Reid would top-score for the Bees during the season with 18 goals. There was some cheer late in the season, with the Bees winning the Southern Professional Charity Cup. Brentford's bottom-place finish was initially no cause for concern, with plans afoot for 16 Southern League clubs, plus another two from a list of six (which included Brentford), to form a

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

of 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 ...

. The chance fell through when the Football League

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and Second Division clubs voted against the formation of a Third Division, but Brentford were saved from relegation when the Southern League opted to expand to 22 clubs in June 1909, with Croydon Common being promoted from the Second Division and thus preserving Brentford's First Division status.

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

Coaching staff

Statistics

Appearances

Goalscorers

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

Management

Summary

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1908-09 Brentford F.C. season Brentford F.C. seasons