Brentford 1939–40 football season
During the 1939–40 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League , playing three matches before competitive football was suspended due to the outbreak of the Second World War . The club played in three unofficial wartime competitions for the remainder of the season – groups B and C of the Football League South and the Football League War Cup .
Season summary [ ]
After narrowly avoiding relegation towards the end of the 1938–39 season,[1] Brentford manager Harry Curtis allowed full back Joe Wilson and half backs Sam Briddon and Tally Sneddon to transfer away from the club.[2] [3] Curtis signed young Sunderland inside forward Percy Saunders and brought in former Manchester United wing half Tom Mansley as his new captain . The season opened with a heavy 5–1 Football League Jubilee Fund defeat to neighbours Chelsea on 19 August 1939. Brentford began the regular season with a win, a draw and a defeat before competitive football was suspended following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 3 September 1939.[6] Percy Saunders, who had scored on his debut on the opening day,[6] would become the only pre-war Brentford player to die on active service during the war, when his ship was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean in March 1942.
The cessation of competitive football was worrying for Brentford, with £12,000 having been spent on new players during the off-season (equivalent to £749,500 in 2021) and there was little prospect of recouping it through the turnstiles . 23 of Brentford's 30-man squad were called to arms, into the War Police Reserve or into the munitions industry . Within two weeks of the declaration of war, the Football League agreed that football could continue, in order to keep clubs in business and to raise funds.
Brentford entered Group B of the new Football League South in October 1939 and the squad was augmented by three guest players who had previously played for the club – Scottish international half back Duncan McKenzie , fellow Scottish half back Archie Scott and inside forward Bert Stephens .[8] 30-year old centre forward Jack Holliday (previously prolific in the Third and Second Divisions between 1932 and 1935) experienced a renaissance, scoring 14 goals in 16 appearances,[8] though Brentford could finish no better than 5th.[9]
A further 18-match campaign followed in Group C in the first six months of 1940, with 13 players guesting, including two former international Brentford players – Scotland's David McCulloch and the United States ' Jim Brown .[8] The Bees finished 4th in the 10-team group and exited the Football League War Cup in the first round.[8]
League tables [ ]
[ ]
10
Manchester United
3
1
1
1
5
3
1.667
3
11
Chelsea
3
1
1
1
4
4
1.000
3
12
Brentford
3
1
1
1
3
3
1.000
3
13
Grimsby Town
3
1
1
1
2
4
0.500
3
14
Aston Villa
3
1
0
2
3
3
1.000
2
Source:[citation needed ]
[ ]
Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GR
Pts
1
Queens Park Rangers
18
12
2
4
49
26
1.885
26
2
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic
18
11
2
5
52
37
1.405
24
3
Chelsea
18
9
5
4
44
37
1.189
23
4
Reading
18
10
2
6
47
42
1.119
22
5
Brentford
18
8
2
8
42
41
1.024
18
6
Fulham
18
7
4
7
50
51
0.980
18
7
Portsmouth
18
7
2
9
37
42
0.881
16
8
Aldershot
18
5
4
9
38
49
0.776
14
9
Brighton & Hove Albion
18
5
1
12
42
53
0.792
11
10
Southampton
18
4
0
14
41
64
0.641
8
[ ]
Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GR
Pts
1
Tottenham Hotspur
18
11
4
3
43
30
1.433
26
2
West Ham United
18
10
4
4
53
28
1.893
24
3
Arsenal
18
9
5
4
41
26
1.577
23
4
Brentford
18
8
4
6
42
34
1.235
20
5
Millwall
18
7
5
6
36
30
1.200
19
6
Charlton Athletic
18
7
4
7
39
36
1.083
18
7
Fulham
18
8
1
9
38
42
0.905
17
8
Southampton
18
5
3
10
28
55
0.509
13
9
Chelsea
18
4
3
11
33
53
0.623
11
10
Portsmouth
18
3
3
12
26
45
0.578
9
Results [ ]
Brentford's goal tally listed first.
Legend [ ]
[ ]
[ ]
1
21 October 1939
Chelsea
H
2–2
6,628
Holliday , Gorman
2
28 October 1939
Portsmouth
A
1–3
3,000
Boulter
3
4 November 1939
Southampton
H
3–1
4,757
Boulter (2), Manley
4
11 November 1939
Queens Park Rangers
A
0–1
8,000
5
18 November 1939
Brighton & Hove Albion
H
4–1
3,533
Holliday (3), Townsend
6
25 November 1939
Aldershot
A
0–1
4,000
7
2 December 1939
Reading
H
3–0
4,077
Smith , Holliday (2)
8
9 December 1939
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic
H
5–2
4,680
Townsend (2), McKenzie , Hopkins , Boulter
9
16 December 1939
Fulham
A
4–2
5,000
Holliday , Hopkins , Manley
10
25 December 1939
Portsmouth
H
4–0
4,811
Holliday (3), Manley
11
26 December 1939
Southampton
A
3–2
6,000
Holliday , Hopkins , Townsend
12
30 December 1939
Queens Park Rangers
H
0–7
3,942
13
6 January 1940
Brighton & Hove Albion
A
2–3
2,071
Manley (2)
14
13 January 1940
Aldershot
H
4–3
1,836
Townsend (2), W. Brown , Hopkins
15
20 January 1940
Reading
A
1–3
1,900
Hopkins
16
24 January 1940
Chelsea
A
2–3
2,000
Griffith (og ), Holliday
17
27 January 1940
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic
A
2–2
3,000
James , Holliday
18
14 February 1940
Fulham
H
2–5
1,885
Wilkins , McKenzie
[ ]
1
10 February 1940
Arsenal
A
1–3
5,000
Boulter
2
17 February 1940
West Ham United
H
4–3
1,885
Smith , Boulter , McKenzie (pen ), Wilkins
3
24 February 1940
Charlton Athletic
A
2–3
7,000
Wilkins , McKenzie (pen )
4
2 March 1940
Chelsea
H
1–1
7,110
McCulloch
5
9 March 1940
Tottenham Hotspur
A
1–1
9,815
Yorston
6
16 March 1940
Southampton
H
5–0
3,600
Yorston (2), Hunt
7
22 March 1940
Portsmouth
H
3–1
6,500
Wilkins , McKenzie (2)
8
23 March 1940
Millwall
A
1–4
14,490
Hunt
9
25 March 1940
Portsmouth
A
3–1
8,000
Holliday , Wilkins , Hunt
10
30 March 1940
Fulham
H
5–0
6,956
Hunt (2), Yorston , Wilkins , W. Brown
11
6 April 1940
Arsenal
H
2–4
8,000
Yorston , Doherty
12
10 April 1940
Southampton
A
1–4
4,000
Wilkins
13
13 April 1940
West Ham United
A
1–1
8,000
Hunt
14
17 April 1940
Millwall
H
1–1
5,000
Doherty
15
4 May 1940
Tottenham Hotspur
H
2–3
5,521
Wilkins , Hutchins (og )
16
11 May 1940
Chelsea
H
2–0
3,168
McKenzie (pen ), Hopkins
17
18 May 1940
Charlton Athletic
H
2–1
3,000
Hunt , Hopkins
18
3 June 1940
Fulham
A
5–3
1,000
Wilkins (2), Burgess (2), Holliday
[ ]
1R (1st leg)
20 April 1940
Fulham
A
1–4
12,000
Smith
1R (2nd leg)
27 April 1940
Fulham
H
1–2 (lost 6–2 on aggregate)
7,695
J. Brown
Sources: A-Z Of Bees,[6] Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79,[10] 100 Years Of Brentford[8]
Playing squad [ ]
Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1939–40 season.
Pos.
Name
Nat.
Date of birth (age)
Signed from
Signed in
Notes
Goalkeepers
GK
Frank Clack
(1912-03-30 ) 30 March 1912 (aged 27)
Birmingham
1939
GK
Joe Crozier
(1914-12-02 ) 2 December 1914 (aged 24)
East Fife
1937
Guest for Airdrieonians
GK
Ted Gaskell
(1916-12-19 ) 19 December 1916 (aged 22)
Buxton
1937
Defenders
DF
Jimmy Anderson
(1913-07-26 ) 26 July 1913 (aged 26)
Queen of the South
1939
Guest for Queen of the South
DF
Bill Gorman
(1911-01-13 ) 13 January 1911 (aged 28)
Bury
1938
DF
George Poyser
(1910-02-06 ) 6 February 1910 (aged 29)
Port Vale
1934
Midfielders
HB
Vic Aicken
(1914-10-29 ) 29 October 1914 (aged 24)
Glentoran
1937
HB
Buster Brown
(1910-09-06 ) 6 September 1910 (aged 28)
Huddersfield Town
1937
HB
Joe James
(1910-01-13 ) 13 January 1910 (aged 29)
Battersea Church
1929
HB
Tom Manley (c )
(1912-10-07 ) 7 October 1912 (aged 26)
Manchester United
1939
Forwards
FW
Les Boulter
(1913-08-31 ) 31 August 1913 (aged 25)
Charlton Athletic
1939
FW
Tommy Cheetham
(1910-10-11 ) 11 October 1910 (aged 28)
Queens Park Rangers
1939
FW
Fred Durrant
(1921-06-19 ) 19 June 1921 (aged 18)
Folkestone
1938
FW
Jack Holliday
(1908-12-19 ) 19 December 1908 (aged 30)
Middlesbrough
1932
FW
Idris Hopkins
(1910-10-11 ) 11 October 1910 (aged 28)
Crystal Palace
1932
FW
Johnny Kay
n/a
Unattached
1939
Amateur
FW
Ernest Muttitt
(1908-07-24 ) 24 July 1908 (aged 31)
Middlesbrough
1932
FW
Percy Saunders
(1916-07-09 ) 9 July 1916 (aged 23)
Sunderland
1939
FW
Billy Scott
(1907-12-06 ) 6 December 1907 (aged 31)
Middlesbrough
1932
Guest for Newcastle United
FW
Les Smith
(1918-03-13 ) 13 March 1918 (aged 21)
Petersham
1934
FW
Bob Thomas
(1919-08-02 ) 2 August 1919 (aged 20)
Golders Green
1939
FW
Len Townsend
(1917-08-31 ) 31 August 1917 (aged 21)
Hayes
1937
Guest for Plymouth Argyle
FW
George Wilkins
(1919-10-27 ) 27 October 1919 (aged 19)
Hayes
1939
Guest players
GK
Charlie Hillam
(1908-10-06 ) 6 October 1908 (aged 30)
Southend United
1940
Guest from Southend United
GK
John Jackson
(1906-11-29 ) 29 November 1906 (aged 32)
Chelsea
1940
Guest from Chelsea
GK
Bill Mason
(1908-10-31 ) 31 October 1908 (aged 30)
Queens Park Rangers
1940
Guest from Queens Park Rangers
GK
Vic Woodley
(1910-02-26 ) 26 February 1910 (aged 29)
Chelsea
1940
Guest from Chelsea
DF
Ted Reay
(1914-08-05 ) 5 August 1914 (aged 25)
Queens Park Rangers
1940
Guest from Queens Park Rangers
DF
Harold Shepherdson
(1918-10-22 ) 22 October 1918 (aged 20)
Middlesbrough
1940
Guest from Middlesbrough
HB
Alec Farmer
(1908-10-09 ) 9 October 1908 (aged 30)
Queens Park Rangers
1940
Guest from Queens Park Rangers
HB
Duncan McKenzie
(1912-08-10 ) 10 August 1912 (aged 27)
Middlesbrough
1939
Guest from Middlesbrough
HB
Archie Scott
(1905-07-22 ) 22 July 1905 (aged 34)
Unattached
1939
Guest
FW
Jim Brown
(1908-12-31 ) 31 December 1908 (aged 30)
Guildford City
1940
Guest from Guildford City
FW
Harry Burgess
(1904-08-20 ) 20 August 1904 (aged 35)
Chelsea
1940
Guest from Chelsea
FW
Peter Doherty
(1913-06-05 ) 5 June 1913 (aged 26)
Manchester City
1940
Guest from Manchester City
FW
Douglas Hunt
(1914-05-19 ) 19 May 1914 (aged 25)
Sheffield Wednesday
1940
Guest from Sheffield Wednesday
FW
David McCulloch
(1912-10-05 ) 5 October 1912 (aged 26)
Derby County
1940
Guest from Derby County
FW
Bert Stephens
(1909-05-13 ) 13 May 1909 (aged 30)
Brighton & Hove Albion
1940
Guest from Brighton & Hove Albion
FW
Benny Yorston
(1905-10-14 ) 14 October 1905 (aged 33)
Middlesbrough
1940
Guest from Middlesbrough
Sources: Timeless Bees,[11] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939,[12] 100 Years Of Brentford [8]
Coaching staff [ ]
Statistics [ ]
Appearances and goals [ ]
Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Football League South season.
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[8]
Goalscorers [ ]
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[8]
Wartime international caps [ ]
Management [ ]
Name
Nat
From
To
Record All Comps
P
W
D
L
W %
Harry Curtis
26 August 1939
3 June 1940
41
17
7
17
0 41.46
Summary [ ]
Games played
41 (3 Football League , 18 Football League South Group B , 18 Football League South Group C, 2 Football League War Cup )
Games won
17 (1 Football League, 8 Football League South Group B, 8 Football League South Group C, 0 Football League War Cup)
Games drawn
7 (1 Football League, 2 Football League South Group B, 4 Football League South Group C, 0 Football League War Cup)
Games lost
17 (1 Football League, 8 Football League South Group B, 6 Football League South Group C, 2 Football League War Cup)
Goals scored
89 (3 Football League, 42 Football League South Group B, 42 Football League South Group C, 2 Football League War Cup)
Goals conceded
84 (3 Football League, 41 Football League South Group B, 34 Football League South Group C, 6 Football League War Cup)
Clean sheets
6 (1 Football League, 2 Football League South Group B, 3 Football League South Group C, 0 Football League War Cup)
Biggest league win
5–0 on two occasions
Worst league defeat
7–0 versus Queens Park Rangers , 30 December 1939
Most appearances
39, Bill Gorman (3 Football League, 17 Football League South Group B, 17 Football League South Group C, 2 Football League War Cup)
Top scorer (league)
17, Jack Holliday
Top scorer (all competitions)
17, Jack Holliday
Transfers & loans [ ]
Guest players' arrival and departure dates correspond to their first and last appearances of the season.
References [ ]
^ Brentford F.C. at the Football Club History Database
^ Jump up to: a b c "SNEDDON LEAVES. Brentford Transfer Two Players to Swansea. SUBSTANTIAL FEE. Bees" Hope to Sign Wing-Half and Full Back". The Brentford & Twickenham Times . 14 July 1939.
^ Jump up to: a b "NEW STARS WERE ON SHOW. But Two "Unknowns" Stole Trial Match Limelight. BRENTFORD WELL EQUIPPED. New Players Impress: Brilliance of Young Kay and Waddell: Team for To-morrow". The Brentford & Chiswick Times . 18 August 1939.
^ Jump up to: a b c Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia . Harefield, Middlesex: Yore Publications. p. 134. ISBN 1 874427 57 7 .
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC. p. 375. ISBN 0951526200 .
^ "England 1939/40" . www.rsssf.com . Retrieved 19 June 2016 .
^ Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79 . Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 . Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914 .
^ Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 . Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 190589161X .
^ "Dai Hopkins" . 11v11.com . Retrieved 23 May 2016 .
^ "Les Smith" . 11v11.com . Retrieved 24 May 2016 .
^ "Bob Thomas" . Barry Hugman's Footballers . Retrieved 8 June 2016 .
^ Jump up to: a b c d Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players . Norwich: PM Publications.
^ "Frank Clack" . Barry Hugman's Footballers . Retrieved 8 June 2016 .
^ "NUFC SEASON REVIEW 1939/40" . www.nufctheyworethenewcastleshirt.btck.co.uk . Retrieved 20 June 2016 .
^ "GoS-DB Players" . www.greensonscreen.co.uk . Retrieved 22 June 2016 .
^ "Fred Rowell" . Barry Hugman's Footballers . Retrieved 19 June 2016 .
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