Chairman H. Jason-Saunders Stadium Griffin Park London Victory Cup Second round | Secretary Manager Fred Halliday London Combination 1st | |
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Top goalscorer League: White (25)
All: White (26) | ||
During the 1918–19 English football season, Brentford competed in the London Combination, due to the cessation of competitive football for the duration of the First World War. Buoyed by larger crowds after the Armistice, Brentford finished the season as champions of the London Combination.
Contents
Season summary
Brentford entered the London Combination for the fourth consecutive season in 1918–19, for what would become the final campaign of wartime football during the First World War. Just 11 contracted players would be available throughout the course of the season, necessitating the use of a large number of guest players, the most notable of whom being future internationals Jackie Carr, Jack Cock and Fred Bullock (England), Fred Keenor (Wales) and Jack Doran (Ireland). Cock, Henry White and Ted Hanney would all play in an England trial match on 14 April 1919.
A chronic lack of players saw Brentford win just one of the opening six matches of the season, before Jack Cock came into the team after settling a dispute which unsettled, would have led him to play for Fulham during the season. The Bees' forward line was immediately galvanised and the goals of Cock, Henry White and Fred Morley would lead Brentford on a run of 11 wins in 14 matches in all competitions, which included resounding wins over Tottenham Hotspur (7–1, home), Arsenal (4–1, home), Crystal Palace (4–0, away) and home and away victories over rivals Fulham over Christmas. The Armistice of 11 November 1918 brought the war to a close and attendances began to rise, which coupled with the club only having to pay its players £2 a week plus expenses, meant that Brentford would finish the season with a profit of £2,000.
Despite four draws in January 1919 and three losses in February (which included a second round defeat to Crystal Palace in the one-off London Victory Cup), a return to form and a 2–0 victory over nearest challengers Arsenal on 15 March put the Bees eight points clear at the top of the table with six matches left to play. Aided by additional goals from Patsy Hendren and Royal Navy serviceman Billy Baker, Brentford finished the season as champions, the first time it had finished top of a division since winning the Southern League Second Division title in 1900–01.
One more former Brentford player would die before the end of the war - Sapper Fred Alborough, who made three appearances as a guest in September and October 1918. He died of influenza on 31 October 1918, just five days after his final Brentford appearance. He had served with the Royal Engineers during the war.
League table
Source: Football and the First World War