During the 1987–88 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 Bees contended for a place in the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

until a run of just two wins from the final 17 matches of the season dropped the club into mid-table.

Season summary

After taking over as

manager in January 1987, Steve Perryman continued the remodelling of his squad through the 1987 off-season.White, p. 334-336. Transferred out were defender

Phil Bater Philip Thomas Bater (born 26 October 1955) is a Welsh former professional footballer turned manager who was recently in charge of Mangotsfield United. Originally from Cardiff, Bater began his career as an apprentice with Bristol Rovers in 1973. ...

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 ...

Paul Maddy Paul Michael Maddy (born 17 August 1962) is a Welsh retired professional footballer who played in Football League, most notably for Hereford United as a midfielder. He also played League football for Cardiff City, Brentford, Chester City and ...

and

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 ...

Francis Joseph, with the deals raising £37,000. In came a number of players on free transfers or a trial basis, the most notable of whom being former

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

midfielder Colin Lee, in a dual player/Youth Development Officer role. After beginning 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 in and around the relegation places, manager Perryman continued to buy and sell players, raising another £10,000 from the sale of defender

Jamie Murray Jamie Robert Murray, (born 13 February 1986) is a Scottish professional tennis player from Scotland who specialises in doubles. He is a seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion (five in mixed doubles and two in men's doubles), a Davis Cup win ...

and winger

Ian Holloway Ian Scott Holloway (born 12 March 1963) is an English professional football manager, former player, media personality and television pundit who was most recently the manager of Grimsby Town. A midfielder, he notably played in the Premier League ...

and bringing in former Chelsea midfielder Keith Jones for a £40,000 fee. With forward

Gary Blissett Gary Blissett (born 29 June 1964) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He notably played in the Premier League for Wimbledon, and in the Football League for Crewe Alexandra, Brentford and Wycombe Wanderers. He ...

failing to show form in front of goal and

Andy Sinton Andrew Sinton (born 19 March 1966) is an English football manager and former professional footballer, who is club ambassador for Queens Park Rangers. As a player, he was a left midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Queens Par ...

almost single-handedly leading the attack from midfield, the

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 ...

signing of Paul Williams in October 1987 galvanised the team, with Williams scoring six goals in eight appearances before being recalled by

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

. An eight-match unbeaten run from mid-November 1987 to 2 January 1988, despite the £30,000 sale of forward Robbie Cooke, put Brentford as high as 6th position, once place outside the

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

zone. The December loan signing of

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

midfielder

Graham Rix Graham Cyril Rix (born 23 October 1957) is an English former professional football player who later became a coach and manager. He is the current manager of Fareham Town. He played for Arsenal for thirteen years, then Brentford (on loan), Cae ...

proved key to the continued good form. A 1–0 win over

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the ...

on 16 January 1988, courtesy of a

Keith Millen Keith Derek Millen (born 26 September 1966) is an English football manager and former player who played as a centre back. He was most recently manager of Carlisle United. Millen was appointed as Steve Coppell's successor, after Coppell chose to ...

goal, raised Brentford into the play-off zone. After 3–1 victory over

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 ...

in the following league match and the recall of Graham Rix to

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

, the Bees' form disintegrated. The team lost four consecutive matches in February without scoring a goal and would win just two of the final 17 matches of the season to finish in 12th place. Manager Steve Perryman had attempted to rectify the slump by signing midfielder Ian Stewart and forward

Les Ferdinand Leslie Ferdinand MBE (born 8 December 1966) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and television pundit, who is currently the director of football at Queens Park Rangers. A striker, his playing career included notable sp ...

on loan, but both proved to be a disappointment.

Right back 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 ...

Roger Joseph Roger Anthony Joseph (born 24 December 1965) is an English former professional footballer who played as a right back, best remembered for his time in the Football League with Wimbledon and Brentford. He won two caps for England B at internat ...

's performances earned him a place in the Third Division PFA Team of the Year, the first time a Brentford player had been recognised by the PFA.

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 Trophy

* Sources: 100 Years of Brentford, The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties,Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 204-217.Statto
/small>

Playing squad

:''Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1987–88 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. *Source: The Big Brentford Book of the EightiesCroxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 429.

Goalscorers

*Players listed in ''italics'' left the club mid-season. *Source: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties

Management

Summary

Transfers & loans

Awards

* Supporters' Player of the Year:

Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 383. * Players' Player of the Year:

* Third Division PFA Team of the Year: Roger Joseph

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1987-88 Brentford F.C. season Brentford F.C. seasons