During the 1960–61 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 The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

. An abundance of draws led to a 17th-place finish and it was the last of seven seasons to feature the "Terrible Twins" strike partnership of

Jim Towers Edwin James Towers (15 April 1933 – 16 September 2010) was an English professional footballer, best remembered for his time as a centre forward in the Football League with Brentford. He is the club's all-time leading goalscorer and in 2013 wa ...

and George Francis.

Season summary

Despite making something of a name for themselves as the "nearly men" of the

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 ...

, manager

Malky MacDonald Malcolm MacDonald (26 October 1913 – 26 September 1999) was a Scottish professional association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager, best remembered for his time as a Utility player#Association football, utility pl ...

made few changes to the

squad for the fourth-consecutive off-season. The one major change at Brentford was that of the club's traditional red and white-striped shirts, which were passed over in favour of an amber shirt with a blue 'V' neck, due to the number of times the club would be forced to wear its change strip during the season. Negative feedback from the supporters ensured that the change of colours was a one-season experiment. Brentford started the 1960–61 season well and topped the table after winning the first two matches, but a 6–1 defeat to

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

Vicarage Road Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of championship club Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200. History It has been the home of Watford since 1922, when the club moved from Cassi ...

on 30 August 1960 shook the team's confidence. The same XI atoned for that display with a 4–0 victory over

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

four days later, but the view had become prevalent around

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 ...

that some of Brentford's settled XI were past their peak. Manager MacDonald tinkered with his squad and bit-part,

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...

players

Tommy Higginson Thomas Higginson (6 January 1937 – 22 July 2012) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a left half and inside forward. He is best remembered for his 12-year spell in the Football League with Brentford, for whom he made 433 appea ...

, John Docherty,

Ron Peplow Ronald Rupert Peplow (4 May 1935 – 15 March 2019) was an English professional association football, footballer who played in the Football League for Brentford F.C., Brentford as a wing half. He also played non-League football for Southall F.C ...

and

Johnny Hales John McKendrick Hales (born 15 May 1940) is a Scottish retired professional footballer who played in the Football League for Brentford as a winger. Career St Roch's A winger, Hales began his career in Glasgow with Central Scottish Amateur L ...

were given runs in the team. Amidst a run of just two wins in 19 league matches, the new

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

gave the Bees some cheer when

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

were defeated 4–3 at Griffin Park in the club's first-ever match in the competition. The Bees were knocked out after a replay versus reigning

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 ...

champions

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

in the third round. A first round exit in the

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 ...

in November ensured that the Third Division would be Brentford's sole focus for the remainder of the season. Brentford entered 1961 in 15th place in the Third Division, only three points above the relegation zone. Chairman Frank Davis posted a £7,000 loss, which took the club's debt over £50,000 and a players' strike (in support of their claim for the removal of the

maximum wage A maximum wage, also often called a wage ceiling, is a legal limit on how much income an individual can earn. It is a prescribed limitation which can be used to effect change in an economic structure, but its effects are unrelated to those of mini ...

) was also a real possibility. In a bid to alleviate some of the club's debt, promising

outside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

John Docherty was sold to

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

for a club record £17,000 in March 1961. The club rallied and lost just five of the remaining 21 matches of the season, but a failure to convert the 11 draws into wins (four consecutive home draws in February and March equalled the club record) ensured that Brentford finished in a lowly 17th place. Brentford's final match of the season versus

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, although won 2–1, pushed the average league attendance at Griffin Park down to 7,392, which was the club's lowest since the 1924–25 season. The "Terrible Twins" (forwards

and George Francis) had a mixed season, with Towers scoring 22 goals (low by the standards set for himself) and Francis just 10, which led to him being dropped from the team in February 1961 – a decision which would have been considered unthinkable just six months earlier. Despite scoring 13 goals in 10 matches for the reserve team, Francis failed to earn a recall to the first team squad. Francis' replacement, teenager George Summers, scored six goals during the final months of the season.

League table

Results

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

Legend

Football League Third Division

FA Cup

Football League Cup

* Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford,Statto
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Playing squad

: ''Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1960–61 season.'' * Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford, Timeless Bees

Coaching staff

Statistics

Appearances and goals

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

Goalscorers