During the 1969–70 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 Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

. Despite staying in the promotion places throughout much of the campaign, three-late season defeats cost the Bees promotion to 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 ...

Season summary

There was the perception 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 ...

during the 1969 off-season that after the financial austerity of the previous two-and-a-half years, the extreme cost-cutting measures enacted by former chairman Ron Blindell had reduced

's target to merely staying in business, rather than challenging for promotion to the

. Former director Walter Wheatley's loans to the club had taken its debts down to a manageable proportion, but after being installed as chairman (Blindell had died in January 1969), Wheatley carried on the austerity into the 1969–70 season. Manager

Jimmy Sirrel James Sirrel (2 February 1922 – 25 September 2008) was a Scottish football player and manager; he gained his highest profile in the latter role. Born in Glasgow, Sirrel began his career with Celtic before moving to England, spending most of ...

once again had his hands tied in the transfer market, releasing experienced campaigners

Denis Hunt Denis Perrior Hunt (8 September 1937 – 29 January 2019) was an English professional Association football, footballer who made over 320 appearances as a left back in the Football League for Gillingham F.C., Gillingham between 1958 and 1968. He ...

Pat Terry Patrick Alfred Terry (2 October 1933 – 23 February 2007) was an English professional football centre forward who made nearly 500 appearances for 9 Football League clubs, most notably Gillingham, Reading and Millwall Millwall is a dis ...

and Ron Foster and bringing in three attackers, two on free transfers ( Bill Brown and Micky Cook) and one on trial (

Roger Frude Roger Gordon Frude (19 November 1946 – 14 June 1996) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward in the Football League for Bristol Rovers, Mansfield Town and Brentford. Personal life When he died in 1996, Frud ...

). From the point of view of manpower, Brentford began the season in the worst possible way, with just 14 fit players. Despite the early-season transfer of the versatile John Richardson to

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

for £10,000, Brentford had an excellent start to the season, with goals from Allan Mansley, Bobby Ross and Micky Cook helping the club stabilise its position in the promotion places. The number of fit players dropped to 13 by October 1969, with the lack of a recognised

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

being the problem. On 10 November, manager Jimmy Sirrel dropped the bombshell that he was leaving the club to take up the manager's position at Notts County. Forward

Ron Fenton Ronald Fenton (21 September 1940 – 25 September 2013) was an English football player, coach and manager. He played as an inside forward and made nearly 200 appearances in the Football League. Fenton was born in South Shields, and began his ...

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 ...

and though the Bees exited the FA Cup in the first round (quickly ending any chances of a money-spinning cup run), Fenton managed to keep the club in and around the promotion places before

Frank Blunstone Frank Blunstone (born 17 October 1934) is an English former footballer who played as an outside left for Crewe Alexandra, Chelsea and the England national team. Playing career After surprisingly rejecting Wolverhampton Wanderers in favour of h ...

was installed as manager just prior to Christmas 1969. Despite an inconsistent first month under new manager Frank Blunstone, Brentford continued to keep pace with the promotion race. Blunstone was able to expand the squad slightly, with

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

s Brian Turner and

Brian Tawse Brian Tawse (born 30 July 1945) is a Scottish former professional footballer who made over 100 appearances in the Football League for Brighton & Hove Albion as a winger. Career Born in Ellon, Tawse played in the Football League for Arsenal, B ...

signing on a permanent basis and forward

Alan Cocks Alan William Cocks (born 7 May 1951) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a forward in the Football League for Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. ...

coming in on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

to replace departed loanee

Gerry Baker Gerard Austin "Gerry" Baker (11 April 1938 – 24 August 2013) was an American soccer player. From 1955 until 1970, he played 16 seasons in either the Scottish or English first division. He earned seven caps with the US national team in 196 ...

. Ever-present

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 ...

Chic Brodie had his best season so far at Griffin Park and kept 20 clean sheets. The Bees moved as high as 2nd position in late January and early February 1970 and manager Blunstone went for broke, finally signing a recognised centre forward (

Roger Cross Roger Cross (born October 19, 1969) is a Jamaican-born Canadian actor who has made numerous appearances in several films and television series, mostly on productions shot in Canada. He is known for his work as CTU Agent Curtis Manning in the ...

from West Ham United for £10,000) and bringing winger John Docherty back for a third spell with the club. Three defeats in four matches in late March and early April effectively ended the promotion charge, with the three-point gap to 4th-place

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

proving to be insurmountable. Two records were set during the season, which as of have never been bettered: * Least

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 ...

goals conceded in a season: 39 * Least home Football League goals conceded in a season: 11

League table

Results

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

Legend

Football League Fourth 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 1969–70 season.'' * Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford, Timeless Bees

Coaching staff

Jimmy Sirrel (10 August – 10 November 1969)

Ron Fenton (10 November – December 1969)

Frank Blunstone (December 1969 – 24 April 1970)

Statistics

Appearances and goals

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

Goalscorers

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