1920–21 season of Brentford F.C.
Brentford 1920–21 football season
During the 1920–21 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division . It was Brentford's inaugural season in the Football League and ended with the club successfully applying for re-election .
Season summary [ edit ] Harry King was the leading goalscorer during the season and was the first Brentford player to register a Football League hattrick . After 18 seasons as members of the Southern League , Brentford were named as founder members of the new Football League Third Division for the 1920–21 campaign.[1] In preparation, 11 new players were signed and £2,000 was spent on improvements to Griffin Park .[2] Despite flirting with a position in mid-table during August and September 1920, the club endured a torrid season, sinking to the re-election places by October and largely remaining there for the rest of the season.[3] The FA Cup was exited in the first round.[3] Brentford successfully applied for re-election to the Football League at the end of the season without going to a poll. Three directors resigned after the season, due to a deficit of nearly £6,000 (equivalent to £336,200 in 2024).[2]
The goalscoring of former Arsenal forward Harry King provided one of the rare bright spots of the season, with his 18 goals accounting for nearly half that of the team's total. King also became the first Brentford player to register a Football League hat-trick in a 5–0 thrashing of Grimsby Town on 28 March 1921, the Bees' biggest win of the season.[3] The result established the club record for the highest winning margin in a Football League match, which would stand until broken in September 1929. Secretary manager Fred Halliday stood down after the season and reverted to an administrative role within the club. Management adviser Billy Brawn also stepped down. Brentford's 9 league victories during the season is the joint-fewest in the club's history and Jimmy Hodson became the club's record-oldest player when he appeared in the final match of the season at age 40 years, 8 months and two days.
League table [ edit ]
Results [ edit ] Brentford's goal tally listed first. No. Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s) 1 28 August 1920 Exeter City A 0–3 6,000 2 30 August 1920 Millwall H 1–0 11,000 Boyne 3 4 September 1920 Exeter City H 0–0 10,000 4 6 September 1920 Millwall A 0–0 15,000 5 11 September 1920 Brighton & Hove Albion H 2–0 8,000 Amos , Challinor 6 18 September 1920 Brighton & Hove Albion A 0–4 5,500 7 25 September 1920 Crystal Palace H 0–4 13,000 8 2 October 1920 Crystal Palace A 2–4 15,000 King (2) 9 9 October 1920 Norwich City A 0–0 9,000 10 16 October 1920 Norwich City H 3–1 8,000 King (2), Thompson 11 23 October 1920 Southampton A 0–3 10,000 12 30 October 1920 Southampton H 1–1 7,000 Thompson (pen ) 13 6 November 1920 Bristol Rovers A 1–2 8,500 King 14 13 November 1920 Bristol Rovers H 0–0 6,000 15 20 November 1920 Reading A 1–2 4,000 Spreadbury 16 27 November 1920 Reading H 3–2 5,000 Boyne (2), King 17 4 December 1920 Luton Town A 0–2 6,000 18 11 December 1920 Luton Town H 1–0 6,000 Boyne 19 18 December 1920 Newport County H 2–2 6,000 King (2, 1 pen ) 20 25 December 1920 Queens Park Rangers H 0–2 16,379 21 27 December 1920 Queens Park Rangers A 0–1 25,000 22 1 January 1921 Newport County A 1–3 4,000 King 23 15 January 1921 Gillingham A 3–1 7,000 Boyne (2), King 24 22 January 1921 Gillingham H 3–3 7,000 Amos , King (pen ), Boyne 25 5 February 1921 Swansea Town H 1–2 7,000 Elliott 26 12 February 1921 Swindon Town A 0–1 6,000 27 19 February 1921 Swindon Town H 0–1 10,000 28 26 February 1921 Portsmouth A 2–0 13,645 Henery , Anstiss 29 5 March 1921 Portsmouth H 1–2 8,000 Boyne 30 12 March 1921 Watford A 0–1 5,000 31 19 March 1921 Watford H 1–0 6,000 Anstiss 32 25 March 1921 Grimsby Town A 0–2 8,000 33 26 March 1921 Northampton Town H 1–1 7,000 King 34 28 March 1921 Grimsby Town H 5–0 7,000 King (3, 1 pen ), Boyne , Anstiss 35 2 April 1921 Northampton Town A 2–6 6,000 King , Elliott 36 9 April 1921 Southend United H 2–2 4,000 Spreadbury , Boyne 37 16 April 1921 Southend United A 1–4 6,000 Anstiss 38 25 April 1921 Merthyr Town H 0–0 7,000 39 28 April 1921 Swansea Town A 1–1 5,000 King (pen ) 40 30 April 1921 Merthyr Town A 1–3 4,000 Challinor 41 2 May 1921 Plymouth Argyle A 0–0 5,000 42 7 May 1921 Plymouth Argyle H 0–1 4,000
Sources: Statto , 100 Years of Brentford, The Complete History[11] Playing squad [ edit ] Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1920–21 season. Sources: 100 Years of Brentford, Timeless Bees,[12] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939[13] Coaching staff [ edit ] Statistics [ edit ] Appearances and goals [ edit ] Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Football League season.
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season. Source: 100 Years of Brentford Goalscorers [ edit ] Players listed in italics left the club mid-season. Source: 100 Years of Brentford Management [ edit ] Name Nat From To Record All Comps Record League P W D L W % P W D L W % Fred Halliday 28 August 1920 7 May 1921 43 9 12 22 0 20.93 42 9 12 21 0 21.43
Summary [ edit ] Games played 43 (42 Third Division , 1 FA Cup ) Games won 9 (9 Third Division, 0 FA Cup) Games drawn 12 (12 Third Division, 0 FA Cup) Games lost 22 (21 Third Division, 1 FA Cup) Goals scored 43 (42 Third Division, 1 FA Cup) Goals conceded 69 (67 Third Division, 2 FA Cup) Clean sheets 12 (12 Third Division, 0 FA Cup) Biggest league win 5–0 versus Grimsby Town , 28 March 1921 Worst league defeat 4–0 on two occasions, 6–2 versus Northampton Town , 2 April 1921 Most appearances 39, Jimmy Elliott (38 Third Division, 1 FA Cup) Top scorer (league) 17, Harry King Top scorer (all competitions) 18, Harry King
Transfers & loans [ edit ] Cricketers are not included in this list. References [ edit ] ^ Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia . Harefield, Middlesex: Yore Publications. p. 55. ISBN 1 874427 57 7 . ^ a b White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC. pp. 113–114. ISBN 0951526200 . ^ a b c "Brentford results for the 1920–1921 season" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016 . ^ Haynes, Graham; Twydell, Dave (2008). Brentford F.C.: The Complete History 1889–2008 . Harefield: Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0-9557889-5-6 . OCLC 528356934 . ^ 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 . ^ "Players – Abdi to Aston" (PDF) . Watford Football Club archive 1881–2016 . p. 26. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2018 . ^ a b c d e "The Football Association – Season 1920–21 – Summary Of Professional Registrations" . Sky is Blue – The Chesterfield FC history resource . Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021 . ^ "Notes On The Players". Brentford F.C. Handbook 1921–22 . 1921. ^ "Gleanings – Notes And News About Clubs And Players". The Athletic News . 24 January 1921. ^ Bystander, The (1920). Brentford Football Club Official Handbook 1920–21 . F. W. Dimbleby & Sons. p. 18. ^ "Brentford Football Club – Players Signed On". The Chiswick Times . 13 August 1920. ^ "Challinor Sam Halifax Town 1921" . Vintage Footballers . Retrieved 4 January 2021 . ^ "Hodson Jimmy Brentford 1920" . Vintage Footballers . Retrieved 7 July 2019 .