During the 1972–73 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 ...

. The early-season departures of goalscorers John O'Mara and Bobby Ross and 15 consecutive away league defeats led to Brentford's relegation straight back to the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

Season summary

's 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 ...

at the end of the 1971–72 season meant that the club would compete in the third-tier for the first time since 1965–66.White, p. 288-291. Self-imposed financial austerity since the club's relegation to the

had enabled the club's large debts to be paid off, but despite promotion and increasing attendances, manager

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 ...

would again be forced to maintain a small playing squad. Blunstone turned down the chance to become assistant manager at Everton during the off-season. Released in the wake of the promotion were defender

Steven Tom Steven Tom (born 5 February 1951) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a defender in the Football League for Brentford. He later made over 150 appearances for Southern League club Barnet. Playing career Brentford ...

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 ...

Brian Turner and winger

Gordon Neilson Colonel Walter Gordon Neilson, (1 October 1876–29 April 1927) was a Scotland international rugby football player. He later became an Army officer, serving in the Boer War and World War I. Early life and education Neilson was born at T ...

and in came amateur

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 ...

Paul Priddy Paul Joseph Priddy (born 11 July 1953) is an English retired semi-professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the Football League for Brentford and Wimbledon. Priddy holds the record as Aldershot Town's oldest-ever player, after he ...

, midfielders David Court and Alan Murray, winger David Jenkins and

Stewart Houston Stewart Mackie Houston (born 20 August 1949) is a Scottish former football player and coach who played as a left-back. Born in Dunoon, he began his professional career in 1967 with Chelsea, before moving to Brentford and then Manchester Unit ...

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 ...

was turned into a permanent transfer for a £15,000 fee. The Brentford youth team was also reactivated after being disbanded due to the budget cuts of

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, with

Kevin Harding Kevin Harding (born 19 March 1957) is an English retired footballer who played in the Football League for Brentford as a defender. Playing career Brentford Harding was one of the first players recruited when the Brentford youth team was ...

, Richard Poole and Graham Pearce being taken on as apprentices. Gary Huxley would win an England Youth cap during the season. Despite losing and drawing the first two league matches of the season, three consecutive wins put Brentford in 2nd position by 2 September 1972. 10 days later,

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

John O'Mara, the previous season's Gallagher's Divisional Footballer Of The Year, was sold to Third Division rivals Blackburn Rovers for a club-record £50,000 fee. Given that Chelsea had recently paid Southend United £100,000 for 25-goal forward Bill Garner, it was felt amongst the Brentford supporters that O'Mara had been sold cheaply. The loss of O'Mara's goals and the departure of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Bobby Ross shortly afterwards contributed a great deal to Brentford's relegation at the end of the season, given that the two players had scored over half of Brentford's goals during the previous campaign. By early October 1972, Brentford were in the bottom-six of the Third Division, but a profit of nearly £80,000 from the first eight league matches of the season and the £50,000 from the sale of John O'Mara allowed manager Frank Blunstone to pay £10,000 for

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

forward

Stan Webb Stan Webb may refer to: *Stan Webb (footballer, born 1906) (1906–1994), English footballer *Stan Webb (footballer, born 1947) (born 1947), English footballer *Stan Webb (guitarist) (born 1946), English guitarist *Stan Webb (rugby league) Sta ...

. By mid-December, Blunstone had just 12 fit players available and despite spending over a further £25,000 on attackers

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 ...

Barry Salvage Barry John Salvage (21 December 1948 – 14 October 1986) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Brentford, Millwall, Queens Park Rangers and Fulham as a left winger. He later became a manager in Norway. ...

and Andy Woon, Brentford's slide towards relegation continued through the early months of 1973. The mid-season signings failed to help arrest the slump and Brentford were relegated after taking just two points from the final six matches of the season. Aside from the lack of goals (winger John Docherty top-scored with 8), Brentford lost 15 consecutive away league matches during the season, a new club record.

League table

Results

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

Legend

Pre-season and friendlies

Football League Third Division

FA Cup

Football League Cup

* Sources: 100 Years of Brentford, The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies
Statto
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Playing squad

:''Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1972–73 season.'' * Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies, Timeless Bees

Coaching staff

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

Management

Summary

Transfers & loans

Awards

* Supporters' Player of the Year:

Peter Gelson Peter William John Gelson (18 October 1941 – 26 April 2021) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Brentford as a centre back and wing half. A cult hero amongst the club's supporters, he is third on the ...

Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 295. * Players' Player of the Year:

Paul Bence Paul Ian Bence (born 21 December 1948) is an English former professional footballer who made more than 250 appearances in the Football League playing for Brighton & Hove Albion, Reading, Brentford and Torquay United. He played as a defensive m ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1972-73 Brentford F.C. season Brentford F.C. seasons