During the 1905–06 English football season,

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

competed in the Southern League First Division. The mid-table season is best-remembered for the Bees' appearance in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

proper for the first time in club history. After victories over

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

clubs

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

and Lincoln City in the first and second rounds respectively, Brentford were defeated in the third round by top-flight club

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

Season summary

After two successive mid-table seasons in the Southern League First Division and some positive showings in the

manager Dick Molyneux was able to keep the majority of his full back and half back lines together for the 1905–06 season.White, p. 85-87. He brought

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...

Tommy Spicer back from

Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...

as cover for

Walter Whittaker Walter Whittaker (20 September 1878 – 2 June 1917) was an English football goalkeeper who played in the Football League for Newton Heath, Grimsby Town, Blackburn Rovers, Derby County, Clapton Orient and Swansea Town. Playing career Whittak ...

and cleared out the

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) ** Smal ...

line, making six new additions, with five of the players possessing

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

experience –

Walter Cookson Walter Stanley Cookson (6 September 1879 – March 1948) was an English professional footballer. He played for Nelson, Bristol City, Blackpool, Wellingborough, Brentford and Portsmouth. Blackpool At the start of the 1902–03 season, Cookson ...

Fred Corbett Frederick Corbett (1880 – 15 April 1924) was a professional footballer who played for Thames Ironworks (where he worked as a labourer) and the club's successor West Ham United, before spending three spells at Bristol Rovers punctuated by tim ...

Willie Cross William Cross (17 June 1883 – 12 April 1949) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as an outside forward in the Scottish League for Third Lanark and Port Glasgow Athletic. He also played for Southern League clubs Brentford and Q ...

Jack Dewhurst John Dewhurst (15 December 1876 – 27 May 1952) was an English professional Association football, footballer who made over 360 appearances in the The Football League, Football League for Bury F.C., Bury, Blackburn Rovers F.C., Blackburn Rovers ...

and

Jimmy Hartley James Milburn Hartley (29 October 1876 – 12 November 1913) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as an inside forward, most notably in the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional associat ...

. Three wins in the first four matches of the season put lifted Brentford high in the First Division table, but injury to Fred Corbett and the departure of Jack Dewhurst dropped the club back after successive defeats in late September and early October 1905. Molyneux re-signed forward Fred Hobson as a replacement for Dewhurst and together with fit-again Fred Corbett, the pair began to score regularly. Brentford's FA Cup campaign got underway in early December with a 4–0 fourth qualifying round victory over Southern League Second Division strugglers

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

, a result which put Brentford in the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in the club's history. Brentford were drawn against

high-flyers

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, 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 was in a predominantly resi ...

and came back from a goal down to emerge 2–1 victors, with former City player Fred Corbett scoring both the Bees' goals. The best result in the club's history so far was achieved without manager Dick Molyneux, who was confined to his home with a serious illness. In manager Molyneux's absence, trainer Bob Crone took over the day-to-day running of the team and the FA Cup second round draw produced a home tie versus Second Division club Lincoln City on 3 February 1906, whom Brentford swept aside 3–0 to go into the hat for the third round. Though the still-seriously ill Molyneux had not left the club, he was replaced by William Brown in mid-February, who took charge of Brentford's FA Cup third round tie at

. After a week of hard training on

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

beach, the Bees produced a creditable performance in a 2–0 defeat and finally received national attention. The end of the cup run left Brentford with the league season to play out and despite never falling below 7th position between December and mid-April, five defeats from the final six matches dropped the club to a 9th-place finish. Former manager Dick Molyneux's contract was cancelled in May and he returned to

, where he died shortly after.

League table

Results

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

Legend

Southern League First Division

FA Cup

* Source: 100 Years of Brentford

Playing squad

Left club during season

* Source: 100 Years of Brentford

Coaching staff

Dick Molyneux (2 September 1905 – January 1906)

Bob Crone (January – February 1906)

William Brown (February – 30 April 1906)

Statistics

Appearances

Goalscorers

*Players listed in ''italics'' left the club mid-season. *Source: 100 Years Of Brentford

Summary

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1905-06 Brentford F.C. season Brentford F.C. seasons