During the 1925–26 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

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

and finished in 18th place, conceding a club record 94 goals.

Season summary

manager

Fred Halliday Simon Frederick Peter Halliday (22 February 1946 – 26 April 2010) was an Irish writer and academic specialising in international relations and the Middle East, with particular reference to the Cold War, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula. Biogr ...

overhauled the club's squad during the 1925 off-season, with all but seven players being released. Despite running a deficit of £6,000 (equivalent to £ in ), the board of directors pledged a "substantial sum of money" for the transfer of quality players and in came new

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 ...

John Thomson, four full backs, four half backs and new forwards Bill Finlayson and

Bert Young Herbert Young (4 September 1899 – 1 May 1976) was an English professional footballer who made over 260 appearances as an outside left in the Football League for Aberdare Athletic, Brentford, Newport County, Queens Park Rangers, Bristol Rove ...

. The club's colours were changed to the now-traditional red-and-white stripes, black shorts and black socks. 9 defeats from the opening 10 matches of the season left Brentford rooted to the bottom of the

Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

and forward Reginald Parker (one of the club's highest scorers during the previous two seasons) elected to transfer to

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

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 ...

was closed by the

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 ...

for the first and only time due to crowd disturbance during a 6–1 thrashing at the hands of

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

on 12 September 1925. The ground was reopened 14 days later. The poor run ended with the first victory of the season on 17 October, 2–1 over

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

. Five wins in the following seven matches lifted the Bees out of the

re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be a ...

places, with forwards

Jack Lane John William Lane (29 May 1898 – June 1984) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside right. He is best remembered for his five years in the Football League with Brentford, for whom he made 234 appearances and was club cap ...

, Bill Finlayson and full back

Percival Whitton Percival Albert Whitton (14 January 1892 – 9 October 1974) was an English professional footballer who played as a full back and centre forward in the Football League for Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region ...

(who had been deployed up front by manager Halliday) all coming into form, with half back Alex Graham converting a number of penalties. By 20 February 1926, a run of just five defeats in 19 matches lifted Brentford to 13th in the table. The signing of forward Ernie Watkins from

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

for a then-club record fee of £1,000 in January 1928 proved to be money well-spent, with Watkins scoring 11 goals in his first 12 matches, including 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 Wick ...

in the Bees' biggest victory of the season, 5–1 versus

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

on 2 April. The Bees' form petered out in the final two months of the season, winning just 3 of the final 12 matches to finish 18th with the worst defensive record in the division. The 94 goals conceded during the 1925–26 season is a club record.

League table

Results

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

Legend

Football League Third Division South

FA Cup

* Sources
Statto11v11
100 Years Of Brentford

Playing squad

:''Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1925–26 season.'' * Sources: Timeless Bees, Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939, 100 Years Of Brentford

Coaching staff

Statistics

Appearances and goals

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

Goalscorers