1930–31 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1930–31 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division South. Despite failing to challenge for promotion, the Bees finished in 3rd place and advanced to the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in four years.

Brentford

1930–31 season
Chairman	Louis P. Simon
Manager	Harry Curtis
Stadium	Griffin Park
Third Division South	3rd
FA Cup	Fourth round
Top goalscorer	League: W. Lane (27) All: W. Lane (32)
Highest home attendance	23,544
Lowest home attendance	2,306
Average home league attendance	8,236
Home colours

Season summary

Inside right Jack Lane, one of Brentford's great players of the 1920s and early 1930s, transferred out of the club in January 1931.

Brentford entered the 1930–31 Third Division South season with largely the same personnel which secured a runners-up finish the previous year. The only significant signing was goalkeeper Edward Nash from Swindon Town in September 1930, to cover for Freddie Fox,[1] from whom Nash would take over the goalkeeping position during the second half of the season.[2] The previous season's prolific forward line of Billy Lane, Jack Lane and Cecil Blakemore again showed excellent goalscoring form during the first half of the season, with Bill Berry returning to the fold after a season in the reserve team and replacing the out-of-form John Payne.[2]

Despite the large number of goals, the team's form was patchy, though a run of 8 defeats in 15 league matches between 27 September and 27 December 1930 only dropped the Bees from 5th to 7th position.[3] An 8–2 victory over Crystal Palace on Christmas Day was Brentford's biggest win of the season and equalled the club record for highest aggregate score in a Football League match.[4] The Bees also embarked on a run to the fourth round of the FA Cup, falling to First Division Portsmouth at Griffin Park.[3] Despite the transfer of 19-goal Jack Lane to Crystal Palace in January 1931,[5] Brentford's form improved,[3] with Billy Lane continuing to score and new forward signings George Robson and Les Wilkins making a contribution.[2] 9 wins in the final 31 matches saw the Bees finish the season in 3rd place,[3] 9 points behind champions Notts County.[6]

Brentford's 1930–31 season is notable for the amount of hat-tricks scored, with Billy Lane claiming three, Jack Lane two and Frederick Gamble one,[2] which convinced West Ham United to sign Gamble in exchange for Les Wilkins in February 1931, despite Gamble having made only 13 appearances in just under two years.[7] During the season, Billy Lane and Jack Lane each scored a hat-trick in the same match twice during a one-month period – in the 6–1 FA Cup first round victory over Ilford on 29 November 1930 and in the 8–2 league victory over Crystal Palace on Christmas Day.[8] Jack Lane's only goal of the game versus Norwich City in the FA Cup second round on 13 December 1930 marked the first time in the club's Football League history that three players had reached 10 goals for the season prior to Christmas Day.[9] The other goalscorers then on double figures were Billy Lane and Cecil Blakemore.[9]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Notts County (C, P)	42	24	11	7	97	46	2.109	59	Promoted
2	Crystal Palace	42	22	7	13	107	71	1.507	51
3	Brentford	42	22	6	14	90	64	1.406	50
4	Brighton & Hove Albion	42	17	15	10	68	53	1.283	49
5	Southend United	42	22	5	15	76	60	1.267	49

Source:
(C) Division Champions; (P) Promoted.

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Football League Third Division South

No.	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)	Notes
1	30 August 1930	Luton Town	A	1–1	11,686	Foster
2	3 September 1930	Northampton Town	H	0–4	11,356
3	6 September 1930	Bristol Rovers	H	4–0	9,919	Blakemore (2), W. Lane (2)
4	8 September 1930	Fulham	A	1–1	12,248	W. Lane
5	13 September 1930	Newport County	A	2–0	2,758	W. Lane
6	17 September 1930	Fulham	H	4–1	9,564	W. Lane (2), J. Lane, Payne
7	20 September 1930	Gillingham	H	1–1	9,407	Payne
8	24 September 1930	Notts County	H	2–2	9,999	Blakemore (pen), W. Lane
9	27 September 1930	Exeter City	A	0–4	5,352
10	4 October 1930	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	3–2	9,348	W. Lane, Blakemore, J. Lane
11	11 October 1930	Torquay United	A	3–0	6,944	J. Lane, Hill (og), W. Lane
12	18 October 1930	Coventry City	H	1–2	10,244	W. Lane
13	25 October 1930	Walsall	A	4–1	2,943	J. Lane, W. Lane, Berry
14	1 November 1930	Queens Park Rangers	H	5–3	10,857	Berry (2), J. Lane, Blakemore (2, 1 pen)
15	8 November 1930	Norwich City	A	0–3	9,172
16	15 November 1930	Thames	H	6–1	7,211	Berry (2), J. Lane, Blakemore (2), W. Lane (2)
17	22 November 1930	Clapton Orient	N	0–3	8,319		[nb 1]
18	6 December 1930	Watford	A	3–1	6,775	W. Lane, Berry, Blakemore (pen)
19	18 December 1930	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	H	1–2	2,306	J. Lane
20	20 December 1930	Swindon Town	A	2–3	4,728	Blakemore, J. Lane
21	25 December 1930	Crystal Palace	H	8–2	11,770	J. Lane (3), Berry (2), W. Lane (3)
22	26 December 1930	Crystal Palace	A	1–5	15,853	W. Lane
23	27 December 1930	Luton Town	H	0–1	7,353
24	3 January 1931	Bristol Rovers	A	5–2	7,449	W. Lane (3), Berry (2)
25	17 January 1931	Newport County	H	3–2	7,170	J. Lane, Berry, W. Lane
26	28 January 1931	Gillingham	A	1–1	2,547	J. Lane
27	31 January 1931	Exeter City	H	2–1	7,575	Gamble, Berry
28	7 February 1931	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	0–1	9,451
29	14 February 1931	Torquay United	H	0–0	6,464
30	21 February 1931	Coventry City	A	1–0	9,651	Blakemore
31	28 February 1931	Walsall	H	6–1	7,117	Berry (2), Gamble (3), John (og)
32	7 March 1931	Queens Park Rangers	A	1–3	10,331	Sherlaw
33	14 March 1931	Norwich City	H	3–1	9,013	Hannah (og), Robson, Wilkins
34	21 March 1931	Thames	A	0–2	3,675
35	28 March 1931	Clapton Orient	H	3–0	7,757	W. Lane, Robson, Berry
36	3 April 1931	Southend United	H	3–1	6,027	W. Lane, Blakemore, Robson
37	4 April 1931	Notts County	A	0–1	14,759
38	6 April 1931	Southend United	A	1–0	9,969	Berry
39	11 April 1931	Watford	H	2–1	8,163	W. Lane, Blakemore (pen)
40	18 April 1931	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	A	0–1	3,662
41	25 April 1931	Swindon Town	H	5–2	4,327	Berry (2), W. Lane, Robson
42	2 May 1931	Northampton Town	A	2–1	3,698	Sherlaw, Berry

FA Cup

Main article: 1930–31 FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1R	29 November 1930	Ilford	A	6–1	5,718	W. Lane (3), J. Lane (3)
2R	13 December 1930	Norwich City	H	1–0	12,000	J. Lane
3R	10 January 1931	Cardiff City	H	2–2	16,500	Berry, W. Lane
3R (replay)	14 January 1931	Cardiff City	A	2–1	25,000	W. Lane, J. Lane
4R	24 January 1931	Portsmouth	H	0–1	23,544

• Sources: Statto, 11v11, 100 Years of Brentford[2]

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1930–31 season.

Pos.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Freddie Fox		(1898-11-22)22 November 1898 (aged 31)	Halifax Town	1928
GK	Frank McDonough		(1899-12-24)24 December 1899 (aged 30)	Annfield Plain	1930
GK	Edward Nash		(1902-04-12)12 April 1902 (aged 28)	Swindon Town	1930
Defenders
DF	Tom Adamson		(1901-02-12)12 February 1901 (aged 29)	Bury	1929
DF	Bill Bann		(1902-08-15)15 August 1902 (aged 28)	Tottenham Hotspur	1930
DF	William Hodge		(1904-08-31)31 August 1904 (aged 25)	Rangers	1927
DF	Alexander Stevenson		(1903-10-24)24 October 1903 (aged 26)	Armadale	1927
Midfielders
HB	Jimmy Bain		(1899-02-06)6 February 1899 (aged 31)	Manchester Central	1928
HB	Reginald Davies (c)		(1897-09-30)30 September 1897 (aged 32)	Portsmouth	1928
HB	Harry Salt		(1899-01-20)20 January 1899 (aged 31)	Crystal Palace	1929
HB	Teddy Ware		(1906-09-17)17 September 1906 (aged 23)	Chatham Town	1928
Forwards
FW	Ralph Allen		(1906-06-30)30 June 1906 (aged 24)	Fulham	1930
FW	Bill Berry		(1904-08-18)18 August 1904 (aged 26)	Gillingham	1926
FW	Cecil Blakemore		(1897-12-08)8 December 1897 (aged 32)	Bristol City	1929
FW	Jackie Foster		(1903-03-21)21 March 1903 (aged 27)	Bristol City	1929
FW	Billy Lane		(1904-10-23)23 October 1904 (aged 25)	Reading	1929
FW	Herbert Lawson		(1905-04-12)12 April 1905 (aged 25)	Arsenal	1927
FW	George Robson		(1908-06-17)17 June 1908 (aged 22)	West Ham United	1931
FW	James Shaw		(1904-08-08)8 August 1904 (aged 26)	Arsenal	1930
FW	David Sherlaw		(1901-09-17)17 September 1901 (aged 28)	Charlton Athletic	1928
FW	Norman Thomson		(1901-02-20)20 February 1901 (aged 29)	Norwich City	1930
FW	Les Wilkins		(1907-01-21)21 January 1907 (aged 23)	West Ham United	1931
Players who left the club mid-season
FW	Frederick Gamble		(1905-05-29)29 May 1905 (aged 25)	Southall	1928	Transferred to West Ham United
FW	Jack Lane		(1898-05-29)29 May 1898 (aged 32)	Chesterfield	1925	Transferred to Crystal Palace
FW	John Payne		(1906-01-03)3 January 1906 (aged 24)	West Ham United	1929	Transferred to Manchester City
FW	Les Roberts		(1901-05-28)28 May 1901 (aged 29)	Swindon Town	1930	Transferred to Manchester City

• Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[2] Timeless Bees,[10] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939[11]

Coaching staff

Name	Role
Harry Curtis	Manager
Bob Kane	Trainer
Jack Cartmell	Assistant Trainer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Nash

Stevenson

Adamson

Bain

Davies (C)

Salt

J. Lane

Blakemore

W. Lane

Foster

Berry

Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Football League season.

Pos	Nat	Name	League		FA Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		Freddie Fox	19	0	2	0	21	0
GK		Frank McDonough	2	0	0	0	2	0
GK		Edward Nash	21	0	3	0	24	0
DF		Tom Adamson	36	0	5	0	41	0
DF		Bill Bann	3	0	0	0	3	0
DF		William Hodge	19	0	0	0	19	0
DF		Alexander Stevenson	26	0	5	0	31	0
HB		Jimmy Bain	42	0	5	0	47	0
HB		Reginald Davies	38	0	4	0	42	0
HB		Harry Salt	25	0	5	0	30	0
HB		Teddy Ware	17	0	0	0	17	0
FW		Ralph Allen	2	0	—		2	0
FW		Bill Berry	32	18	5	1	37	19
FW		Cecil Blakemore	35	13	5	0	40	13
FW		Jackie Foster	39	1	5	0	44	1
FW		Frederick Gamble	6	4	0	0	6	4
FW		Billy Lane	33	27	5	5	38	32
FW		Jack Lane	25	14	5	5	30	19
FW		Herbert Lawson	4	0	1	0	5	0
FW		John Payne	10	2	0	0	10	2
FW		Les Roberts	5	0	0	0	5	0
FW		George Robson	13	5	—		13	5
FW		James Shaw	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW		David Sherlaw	6	2	0	0	6	2
FW		Norman Thomson	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW		Les Wilkins	2	1	—		2	1

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford[2]

Goalscorers

Pos.	Nat	Player	FL3	FAC	Total
FW		Billy Lane	27	5	32
FW		Bill Berry	18	1	19
FW		Jack Lane	14	5	19
FW		Cecil Blakemore	13	0	13
FW		George Robson	5	—	5
FW		Frederick Gamble	4	0	4
FW		John Payne	2	0	2
FW		David Sherlaw	2	0	2
FW		Les Wilkins	1	—	1
FW		Jackie Foster	1	0	1
Opponents			3	0	3
Total			90	11	101

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford[2]

Management

Name	Nat	From	To	Record All Comps					Record League
				P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
Harry Curtis		30 August 1930	2 May 1931	47	25	7	15	053.19|	42	22	6	14	052.38

Summary

Games played	47 (42 Third Division South, 5 FA Cup)
Games won	25 (22 Third Division South, 3 FA Cup)
Games drawn	7 (6 Third Division South, 1 FA Cup)
Games lost	15 (14 Third Division South, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored	101 (90 Third Division South, 11 FA Cup)
Goals conceded	69 (64 Third Division South, 5 FA Cup)
Clean sheets	8 (7 Third Division South, 1 FA Cup)
Biggest league win	8–2 versus Crystal Palace, 25 December 1930
Worst league defeat	4–0 on two occasions
Most appearances	47, Jimmy Bain (42 Third Division South, 5 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league)	27, Billy Lane
Top scorer (all competitions)	32, Billy Lane

Transfers & loans

Cricketers are not included in this list.

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Fee	Ref.
May 1930	FW	James Shaw	Arsenal	Free	[12]
3 June 1930	DF	Bill Bann	Tottenham Hotspur	Free	[13]
June 1930	FW	Les Roberts	Swindon Town	Free	[13]
August 1930	FW	Norman Thomson	Norwich City	Nominal	[14]
September 1930	GK	Edward Nash	Swindon Town	n/a	[1]
February 1931	FW	George Robson	West Ham United	n/a	[15]
February 1931	FW	Bert Stephens	Ealing Association	Free	[16]
February 1931	FW	Les Wilkins	West Ham United	Exchange	[17]
March 1931	FW	Ralph Allen	Fulham	Free	[18]
Players transferred out
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Fee	Ref.
May 1930	DF	George Dumbrell	Leicester City	£1,750	[19]
29 January 1931	FW	Jack Lane	Crystal Palace	n/a	[20]
January 1931	FW	John Payne	Manchester City	n/a	[21]
January 1931	FW	Les Roberts	Manchester City	n/a	[22]
February 1931	FW	Frederick Gamble	West Ham United	Exchange	[7]
Players released
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
May 1931	GK	Freddie Fox	Truro City	n/a	[23]
May 1931	GK	Frank McDonough	Thames	May 1931	[24]
May 1931	FW	James Shaw	Gillingham	1931	[25]
May 1931	HB	Martin Woosnam	Thames	May 1931	[24]

Notes

1. Match played at Wembley Stadium, London due to Clapton Orient's Lea Bridge Stadium being temporarily closed due it failing to satisfy Football League requirements. This is the only occasion on which Brentford have played a league match on neutral territory.

References

1. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 114.
2. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 371. ISBN 0951526200.
3. Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford results for the 1930-1931 season - Statto.com". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
4. Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford scoring and sequence records - Statto.com". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
5. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 93-94.
6. Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford League Table 1930-1931 - Statto.com". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
7. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 62.
8. Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia. Harefield, Middlesex: Yore Publications. p. 68. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
9. "Brentford | News | Latest News | Latest News | "TEN UP" TRIO". brentfordfc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
10. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
11. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 190589161X.
12. Group, Arsenal Media. "James Shaw | Arsenal.com". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
13. "Bees' Latest Captures". County of Middlesex Independent. 7 June 1930.
14. "BEES TEAM COMPLETED. Another Inside Right Signed. Benefit for Jack Lane: Tribute to a Sportsman: Not the Oldest Player: Brentford's Cricket Success". County of Middlesex Independent. 16 August 1930.
15. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 136.
16. "Bert Stephens". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
17. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 169.
18. "Ralph Allen". Fulhamweb. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
19. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 50-51.
20. www.holmesdale.net, Holmesdale Online. "John (Jack) Lane". Holmesdale Online. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
21. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 122.
22. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 134-135.
23. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 59-60.
24. Argus (8 May 1931). "I note that Thames have engaged Martin Woosnam (half-back) and F. J. McDonough (goalkeeper), whom Brentford placed on the free transfer list last week". Brentford & Chiswick Times.
25. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 144.