During the 1953–54 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 Second Division. With Brentford in the relegation places, player-manager Tommy Lawton transferred out of the club in September 1953 and his replacement

Bill Dodgin Sr. William Dodgin (17 April 1909 – 16 October 1999) was an English professional footballer who played as a left half and later served as a manager, coach and scout. Football career Dodgin played in the Football League, most notably for Clapto ...

was unable to turn things round, which culminated in relegation to the Third Division South on the final day of the season. Brentford would not play again in the second-tier of English football until the 1992–93 season.

Season summary

Without a transfer budget to speak of,

player-manager Tommy Lawton could not rely entirely on filling his squad with the products of Alf Bew's youth team, which had reached the semi-finals of the inaugural

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

during the previous season. Lawton again relied on

Wally Bragg Walter Leonard Bragg (8 July 1929 – 6 March 2016) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre half in the Football League for Brentford. At the time of his debut in March 1947, he was Brentford's then-youngest first team debu ...

and

Ken Coote Kenneth Alexander Coote (19 May 1928 – 2 August 2003) was an English footballer. He is best remembered for his 14 years as a full back and utility player with Brentford, for whom he tops the all-time appearances list with 559 and was also ...

to hold two of the half back berths alongside Tony Harper. He signed ageing forwards Frank Broome and

Ian McPherson Ian MacPherson, Macpherson or McPherson may refer to: * Ian Macpherson, 1st Baron Strathcarron (1880–1937), British lawyer and politician * Ian Macpherson (novelist) (1905–1944), Scottish novelist * Ian McPherson (footballer) (1920–1983), Sco ...

from his previous club Notts County as replacements for

Les Smith Keith Leslie Smith is a former British keyboardist, once in the bands Anathema (1996, 2001–2011) and Cradle of Filth (1998–2000). Biography He was born in 1967 in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England. Smith undertook session work on keyboar ...

and the injured

Jimmy D'Arcy Seamus Donal D'Arcy (14 December 1921 – 22 February 1985), known as Jimmy D'Arcy or sometimes Paddy D'Arcy, was a Northern Irish international footballer who played as an inside forward. Career After playing in the Republic of Ireland for ...

. Six defeats and just one win from the opening 9 Second Division matches saw Tommy Lawton quit the club in favour of a £10,000 move to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, a transfer which saw James Robertson arrive 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 ...

in part-exchange. Full back

Fred Monk Frederick John Monk (9 October 1920 – October 1987) was an English professional footballer and coach who played in Football League for Brentford and Aldershot. He is best remembered for his time with Brentford, for whom he made over 200 appe ...

took over as

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 ...

until the appointment of

on 1 October 1953. Dodgin's arrival heralded three consecutive wins, which lifted the Bees out of the relegation places. Ineffective forwards Broome and McPherson were transferred out and replaced by

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

Johnny Rainford John William Rainford (11 December 1930 – 21 May 2001) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward. He is best remembered for his 9 years in the Football League with Brentford, for whom he made over 320 appearances. ...

and Frank Dudley. Despite their arrivals, Brentford showed poor form over the Christmas and New Year period and a money-raising FA Cup run ended in a third round replay defeat to Hull City.

Gerry Gazzard Gerald Gazzard (15 March 1925 – 29 September 2006) was an English footballer who played for West Ham United and Brentford. Gazzard was born in Cinderford, Gloucestershire and having previously played as an amateur for Penzance, and made 20 ...

arrived on loan from West Ham United in January 1954 and despite Gazzard and Dudley forming something of a strike partnership during the final 10 weeks of the season, Brentford were relegated in 21st-place after the club's final match on 24 April. The solitary away league win during the season tied the club record for fewest league wins in a season. In addition, Brentford were the joint-lowest scorers in the Second Division during the season. Long-serving trainer

Jack Cartmell John Range Cartmell (28 August 1890 – 23 February 1979) was a professional footballer who played in the Football League for Brentford and Gillingham as an outside left. He later became trainer at Brentford and served nearly 30 years in the ...

retired at the end of the season, after over 30 years at Griffin Park as a player and a member of staff.

League table

Results

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

Legend

Football League Second Division

FA Cup

* Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford,Statto11v11
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Playing squad

:''Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1953–54 season.'' * Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford, Timeless Bees

Coaching staff

Tommy Lawton (19 August – September 1953)

Fred Monk (September – 1 October 1953)

Bill Dodgin Sr. (1 October 1953 – 24 April 1954)

Statistics

Appearances and goals

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

Goalscorers