During the 1982–83 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 high point of a mid-table season was a run to the fourth round of the League Cup, then the furthest the club had then progressed in the competition. The 107 goals scored during the season is a club record.

Season summary

After many failed attempts,

manager

Fred Callaghan Frederick John Callaghan (19 December 1944 – 13 September 2022) was an English professional association football, footballer, who made over 290 appearances in the Football League for Fulham F.C., Fulham as a left back. After retiring as a pla ...

finally signed what would prove to be a potent strike partnership during the 1982 off-season – Francis Joseph from

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 * ...

and

Tony Mahoney Anthony Joseph Mahoney (born 29 September 1959) is an English retired professional association football, footballer who played in the The Football League, Football League for Fulham F.C., Fulham, Brentford F.C., Brentford and Crystal Palace F. ...

from

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 ...

.White, p. 318-320. Goalkeeper

David McKellar David Norwood McKellar (born 22 May 1956) is a Scottish retired professional footballer, best remembered for his time as a goalkeeper in the Football League with Carlisle United, for whom he made 160 appearances for the club over two spells. In ...

's contract was terminated after a serious breach of club discipline and he was replaced by former Chelsea goalkeeper

Petar Borota Petar Borota ( sr-Cyrl, Петар Борота, ; 5 March 1952 – 12 February 2010) was a Serbian footballer who played as a goalkeeper, most notably for Serbian clubs OFK Beograd and Partizan and English club Chelsea. In addition to great go ...

. Barota only appeared in three

Football League Group Cup The Football League Group Cup was a short-lived football competition which first took place during the 1981–82 season. For English clubs it was a replacement for the Anglo-Scottish Cup, which had been discontinued due to the withdrawal of Scott ...

fixtures before being in turn replaced by Paddy Roche. The

defensive Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

ranks were cleared out, with

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 ...

, Mark Hill,

Robbie Johnson Robert Nicholas Johnson (born 30 March 1962) is an English retired professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association foo ...

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

Kevin Teer Kevin Paul Teer (born 7 December 1963) is an English retired professional football midfielder who played in the Football League for Brentford. Career Teer began his career in the youth team at Third Division club Brentford. He made one p ...

all released. Experienced former Chelsea defender

Graham Wilkins Graham George Wilkins (born 28 June 1955 in Hillingdon) is an English retired professional football full back who made over 130 appearances in the Football League for Chelsea. He also played league football for Brentford and Southend United. ...

arrived on a free transfer. Brentford had a busy first half of the season, reaching the fourth round of the League Cup for the first time in club history. Higher-division clubs Blackburn Rovers and

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

were knocked out in the second and third rounds before the Bees fell to First Division club Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. Brentford advanced to the second round of the FA Cup, before suffering a disappointing replay defeat to

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 ...

club Swindon Town. Forward Tony Mahoney, who had up until that point scored 15 goals in 28 appearances, broke his leg in three places during the defeat. Despite heavy scoring from forwards Francis Joseph, Tony Mahoney and winger Gary Roberts early season, Brentford's league form was patchy mid-season. 10 defeats from 14 matches between late December 1982 and early March 1983 ultimately killed hopes of a promotion challenge. Manager Fred Callaghan signed Southampton forward

Keith Cassells Keith Barrington Cassells (born 10 July 1957) is an English retired professional football forward, best remembered for his four seasons in the Football League with Mansfield Town. He also played league football for Watford, Oxford United, Brentfo ...

in a bid to replace Tony Mahoney's goals and while there was an upturn in form during the final two months of the season, Brentford finished in 9th place. The Bees finished the season with the best overall and best away attacking records in the Third Division. Four club records were set or equalled during the season: * Most goals scored in a season (all competitions): 107 * Record

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 ...

away win: 7–1 versus Exeter City, 23 April 1983 * Most goals scored in an away Football League win: 7 (7–1 versus Exeter City, 23 April 1983) * Three goalscorers with 10 or more goals by Christmas Day (all competitions): Francis Joseph, Gary Roberts, Tony Mahoney

League table

Results

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

Legend

Pre-season and friendlies

Football League Third Division

FA Cup

Football League Cup

Football League Group Cup

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

:''Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1982–83 season.'' * Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties, Timeless Bees

Coaching staff

Statistics

Appearances and goals

:''Substitute appearances in brackets.'' *Players listed in ''italics'' left the club mid-season. *

appearances and goals are not included in overall player totals. *Source: The Big Brentford Book of the EightiesCroxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 424.

Goalscorers

*Players listed in ''italics'' left the club mid-season. *

appearances and goals are not included in overall player totals. *Source: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties

Management

Summary

Transfers & loans

Awards

* Supporters' Player of the Year: Bob BookerCroxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 383. * Players' Player of the Year: Bob Booker

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1982-83 Brentford F.C. season Brentford F.C. seasons