1983–84 season of Brentford F.C.
Brentford 1983–84 football season
During the 1983–84 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division . A season of transition ended with a narrow escape from relegation.
Season summary [ edit ] Frank McLintock took over as Brentford manager on 9 February 1984. After two seasons in which, were it not for bad mid-season form, strong run-ins may have yielded a promotion challenge, Brentford manager Fred Callaghan kept his squad together.[1] Save for the retirement of key midfielder Stan Bowles , Bowles' replacement Terry Bullivant was the only significant piece of transfer activity at Griffin Park during the 1983 off-season.[1] Goalkeeper Trevor Swinburne arrived to provide competition for Paddy Roche .[2] With forward Tony Mahoney still not fully fit after recovering from a broken leg, Bill Garner was brought in from non-League football on non-contract terms.[2]
Brentford showed poor form between the beginning of the season and Christmas Eve 1983 (as of April 2024, the 4–3 defeat to Wimbledon was the final Football League match played on that date).[3] [4] Two wins and 10 defeats from the opening 19 Third Division matches left the club just above the foot of the table.[3] In the midst of the barren run in the league, a two-legged tie with then-First Division champions Liverpool in the second round of the League Cup failed to produce much cheer, with the Bees suffering an 8–1 aggregate defeat.[3] A reduction in size of Griffin Park in the intervening years meant that the 17,858 crowd which attended the first leg was not bettered prior to the club's final first team match at the ground in July 2020.[5] [6]
Player/assistant manager Ron Harris was replaced with former Brentford manager Frank Blunstone in October 1983 and Harris later remarked that it had been an acrimonious parting.[2] An ever-increasing list of injuries and suspensions led manager Fred Callaghan to make a number of signings during the final two months of 1983, including new captain Ian Bolton for £2,000 and previously on-loan defender Paul Roberts from Millwall for a £10,000 fee.[2] Stan Bowles came out of retirement to assist the team on a non-contract basis.[2] The signings had an effect, with the Bees going four matches undefeated in late December 1983 and early January 1984 to rise out of the relegation places.[3] Defeats in the following two matches led chairman Martin Lange to act and sack manager Fred Callaghan on 2 February.[2] Lange paid tribute to Callaghan by stating that Callaghan could "leave the club proud in the knowledge that he leaves the club far better equipped than when he arrived".[2]
Assistant Frank Blunstone took caretaker charge of the team for one match before the appointment of former Leicester City manager Frank McLintock on 9 February.[2] McLintock installed former Brentford player John Docherty as his assistant.[2] McLintock took over a club in 21st position with 20 matches to play and conducted an overhaul of the playing staff, selling central defender Alan Whitehead and bringing in right back Bobby Fisher and midfielder Tommy Finney from Cambridge United , plus Nigel Gray and Bill Roffey on loan.[2] Attacker Bob Booker was recalled to the starting lineup, Ian Bolton and Tony Mahoney were dropped,[1] Terry Bullivant and Graham Wilkins departed on loan and Stan Bowles retired for a second time.[2]
A slight upturn in form meant that Brentford went into their final match of the season versus Walsall perched atop the relegation zone in 20th place and needing a victory, but a 1–1 draw was all that could be mustered.[1] Circumstances transpired that 21st-place Scunthorpe United 's 1–1 draw on the same day, in their penultimate match of the season, meant that the Iron needed to win their final match by a margin of seven goals to secure their safety.[1] Brentford's Third Division status was retained when Scunthorpe United lost in their season finale on the following Tuesday night.[1]
League table [ edit ]
Results [ edit ] Brentford's goal tally listed first. Pre-season and friendlies [ edit ] Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s) 3 August 1983 Kingstonian A 6–0 n/a Cassells (3), Joseph , Spencer , Greenaway 6 August 1983 Tottenham Hotspur H 2–4 6,405 Hurlock (2) 8 August 1983 Staines Town A 2–1 n/a Hopson, Tully 9 August 1983 St Albans City A 2–3 n/a Hopson (2) 10 August 1983 West Ham United H 2–0 3,104 G. Roberts , Joseph 11 August 1983 Walton & Hersham A 7–2 n/a Cassells (2), Greenaway (2), Lynch (2), Garner 13 August 1983 Aldershot A 2–0 n/a Garner , Cassells 15 August 1983 Hayes A 0–6 n/a 16 August 1983 Reading A 2–5 n/a Kamara , Joseph 20 August 1983 Bristol City A 0–1 1,111 Smith 23 August 1983 Bracknell Town A 0–0 n/a 15 November 1983 Queens Park Rangers H 3–2 1,414 Mahoney (2), Davies 14 May 1984 Chelsea H 3–6 3,461 Cassells , McNichol , G. Roberts
No. Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s) 1 27 August 1983 Millwall H 2–2 6,224 Joseph , Kamara 2 3 September 1983 Preston North End A 3–3 3,957 Joseph , G. Roberts , Cassells 3 6 September 1983 Bristol Rovers A 1–3 5,148 Joseph 4 10 September 1983 Lincoln City H 3–0 4,777 Kamara , Joseph (2) 5 17 September 1983 Wigan Athletic A 1–2 3,034 Garner 6 24 September 1983 Burnley H 0–0 8,042 7 1 October 1983 Gillingham A 2–4 3,268 Kamara , McNichol 8 8 October 1983 Oxford United A 1–2 7,326 Kamara 9 15 October 1983 Hull City H 1–1 4,258 Joseph 10 18 October 1983 Port Vale H 3–1 3,903 Bullivant , G. Roberts , McNichol 11 22 October 1983 Sheffield United A 0–0 9,848 12 29 October 1983 Bournemouth H 1–1 4,630 Joseph 13 31 October 1983 Southend United A 0–6 3,182 14 5 November 1983 Plymouth Argyle H 2–2 4,183 Mahoney , Cassells 15 12 November 1983 Orient A 0–2 3,650 16 26 November 1983 Bradford City H 1–4 3,738 G. Roberts 17 3 December 1983 Bolton Wanderers A 0–1 5,416 18 17 December 1983 Walsall A 0–1 3,965 19 24 December 1983 Wimbledon H 3–4 6,689 Kamara , McNichol , Hurlock 20 27 December 1983 Exeter City A 2–1 4,303 Cassells , G. Roberts 21 31 December 1983 Newport County H 2–1 4,631 Hurlock , G. Roberts 22 2 January 1984 Scunthorpe United A 4–4 2,239 Mahoney , Cassells (pen ), McNichol , Joseph 23 15 January 1984 Millwall A 2–1 5,370 Joseph (2) 24 21 January 1984 Wigan Athletic H 0–1 3,972 25 1 February 1984 Lincoln City A 0–2 2,266 26 4 February 1984 Gillingham H 2–3 4,317 Joseph , Bolton 27 11 February 1984 Burnley A 2–2 7,027 Cassells , Kamara 28 14 February 1984 Southend United H 0–0 3,961 29 18 February 1984 Bournemouth A 3–0 4,308 Cassells (3) 30 25 February 1984 Sheffield United H 1–3 5,100 G. Roberts 31 3 March 1984 Port Vale A 3–4 3,704 G. Roberts , Gray , Joseph 32 6 March 1984 Plymouth Argyle A 1–1 4,322 Hurlock 33 10 March 1984 Orient H 1–1 4,358 Joseph 34 17 March 1984 Oxford United H 1–2 5,936 G. Roberts 35 20 March 1984 Rotherham United H 2–1 3,391 Booker , Mahoney (pen ) 36 24 March 1984 Hull City A 0–2 5,572 37 31 March 1984 Bristol Rovers H 2–2 4,067 Booker , Hurlock 38 3 April 1984 Preston North End H 4–1 3,446 Kamara , Finney , G. Roberts , Booker 39 7 April 1984 Rotherham United A 0–4 3,705 40 14 April 1984 Bolton Wanderers H 3–0 3,831 Joseph , Deakin (og ) 41 20 April 1984 Exeter City H 3–0 5,620 Joseph , Booker , Finney 42 21 April 1984 Wimbledon A 1–2 5,487 Joseph 43 28 April 1984 Bradford City A 1–1 3,755 Cassells 44 5 May 1984 Scunthorpe United H 3–0 4,561 Rowe , Joseph , Roffey 45 7 May 1984 Newport County A 1–1 2,154 G. Roberts 46 12 May 1984 Walsall H 1–1 5,281 Caswell (og )
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s) 1R 19 November 1983 Dagenham A 2–2 2,146 Joseph , P. Roberts 1R (replay) 22 November 1983 Dagenham H 2–1 3,936 Mahoney , G. Roberts 2R 10 December 1983 Wimbledon H 3–2 5,666 Kamara , G. Roberts , Joseph 3R 7 January 1984 Gillingham A 3–5 6,509 G. Roberts , Hurlock , Cassells
Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[7] The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties,[5] [8] Statto Playing squad [ edit ] Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1983–84 season. Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties,[9] Timeless Bees[10] Coaching staff [ edit ] Fred Callaghan (27 August 1983 – 2 February 1984) [ edit ] Frank Blunstone (2 – 9 February 1984) [ edit ] Frank McLintock (9 February – 12 May 1984) [ edit ] Statistics [ edit ] Appearances and goals [ edit ] Substitute appearances in brackets. Players listed in italics left the club mid-season. Source: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties[11] Goalscorers [ edit ] Players listed in italics left the club mid-season. Source: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties[11] Management [ edit ] Name Nat From To Record All Comps Record League P W D L W % P W D L W % Fred Callaghan 27 August 1983 1 February 1984 33 8 9 16 0 24.24 25 5 8 12 0 20.00 Frank Blunstone (caretaker) 4 February 1984 4 February 1984 1 0 0 1 00 0.00 1 0 0 1 00 0.00 Frank McLintock 11 February 1984 12 May 1984 22 7 8 7 0 31.82 20 6 8 6 0 30.00
Summary [ edit ] Games played 56 (46 Third Division , 4 FA Cup , 4 League Cup , 2 Football League Trophy ) Games won 15 (11 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy) Games drawn 17 (16 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup, 0 Football League Trophy) Games lost 24 (19 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 3 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy) Goals scored 87 (69 Third Division, 10 FA Cup, 5 League Cup, 3 Football League Trophy) Goals conceded 103 (79 Third Division, 10 FA Cup, 10 League Cup, 4 Football League Trophy) Clean sheets 9 (8 Third Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 0 Football League Trophy) Biggest league win 3–0 on five occasions; 4–1 versus Preston North End , 3 April 1984 Worst league defeat 6–0 versus Southend United , 31 October 1983 Most appearances 53, Francis Joseph (43 Third Division, 4 FA Cup, 4 League Cup, 2 Football League Trophy) Top scorer (league) 18, Francis Joseph Top scorer (all competitions) 24, Francis Joseph
Transfers & loans [ edit ] References [ edit ] ^ a b c d e f White, p. 321-323. ^ 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 ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 112-119. ^ a b c d "Brentford results for the 1983–1984 season" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017 . ^ Smyth, Rob (24 December 2023). "Santa stops play: how Brentford's Christmas plan proved cold turkey" . The Observer . ISSN 0029-7712 . Retrieved 25 December 2023 . ^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 98-111. ^ Dean, Sam (29 July 2020). "Brentford sting Swansea in Griffin Park farewell to claim place in Championship play-off final" . The Telegraph . ISSN 0307-1235 . Retrieved 2 September 2023 . ^ White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC. p. 397. ISBN 0951526200 . ^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 394-396. ^ 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. 425. ^ "Transfer Out" . www.millwall-history.org.uk . Retrieved 25 June 2022 . ^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 383.
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