1971–72 Brentford F.C. season

{{Infobox football club season

|club=Brentford

|season=1971–72

|manager=Frank Blunstone

|chairman={{nowrap|Eric Radley-Smith}}
(until January 1972)
Les Davey & Walter Wheatley
(from January 1972)

|stadium=Griffin Park

|league=Fourth Division

|league result=3rd (promoted)

|cup1=FA Cup

|cup1 result=First round

|cup2=League Cup

|cup2 result=First round

|league topscorer=O'Mara (25)

|season topscorer=O'Mara (27)

|highest attendance=18,521

|lowest attendance=8,712

|average attendance=11,738

|pattern_la1=_red_stripes

|pattern_b1=_redstripes2

|pattern_ra1=_red_stripes

|pattern_sh1=_white stripes

|pattern_so1=_redtop_2whitestripes

|shorts1=000000

|socks1=000000

|prevseason=1970–71

|nextseason=1972–73

}}

During the 1971–72 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Fourth Division. The club led the division for much of the first half of the season and 10 wins in the final 14 matches secured automatic promotion with a 3rd-place finish.

Season summary

Despite the reduction of the club's debt to a manageable level and an average attendance higher than all but the top three finishers in the Third Division, Fourth Division Brentford went into the 1971–72 season with a squad of just 14 professionals.White, p. 284-287. Long-time goalkeeper Chic Brodie was released, as was bit-part winger Brian Tawse and in came two defensive youngsters on free transfers – Terry Scales and Steven Tom.

Despite the club record £30,000 departure of Roger Cross to rivals Fulham and Alan Hawley also moving to Craven Cottage on loan, Brentford's 12-man squad met pre-season expectations in the early part of the season, holding onto top spot intermittently until a minor blip in October and November 1971.{{Cite web |title=Brentford results for the 1971–1972 season |url=http://www.statto.com/football/teams/brentford/1971-1972/results |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109085543/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/brentford/1971-1972/results |archive-date=9 November 2016 |access-date=25 August 2016 |website=Statto.com}} Utility player Michael Allen was signed from Middlesbrough for an £8,000 fee in October and proved to be a vital cog in the midfield. The team owed much of its success to prolific goalscoring from John O'Mara, with the centre forward reaching 20 goals for the season after a 6–2 thrashing of Darlington on 8 January 1972, a result which made Brentford the top scorers in the Football League and was also notable for a 13-minute hattrick from John Docherty.

After another blip caused by the suspension of John O'Mara for five weeks dropped Brentford out of the promotion places,Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 34. the team was buoyed by the loan signing of winger Stewart Houston and entered the final five weeks of the season strongly, winning five matches in a row in March. Two draws and a defeat over Easter threatened to drop the Bees out of the promotion places, but four successive wins meant that automatic promotion was assured with two matches to play, when captain Bobby Ross' penalty was enough to beat Exeter City at Griffin Park on 22 April. Despite going top of the Fourth Division after victory over Barrow in the following match, a 3–0 defeat away to Workington in the final match of the season dropped the Bees to a 3rd-place finish.

Two club records were set during the season:

Most clean sheets in a Football League season: 22 – Gordon Phillips{{Cite book |last=Haynes |first=Graham |title=A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia |date=1998 |publisher=Yore Publications |isbn=1 874427 57 7 |page=30}}
Fewest players used in a Football League season: 14Haynes & Coumbe, p. 179.

Brentford finished top of the Fourth Division charts in the following statistical categories:

Best away record{{Cite web |title=Brentford Home Page for the 1971–1972 season |url=http://www.statto.com/football/teams/brentford/1971-1972 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220033454/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/brentford/1971-1972 |archive-date=20 December 2016 |access-date=3 December 2016 |website=Statto.com}}
Highest overall goal difference
Highest away goal difference
Highest average attendanceHaynes, p. 13.

League table

{{:1971–72 Football League|transcludesection=Fourth Division|only_totals=y|showteam=BRE}}

Results

:Brentford's goal tally listed first.

=Legend=

class="wikitable"

style="background:#d0ffe3;"|Win

| style="background:#ffd;"|Draw

| style="background:#ffd0e3;"|Loss

=Pre-season and friendlies=

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorer(s)
class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|31 July 1971	Southampton	H	1–3	Untraced (og)
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|4 August 1971	Hillingdon Borough	A	2–1	O'Mara, Scales
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|7 August 1971	Oxford United	H	2–4	O'Mara, Cross
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|2 May 1972 \|Guernsey XI \|A \|6–0 \|O'Mara (4), Houston, Bence
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|4 May 1972 \|Guernsey XI \|A \|7–1 \|O'Mara (2), Houston (2), Ross, Graham, Docherty
style="background:#ffd;" \|9 May 1972 \|Wimbledon \|A \|2–2 \|Docherty, Graham

=Football League Fourth Division=

No. !Date	Opponent	Venue	Result !Attendance	Scorer(s)
class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|1 \|14 August 1971	Bury	A	2–0 \|2,957	Gelson, Tom
style="background:#ffd;" \|2 \|21 August 1971	Aldershot	H	1–1 \|8,920	Turner
style="background:#ffd;" \|3 \|28 August 1971	Darlington	A	0–0 \|2,514
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|4 \|30 August 1971	Barrow	H	4–0 \|8,866	O'Mara, Cross, Turner, Ross
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|5 \|4 September 1971	Hartlepool	H	6–0 \|8,712	Turner (2), O'Mara (3), Cross
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|6 \|11 September 1971	Grimsby Town	A	1–3 \|11,683	O'Mara
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|7 \|18 September 1971	Peterborough United	H	5–1 \|8,770	Neilson, Graham, Docherty, O'Mara, Ross
style="background:#ffd;" \|8 \|25 September 1971	Chester	A	0–0 \|4,088
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|9 \|27 September 1971	Stockport County	H	2–0 \|10,445	Ross (2)
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|10 \|2 October 1971	Northampton Town	H	6–1 \|11,004	Gelson, Docherty, O'Mara (3), Neilson
style="background:#ffd;" \|11 \|8 October 1971	Southport	A	0–0 \|5,371
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|12 \|16 October 1971	Bury	H	2–0 \|9,851	O'Mara, Graham
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|13 \|20 October 1971	Reading	A	1–2 \|10,473	O'Mara
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|14 \|23 October 1971	Southend United	H	1–2 \|14,001	O'Mara
style="background:#ffd;" \|15 \|30 October 1971	Scunthorpe United	A	0–0 \|6,121
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|16 \|6 November 1971	Newport County	H	3–1 \|10,484	Docherty, Ross (2, 1 pen)
style="background:#ffd;" \|17 \|13 November 1971	Colchester United	A	1–1 \|6,898	O'Mara
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|18 \|27 November 1971	Gillingham	H	1–3 \|10,945	Ross
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|19 \|4 December 1971	Exeter City	A	1–0 \|3,809	O'Mara
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|20 \|11 December 1971	Southport	H	1–0 \|9,624	Peat (og)
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|21 \|18 December 1971	Hartlepool	A	2–1 \|2,199	Allen (2)
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|22 \|27 December 1971	Crewe Alexandra	H	1–0 \|18,237	O'Mara
style="background:#ffd;" \|23 \|1 January 1972	Peterborough United	A	2–2 \|7,027	O'Mara (2)
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|24 \|8 January 1972	Darlington	H	6–2 \|10,582	Ross (pen), O'Mara (2), Docherty (3)
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|25 \|15 January 1972	Lincoln City	A	1–4 \|7,552	O'Mara
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|26 \|25 January 1972	Stockport County	A	1–0 \|3,247	Ross
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|27 \|29 January 1972	Reading	H	1–2 \|12,144	Docherty
style="background:#ffd;" \|28 \|5 February 1972 \|Cambridge United \|A \|1–1 \|6,861 \|Graham
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|29 \|12 February 1972 \|Southend United \|A \|1–3 \|9,841 \|Ross (pen)
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|30 \|19 February 1972	Scunthorpe United	H	0–3 \|11,912
style="background:#ffd;" \|31 \|26 February 1972 \|Newport County \|A \|0–0 \|3,271 \|
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|32 \|4 March 1972	Colchester United	H	0–2 \|9,210
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|33 \|13 March 1972	Lincoln City	H	2–0 \|12,065	O'Mara, Scales
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|34 \|18 March 1972	Aldershot	A	2–1 \|6,989	O'Mara, Ross
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|35 \|21 March 1972	Doncaster Rovers	A	3–0 \|5,256	Graham (2), Ross
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|36 \|25 March 1972	Grimsby Town	H	2–0 \|14,635	Docherty, O'Mara
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|37 \|27 March 1972	Workington	H	2–0 \|13,972	Docherty, Houston
style="background:#ffd;" \|38 \|31 March 1972	Chester	H	1–1 \|18,521	Docherty
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|39 \|1 April 1972	Crewe Alexandra	A	1–2 \|2,072	Docherty
style="background:#ffd;" \|40 \|3 April 1972	Northampton Town	A	0–0 \|5,314
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|41 \|8 April 1972	Cambridge United	H	2–1 \|9,061	Docherty, Graham
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|42 \|15 April 1972	Gillingham \|A	1–0 \|5,819	Docherty
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|43 \|17 April 1972	Doncaster Rovers	H	2–1 \|13,484	O'Mara (2)
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|44 \|22 April 1972	Exeter City	H	1–0 \|14,540	Ross (pen)
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|45 \|24 April 1972 \|Barrow \|A \|3–0 \|2,646 \|Houston, Allen, Graham
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|46 \|29 April 1972	Workington	A	0–3 \|1,751

= FA Cup =

style="text-align:center;" class="wikitable sortable"
Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result !Attendance !Scorer(s)
style="background:#ffd;" \|1R \|20 November 1971 \|Swansea City \|A \|1–1 \|7,915 \|O'Mara
style="background:#ffd0e3;"	1R (replay)	22 November 1971	Swansea City	H	2–3 \|15,000 \|Ross, O'Mara

style="text-align:center;" class="wikitable sortable"

Round

Date

Opponent

Venue

Result

!Attendance

!Scorer(s)

style="background:#ffd;"

|1R

|20 November 1971

|Swansea City

|1–1

|7,915

|O'Mara

style="background:#ffd0e3;"

1R (replay)

22 November 1971

Swansea City

2–3

|15,000

|Ross, O'Mara

= Football League Cup =

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result !Attendance !Scorer
style="background:#ffd0e3;"	1R	18 August 1971	Colchester United	A	1–3 \|6,125 \|Ross

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

Round

Date

Opponent

Venue

Result

!Attendance

!Scorer

style="background:#ffd0e3;"

18 August 1971

Colchester United

1–3

|6,125

|Ross

Sources: 100 Years of Brentford, The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies,Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 36-48.Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 300. [https://web.archive.org/web/20161109085543/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/brentford/1971-1972/results Statto]

Playing squad

:Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1971–72 season.

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%; width:90%;" ! style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" \|Pos. ! style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" \|Name ! style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" \|Nat. ! style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" \|Date of birth (age) ! style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" \|Signed from ! style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" \|Signed in ! style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" \|Notes
colspan="7" \|Goalkeepers
GK \|Gordon Phillips \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1946\|11\|17\|df=y}} \|Hayes \|1963 \|
colspan="7" \|Defenders
DF \|Paul Bence \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1948\|12\|21\|df=y}} \|Reading \|1970 \|
DF \|Peter Gelson \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1941\|10\|18\|df=y}} \|Youth \|1961 \|
DF \|Alan Hawley \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1946\|6\|7\|df=y}} \|Youth \|1962 \|Loaned to Fulham
DF \|Alan Nelmes \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1948\|10\|20\|df=y}} \|Chelsea \|1967 \|
DF \|Terry Scales \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1951\|1\|18\|df=y}} \|West Ham United \|1971 \|
DF \|Steven Tom \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1951\|5\|1\|df=y}} \|Queens Park Rangers \|1971 \|
colspan="7" \|Midfielders
MF \|Michael Allen \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1949\|3\|30\|df=y}} \|Middlesbrough \|1971 \|
MF \|John Docherty \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1940\|4\|29\|df=y}} \|Reading \|1970 \|
MF \|Jackie Graham \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1946\|7\|16\|df=y}} \|Guildford City \|1970 \|
MF \|Gordon Neilson \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1947\|5\|28\|df=y}} \|Arsenal \|1968 \|
MF \|Brian Turner \|{{flagicon\|NZL}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1949\|7\|31\|df=y}} \|Portsmouth \|1970 \|
colspan="7" \|Forwards
FW \|Stewart Houston \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1949\|8\|20\|df=y}} \|Chelsea \|1972 \|On loan from Chelsea
FW \|John O'Mara \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1947\|3\|19\|df=y}} \|Wimbledon \|1971 \|
FW \|Bobby Ross (c) \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1942\|5\|10\|df=y}} \|Shrewsbury Town \|1966 \|
colspan="7" \|Players who left the club mid-season
FW \|Roger Cross \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1948\|10\|20\|df=y}} \|West Ham United \|1970 \|Transferred to Fulham
FW \|Trevor Dawkins \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1945\|10\|17\|df=y}} \|Crystal Palace \|1971 \|Returned to Crystal Palace after loan
FW \|Ken Wallace \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \|{{Birth date and age2\|1971\|8\|14\|1952\|6\|8\|df=y}} \|West Ham United \|1972 \|Returned to West Ham United after loan

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%; width:90%;"

! style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" |Pos.

! style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" |Name

! style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" |Nat.

! style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" |Date of birth (age)

! style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" |Signed from

! style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" |Signed in

! style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" |Notes

colspan="7" |Goalkeepers

|Gordon Phillips

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1946|11|17|df=y}}

|Hayes

|1963

colspan="7" |Defenders

|Paul Bence

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1948|12|21|df=y}}

|Reading

|1970

|Peter Gelson

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1941|10|18|df=y}}

|Youth

|1961

|Alan Hawley

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1946|6|7|df=y}}

|Youth

|1962

|Loaned to Fulham

|Alan Nelmes

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1948|10|20|df=y}}

|Chelsea

|1967

|Terry Scales

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1951|1|18|df=y}}

|West Ham United

|1971

|Steven Tom

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1951|5|1|df=y}}

|Queens Park Rangers

|1971

colspan="7" |Midfielders

|Michael Allen

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1949|3|30|df=y}}

|Middlesbrough

|1971

|John Docherty

|{{flagicon|SCO}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1940|4|29|df=y}}

|Reading

|1970

|Jackie Graham

|{{flagicon|SCO}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1946|7|16|df=y}}

|Guildford City

|1970

|Gordon Neilson

|{{flagicon|SCO}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1947|5|28|df=y}}

|Arsenal

|1968

|Brian Turner

|{{flagicon|NZL}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1949|7|31|df=y}}

|Portsmouth

|1970

colspan="7" |Forwards

|Stewart Houston

|{{flagicon|SCO}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1949|8|20|df=y}}

|Chelsea

|1972

|On loan from Chelsea

|John O'Mara

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1947|3|19|df=y}}

|Wimbledon

|1971

|Bobby Ross (c)

|{{flagicon|SCO}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1942|5|10|df=y}}

|Shrewsbury Town

|1966

colspan="7" |Players who left the club mid-season

|Roger Cross

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1948|10|20|df=y}}

|West Ham United

|1970

|Transferred to Fulham

|Trevor Dawkins

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1945|10|17|df=y}}

|Crystal Palace

|1971

|Returned to Crystal Palace after loan

|Ken Wallace

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

|{{Birth date and age2|1971|8|14|1952|6|8|df=y}}

|West Ham United

|1972

|Returned to West Ham United after loan

Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies,{{Cite book |last=Croxford |first=Mark |title=The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies |last2=Lane |first2=David |last3=Waterman |first3=Greville |publisher=Legends Publishing |year=2011 |isbn=978-1906796709 |location=Sunbury, Middlesex}} Timeless Bees{{Cite book |last=Haynes |first=Graham |title=Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 |last2=Coumbe |first2=Frank |publisher=Yore Publications |year=2006 |isbn=978-0955294914}}

Coaching staff

class="wikitable"
Name !Role
{{flagicon\|ENG}} Frank Blunstone \|Manager
{{flagicon\|ENG}} Eddie Lyons \|Trainer

class="wikitable"

Name

!Role

{{flagicon|ENG}} Frank Blunstone

|Manager

{{flagicon|ENG}} Eddie Lyons

|Trainer

Statistics

=Appearances and goals=

:Substitute appearances in brackets.

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
rowspan="2" \|Pos ! rowspan="2" \|Nat ! rowspan="2" \|Name ! colspan="2" style="width:85px;"\|League ! colspan="2" style="width:85px;"\|FA Cup ! colspan="2" \|League Cup ! colspan="2" style="width:85px;"\|Total
Apps !Goals !Apps !Goals !Apps !Goals !Apps !Goals
GK \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Gordon Phillips \|46 \|0 \|2 \|0 \|1 \|0 \|49 \|0
DF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Paul Bence \|32 (2) \|0 \|2 \|0 \|1 \|0 \|35 (2) \|0
DF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Peter Gelson \|36 (1) \|2 \|0 \|0 \|1 \|0 \|37 (1) \|2
DF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Alan Hawley \|20 \|0 \|0 \|0 \|0 \|0 \|20 \|0
DF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Alan Nelmes \|46 \|0 \|2 \|0 \|1 \|0 \|49 \|0
DF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Terry Scales \|43 \|1 \|2 \|0 \|1 \|0 \|46 \|1
DF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Steven Tom \|13 (5) \|1 \|2 \|0 \|1 \|0 \|16 (5) \|1
MF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Michael Allen \|29 (1) \|3 \|2 \|0 \| colspan="2" \|— \|31 (1) \|3
MF \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|John Docherty \|44 \|13 \|2 \|0 \|0 \|0 \|46 \|13
MF \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Jackie Graham \|45 \|7 \|2 \|0 \|1 \|0 \|48 \|7
MF \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Gordon Neilson \|8 (4) \|2 \|0 \|0 \|0 (1) \|0 \|8 (5) \|2
MF \|{{flagicon\|NZL}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Brian Turner \|34 (1) \|4 \|2 \|0 \|1 \|0 \|37 (1) \|4
FW \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Roger Cross \|5 \|2 \| colspan="2" \|— \|1 \|0 \|6 \|2
FW \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|John O'Mara \|40 \|25 \|2 \|2 \|1 \|0 \|43 \|27
FW \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Bobby Ross \|44 (1) \|13 \|2 \|1 \|1 \|1 \|47 (1) \|15
colspan="11" \|Players loaned in during the season
FW \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Trevor Dawkins \|3 (1) \|0 \| colspan="2" \|— \| colspan="2" \|— \|3 (1) \|0
FW \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Stewart Houston \|15 \|2 \| colspan="2" \|— \| colspan="2" \|— \|15 \|2
FW \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Ken Wallace \|3 \|0 \| colspan="2" \|— \| colspan="2" \|— \|3 \|0

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

rowspan="2" |Pos

! rowspan="2" |Nat

! rowspan="2" |Name

! colspan="2" style="width:85px;"|League

! colspan="2" style="width:85px;"|FA Cup

! colspan="2" |League Cup

! colspan="2" style="width:85px;"|Total

Apps

!Goals

!Apps

!Goals

!Apps

!Goals

!Apps

!Goals

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Gordon Phillips

|46

|49

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Paul Bence

|32 (2)

|35 (2)

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Peter Gelson

|36 (1)

|37 (1)

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Alan Hawley

|20

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Alan Nelmes

|46

|49

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Terry Scales

|43

|46

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Steven Tom

|13 (5)

|16 (5)

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Michael Allen

|29 (1)

| colspan="2" |—

|31 (1)

|{{flagicon|SCO}}

| style="text-align:left;" |John Docherty

|44

|13

|46

|13

|{{flagicon|SCO}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Jackie Graham

|45

|48

|{{flagicon|SCO}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Gordon Neilson

|8 (4)

|0 (1)

|8 (5)

|{{flagicon|NZL}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Brian Turner

|34 (1)

|37 (1)

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Roger Cross

| colspan="2" |—

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |John O'Mara

|40

|25

|43

|27

|{{flagicon|SCO}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Bobby Ross

|44 (1)

|13

|47 (1)

|15

colspan="11" |Players loaned in during the season

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Trevor Dawkins

|3 (1)

| colspan="2" |—

|3 (1)

|{{flagicon|SCO}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Stewart Houston

|15

| colspan="2" |—

|15

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Ken Wallace

| colspan="2" |—

Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years of Brentford{{Cite book |title=100 Years Of Brentford |publisher=Brentford FC |year=1989 |isbn=0951526200 |editor-last=White |editor-first=Eric |page=391}}

= Goalscorers =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; border:1px #aaa solid;"
Pos. !Nat !Player !FL4 !FAC !FLC !Total
FW \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|John O'Mara \|25 \|2 \|0 \|27
FW \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Bobby Ross \|13 \|1 \|1 \|15
MF \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|John Docherty \|13 \|0 \|0 \|13
MF \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Jackie Graham \|7 \|0 \|0 \|7
MF \|{{flagicon\|NZL}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Brian Turner \|4 \|0 \|0 \|4
MF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Michael Allen \|3 \|0 \|— \|3
FW \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Stewart Houston \|2 \|— \|— \|2
FW \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Roger Cross \|2 \|— \|0 \|2
DF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Peter Gelson \|2 \|0 \|0 \|2
MF \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Gordon Neilson \|2 \|0 \|0 \|2
DF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Terry Scales \|1 \|0 \|0 \|1
DF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|Steven Tom \|1 \|0 \|0 \|1
colspan="3" \|Opponents \|1 \|0 \|0 \|1
colspan="3" \|Total	76	3 !1	80

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; border:1px #aaa solid;"

Pos.

!Nat

!Player

!FL4

!FAC

!FLC

!Total

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |John O'Mara

|25

|27

|{{flagicon|SCO}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Bobby Ross

|13

|15

|{{flagicon|SCO}}

| style="text-align:left;" |John Docherty

|13

|{{flagicon|SCO}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Jackie Graham

|{{flagicon|NZL}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Brian Turner

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Michael Allen

|—

|{{flagicon|SCO}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Stewart Houston

|—

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Roger Cross

|—

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Peter Gelson

|{{flagicon|SCO}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Gordon Neilson

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Terry Scales

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Steven Tom

colspan="3" |Opponents

colspan="3" |Total

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

= Management =

style="text-align: center" class="wikitable"
rowspan="2" \|Name ! rowspan="2" \|Nat ! rowspan="2" \|From ! rowspan="2" \|To ! colspan="5" \|Record All Comps ! colspan="5" \|Record League
P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
style="text-align:left;" \|Frank Blunstone \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} \| style="text-align:left;" \|14 August 1971 \| style="text-align:left;" \|29 April 1972 {{WDL\|49\|24\|12\|13}} {{WDL\|46\|24\|11\|11}}

style="text-align: center" class="wikitable"

rowspan="2" |Name

! rowspan="2" |Nat

! rowspan="2" |From

! rowspan="2" |To

! colspan="5" |Record All Comps

! colspan="5" |Record League

W %

style="text-align:left;" |Frank Blunstone

|{{flagicon|ENG}}

| style="text-align:left;" |14 August 1971

| style="text-align:left;" |29 April 1972

= Summary =

class="wikitable"
Games played	49 (46 Fourth Division, 2 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Games won	24 (24 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Games drawn	12 (11 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Games lost	13 (11 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals scored	80 (76 Fourth Division, 3 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals conceded	51 (44 Fourth Division, 4 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
Clean sheets	22 (22 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Biggest league win	6–0 versus Hartlepool, 4 September 1971
Worst league defeat	3–0 on two occasions; 4–1 versus Lincoln City, 15 January 1972
Most appearances	49, Alan Nelmes, Gordon Phillips (46 Fourth Division, 2 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Top scorer (league)	25, John O'Mara
Top scorer (all competitions)	27, John O'Mara

Transfers & loans

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" cellpadding="1" ! colspan="6" style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" \|Players transferred in
style="width:140px;" \|Date ! style="width:25px;" \|Pos. ! style="width:175px;" \|Name ! style="width:225px;" \|Previous Club ! style="width:125px;" \|Fee ! style="width:25px;" \|Ref.
June 1971 \| style="text-align:center;" \|DF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Steven Tom \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Crystal Palace \|Free \|Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 50-53.
July 1971 \| style="text-align:center;" \|DF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Terry Scales \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} West Ham United \|Free \|
October 1971 \| style="text-align:center;" \|MF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Michael Allen \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Middlesbrough \|£8,000 \|
colspan="6" style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" \|Players loaned in
Date from !Pos. !Name !From !Date to !Ref.
September 1971 \| style="text-align:center;" \|FW \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Trevor Dawkins \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Crystal Palace \|October 1971 \|
February 1972 \| style="text-align:center;" \|FW \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Ken Wallace \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} West Ham United \|March 1972 \|
March 1972 \| style="text-align:center;" \|FW \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} Stewart Houston \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Chelsea \|End of season \|
colspan="6" style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" \|Players transferred out
Date !Pos. !Name !Subsequent club !Fee !Ref.
September 1971 \| style="text-align:center;" \|FW \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Roger Cross \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Fulham \|£30,000 \|
colspan="6" style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" \|Players loaned out
Date from !Pos. !Name !To !Date to !Ref.
September 1971 \| style="text-align:center;" \|MF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Alan Hawley \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Fulham \|October 1971 \|
colspan="6" style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" \|Players released
Date !Pos. !Name !Subsequent club !Join date !Ref.
May 1972 \| style="text-align:center;" \|MF \|{{flagicon\|SCO}} Gordon Neilson \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Hillingdon Borough \|1972 \|
May 1972 \| style="text-align:center;" \|DF \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Steven Tom \|{{flagicon\|ENG}} Barnet \|1972 \|
May 1972 \| style="text-align:center;" \|MF \|{{flagicon\|NZL}} Brian Turner \|{{flagicon\|NZL}} Mount Wellington \|1972 \|

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" cellpadding="1"

! colspan="6" style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" |Players transferred in

style="width:140px;" |Date

! style="width:25px;" |Pos.

! style="width:175px;" |Name

! style="width:225px;" |Previous Club

! style="width:125px;" |Fee

! style="width:25px;" |Ref.

June 1971

| style="text-align:center;" |DF

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Steven Tom

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Crystal Palace

|Free

|Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 50-53.

July 1971

| style="text-align:center;" |DF

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Terry Scales

|{{flagicon|ENG}} West Ham United

|Free

October 1971

| style="text-align:center;" |MF

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Michael Allen

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Middlesbrough

|£8,000

colspan="6" style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" |Players loaned in

Date from

!Pos.

!Name

!From

!Date to

!Ref.

September 1971

| style="text-align:center;" |FW

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Trevor Dawkins

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Crystal Palace

|October 1971

February 1972

| style="text-align:center;" |FW

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Ken Wallace

|{{flagicon|ENG}} West Ham United

|March 1972

March 1972

| style="text-align:center;" |FW

|{{flagicon|SCO}} Stewart Houston

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Chelsea

|End of season

colspan="6" style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" |Players transferred out

Date

!Pos.

!Name

!Subsequent club

!Fee

!Ref.

September 1971

| style="text-align:center;" |FW

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Roger Cross

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Fulham

|£30,000

colspan="6" style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" |Players loaned out

Date from

!Pos.

!Name

!To

!Date to

!Ref.

September 1971

| style="text-align:center;" |MF

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Alan Hawley

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Fulham

|October 1971

colspan="6" style="background:#d00; color:white; text-align:center;" |Players released

Date

!Pos.

!Name

!Subsequent club

!Join date

!Ref.

May 1972

| style="text-align:center;" |MF

|{{flagicon|SCO}} Gordon Neilson

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Hillingdon Borough

|1972

May 1972

| style="text-align:center;" |DF

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Steven Tom

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Barnet

|1972

May 1972

| style="text-align:center;" |MF

|{{flagicon|NZL}} Brian Turner

|{{flagicon|NZL}} Mount Wellington

|1972

Awards

Supporters' Player of the Year: John O'MaraCroxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 295.
Players' Player of the Year: Jackie Graham
Gallaghers Divisional Footballer of the Year: John O'MaraHaynes & Coumbe, p. 118.
Football League Fourth Division Manager of the Month: Frank Blunstone (September 1971, March 1972)

References

Category:Brentford F.C. seasons

Brentford

No. !Date	Opponent	Venue	Result !Attendance	Scorer(s)
class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|1 \|14 August 1971	Bury	A	2–0 \|2,957	Gelson, Tom
style="background:#ffd;" \|2 \|21 August 1971	Aldershot	H	1–1 \|8,920	Turner
style="background:#ffd;" \|3 \|28 August 1971	Darlington	A	0–0 \|2,514
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|4 \|30 August 1971	Barrow	H	4–0 \|8,866	O'Mara, Cross, Turner, Ross
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|5 \|4 September 1971	Hartlepool	H	6–0 \|8,712	Turner (2), O'Mara (3), Cross
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|6 \|11 September 1971	Grimsby Town	A	1–3 \|11,683	O'Mara
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|7 \|18 September 1971	Peterborough United	H	5–1 \|8,770	Neilson, Graham, Docherty, O'Mara, Ross
style="background:#ffd;" \|8 \|25 September 1971	Chester	A	0–0 \|4,088
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|9 \|27 September 1971	Stockport County	H	2–0 \|10,445	Ross (2)
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|10 \|2 October 1971	Northampton Town	H	6–1 \|11,004	Gelson, Docherty, O'Mara (3), Neilson
style="background:#ffd;" \|11 \|8 October 1971	Southport	A	0–0 \|5,371
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|12 \|16 October 1971	Bury	H	2–0 \|9,851	O'Mara, Graham
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|13 \|20 October 1971	Reading	A	1–2 \|10,473	O'Mara
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|14 \|23 October 1971	Southend United	H	1–2 \|14,001	O'Mara
style="background:#ffd;" \|15 \|30 October 1971	Scunthorpe United	A	0–0 \|6,121
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|16 \|6 November 1971	Newport County	H	3–1 \|10,484	Docherty, Ross (2, 1 pen)
style="background:#ffd;" \|17 \|13 November 1971	Colchester United	A	1–1 \|6,898	O'Mara
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|18 \|27 November 1971	Gillingham	H	1–3 \|10,945	Ross
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|19 \|4 December 1971	Exeter City	A	1–0 \|3,809	O'Mara
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|20 \|11 December 1971	Southport	H	1–0 \|9,624	Peat (og)
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|21 \|18 December 1971	Hartlepool	A	2–1 \|2,199	Allen (2)
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|22 \|27 December 1971	Crewe Alexandra	H	1–0 \|18,237	O'Mara
style="background:#ffd;" \|23 \|1 January 1972	Peterborough United	A	2–2 \|7,027	O'Mara (2)
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|24 \|8 January 1972	Darlington	H	6–2 \|10,582	Ross (pen), O'Mara (2), Docherty (3)
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|25 \|15 January 1972	Lincoln City	A	1–4 \|7,552	O'Mara
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|26 \|25 January 1972	Stockport County	A	1–0 \|3,247	Ross
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|27 \|29 January 1972	Reading	H	1–2 \|12,144	Docherty
style="background:#ffd;" \|28 \|5 February 1972 \|Cambridge United \|A \|1–1 \|6,861 \|Graham
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|29 \|12 February 1972 \|Southend United \|A \|1–3 \|9,841 \|Ross (pen)
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|30 \|19 February 1972	Scunthorpe United	H	0–3 \|11,912
style="background:#ffd;" \|31 \|26 February 1972 \|Newport County \|A \|0–0 \|3,271 \|
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|32 \|4 March 1972	Colchester United	H	0–2 \|9,210
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|33 \|13 March 1972	Lincoln City	H	2–0 \|12,065	O'Mara, Scales
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|34 \|18 March 1972	Aldershot	A	2–1 \|6,989	O'Mara, Ross
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|35 \|21 March 1972	Doncaster Rovers	A	3–0 \|5,256	Graham (2), Ross
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|36 \|25 March 1972	Grimsby Town	H	2–0 \|14,635	Docherty, O'Mara
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|37 \|27 March 1972	Workington	H	2–0 \|13,972	Docherty, Houston
style="background:#ffd;" \|38 \|31 March 1972	Chester	H	1–1 \|18,521	Docherty
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|39 \|1 April 1972	Crewe Alexandra	A	1–2 \|2,072	Docherty
style="background:#ffd;" \|40 \|3 April 1972	Northampton Town	A	0–0 \|5,314
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|41 \|8 April 1972	Cambridge United	H	2–1 \|9,061	Docherty, Graham
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|42 \|15 April 1972	Gillingham \|A	1–0 \|5,819	Docherty
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|43 \|17 April 1972	Doncaster Rovers	H	2–1 \|13,484	O'Mara (2)
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|44 \|22 April 1972	Exeter City	H	1–0 \|14,540	Ross (pen)
style="background:#d0ffe3;" \|45 \|24 April 1972 \|Barrow \|A \|3–0 \|2,646 \|Houston, Allen, Graham
style="background:#ffd0e3;" \|46 \|29 April 1972	Workington	A	0–3 \|1,751