1966–67 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1966–67 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Fourth Division. In a season overshadowed by the events of 19 January 1967, a promotion charge was derailed by five defeats in the final six matches of the campaign.

Brentford

1966–67 season
Chairman	Jack Dunnett (until 24 February 1967) Ron Blindell (from 24 February 1967)
Manager	Billy Gray (until March 1967) Jimmy Sirrel (from March 1967)
Stadium	Griffin Park
Fourth Division	9th
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Docherty (13) All: Docherty (19)
Highest home attendance	10,650
Lowest home attendance	3,600
Average home league attendance	6,727
Home colours

Season summary

In a bid to buy Brentford out of the bottom two divisions of the Football League, the large transfer funds made available by chairman Jack Dunnett to previous managers Malky MacDonald and Tommy Cavanagh had left the club with mounting debts.[1] Cavanagh had spent £30,000 on seven players since being appointed to the manager's job in January 1965, with five key attacking players (Bloomfield, Lazarus, Ward, Bonson and Fielding) being sold on for a total less than half that sum during the course of the 1965–66 Third Division season, towards the end of which he was sacked.[1] New manager Billy Gray failed to halt Brentford's relegation slide, which meant that the club would be members of the Fourth Division for the 1966–67 season.[1] An average home attendance of 11,000 would be needed to break even,[1] a record which had been falling year on year since the 1963–64 season.[2] A net loss on the previous season of £19,823 on the previous season (equivalent to £372,000 in 2020) meant that manager Gray had no money to buy established players and so brought in a number of youngsters, including his nephew John Richardson.[1]

The Bees had a good start to the season, winning the first two matches to sit top of the Fourth Division, but despite the strikeforce being bolstered by experienced Brian Bedford,[3] a winless run of five defeats in eight matches dropped the club into the relegation places in mid-October 1966.[4] Manager Billy Gray then made wholesale changes to the starting XI, introducing a number of youngsters, with the new-look team going on to win five consecutive matches.[1] The establishment of the new lineup led to a clearout of players, with out-of-favour Micky Block, Billy Cobb, John Regan, Mel Scott and Ron Crisp all exiting Griffin Park before the end of the season.[1] The Bees failed to keep up their good form through November and December and dropped back into mid-table.[1] The team weathered the storm caused by the tumultuous events of 19 January 1967, which resulted in the departure of chairman Jack Dunnett and manager Billy Gray.[1] Trainer Jimmy Sirrel took over as acting manager and built on the improved January form under Gray and led the team on a 16-match unbeaten league run, which equalled the club record at the time.[1] The run left Brentford within three points of the promotion places,[5] but an inexplicable five consecutive defeats in the final six matches of the season ended any chances of promotion.[4]

The Brentford reserve team had a successful season, beating local rivals Fulham in a replay to win the 1966–67 London Challenge Cup.[6]

League table

Main article: 1966–67 Football League § Fourth Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts
7	Wrexham	46	16	20	10	76	62	1.226	52
8	Hartlepools United	46	22	7	17	66	64	1.031	51
9	Brentford	46	18	13	15	58	56	1.036	49
10	Aldershot	46	18	12	16	72	57	1.263	48
11	Bradford City	46	19	10	17	74	62	1.194	48

Source: rsssf.com

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Football League Fourth Division

No.	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1	20 August 1966	Barnsley	A	1–0	2,433	Ross
2	27 August 1966	Luton Town	H	1–0	6,770	Cobb
3	3 September 1966	Aldershot	A	1–3	5,583	Docherty
4	7 September 1966	Lincoln City	A	1–3	4,364	Richardson
5	10 September 1966	Wrexham	H	1–1	5,510	Docherty
6	17 September 1966	Southend United	A	0–3	8,200
7	24 September 1966	Tranmere Rovers	H	1–1	5,620	Bedford
8	27 September 1966	Lincoln City	H	2–2	6,230	Grummett (og), Ross
9	1 October 1966	Bradford City	A	0–2	4,005
10	8 October 1966	Chesterfield	A	0–3	4,968
11	11 October 1966	Aldershot	H	1–0	6,110	Lawther
12	15 October 1966	Stockport County	H	2–1	5,710	Curley, Docherty
13	18 October 1966	Halifax Town	H	1–0	6,090	Docherty (pen)
14	22 October 1966	Rochdale	A	3–1	2,652	Lawther (2), Ross
15	29 October 1966	Southport	H	2–1	6,760	Ross, Higginson
16	5 November 1966	Notts County	A	2–3	3,883	Bedford (2)
17	12 November 1966	Chester	H	4–0	6,600	Docherty, Lawther (2), Bedford
18	15 November 1966	Halifax Town	A	2–3	2,495	Jones, Curley
19	19 November 1966	Bradford Park Avenue	A	2–2	4,182	Docherty, Curley
20	10 December 1966	Barrow	H	0–3	5,410
21	17 December 1966	Barnsley	H	3–1	4,250	Lawther, Docherty, Bedford
22	26 December 1966	Hartlepools United	A	2–2	8,140	Scott, Docherty
23	27 December 1966	Hartlepools United	H	1–2	5,770	Docherty
24	31 December 1966	Luton Town	A	0–3	8,531
25	14 January 1967	Wrexham	A	0–0	11,038
26	21 January 1967	Southend United	H	1–1	10,650	Lawther
27	3 February 1967	Tranmere Rovers	A	0–0	9,836
28	11 February 1967	Bradford City	H	2–0	7,460	Docherty, Ross
29	18 February 1967	York City	H	1–1	7,620	Lawther
30	25 February 1967	Chesterfield	H	1–0	7,010	Docherty
31	3 March 1967	Stockport County	A	2–1	8,288	Bedford, Docherty
32	11 March 1967	York City	A	0–0	1,855
33	18 March 1967	Rochdale	H	4–0	6,340	Docherty, Ross (2), Lawther
34	25 March 1967	Port Vale	A	3–1	3,434	Richardson, Lawther, Curley
35	27 March 1967	Newport County	H	1–1	9,600	Ross
36	28 March 1967	Newport County	A	1–1	2,546	Lawther
37	1 April 1967	Notts County	H	1–0	7,760	Hooker
38	8 April 1967	Chester	A	2–1	2,683	Bedford, Higginson
39	11 April 1967	Exeter City	H	3–1	7,800	Bedford (3)
40	15 April 1967	Bradford Park Avenue	H	1–1	10,000	Ross
41	22 April 1967	Southport	A	0–2	5,231
42	25 April 1967	Exeter City	A	0–1	2,934
43	29 April 1967	Crewe Alexandra	H	0–2	5,710
44	6 May 1967	Barrow	A	0–1	8,769
45	10 May 1967	Crewe Alexandra	A	0–1	3,403
46	13 May 1967	Port Vale	H	2–0	3,600	James (og), Wilson

FA Cup

Main article: 1966–67 FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1R	26 November 1966	Chelmsford City	H	1–0	8,530	Docherty (pen)
2R	7 January 1967	Orient	A	0–0	8,094
2R (replay)	10 January 1967	Orient	H	3–1	10,078	Docherty (2), Richardson
3R	28 January 1967	Sunderland	A	2–5	36,908	Docherty (2)

Football League Cup

Main article: 1966–67 Football League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1R	24 August 1966	Millwall	H	0–0	7,350
1R (replay)	29 August 1966	Millwall	A	1–0	5,222	Docherty
2R	13 September 1966	Ipswich Town	H	2–4	5,860	Crisp, Ross

• Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford,[7] Statto

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1966–67 season.

Pos.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Chic Brodie		(1937-02-22)22 February 1937 (aged 29)	Northampton Town	1963
GK	Gordon Phillips		(1946-11-17)17 November 1946 (aged 19)	Hayes	1963
Defenders
DF	Peter Gelson		(1941-10-18)18 October 1941 (aged 24)	Youth	1961
DF	Alan Hawley		(1946-06-07)7 June 1946 (aged 20)	Youth	1962
DF	Tommy Higginson		(1937-01-06)6 January 1937 (aged 29)	Kilmarnock	1959
DF	Allan Jones		(1940-01-06)6 January 1940 (aged 26)	Liverpool	1963
DF	Hamish MacKenzie		(1945-03-11)11 March 1945 (aged 21)	Dunfermline Athletic	1964
DF	Michael Ogburn		(1948-02-19)19 February 1948 (aged 18)	Portsmouth	1965
Midfielders
MF	Phil Basey		(1948-08-27)27 August 1948 (aged 17)	Youth	1966
MF	Tom Curley		(1945-06-11)11 June 1945 (aged 21)	Celtic	1965
MF	George Dobson		(1949-08-24)24 August 1949 (aged 16)	Youth	1966
MF	John Docherty		(1940-04-29)29 April 1940 (aged 26)	Sheffield United	1966
MF	Eddie Reeve		(1947-12-03)3 December 1947 (aged 18)	Youth	1964
MF	Bobby Ross (c)		(1942-05-10)10 May 1942 (aged 24)	Shrewsbury Town	1966
MF	George Thomson		(1936-10-19)19 October 1936 (aged 29)	Everton	1963
Forwards
FW	Brian Bedford		(1933-12-24)24 December 1933 (aged 32)	Scunthorpe United	1966
FW	Brian Etheridge		(1944-03-04)4 March 1944 (aged 22)	Northampton Town	1966
FW	Keith Hooker		(1950-01-31)31 January 1950 (aged 16)	Youth	1965
FW	Ian Lawther		(1939-10-20)20 October 1939 (aged 26)	Scunthorpe United	1964
FW	John Richardson		(1949-02-05)5 February 1949 (aged 17)	Millwall	1966
FW	John South		(1948-04-08)8 April 1948 (aged 18)	Fulham	1966
FW	Bobby Wilson		(1944-05-29)29 May 1944 (aged 22)	Feltham	1967	Amateur
Players who left the club mid-season
DF	Ron Crisp		(1938-09-24)24 September 1938 (aged 27)	Watford	1965	Released
MF	Billy Cobb		(1940-09-29)29 September 1940 (aged 25)	Plymouth Argyle	1964	Transferred to Luton Town
MF	Mel Scott		(1939-09-26)26 September 1939 (aged 26)	Chelsea	1963	Released
FW	John Regan		(1944-06-18)18 June 1944 (aged 22)	Shrewsbury Town	1966	Transferred to Crewe Alexandra

• Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford,[7] Timeless Bees[8]

Coaching staff

Billy Gray (20 August 1965 – March 1967)

Name	Role
Billy Gray	Manager
Jimmy Sirrel	Trainer
Eddie Lyons	Physiotherapist

Jimmy Sirrel (March – 13 May 1967)

Name	Role
Jimmy Sirrel	Manager
Eddie Lyons	Physiotherapist

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Substitute appearances in brackets.

Pos	Nat	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		Chic Brodie	8	0	0	0	3	0	11	0
GK		Gordon Phillips	38	0	4	0	0	0	42	0
DF		Ron Crisp	7	0	0	0	3	1	10	1
DF		Peter Gelson	44 (1)	0	4	0	3	0	51 (1)	0
DF		Alan Hawley	37	0	3	0	3	0	43	0
DF		Tommy Higginson	43	2	4	0	3	0	50	2
DF		Allan Jones	23	1	4	0	0	0	27	1
DF		Hamish MacKenzie	17	0	0	0	3	0	20	0
DF		Michael Ogburn	12	0	1	0	0	0	13	0
MF		Phil Basey	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
MF		Billy Cobb	7	1	—		2	0	9	1
MF		Tom Curley	26	4	1	0	0	0	27	4
MF		George Dobson	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
MF		John Docherty	43	13	4	5	3	1	50	19
MF		Eddie Reeve	18 (2)	0	1	0	1	0	20 (2)	0
MF		Bobby Ross	46	9	4	0	3	1	53	10
MF		Mel Scott	12	1	0	0	2	0	14	1
MF		George Thomson	25	0	3	0	0	0	28	0
FW		Brian Bedford	21	10	1	0	—		22	10
FW		Brian Etheridge	6	0	2	0	0	0	8	0
FW		Keith Hooker	9 (1)	1	0	0	0	0	9 (1)	1
FW		Ian Lawther	38 (1)	11	4	0	3	0	45 (1)	11
FW		John Regan	2	0	—		0	0	2	0
FW		John Richardson	20	2	3	1	1	0	24	3
FW		John South	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
FW		Bobby Wilson	1	1	—		—		1	1

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[7]

Goalscorers

Pos.	Nat	Player	FL4	FAC	FLC	Total
MF		John Docherty	13	5	1	19
FW		Ian Lawther	11	0	0	11
FW		Brian Bedford	10	0	—	10
MF		Bobby Ross	9	0	1	10
MF		Tom Curley	4	0	0	4
FW		John Richardson	2	1	0	3
DF		Tommy Higginson	2	0	0	2
FW		Bobby Wilson	1	—	—	1
MF		Billy Cobb	1	—	0	1
MF		Mel Scott	1	0	0	1
FW		Keith Hooker	1	0	0	1
DF		Allan Jones	1	0	0	1
DF		Ron Crisp	0	0	1	1
Opponents			2	0	0	2
Total			58	6	3	67

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[7]

Management

Name	Nat	From	To	Record All Comps					Record League
				P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
Billy Gray		20 August 1966	25 February 1967	37	14	11	12	037.84	30	11	9	10	036.67
Jimmy Sirrel		3 March 1967	13 May 1967	16	7	4	5	043.75	16	7	4	5	043.75

Summary

Games played	53 (46 Fourth Division, 4 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
Games won	21 (18 Fourth Division, 2 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Games drawn	15 (13 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Games lost	17 (15 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals scored	67 (58 Fourth Division, 6 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
Goals conceded	66 (56 Fourth Division, 6 FA Cup, 4 League Cup)
Clean sheets	17 (13 Fourth Division, 2 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)
Biggest league win	4–0 on two occasions
Worst league defeat	3–0 on four occasions
Most appearances	52, Peter Gelson (45 Fourth Division, 4 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
Top scorer (league)	13, John Docherty
Top scorer (all competitions)	19, John Docherty

Transfers & loans

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Fee	Ref.
May 1966	FW	John Richardson	Millwall	n/a	[9]
July 1966	FW	Ellis Wyn Jones	n/a	n/a	[10]
15 September 1966	FW	Brian Bedford	Scunthorpe United	£2,000	[3]
November 1966	MF	Alan Jefferies	Didcot Town	n/a	[11]
November 1966	FW	John South	Fulham	n/a	[11]
1966	MF	George Dobson	n/a	n/a	[12]
April 1967	FW	Bobby Wilson	Feltham	Amateur	[13]
Players transferred out
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Fee	Ref.
October 1966	MF	Micky Block	Watford	n/a	[14]
November 1966	MF	Billy Cobb	Luton Town	£2,000	[15]
November 1966	FW	John Regan	Crewe Alexandra	£1,000	[16]
Players released
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
13 December 1966	MF	Ron Crisp	Los Angeles Toros	Free	[17]
February 1967	MF	Mel Scott	Oakland Clippers	February 1967	[18]
May 1967	MF	Phil Basey	Crawley Town	1967	[19]
May 1967	FW	Brian Bedford	Atlanta Chiefs	1967	[20]
May 1967	MF	Tom Curley	Crewe Alexandra	August 1967	[21]
May 1967	FW	Brian Etheridge	Daring Club de Bruxelles	1967	[22]
May 1967	MF	Alan Jefferies	n/a		[23]
May 1967	DF	Hamish MacKenzie	n/a		[24]
May 1967	DF	Michael Ogburn	n/a		[25]
May 1967	FW	John South	Guildford City	1967	[26]
May 1967	FW	Barry Thornley	Oxford United	July 1967	[27]
May 1967	FW	Bobby Wilson	Walton & Hersham	Amateur	[13]

Awards

• Supporters' Player of the Year: John Docherty[28]

References

1. White 1989, p. 262-266.
2. Haynes 1998, p. 53-54.
3. "Brentford Capture Bedford". Middlesex County Times. 16 September 1966.
4. Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford results for the 1966-1967 season - Statto.com". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
5. "11v11 league table generator". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
6. Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia. Yore Publications. p. 82. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
7. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 389. ISBN 0951526200.
8. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
9. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 134.
10. "Young Star Is New Bee". The Brentford & Chiswick Times. 29 July 1966.
11. "Father's Footsteps – Almost". The Brentford & Chiswick Times. 18 November 1966.
12. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 48.
13. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 170.
14. "Block Joins Watford". Middlesex County Times. 30 September 1966.
15. "Cobb Leaves". Middlesex County Times. 2 December 1966.
16. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 132.
17. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 42.
18. "Scott Is Off To USA". The Brentford & Chiswick Times. 24 February 1967.
19. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 16.
20. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 18.
21. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 44.
22. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 53.
23. "Free Transfers For Six Brentford Men". Middlesex Chronicle. 19 May 1967.
24. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 99.
25. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 118.
26. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 152.
27. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 160.
28. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 49.