1980–81 season of Brentford F.C.
Brentford 1980–81 football season
During the 1980–81 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division . In a mid-table season, the Bees drew a club-record 19 league matches.
Season summary [ ]
After narrowly saving Brentford from relegation to the Fourth Division at the end of the previous season, interim manager Fred Callaghan was given the job on a full-time basis, with Ron Harris appointed as his assistant.[1] Callaghan conducted a clear-out of the squad, releasing captain Jackie Graham and bit-part players Doug Allder , Allan Glover , Billy Holmes and Trevor Porter .[1] Aside from Ron Harris (who would continue his playing career), Callaghan brought in five new players, with £20,000 laid out on midfielders David Crown , Terry Hurlock and Barry Silkman .[2] £55,000 was generated from the sales of forwards Steve Phillips and Lee Holmes ,[2] but Callaghan was presented with a problem when Len Bond , Barry Tucker , John Fraser and Dave Carlton , mainstays of the team for the previous two years, refused to sign new contracts.[1] All but Tucker would depart Griffin Park during the early months of the season, with Bond fetching a £12,000 fee.[2]
Brentford had a mixed start to the season, exiting the League Cup at the first hurdle, but three wins and two draws from six matches in September 1980 put the club in 6th position.[3] Gradually the season played itself out into one of consolidation in mid-table,[3] with Callaghan continuing to overhaul his squad.[1] Forwards Gary Johnson and Lee Frost arrived from Chelsea in December 1980 for a £30,000 fee, while squad members Willie Graham , Iori Jenkins and Dean Smith were released in February 1981.[2] Brentford ended the season in 9th place, off the back of a run of just two defeats in the final 21 matches.[3] Bob Booker finished the season as the team's top scorer in league matches, with a meagre seven goals.[4]
Four club records were set or equalled during the season:[5] [6]
Most Football League draws in a season: 19
Most Football League away draws in a season: 10
Most consecutive away Football League draws: 6 (27 December 1980 – 7 March 1981)
Most consecutive away Football League clean sheets : 4 (6 September – 8 October 1980)
League table [ ]
Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
7
Plymouth Argyle
46
19
14
13
56
44
+12
52
8
Burnley
46
18
14
14
60
48
+12
50
9
Brentford
46
14
19
13
52
49
+3
47
10
Reading
46
18
10
18
62
62
0
46
11
Exeter City
46
16
13
17
62
66
−4
45
Results [ ]
Brentford's goal tally listed first.
Legend [ ]
Pre-season and friendlies [ ]
[ ]
No.
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Scorer(s)
1
16 August 1980
Charlton Athletic
A
1–3
5,125
Hill
2
18 August 1980
Millwall
H
1–0
6,524
Funnell
3
23 August 1980
Reading
H
1–2
6,717
Funnell
4
30 August 1980
Walsall
A
3–2
4,586
Walker , Hill , Funnell
5
6 September 1980
Portsmouth
A
2–0
16,971
Booker , Funnell
6
13 September 1980
Fulham
H
1–3
11,610
Booker
7
15 September 1980
Barnsley
H
1–1
6,935
Funnell
8
20 September 1980
Blackpool
A
3–0
3,738
Crown (2), Walker
9
27 September 1980
Hull City
H
2–2
6,305
Jenkins , Funnell
10
30 September 1980
Barnsley
A
1–0
11,227
Walker
11
4 October 1980
Newport County
H
0–1
7,309
12
8 October 1980
Exeter City
A
0–0
4,665
13
11 October 1980
Carlisle United
A
2–1
3,030
Walker , Silkman (pen )
14
18 October 1980
Chester
H
0–1
6,604
15
20 October 1980
Gillingham
H
3–3
6,786
Crown , Hurlock , Smith
16
25 October 1980
Burnley
A
0–2
7,324
17
28 October 1980
Plymouth Argyle
A
1–0
7,249
Smith
18
1 November 1980
Oxford United
H
3–0
6,549
Hill , Crown (2)
19
3 November 1980
Exeter City
H
0–1
6,593
20
8 November 1980
Chesterfield
A
1–2
7,127
Graham
21
11 November 1980
Millwall
A
2–2
4,279
Booker , Hurlock
22
15 November 1980
Charlton Athletic
H
0–1
8,181
23
29 November 1980
Huddersfield Town
A
0–3
8,871
24
6 December 1980
Swindon Town
H
1–1
5,727
Kruse
25
20 December 1980
Rotherham United
A
1–4
5,913
G. Johnson
26
26 December 1980
Colchester United
H
2–1
6,241
Kruse , Hurlock
27
27 December 1980
Sheffield United
A
0–0
13,130
28
3 January 1981
Burnley
H
0–0
6,379
29
10 January 1981
Chester
A
0–0
2,237
30
17 January 1981
Huddersfield Town
H
0–0
5,831
31
24 January 1981
Walsall
H
4–0
5,503
Frost , G. Johnson , Shrubb
32
31 January 1981
Reading
A
0–0
6,374
33
7 February 1981
Fulham
A
1–1
8,627
Roberts
34
14 February 1981
Portsmouth
H
2–2
10,162
Tucker (pen ), Roberts
35
21 February 1981
Hull City
A
0–0
4,535
36
28 February 1981
Blackpool
H
2–0
5,850
G. Johnson , Frost
37
7 March 1981
Newport County
A
1–1
5,270
Crown
38
14 March 1981
Carlisle United
H
1–1
6,209
Frost
39
21 March 1981
Gillingham
A
0–2
3,916
40
28 March 1981
Plymouth Argyle
H
0–1
5,868
41
4 April 1981
Oxford United
A
1–1
4,085
Booker
42
11 April 1981
Chesterfield
H
3–2
4,883
Roberts , G. Johnson , Ridley (og )
43
18 April 1981
Sheffield United
H
1–1
5,622
Booker
44
20 April 1981
Colchester United
A
2–0
2,609
Shrubb , Booker
45
25 April 1981
Rotherham United
H
2–1
6,909
Booker , Hurlock
46
2 May 1981
Swindon Town
A
0–0
8,968
FA Cup [ ]
[ ]
Round
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Scorer(s)
1R (1st leg)
9 August 1980
Charlton Athletic
H
3–1
5,847
Crown , Smith , Walker
1R (2nd leg)
12 August 1980
Charlton Athletic
A
0–5 (lost 6–3 on aggregate)
3,764
Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[4] The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties,[7] [8] Statto
Playing squad [ ]
Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1980–81 season.
Pos.
Name
Nat.
Date of birth (age)
Signed from
Signed in
Notes
Goalkeepers
GK
Paul McCullough
(1959-10-26 ) 26 October 1959 (aged 20)
Dawlish Town
1980
GK
David McKellar
(1956-05-22 ) 22 May 1956 (aged 24)
Derby County
1980
Loaned from Derby County before transferring permanently
Defenders
DF
Mark Hill
(1961-01-21 ) 21 January 1961 (aged 19)
Queens Park Rangers
1980
DF
Robbie Johnson
(1962-03-30 ) 30 March 1962 (aged 18)
Arsenal
1981
DF
Pat Kruse
(1953-11-30 ) 30 November 1953 (aged 26)
Torquay United
1977
DF
Jim McNichol
(1958-06-09 ) 9 June 1958 (aged 22)
Luton Town
1978
DF
Danis Salman
(1960-03-12 ) 12 March 1960 (aged 20)
Youth
1975
DF
Paul Shrubb
(1955-08-01 ) 1 August 1955 (aged 25)
Hellenic
1977
DF
Barry Tucker
(1952-08-28 ) 28 August 1952 (aged 27)
Northampton Town
1978
Midfielders
MF
David Crown
(1958-02-16 ) 16 February 1958 (aged 22)
Walthamstow Avenue
1980
MF
Lee Frost
(1957-12-04 ) 4 December 1957 (aged 22)
Chelsea
1980
MF
Tony Funnell
(1957-08-20 ) 20 August 1957 (aged 22)
Gillingham
1980
MF
Ron Harris (c )
(1944-11-13 ) 13 November 1944 (aged 35)
Chelsea
1980
Assistant manager
MF
Terry Hurlock
(1958-11-22 ) 22 November 1958 (aged 21)
Leytonstone/Ilford
1980
MF
Gary Roberts
(1960-04-05 ) 5 April 1960 (aged 20)
Wembley
1980
MF
Kevin Teer
(1963-12-07 ) 7 December 1963 (aged 16)
Youth
1981
MF
Paul Walker
(1960-12-17 ) 17 December 1960 (aged 19)
Youth
1976
Forwards
FW
Bob Booker
(1958-01-25 ) 25 January 1958 (aged 22)
Bedmond Sports & Social
1978
FW
Gary Johnson
(1959-09-14 ) 14 September 1959 (aged 20)
Chelsea
1980
Players who left the club mid-season
DF
Iori Jenkins
(1959-12-11 ) 11 December 1959 (aged 20)
Chelsea
1979
Released
MF
Willie Graham
(1959-02-14 ) 14 February 1959 (aged 21)
Northampton Town
1977
Transferred to Hillingdon Borough
MF
Barry Silkman
(1952-06-29 ) 29 June 1952 (aged 28)
Manchester City
1980
Transferred to Queens Park Rangers
FW
Dean Smith
(1958-11-28 ) 28 November 1958 (aged 21)
Leicester City
1977
Released
Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties,[9] Timeless Bees[10]
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 Eighties[11]
Goalscorers [ ]
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties[11]
Management [ ]
Name
Nat
From
To
Record All Comps
Record League
P
W
D
L
W %
P
W
D
L
W %
Fred Callaghan
9 August 1980
2 May 1981
51
16
20
15
0 31.37
46
14
19
13
0 30.43
Summary [ ]
Games played
51 (46 Third Division , 3 FA Cup , 2 League Cup )
Games won
16 (14 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Games drawn
20 (19 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Games lost
15 (13 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals scored
59 (52 Third Division, 4 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
Goals conceded
58 (49 Third Division, 3 FA Cup, 6 League Cup)
Clean sheets
18 (17 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Biggest league win
4–0 versus Walsall , 24 January 1981
Worst league defeat
3–0 versus Huddersfield Town , 29 November 1980; 4–1 versus Rotherham United , 20 December 1980
Most appearances
47, Pat Kruse , Paul Shrubb (42 Third Division, 3 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)
Top scorer (league)
7, Bob Booker
Top scorer (all competitions)
8, Bob Booker, David Crown
Transfers & loans [ ]
Players transferred in
Date
Pos.
Name
Previous Club
Fee
Ref.
May 1980
MF
Ron Harris
Chelsea
n/a
[2]
July 1980
MF
David Crown
Walthamstow Avenue
£5,000
[2]
July 1980
DF
Mark Hill
Queens Park Rangers
Free
[12]
July 1980
GK
Paul McCullough
Dawlish Town
n/a
[13]
August 1980
MF
Terry Hurlock
Leytonstone/Ilford
£10,000
[2]
August 1980
MF
Barry Silkman
Manchester City
£5,000
[2]
October 1980
GK
David McKellar
Derby County
£25,000
[2]
October 1980
MF
Gary Roberts
Wembley
£6,000
[2]
December 1980
FW
Lee Frost
Chelsea
n/a
[2]
December 1980
FW
Gary Johnson
Chelsea
£30,000
[2]
1980
DF
Kevin Teer
n/a
n/a
[2]
1980
DF
Terry Rowe
n/a
n/a
[2]
March 1981
DF
Robbie Johnson
Arsenal
Trial
[2]
Players loaned in
Date from
Pos.
Name
From
Date to
Ref.
September 1980
GK
David McKellar
Derby County
October 1980
[2]
Players transferred out
Date
Pos.
Name
Subsequent club
Fee
Ref.
August 1980
FW
Steve Phillips
Northampton Town
£50,000
[2]
October 1980
GK
Len Bond
Exeter City
£12,000
[2]
October 1980
MF
Barry Silkman
Queens Park Rangers
£20,000
[2]
1980
FW
Lee Holmes
Enfield
£5,000
[2]
Players released
Date
Pos.
Name
Subsequent club
Join date
Ref.
August 1980
MF
Dave Carlton
Northampton Town
September 1980
[2]
August 1980
MF
John Fraser
Oxford City
1980
[2]
November 1980
DF
Dave O'Mahoney
n/a
n/a
[2]
February 1981
MF
Willie Graham
Hillingdon Borough
February 1981
[2]
February 1981
DF
Iori Jenkins
Kettering Town
1981
[2]
February 1981
FW
Dean Smith
Nuneaton Borough
February 1981
[2]
May 1981
FW
Lee Frost
Addlestone & Weybridge Town
1981
[2]
May 1981
GK
Paul McCullough
Mjällby AIF
n/a
[2]
Awards [ ]
Notes [ ]
^ Match played at Griffin Park , Brentford . Brentford wore away colours.
References [ ]
^ a b c d White, p. 314-315.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 36-43.
^ a b c "Brentford results for the 1980–1981 season" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017 .
^ a b White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC. p. 396. ISBN 0951526200 .
^ "Brentford scoring and sequence records" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2017 .
^ Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia . Yore Publications. pp. 78–79. ISBN 1-874427-57-7 .
^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 22-35.
^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 386-389.
^ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties . Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. ISBN 978-1906796716 .
^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 . Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914 .
^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 422.
^ "Mark Hill" . Barry Hugman's Footballers . Retrieved 14 February 2017 .
^ "Paul McCullough" . Barry Hugman's Footballers . Retrieved 14 February 2017 .
^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 383.
National teams
League competitions
Levels 1–4 Level 5 Levels 6–7 Levels 8–9
Cup competitions
FA cups Football League cups
European competitions