During the 1925–26 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 Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

and finished in 18th place, conceding a club record 94 goals.

Season summary

manager

Fred Halliday Simon Frederick Peter Halliday (22 February 1946 – 26 April 2010) was an Irish writer and academic specialising in International Relations and the Middle East, with particular reference to the Cold War, Iran, and the Arabian peninsula. Biogra ...

overhauled the club's squad during the 1925 off-season, with all but seven players being released. Despite running a deficit of £6,000 (equivalent to £ in ), the board of directors pledged a "substantial sum of money" for the transfer of quality players and in came new

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 Thomson, four full backs, four half backs and new forwards Bill Finlayson and Bert Young. The club's colours were changed to the now-traditional red-and-white stripes, black shorts and black socks. 9 defeats from the opening 10 matches of the season left Brentford rooted to the bottom of the

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

and forward Reginald Parker (one of the club's highest scorers during the previous two seasons) elected to transfer to

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

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 ...

was closed by 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 ...

for the first and only time due to crowd disturbance during a 6–1 thrashing at the hands of

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

on 12 September 1925. The ground was reopened 14 days later. The poor run ended with the first victory of the season on 17 October, 2–1 over

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

. Five wins in the following seven matches lifted the Bees out of the

re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

places, with forwards

Jack Lane John William Lane (29 May 1898 – June 1984) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside right. He is best remembered for his five years in the Football League with Brentford, for whom he made 234 appearances and was club cap ...

, Bill Finlayson and full back Percival Whitton (who had been deployed up front by manager Halliday) all coming into form, with half back Alex Graham converting a number of

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

. By 20 February 1926, a run of just five defeats in 19 matches lifted Brentford to 13th in the table. The signing of forward Ernie Watkins from

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

for a then-club record fee of £1,000 in January 1928 proved to be money well-spent, with Watkins scoring 11 goals in his first 12 matches, including a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in the Bees' biggest victory of the season, 5–1 versus

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

on 2 April. The Bees' form petered out in the final two months of the season, winning just 3 of the final 12 matches to finish 18th with the worst defensive record in the division. The 94 goals conceded during the 1925–26 season is a club record.

League table

Results

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

Legend

Football League Third Division South

FA Cup

* Sources
Statto11v11
100 Years Of Brentford

Playing squad

:''Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1925–26 season.'' * Sources: Timeless Bees, Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939, 100 Years Of Brentford

Coaching staff

Statistics

Appearances and goals

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

Goalscorers