During the 1973–74 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 ...

. A dreadful season, marred by infighting at boardroom level, resulted in a 19th-place finish, Brentford's lowest in 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 ...

since the 1925–26 season.

Season summary

In the wake of

'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 ...

at the end of the previous season, 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 ...

, who had come to the end of his contract, left

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 ...

to take over as

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

manager at

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

.White, p. 292-294. Despite the relegation, fan support for Blunstone was high and the finger of blame pointed at the board of directors, with one letter to the ''

Middlesex Chronicle ''The Hounslow Chronicle'' is a local weekly tabloid newspaper distributed in west London, England. It mainly covers stories from the London Borough of Hounslow The London Borough of Hounslow () is a London borough in West London, England, for ...

'' summing up the situation that the board's penny-pinching ways since

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 ...

were "necessary for a couple of years or so, but timidity of this sort prompts me to believe that promotion last year was an unwelcome accident, which has now been rectified". Brentford entered

pre-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

without a manager and training was taken by full back Alan Hawley and other senior professionals. Eventually former

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

Mike Everitt was appointed as manager, just seven days before the beginning of the season. Everitt made no signings before the first match of the season and inherited a tiny 14-man squad, with backup

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 ...

Gary Towse Gary Thomas Towse (born 14 May 1952) is an English retired professional footballer who played in the Football League for Brentford as a goalkeeper. He has had a long association with football in Folkestone after becoming a ballboy for his fathe ...

being Brentford's only incoming transfer, signed two months earlier. With Brentford one place above 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 ...

zone after seven league matches, manager Everitt began recruiting new players, including defender Gordon Riddick for a £4,000 fee and loanees Michael Brown and

Hughie Reed Hugh Dennett Reed (23 August 1950 – 1 November 1992) was a Scottish professional footballer who played in the Football League for Plymouth Argyle, Crewe Alexandra, West Bromwich Albion, Brentford and Hartlepool as a winger. Playing career ...

. The signings had no immediate impact and Brentford sank to the bottom of the

after a 4–1 defeat to

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

at the

Old Showground The Old Show Ground was a football stadium in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England, that was the original home of Scunthorpe United F.C. from 1899 until 1988, when they moved to Glanford Park – the first newly constructed Football League stadium si ...

. The loss meant that Brentford became the first club to occupy both first and last places in the Football League, having risen to top position during the early months of the 1937–38 season. Behind the scenes, the Brentford board had split into two factions, with one side pushing for a move to a new stadium and the other half wishing to stay at Griffin Park. Joint-chairmen Les Davey and Walter Wheatley were split on the matter and Wheatley became sole chairman of the club in January 1974, though he would be ousted two months later. With Brentford still struggling on the field,

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 ...

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 ...

was sold to Manchester United in December 1973 for a club-record £55,000 fee, but the money was not immediately reinvested in the squad. The disharmony in the boardroom also spread to the playing squad, with Paul Bence, Alan Nelmes,

Jackie Graham John Joseph Graham (born 16 July 1946) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager who played as a central midfielder and inside left. He is best remembered for the decade he spent in the Football League with Brentford, for w ...

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

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 ...

requesting moves away, though ultimately none would depart Griffin Park. A 10-match unbeaten run from mid-February through to early-April 1974 finally assured safety and youth products Richard Poole,

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 ...

and Roy Cotton were able to be blooded, though none of the trio would make more than a handful of senior appearances for the club.

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

forward

Dave Simmonds Dave Simmonds (25 October 1939 – 23 October 1972) was a British professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed in the Grand Prix world championships from 1963 to 1972. Simmonds is notable for winning the 1969 125 cc FIM road rac ...

and

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

defender

Jimmy Gabriel James Gabriel (10 October 1940 – 10 July 2021) was a Scottish football defensive midfielder and defender who earned two caps with the Scotland national football team. Chiefly associated with English clubs Everton and Southampton, Gabriel pla ...

were brought in on transfer deadline day. Brentford ended the season in 19th place, the club's lowest finish in the Football League since the 1925–26 season. The average home league attendance of 5,063 was the lowest since the club joined the Football League in 1920.

League table

Results

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

Legend

Pre-season and friendlies

Football League Fourth 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 1973–74 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: Peter Gelson

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1973-74 Brentford F.C. season Brentford F.C. seasons