Brentford F.C.

Foundation to 1920

Founded on 10 October 1889, at the Oxford and Cambridge Hotel public house in Brentford – next to Kew Bridge – a meeting was held, between the members of the Brentford Rowing Club, to decide between association football or rugby union, to serve as a winter pursuit for the rowing club and its members. As a result of a vote, by eight votes to five, taken six days later, association football was successful as the sport to partake in.

The football club started out playing its home matches at the Clifden House Ground – this was recreational land between what is now Clifden Road and Lateward Road – in Brentford, from November 1889 to March 1892. The very first fixture, between Brentford FC and Kew FC, was on 23 November 1889. Due to ownership of the land changing hands, Brentford FC was on the lookout for a new ground after only 30 months. In October 1892, Benn's Field – land behind The Plough PH Little Ealing Lane – in Little Ealing, was the club's new home. The football club decided to move nearer to Brentford and in December 1894 it moved to Shotter's Field – what is now Gunnersbury School, The Ride – and stayed there until April 1898. Due to high rent increases, the club was once again forced to move on, so in September 1898 the club moved to the Cross Roads Ground, in Little Ealing – land on the north west side of the junction of Little Ealing Lane and Ealing Road – this was used until April 1900. As the club grew, therefore entertaining larger crowds, a move to a ground with the chance of improving better spectator facilities, with under cover enclosures and changing rooms, was looked for. Boston Park Cricket Ground, in York Road, Brentford – what is now land along the east side of Ealing Road and south of the Great West Road – was then used from September 1900 to April 1904. Finally, in January 1904, the club agreed a 21-year lease on an orchard, once owned by Chiswick brewers Fuller, Smith and Turner. The clearance of the orchard, over 200 trees, and the levelling of the land took several months. Griffin Park, as it became known – supposedly named after the local The Griffin pub once used as a changing rooms in the early years – was now ready for use as a football ground after banking was raised along three sides of the ground and an enclosure, moved from their previous ground, was erected. In August 1904 trial matches were played on the pitch. Then the first competitive match was played, a reserve team game in the Western League v Plymouth Argyle. On 7 September 1904, Brentford and West Ham United played out a 0–0 draw, in the Southern League First Division, which was the first first team match.

In 1920 it was a founder member of the Football League Third Division. In 1921–22, the Football League Third Division was regionalised and Brentford FC was placed in the Southern section.

1930s 'golden' era

During the late 1920s and 1930s, the club began to make real progress. In the 1929–30 season, the side won all 21 of its home matches in the Third Division South, but still missed out on promotion. It is the last of six teams in English football to amass a perfect home record, and the only one to do so over a season of 42 matches or more. After several more near-misses, promotion to the Second Division was finally achieved in 1932–33. Two years later, Brentford reached the First Division and finished 5th in its debut season – which is still the club's highest ever league position – to complete a remarkable rise for the club. Under manager Harry Curtis and captain Arthur Bateman, Brentford achieved more impressive placings in the league for the rest of the decade (6th in the following two seasons) before the Second World War interrupted.

1939–1989

During the war, Brentford competed in the London War Cup, losing in the 1941 final at Stamford Bridge to Reading and winning in the final against Portsmouth a year later at Wembley Stadium. The club was relegated in the first season after the war, and a downward spiral set in, which culminated in relegation to the Third Division in 1953–54 and the Fourth Division in 1961–62. In the process Brentford became the first club to play all of the other current 91 clubs in the football league at the time.

The survival of Brentford FC was threatened by a projected takeover by Queens Park Rangers in 1967 – a bid that was only narrowly averted with an emergency loan of £104,000 – while the club continued to yo-yo between the third and fourth divisions during the next three decades. The club won promotion in 1962–63, 1971–72 and 1977–78 but only on the final occasion was it able to consolidate its place in English football's third tier. Other bright spots in this period included reaching the final of the Freight Rover Trophy at Wembley in 1985, where the team lost to Wigan, and a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals in 1989 which included wins over three higher-division sides and was only ended by the reigning league champions Liverpool.

1990 to present

After a 45-year absence, Brentford was promoted back to the Second Division (renamed the First Division with the advent of the Premier League in 1992) in the 1991–92 season as Third Division champions, though it was relegated again the following year.

There followed several seasons of the club narrowly missing out on promotion. Former Chelsea FA Cup hero David Webb was appointed manager in 1993 and twice led the side into the play-offs. In 1996–97 he led them to the play-off final at Wembley, but the side was beaten by Crewe Alexandra. The club was then relegated to the Third Division (by then the bottom division of the Football League) the following year. Brentford won promotion as champions again in 1998–99 under manager and chairman Ron Noades.

The club suffered more promotion agony in 2002 under manager Steve Coppell as they lost out to Stoke City in the play-off final having been just minutes away from automatic promotion on the final day of the season, and again under manager Martin Allen in 2004–05, on that occasion losing 3–1 on aggregate to Sheffield Wednesday in the semi-finals after finishing 4th in League One.

Former BBC Director-General and Bees fan Greg Dyke was announced as chairman of Brentford on 20 January 2006 as part of the takeover by Bees United, the Brentford Supporters Trust. On 28 January 2006, Brentford beat Premier League strugglers Sunderland 2–1 in the 4th Round of the FA Cup, but lost 3–1 to another Premier League club Charlton Athletic in the 5th Round. Brentford finished 3rd in the league and lost to Swansea City in the play-off semi-final.

On 30 May 2006 Allen announced his resignation as manager of Brentford and the club named Leroy Rosenior as his successor on 14 June 2006. On 18 November 2006, following a run of 16 matches without a win – leaving the side in the relegation zone – Rosenior was sacked as manager, after the team lost 4–0 at home to Crewe. Following Rosenior's departure, youth team coach Scott Fitzgerald was appointed manager on a full-time basis on 21 December 2006 with Alan Reeves acting as his assistant. Fitzgerald was unable to turn around the club's fortunes, and Brentford was relegated to Football League Two – English Football's 4th tier – in April 2007. Fitzgerald left the day following confirmation of Brentford's relegation, with youth team manager Barry Quin due to act as caretaker in the managerial role until the end of the season.

Ex-England captain Terry Butcher was appointed as manager on 24 April 2007. Butcher's assistant was former Brentford winger Andy Scott, who was appointed on 9 May 2007. Butcher's reign at Griffin Park was, however, not a successful one, and his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 11 December 2007, after winning just five matches in 23. Butcher's assistant Andy Scott was appointed as manager on 4 January 2008 following a successful caretaker spell. (Scott's assistant is the experienced coach Terry Bullivant).

On 25 April 2009 Brentford sealed the League Two championship (English football's fourth tier) with a 3–1 win at Darlington. The 2009–10 season saw the club stabilise in League One – with Brentford finishing 9th. A shaky start led to changes in personnel, notably loanees from Arsenal (goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny) and Tottenham Hotspur (winger John Bostock). While the other promoted teams struggled, Brentford thrived, thanks to good home form, (Brentford only lost four home league games in two years) and some impressive displays against the richer clubs in the division (e.g. Leeds United, Norwich City, Southampton & Huddersfield Town). A new CEO was appointed in March 2010, Andrew Mills.

The 2010–11 season saw a League Cup run, with Premier League opposition – Everton – beaten at Griffin Park, and Birmingham City taken to a penalty shoot-out. The Bees' league form took a dive in January 2011 however; and manager Scott and assistant Bullivant parted company from the club on 3 February; with senior pro Nicky Forster taking over as manager (with Mark Warburton, a former Watford Academy Coach as his assistant). Brentford reached the final of the Football League Trophy in which it lost 1–0 to Carlisle United.

At the end of the 2010–11 season, Nicky Forster was informed that he would not be getting the manager's job on a full-time basis, and on 10 June 2011 Uwe Rosler was confirmed as the new manager, on a two-year contract. The management structure runs along the 'European model': i.e. a 'sporting director' (Mark Warburton) works with the manager on sourcing players.

At the end of the 2011–12 season, in which the club finished ninth in League One missing out on the play-offs by six points, the club's supporters voted to sell the entire club's shareholding to supporter-investor Matthew Benham. Supporters trust Bees United, the club's previous majority shareholders, elected at a special general meeting to bring its five-year deal with Benham to a conclusion two years early. Benham had initially come on board back in 2009, striking a deal which would see him take over the club in July 2014 if the trust was not able to buy him out by then.

The 2012–13 season saw Brentford go on an FA Cup run, taking holders Chelsea to a fourth round replay, and mount a promotion challenge, missing out on automatic promotion on the final day of the season before losing the play-off final to Yeovil Town.

On 18 April 2014 Brentford was promoted to the Championship after they beat Preston 1–0 at Griffin Park in front of 10,774 people sparking a pitch invasion. However, Brentford also needed other results to go their way, and they did as Crawley beat Leyton Orient 2–1 and Wolves beat Rotherham 6–4 at Molineux, although there was an anxious wait as the Wolves match was delayed by several pitch invasions. This meant The Bees' return to second tier after 21 years. In the 2014/15 season, the Bees finished fifth and made the Play-Offs, losing 5–1 on aggregate to Middlesbrough in the semi-finals.

Griffin Park

Brentford FC have played at Griffin Park since September 1904. The ground, for years, was famously unique in British football in having had a pub on each corner: The Royal Oak (Now closed); The New Inn; The Griffin (which was used in the football-themed film Green Street; and The Princess Royal (which was once run by Brentford FC). In April 2015, The Royal Oak public house closed its doors for the last time, and since then Griffin Park has had three pubs on three of its four corners.

In 2007, the east stand, at the Ealing Road end of the ground, had a roof installed after a grant given by the Football Trust, therefore making all four stands of Griffin Park covered. The Ealing Road stand still remains a terrace and is now where the home supporters stand. It was re-opened for the first game of the 2007/08 season, on Saturday 11 August 2007, against Mansfield Town, and 4,909 watched the game.

The Braemar Road stand, known as the south stand, was renamed the "Bees United" stand for the 2010/11 season. Opposite to it, the New Road stand, at the north side, was renamed the Bill Axbey stand. The Brook Road, on the west side, is used specifically as the away supporters' stand, and is sometimes called the Wendy House.

For the 2010/11 season, the dug-outs were moved from the Braemar Road (south) side of the ground to the Bill Axbey (north) side.

Lionel Road

Brentford, with the aim of securing a more financially sustainable future, have been considering relocation since 2002. Plans were announced in October 2002 for a new 20,000 capacity all seater stadium at a state-of-the-art arena complex in Lionel Road South, Brentford. It was announced on 7 December 2007 that the club had secured an option to purchase the site – a major breakthrough in the club's plans to relocate.

The new stadium moved another step closer on 22 February 2008 when it was announced that Brentford's development partner, Barratt Homes, had acquired a 7.6-acre (31,000 m²) regeneration site in Lionel Road South, Brentford. Following this news, it was anticipated that the stadium would be completed in time for the 2012/13 season, and be used as a training venue for teams participating in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. However, due to the ongoing economic downturn and fall in property prices, the club and Barratt Homes admitted in early 2009 that this date would no longer be feasible.

The club's plan to move to a new community stadium took a massive step forward on Thursday 28 June 2012, when the club, via Matthew Benham, purchased the 7.6 acre site in Lionel Road South, Brentford, from Barratt Homes which had originally acquired the site in January 2008. The club is planning to build a 20,000-spectator capacity stadium on the land. Along with outline planning permission for a hotel and apartment buildings, on unused land surrounding the site, to help fund the project, as well as applying for outline planning permission for Griffin Park which will also be sold to developers as to fund the Lionel Road South project.

The London Borough of Hounslow gave outline planning approval on 5 December 2013, by eight votes to five, and so the application went to the Mayor of London and the Secretary of State for final approval. On 18 February 2014, the Mayor of London's office officially gave its approval for the stadium to be built. The planning application then went to Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for final approval, which was given on Friday, 14 March 2014. Building work was to commence in the summer of 2014.

First-team squad

As of 31 January 2017

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

B Team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Coaching staff

As of 8 December 2016

Managers

As of 8 December 2016. Only competitive matches are counted.

Players with most appearances

As of 19 November 2015

Highest goalscorers

As of 19 November 2015

Hall of Fame

The football club maintains a Hall of Fame and has inducted the following players

Capped international players

The following players earned international caps whilst contracted to Brentford FC. (number of caps awarded whilst at Brentford in brackets, if known and confirmed):

Schoolboy International

England

Paul Walker

B International

England

Ron Greenwood (1)

England

Alec Barclay (3)

Jackie Burns (12)

Maurice Edelston (4)

Vivian Gibbins (2)

Jackie Gibbons (3)

Terry Robinson (6)

Bill Slater (5)

Ireland

Kevin O'Flanagan

Wales

Martin Woosnam

Victory International (Matches played in 1919, 1945–1946)

England

Patsy Hendren (1)

Representative International

Great Britain

Archie Macaulay (1)

Champions

Football League Second Division: 1

Champions: 1934–35

Football League Third Division: 2

Champions: 1932–33 (South), 1991–92

Runners-up: 2013–14

Football League Fourth Division: 3

Champions: 1962–63, 1998–99, 2008–09

West London Alliance: 1

Champions: 1892–93

Southern League Second Division: 1

Champions: 1900–01

London Combination: 1

Champions: 1918–19

Cup winners

West Middlesex Cup: 1

Winners: 1894–95

London Senior Cup: 1

Winners: 1897–98

Middlesex Senior Cup: 1

Winners: 1897–98

Southern Professional Charity Cup: 1

Winners: 1908–09

Ealing Hospital Cup: 1

Winners: 1910–11

London Challenge Cup: 3

Winners: 1934–35, 1964–65, 1966–67

London War Cup: 1

Winners: 1941–42

Supporters Direct Cup: 2

Winners: 2004, 2008

Leagues

Football League First Division

Best finish: 5th – 1935–36

Western League

Best finish: 2nd – 1904–05

Southern League First Division

Best finish: 9th – 1905–06

Cups

FA Cup

Best performance: Sixth Round/Quarter-Final – 1937–38, 1945–46, 1948–49, 1988–89

Football League Cup

Best performance: Fourth Round – 1982–83, 2010–11

Football League Trophy

Best performance: Finalists – 1984–85, 2000–01, 2010–11

Empire Exhibition Trophy

Best performance: First Round – 1938

Southern Professional Floodlit Cup

Best performance: Semi-Final – 1955–56, 1956–57

First Alliance Cup

Best performance: First Round – 1988

Awards

Football League Awards

Community Club of the Year (2): 2005–06, 2013–14

League Two Community Club of the Year (1): 2008–09

Best Club Sponsorship (1): 2006–07

Family Excellence Award (7): 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15

Stadium Business Awards

Sponsorship, Sales and Marketing (1): 2013

League Managers Association Performance of the Week

4–0 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers, 29 November 2014

Rivalry

Brentford's main rivals are Fulham and Queens Park Rangers.

Brentford have a long-standing rivalry with Fulham. In the past this fixture has been marred by crowd violence.

QPR are also considered to be rivals. The rivalry intensified in 1967 when QPR failed in an attempted takeover of Brentford which would have spelled the end for Brentford and seen QPR move into Griffin Park. As with the Fulham rivalry, this fixture sees passions run high amongst both sets of supporters with local pride at stake.

Nickname

Brentford's nickname is The Bees. The nickname was unintentionally created by students of Borough Road College, who attended a match and shouted the college's chant "buck up Bs", in support of their friend and then-Brentford player Joe Gettins.

Celebrity connections

Actor and comedian, Bradley Walsh was a professional at the club in the late 1970s but never made the first team squad.

National

Home league wins in a season: 21 (1929–30)

Joint-highest score in a single League Cup match: 12 (6–6 after extra time vs Dagenham & Redbridge, first round, 13 August 2014)

Club

League win: 9–0 vs Wrexham, Third Division, 15 October 1963

League defeat: 0–7 on three occasions (most recently v Peterborough United, League Two, 24 November 2007)

Cup win: 8–0 vs Uxbridge, FA Cup third qualifying round, 31 October 1903

Cup defeat: 1–7 vs Manchester United, FA Cup third round, 14 January 1928

League attendance: 38535 vs Arsenal, First Division, 8 September 1938

Cup attendance: 38678 vs Leicester City, FA Cup sixth round, 26 February 1949

Most league points in a season (2 for a win): 62, Third Division South, 1932–33

Most league points in a season (3 for a win): 94 (League One, 2013–14)

Consecutive league wins: 8 (League One, 2013–14)

Number of different goalscorers in a season: 20 (League One, 2013–14)

Most league goals scored in a season: 98, Fourth Division, 1962–63

Most league goals conceded in a season: 94, Third Division South, 1925–26

Most league games without a defeat: 26, 20 February 1999 – 16 October 1999 (Third Division and Second Division)

Most league games without a win: 18, 9 September 2006 – 26 December 2006 (League One)

Record transfer fee received: Undisclosed (believed to be in the region of £9,000,000 rising to £12,000,000 with add ons) from Aston Villa for Scott Hogan 31st of January 2017

Record transfer fee paid: £2,500,000 to Norwich City for Sergi Canos, 31st of January 2017

Highest home attendance: 38,678 v Leicester City, 26 February 1949

Most league home wins in a calendar year: 17, 2014 (League One and Championship)

Player

Highest league scorer in a season: Jack Holliday, 38, Third Division South, 1932–33

Most league goals (aggregate): Jim Towers, 153, 1954–1961

Most capped player: John Buttigieg, gained 22 caps of his 97 Malta caps whilst with Brentford

Most appearances (league): Ken Coote, 514, 1949–1963

Most appearances (all competitions): Ken Coote, 559, 1949–1963

Youngest (all competitions): Paul Walker, 15 years, 7 months, 28 days (vs Watford, League Cup first round, August 1976)

Youngest (league): Danis Salman, 15 years, 8 months, 3 days (vs Watford, Fourth Division, November 1975)

Oldest (all competitions): Jimmy Hodson, 40 years, 8 months, 2 days (vs Plymouth Argyle, Third Division, 7 May 1921)

International links

In February 2013 it was announced that Brentford had entered into partnership with Icelandic 1. deild karla club UMF Selfoss, enabling Brentford to send youth and development squad players to Iceland to gain experience. The partnership also sees the two clubs exchanging coaching philosophies and allows Brentford to utilise UMF Selfoss' scouting network. In May 2013, the Brentford staff forged links with Ugandan lower league club Gulu United as part of the "United for United" project, aimed at forming the region's first youth training camp and identifying talented players. Brentford owner Matthew Benham became majority shareholder in Danish club FC Midtjylland in 2014 and the staff of both clubs share ideas.

Affiliated clubs

FC Midtjylland

UMF Selfoss

Gulu United

Team colours and badge

Brentford's predominant home colours are; a red and white striped shirt, black shorts and red or black socks. These have been the clubs predominant home colours since the 1925–1926 season, bar one season – 1960–1961 – when yellow (gold) and blue were used, unsuccessfully. The colours on entering the Football League, in 1920–21, were white shirts, navy shorts and navy socks. Away kits have varied over the years, with the current colours being a royal blue shirt, royal blue shorts and royal blue socks.

Brentford have had several badges on their shirts since it was formed in 1889. The first one, in 1893, was a white shield, with 'BFC' in blue and a wavy line in blue, which is thought to represent the river and the rowing club, who founded the football club. The next known badge, the Middlesex County Arms, was on shirts donated by a club supporter in 1909. The Brentford and Chiswick arms, as a badge, was used just for the one season, in 1938–1939. The next badge wasn't until 1971–72 when a shield, formed into quadrants, which had a hive and bees in one, 3 seaxes in another and the other two with red and white stripes. In 1972, the club organised a competition to design a new crest, which was won by Mr BG Spencer's design, a circle with a bee and stripes with founded 1888. This was introduced in 1973 and used until May 1975, when it was brought to the clubs attention, via Graham Haynes, that Brentford FC was formed in 1889 and not in 1888. Therefore, a new badge, reputedly designed by Dan Tana – the clubs chairman at the time – was introduced for the 1975–76 season and continued until 1994 when the current badge was introduced.

In 2011 Russell Grant claimed to have designed the badge in a BBC interview, however it was in fact designed in 1993 for two season tickets by supporter Andrew Henning, following a request from Keith Loring the then chief executive. Russell's involvement was to suggest to Keith Loring the inclusion and then ensure the accuracy of the Middlesex arms prior to the badge's release.

The design of the new badge is based on a previous Brentford badge of the late 60s/early 70s that featured quadrants and included the hive and Middlesex arms (without the crown). The "Founded 1889" was included as the design exercise coincided with Graham Haynes's research into verifying the actual formation of the club to 1889 rather than 1888 as previous thought.

The badge was introduced initially onto the away kit for the 1993/94 season. It also featured on the programme for that season. For the 1994/95 season it was added to the home kit.