Chairman Louis P. Simon FA Cup Third round | Third Division South 12th | |
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Top goalscorer League: Phillips (18)All: Phillips (18) | ||
During the 1927–28 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division South. A season of transition saw the Bees finish in mid-table and score 76 goals, which was at that time the club's best goalscoring tally since joining the Football League in 1920.
Contents
Season summary
Despite a sizeable amount of money in the bank after the previous season's cup exploits and big money sales of Jack Allen, Archie Clark and George Anderson, Brentford manager Harry Curtis elected to add to rather than rebuild his squad for the 1927–28 season, investing in Scottish youngsters John Cairns, Jimmy Drinnan, William Hodge, Alexander Stevenson, Samuel Ward and English teenager Joe Wiggins. Three defeats in the opening 10 matches of the season sent the Bees as high as second place, with summer signing Jack Phillips scoring 9 goals, Herbert Lawson five and Ernie Watkins four. The goals had dried up by mid-October 1927 and Brentford lost 11 of 15 matches in all competitions, sinking to 15th in the table and suffering a club record FA Cup defeat to Manchester United, losing 7–1 after having received a bye to the third round. A 3–2 victory over Walsall at Griffin Park on 5 December (one of just two wins in the midst of the bad run) was witnessed by 2,024, the club record lowest for a home Football League match.
The Bees' form picked up again late January 1928, though the club could not finish any higher than 12th. Youngster Joe Wiggins broke Brentford's outgoing transfer record in April, with Leicester City paying £1,400 for a centre forward who had made just four senior appearances, scoring two goals. Jack Phillips finished the season as he began it, with 9 goals in 10 matches, to finish as top-scorer with 18 goals. Brentford's 76 goals was the highest since joining the Football League in 1920.
League table
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against;
GA = Goal average; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points