During the 2011–12 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

Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

. In a season of transition under new manager Uwe Rösler, the Bees finished in 9th place.

Season summary

After guiding

away from the League One relegation zone and securing a mid-table finish at the end of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season,

Nicky Forster Nicholas Michael Forster (born 8 September 1973) is a former professional footballer who was most recently the manager of Staines Town. Forster has also been player-manager at Brentford and manager of Dover Athletic. Football career Early y ...

was passed over for the full-time manager's job in favour of Uwe Rösler. Rösler's appointment was part of an overhaul behind the scenes 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 ...

, with Forster's first team coach

Mark Warburton Mark Warburton (born 6 September 1962) is an English professional football manager and former player who is a first-team coach at West Ham United. As a player, Warburton was a right back at non-League level with Enfield and Boreham Wood. ...

retained by the club and installed in the newly created role of sporting director. Medical and analysis teams were added to the backroom staff and a Development Squad was introduced to replace the reserve team. Manager Rösler brought in six new players before the beginning of the season – defenders

Marcel Eger Marcel Eger (born 23 March 1983) is a German former professional footballer who made over 130 appearances for FC St. Pauli as a defender. Career Early career Eger played in the youth teams of 1. FC Sachsen, SpVgg Ansbach and 1. FC Nürnberg ...

and

Shay Logan Shaleum Narval Logan (born 29 January 1988) is an English footballer who plays as a right-back for Cove Rangers. He began his career in the Premier League with Manchester City and played on loan at Grimsby Town, Scunthorpe United, Stockport C ...

, midfielders Jonathan Douglas and Harry Forrester, loan winger Niall McGinn 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 ...

Clayton Donaldson. Two more players would arrive before the end of the summer transfer window, defender

Adam Thompson Adam Lee Thompson (born 28 September 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Leyton Orient. A graduate of Watford's youth academy, he made his professional debut for Watford in 2010, and his senior international debut fo ...

and forward Mike Grella. Grella was a late replacement for Charlie MacDonald, who transferred to Milton Keynes Dons. Despite falling at the first hurdle to League Two club Hereford United in the first round of the League Cup, Brentford enjoyed a strong start to the league season, winning five of the opening seven matches to climb as high as 4th place. By the end of 2011, the Bees were on the edge of the playoff places and had exited all the cup competitions, having been knocked out of the FA Cup and Football League Trophy at the second round and Southern Area semi-final stages respectively. Manager Uwe Rösler spent much of the first half of the season overhauling the squad, loaning out

Pim Balkestein Pim Balkestein (born 29 April 1987) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre back for De Treffers in the Dutch Tweede Divisie. He can also play as a left-back and is the son of ex-footballer Luuk Balkestein. Career Heerenveen B ...

, Ryan Blake, Michael Spillane and Sam Wood, with six loan players arriving between 8 September and 24 November as cover during an injury crisis. Leading goalscorer Gary Alexander was loaned out for the final two months of the season. Just 3 wins from a 16-match spell between 17 December 2011 and 20 March 2012 dropped Brentford back into mid-table and though the team finished the season strongly (winning six and drawing two of the final 9 matches), too many dropped points at home saw the Bees finish in 9th place, six points below the playoff zone. The season had proved to be one of transition and manager Uwe Rösler's loan signings of

left 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 ...

Jake Bidwell, centre back

Harlee Dean Harlee James Dean (born 26 July 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central defender for club Birmingham City. He began his career at Dagenham & Redbridge, and had a number of spells on loan at non-League clubs in the Es ...

and midfielder

Adam Forshaw Adam John Forshaw (born 8 October 1991) is an English professional association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Norwich City F.C., Norwich City. Forshaw began his career in the Everton F.C. Reserves and Academy, academy ...

proved to be shrewd, with the trio returning for the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season (Bidwell on loan, Dean and Forshaw on permanent transfers) and the youngsters would play a major part in Brentford's future success. Teenage Development Squad midfielder

Jake Reeves Jake Kenny Reeves (born 30 May 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Stevenage. He began his career in the youth system at Tottenham Hotspur, before beginning his senior career with Brentford in 2011. ...

was blooded during the season and was described as "a big option" by Rösler.

League table

Results

Pre-season friendlies

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

League One

Results by round

Results summary

Results

FA Cup

Football League Cup

Football League Trophy

* Sources
Statto
/small>

Playing squad

:''Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 2011–12 season.'' * Source
Soccerbase
/small>

Coaching staff

Statistics

Appearances and goals

:''Substitute appearances in brackets.'' * Players listed in ''italics'' left the club mid-season. * Source
Soccerbase
/small>

Goalscorers

* Players listed in ''italics'' left the club mid-season. * Source
Soccerbase
/small>

Discipline

* Players listed in ''italics'' left the club mid-season. * Source
ESPN FC
/small>

International caps

Management

Summary

Transfers & loans

Kit

, ,

Development Squad

Playing squad

:''Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 2011–12 senior season.'' * Source

/small>

Summary

* Source

/small>

Awards

* Supporters' Player of the Year: Jonathan Douglas * Community Player of the Year: Marcus Bean * Football League Family Excellence Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2011-12 Brentford F.C. season Brentford F.C. seasons