During the 1921–22 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 Football League Third Division South. The club improved on its debut season in the league to finish 9th, which would be its highest placing until 1929–30.

Season summary

After a torrid first season in 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 ...

, Archie Mitchell joined

as player-manager and the club's squad was overhauled. Outgoing manager Fred Halliday stayed 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 ...

as secretary, which allowed Mitchell to focus solely on the team. New signings Charles Alton and John Bethune bolstered the defence, half backs Charles Fisher and James Kerr came in and Thomas Elliott and Harry Morris were signed to replace the previous season's departed leading goalscorers Harry King and

Reginald Boyne Reginald Boyne (16 November 1891 – 10 March 1963) was a New Zealand professional association football, footballer who played as an inside forward in the the Football League, Football League for Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa and Brentford F.C. ...

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er and outside forward Patsy Hendren was available for much of the season. Brentford began the season inconsistently and hovered around mid-table, before a run of just four defeats in 17 games firmly established the club in the top six by January 1922. Forwards Harry Morris and

Harry Anstiss Henry Augustus Anstiss (22 August 1899 – 9 March 1964) was a much travelled English footballer who played as an inside-forward for Hammersmith Athletic, Brentford, Millwall, Watford, Rochdale, Sheffield Wednesday, Port Vale, Swansea T ...

scored the majority of the team's goals and player-manager Mitchell had dropped himself from the team in favour of

Cyril Hunter Cyril Hunter (8 February 1898 – 1962) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for South Shields, Brentford and Lincoln City as a centre half. While a South Shields player, he received a six-month ban (then t ...

in December 1921. On 11 February 1922,

Freddy Capper Alfred Capper (8 May 1892 – 31 October 1955) was an English footballer who played as an outside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are th ...

became the first Brentford player to be sent off in a Football League match. He received his marching orders from referee Harry Curtis, who would later be appointed as Brentford's manager in 1926. Five defeats in seven matches during February and March, coupled with poor away form throughout the season, ruled out the possibility of automatic promotion, but the team finished strongly and won five of the final eight matches to finish 9th. Brentford won just one away league match during the season, which is the joint-fewest in club history. A rare event occurred on the final day of the season at Swansea Town's Vetch Field, when Brentford were able to field just 9 men at the kick off.

William Young William, Will, Bill or Billy Young may refer to: Arts and entertainment * William Young (composer) (died 1662), English composer and viola da gambist * William Young (architect) (1843–1900), Scottish architect, designer of Glasgow City Chambers ...

, Harry Anstiss and Freddy Capper missed their train at Paddington and manager Archie Mitchell was pressed into service as an emergency goalkeeper.

League table

Results

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

Legend

Football League Third Division South

FA Cup

* Sources
Statto
100 Years of Brentford, The Complete History

Playing squad

:''Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1921–22 season.'' * Sources: 100 Years of Brentford, Timeless Bees, Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939

Coaching staff

Statistics

Appearances and goals

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

Goalscorers