During the 1976–77 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 ...

. After a poor start to the season,

Bill Dodgin Jr. William Dodgin (4 November 1931 – 17 June 2000) was an English football player and manager. Club career Dodgin was born in Wardley, Gateshead, and was the son of footballer Bill Dodgin Sr. He began his career as an amateur, before signing f ...

appointed to replace inexperienced manager John Docherty. With

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 ...

looking likely, Dodgin overhauled the playing squad and the Bees won 14 of the final 18 matches of the season to complete a remarkable turnaround and finish in mid-table.

Season summary

After

's lowest-ever finish in 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 John Docherty released

defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...

Alan Nelmes and Keith Lawrence and replaced them with

John Fraser John Fraser may refer to: Politics *John Simon Frederick Fraser (1765–1803), commanded the Fraser Fencibles in Ireland and was (M.P.) for Inverness-shire *John James Fraser (1829–1896), 5th Premier of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, 18 ...

and

Bobby Goldthorpe Robert James Goldthorpe (born 6 December 1950) is an English retired professional association football, footballer who played in the The Football League, Football League for Charlton Athletic F.C., Charlton Athletic, Brentford F.C., Brentford, ...

respectively.White, p. 301-304. Also arriving 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 ...

were defender Keith Pritchett and

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 ...

Steve Aylott Steve Aylott (born 3 September 1951) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder in the Football League for Oxford United and Brentford. Playing career He was a Leyton Orient and West Ham apprentice centre ...

, while teenagers

Danis Salman Danis Mahmut Mehmet Salman ( tr, Danış Salman; born 12 March 1960), sometimes known as Danny Salman, is a Turkish Cypriot-born English former professional footballer and coach, best remembered for his time as a defender in the Football Leagu ...

Gary Rolph Gary Leslie Rolph (born 24 February 1960) is an English retired footballer who played in the Football League for Brentford as a forward. Career A graduate of the Brentford youth team, Rolph made 12 appearances and scored one goal for Brentfo ...

, Graham Cox and

Paul Walker Paul William Walker IV (September 12, 1973 – November 30, 2013) was an American actor. He was known for his role as Brian O'Conner in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. Walker began his career as a child actor in the 1980s, gaining recogniti ...

all signed apprentice professional contracts. A catalogue of injuries to Fraser, Aylott, Riddick, Sweetzer,

McCulloch McCulloch is a Scottish surnames, Scottish surname. It's a variation of the Northern Irish surname McCullough. It's commonly found in Galloway. Notable people with the surname include: *Alan McCulloch (politician), New Zealand politician *Alan ...

Allen Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Univer ...

and

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

and a failure to win any of the first six games of the season led to manager Docherty quitting the club, after failing to win a

vote of confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

from chairman

Dan Tana Dan Tana (born 1935 as Dobrivoje Tanasijević; ) is a Serbian and American restaurateur, actor, football administrator/executive, and former professional footballer. Tana is best known as the proprietor of an eponymous restaurant, Dan Tana's, in ...

. Physiotherapist

Eddie Lyons Eddie Lyons (November 25, 1886 – August 30, 1926) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer of the silent era. He appeared in 388, directed 153, wrote for 93, and produced 40 films between 1911 and 1926. He was born in ...

was put in caretaker charge of the team for one match before

was appointed manager on 16 September 1976, who followed in his

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

's footsteps by taking over the role. While Brentford were entrenched in the

places the first five months of Bill Dodgin Jr.'s reign, behind the scenes he overhauled the squad and sought players who would meld with his attacking philosophy. Between September 1976 and February 1977, Dodgin brought in midfielder

Dave Carlton David George Carlton (born 24 November 1952) is an English retired professional footballer who made 320 appearances as a midfielder in the Football League, most notably for Northampton Town and Brentford. Playing career Early years Carl ...

from his previous club

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

and a number of players 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 ...

–

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 ...

Tony Burns and midfielders

Allan Glover Allan Richard Glover (born 21 October 1950) is an English retired professional footballer, best remembered for his eight years in the Football League with West Bromwich Albion. An inside forward and winger, he also played for Orient, Brent ...

Steve Scrivens Stephen Scrivens (born 11 March 1957) was an English professional football winger who played in the Football League for Fulham and Brentford. Club career Fulham Scrivens began his career as a trainee with Second Division club Fulham. Age ...

, Neil Smillie and John Bain. The sales of defender Keith Pritchett and forwards

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 ...

and Micky French generated over £20,000 in transfer fees, a small portion of which was spent on midfielders

Paul Shrubb Paul Shrubb (1 August 195528 May 2020) was an English professional footballer, coach and scout who made 350 appearances as a player in the Football League, most notably for Brentford and Aldershot. He later returned to Aldershot as assistant ...

and

Steve Phillips Stephen Francis Phillips (born May 18, 1963) is an American baseball analyst and former baseball executive. He served as the general manager of the New York Mets from 1997 through 2003. He worked as a baseball analyst for ESPN from 2005 until h ...

. Most significantly, teenage forward

Gordon Sweetzer Gordon Eric Peter Sweetzer (born 27 January 1957) is a Canadian former professional soccer player who played as a forward. In a short, injury-plagued career, he played in the Football League for Brentford, Cambridge United and in the North Am ...

was promoted through the ranks and began to establish himself in the starting lineup in the

New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

. By January 1977, manager Dodgin's new-look squad was starting to produce results on the field, with Gordon Sweetzer scoring a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a 4–0 victory over

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...

in the middle of the month. In late February, Brentford set off on a run which would see the club become one of the Fourth Division's form teams, winning 14 and drawing two of the final 18 matches of the season. Gordon Sweetzer established a strike partnership with fit-again Andrew McCulloch and showed prolific form, finishing the season with 23 goals from 28 appearances. In March, despite a shaky start, the £20,000 purchase of

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Pat Kruse Patrick Karl Kruse (born 30 November 1953) is an English former professional footballer who is best remembered for his five-year spell in the Football League with Brentford, for whom he made over 200 appearances as a centre back. Kruse is kno ...

would prove to be an important signing for the future. Brentford finished the season in 15th place. Two club records were set during the season: * Youngest debutant: Paul Walker, 15 years, 7 months, 28 days (versus

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 ...

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

first round, 14 August 1976) * Youngest FA Cup goalscorer: Gary Rolph – 16 years, 9 months, 26 days (versus

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

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 ...

second round, 20 December 1976)

League table

Results

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

Legend

Pre-season

Football League Fourth Division

FA Cup

Football League Cup

* Sources: 100 Years of Brentford, The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies
Statto
/small>

Playing squad

:''Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1976–77 season.'' * Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies, Timeless Bees

Coaching staff

John Docherty (14 August – 7 September 1976)

Eddie Lyons (7 – 16 September 1976)

Bill Dodgin Jr. (16 September 1976 – 14 May 1977)

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:

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

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1976-77 Brentford F.C. season Brentford F.C. seasons