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1914–15 Brentford F.C. season

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Brentford
1914–15 season
ChairmanH. Jason-Saunders
ManagerDusty Rhodes
StadiumGriffin Park
Southern League Second Division7th
FA CupFifth qualifying round
Top goalscorerLeague: White (7)
All: White (7)
Highest home attendance5,000
Lowest home attendance400

During the 1914–15 English football season, Brentford competed in the Southern League Second Division. The season began one month after Britain entered the First World War, which unsettled the squad as players left to undertake military or munitions duties. The Bees finished in mid-table in what would be the club's last season of competitive football until 1919–20.

Season summary

[edit]
Player-manager Dusty Rhodes stood down at the end of the season to serve in the Royal Army Pay Corps.[1]

Brentford's players were due to report back for pre-season training during the week beginning 3 August 1914, but those preparations were disrupted by Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 4 August.[2] Just two players had been signed, forwards Jack Curtis and Stephen Stonley.[2] As the season got underway, Brentford lost just two of the first 10 Southern League Second Division matches,[3] but by that point it had become obvious that the war would not be over by Christmas as predicted.[2] Beginning in mid-October 1914, the squad was decimated by departures to serve in the army (Kent, Sloley, Hendren, Amos), work in munitions at the Royal Arsenal (McGovern, Johnson, Stonley) or on transfers (J. Curtis, Spratt).[2][4] Reserves, guest players, free transfers and local amateurs were brought in to plug gaps in the squad, with full back Fred Price, half backs Mick O'Brien, Charles Allwright and forwards Michael Donaghy, Walter Chalk, F. Arnold and Charles Hibbert making up for the departures of the professionals in the second half of the season.[3] Amateur Walter Chalk would become something of a minor success, scoring six goals in 9 appearances.[3]

Notably, a 10–0 win over Abertillery on 28 November 1914 set a new club record, but the result was declared void two days later when Abertillery resigned from the Southern League.[2] Earlier wins over Leyton and Mardy were also chalked off when those clubs also left the league.[3] Brentford won just three of the final 15 matches of the season, with the one bright spot being the emergence of inside right Henry White.[3] Low attendances meant the Bees finished a mid-table season £7,000 in debt (equivalent to £708,500 in 2024) and 1914–15 would become the final season of competitive football until 1919–20, after the war ended in November 1918.[2]

Three former Brentford players died during the season:

League table

[edit]
Main article: 1914–15 Southern Football League § Division Two

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Promotion or qualification
5 Coventry City 24 13 2 9 56 33 1.697 28 Elected to the 1919–20 Football League Second Division after World War I
6 Ton Pentre 24 11 6 7 42 43 0.977 28
7 Brentford 24 8 7 9 35 45 0.778 23 Elected to 1919–20 SFL Division One after World War I
8 Llanelly 24 10 1 13 39 32 1.219 21
9 Barry 24 6 5 13 30 35 0.857 17
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976–77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.

Results

[edit]
Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

[edit]
Win Draw Loss

Southern League Second Division

[edit]
No. Date Opponent Venue Result Scorer(s)
1 5 September 1914 Coventry City H 3–1 Sloley, Stonley (2, 1 pen)
2 12 September 1914 Barry A 1–0 White
3 14 September 1914 Mid Rhondda A 0–0
4 26 September 1914 Ton Pentre A 0–0
5 13 October 1914 Stalybridge Celtic A 1–5 J. Curtis
6 31 October 1914 Ebbw Vale H 3–0 Sloley (3)
7 7 November 1914 Llanelly A 0–3
8 14 November 1914 Newport County H 1–0 Stonley (pen)
9 12 December 1914 Swansea Town H 2–0 Johnson, Hendren
10 25 December 1914 Stoke H 2–2 Stonley, Sloley
11 26 December 1914 Stoke A 0–3
12 2 January 1915 Coventry City A 2–3 Stonley, White
13 9 January 1915 Pontypridd A 0–1
14 16 January 1915 Barry H 0–0
15 30 January 1915 Ton Pentre H 3–3 Hibbert, White, F. Price
16 13 February 1915 Stalybridge Celtic H 1–3 Chalk
17 6 March 1915 Ebbw Vale A 4–1 Arnold (2), White, Chalk
18 13 March 1915 Llanelly H 2–2 Martin (og), Chalk
19 20 March 1915 Newport County A 0–5
20 27 March 1915 Mid Rhondda H 3–1 White, Chalk (2)
21 2 April 1915 Merthyr Town H 1–1 O'Brien
22 3 April 1915 Swansea Town A 0–8
23 5 April 1915 Merthyr Town A 0–3
24 10 April 1915 Pontypridd H 6–0 O'Brien (2), Chalk, White (2), Barclay

FA Cup

[edit]
Main article: 1914–15 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Scorer
QR4 21 November 1914 Nunhead A 1–0 Stonley
QR5 5 December 1914 Boscombe A 0–0
QR5 (replay) 9 December 1914 Boscombe H 0–1
  • Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[3]

Playing squad

[edit]
Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1914–15 season.
Pos. Name Nat. Date of birth (age) Signed from Signed in Notes
Goalkeepers
GK Ted Price England (1883-06-13)13 June 1883 (aged 31) Croydon Common 1912
Defenders
DF Frank Price England (1885-02-28)28 February 1885 (aged 29) Shepherds Bush 1914
DF Dusty Rhodes (c) England (1882-08-16)16 August 1882 (aged 32) Sunderland 1908 Manager
DF Bertie Rosier England (1893-03-21)21 March 1893 (aged 21) Southall 1913
Midfielders
HB Charles Allwright England (1888-06-11)11 June 1888 (aged 26) Kingston upon Thames 1914
HB Alf Amos England (1893-02-09)9 February 1893 (aged 21) Old Kingstonians 1913
HB Alec Barclay England (1885-11-01)1 November 1885 (aged 28) Ilford 1910 Amateur
HB Bobby Jackson England (1887-02-09)9 February 1887 (aged 27) Portsmouth 1913
HB Tom McGovern Ireland (1888-11-11)11 November 1888 (aged 25) Halifax Town 1913
HB Mick O'Brien Ireland (1893-08-10)10 August 1893 (aged 21) Celtic 1915
Forwards
FW Herbert Allwright England (1892-03-04)4 March 1892 (aged 23) Unattached 1915
FW F. Arnold England n/a West Kensington 1915
FW Walter Chalk England (1885-07-10)10 July 1885 (aged 29) Old Kingstonians 1915 Amateur
FW Jack Chapman England (1895-04-29)29 April 1895 (aged 19) Southall 1913 Amateur
FW George Curtis England (1888-10-22)22 October 1888 (aged 25) Kingston upon Thames 1914
FW Michael Donaghy England (1889-01-26)26 January 1889 (aged 25) Luton Town 1915
FW Patsy Hendren England (1889-02-05)5 February 1889 (aged 25) Queens Park Rangers 1911 Played when his cricket commitments allowed
FW Charles Hibbert England (1894-01-25)25 January 1894 (aged 20) Uxbridge 1914 Amateur
FW Tommy Kent England (1888-09-10)10 September 1888 (aged 25) Slough Town 1913 Amateur
FW Jack Land England (1883-03-31)31 March 1883 (aged 31) Hounslow 1910
FW Richard Sloley England (1891-08-20)20 August 1891 (aged 23) Cambridge University 1914 Amateur
FW Stephen Stonley England (1889-09-29)29 September 1889 (aged 24) Woolwich Arsenal 1914
FW Charles Symes England (1888-03-13)13 March 1888 (aged 26) South Tooting 1912
FW Henry White England (1895-08-08)8 August 1895 (aged 19) Whamcliffe Athletic 1913 Amateur
Players who left the club mid-season
DF Walter Spratt England (1889-04-14)14 April 1889 (aged 25) Rotherham Town 1911 Transferred to Manchester United
HB Joe Johnson England (1882-12-12)12 December 1882 (aged 31) Clapton Orient 1913 Transferred to Hartlepools United
FW Jack Curtis England (1888-12-13)13 December 1888 (aged 25) Fulham 1914 Transferred to Stockport County
Guest players
GK William Hughes England n/a Leyton 1915 Amateur, guest from Leyton
HB Harry Crane England (1890-09-25)25 September 1890 (aged 23) Woking 1915 Amateur, guest from Woking
FW Charles Bedell England (1880-05-17)17 May 1880 (aged 34) Tufnell Park 1915 Amateur, guest from Tufnell Park
FW Norman Carson England (1889-01-20)20 January 1889 (aged 25) Shepherd's Bush 1915 Amateur, guest from Shepherd's Bush
FW Richard Fraser England n/a Chelsea 1914 Guest from Chelsea
FW Percy Matthews England (1884-02-19)19 February 1884 (aged 30) Uxbridge 1914 Amateur, guest from Uxbridge
FW Cecil Salisbury England (1886-09-04)4 September 1886 (aged 28) Woking 1915 Amateur, guest from Woking
FW James Sangster England (1891-05-22)22 May 1891 (aged 23) Southall 1914 Amateur, guest from Southall
  • Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[3] Timeless Bees,[9] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939,[10] Bees Review[4]

Coaching staff

[edit]
Name Role
England Dusty Rhodes Manager
England Fred Halliday Secretary
England Tommy Spicer Trainer
England Michael Whitham Trainer

Statistics

[edit]

Appearances and goals

[edit]
Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Southern League season.
Pos Nat Name League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England Ted Price 22 0 3 0 25 0
DF England Frank Price 10 1 — 10 1
DF England Dusty Rhodes 22 0 2 0 24 0
DF England Bertie Rosier 1 0 0 0 1 0
DF England Walter Spratt 15 0 3 0 18 0
HB England Charles Allwright 5 0 — 5 0
HB England Alf Amos 23 0 3 0 26 0
HB England Alec Barclay 12 1 3 0 15 1
HB England Bobby Jackson 1 0 0 0 1 0
HB England Joe Johnson 11 1 2 0 13 1
HB England Jack Land 1 0 0 0 1 0
HB Ireland Tom McGovern 15 0 3 0 18 0
HB Ireland Mick O'Brien 9 3 — 9 3
FW England Herbert Allwright 2 0 — 2 0
FW England F. Arnold 7 2 — 7 2
FW England Walter Chalk 9 6 — 9 6
FW England Jack Chapman 2 0 0 0 2 0
FW England Jack Curtis 14 1 2 0 16 1
FW England Michael Donaghy 7 0 — 7 0
FW England Patsy Hendren 13 1 1 0 14 1
FW England Charles Hibbert 11 1 — 11 1
FW England Tommy Kent 4 0 1 0 5 0
FW England Richard Sloley 3 5 1 0 4 5
FW England Stephen Stonley 14 4 3 1 17 5
FW England Charles Symes 1 0 2 0 3 0
FW England Henry White 16 7 0 0 16 7
Players guested during the season
GK England William Hughes 2 0 — 2 0
HB England Harry Crane 1 0 — 1 0
FW England Charles Bedell 1 0 — 1 0
FW England Norman Carson 2 0 — 2 0
FW England George Curtis 1 0 — 1 0
FW England Richard Fraser 3 0 — 3 0
FW England Percy Matthews 3 0 — 3 0
FW England Cecil Salisbury 1 0 — 1 0
FW England James Sangster — 2 0 2 0
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: 100 Years of Brentford[3]

Goalscorers

[edit]
Pos. Nat Player SL2 FAC Total
FW England Henry White 7 0 7
FW England Walter Chalk 6 — 6
FW England Richard Sloley 5 0 5
FW England Stephen Stonley 4 1 5
HB Ireland Mick O'Brien 3 — 3
FW England F. Arnold 2 — 2
FW England Charles Hibbert 1 — 1
DF England Frank Price 1 — 1
HB England Alec Barclay 1 0 1
FW England Jack Curtis 1 0 1
FW England Patsy Hendren 1 0 1
HB England Joe Johnson 1 0 1
Opponents 1 0 1
Total 35 1 36
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: 100 Years of Brentford[3]

Management

[edit]
Name Nat From To Record All Comps Record League
P W D L W % P W D L W %
Dusty Rhodes England 5 September 1914 10 April 1915 27 9 8 10 033.33 24 8 7 9 033.33

Summary

[edit]
Games played 27 (24 Southern League Second Division, 3 FA Cup)
Games won 9 (8 Southern League Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Games drawn 8 (7 Southern League Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Games lost 10 (9 Southern League Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored 36 (35 Southern League Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Goals conceded 46 (45 Southern League Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Clean sheets 9 (8 Southern League Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Biggest league win 6–0 versus Pontypridd, 10 April 1915
Worst league defeat 8–0 versus Swansea Town, 3 April 1915
Most appearances 26, Alf Amos (23 Southern League Second Division, 3 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league) 7, Henry White
Top scorer (all competitions) 7, Henry White

Transfers & loans

[edit]
Guest players' arrival and departure dates correspond to their first and last appearances of the season.
Players transferred in
Date Pos. Name Previous Club Fee Ref.
6 June 1914 FW England Jack Curtis England Fulham n/a [4]
12 June 1914 FW England Stephen Stonley England Woolwich Arsenal n/a [4]
June 1914 FW England Cyril Northam n/a n/a [11]
July 1914 GK England Ed Martin Unattached Amateur [12]
August 1914 HB England Bert Gibson Unattached Amateur [13]
August 1914 DF England Oliver Payne Unattached Amateur [13]
August 1914 FW England Arthur White Unattached Amateur [13]
September 1914 HB England Jack Land England Hounslow n/a [14]
September 1914 FW England Charles Symes England South Tooting n/a [14]
24 October 1914 DF England Edward Hawkins England Portsmouth n/a [15]
October 1914 FW England Jack Chapman England Southall Amateur [16]
October 1914 FW England George Curtis England Kingston upon Thames Amateur [16]
28 November 1914 HB Ireland Mick O'Brien Scotland Celtic n/a [17]
November 1914 HB England Richard Jonas England Shepherd's Bush Amateur [17]
8 December 1914 FW England Charles Allwright England Kingston upon Thames Amateur [3]
December 1914 FW England Charles Hibbert England Uxbridge Amateur [3]
December 1914 DF England Frank Price England Shepherd's Bush Amateur [3]
1914 FW England Tommy Kent England Slough Town Amateur [4]
February 1915 FW England Walter Chalk England Old Kingstonians Amateur [3]
March 1915 FW England Herbert Allwright Unattached Amateur [3]
March 1915 FW England F. Arnold England West Kensington Amateur [3]
March 1915 FW England Michael Donaghy England Luton Town n/a [3]
1915 HB England Leonard Forrester England Millwall Amateur [18]
1915 FW England George Steers England Shepherd's Bush Amateur [18]
Players transferred out
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Fee Ref.
29 January 1915 FW England Jack Curtis England Stockport County n/a [4]
4 February 1915 DF England Walter Spratt England Manchester United £175 [4]
29 March 1915 HB England Joe Johnson England Hartlepools United n/a [15]
Guest players in
Date from Pos. Name Previous Club Date to Ref.
12 September 1914 FW England Percy Matthews England Uxbridge 13 October 1914 [3]
7 November 1914 FW England Richard Fraser England Chelsea 2 January 1915 [3]
31 October 1914 FW England James Sangster England Southall 9 December 1914 [3]
9 January 1915 FW England Charles Bedell England Tufnell Park 9 January 1915 [3]
16 January 1915 HB England Harry Crane England Woking 16 January 1915 [3]
16 January 1915 FW England Cecil Salisbury England Woking 16 January 1915 [3]
30 January 1915 FW England Norman Carson England Shepherd's Bush 13 February 1915 [3]
6 March 1915 GK England William Hughes England Leyton 13 March 1915 [3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 175.
  2. ^ a b c d e f White 1989, p. 104-106.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 363. ISBN 0951526200.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Bees Review: Brentford Official Matchday Programme vs Hull City. Milton Keynes: Regal Sports Press. 3 November 2015. pp. 61–67.
  5. ^ "Casualty Details: Harry Gould". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Brentford Remembers three more players that made the ultimate sacrifice". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  7. ^ "England Matches – The Amateurs 1906–1939". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  8. ^ "Casualty Details: George Albert Littler". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  9. ^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  10. ^ Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 190589161X.
  11. ^ The Southern Football League – Season 1914–15 – Players Registered or Transferred from June 1st to June 30th 1914. 1915.
  12. ^ The Southern Football League – Season 1914–15 – Players Registered or Transferred from July 1st to July 31st 1914. 1915.
  13. ^ a b c The Southern Football League – Season 1914–15 – Players Registered or Transferred from August 1st to August 31st 1914. 1915.
  14. ^ a b The Southern Football League – Season 1914–15 – Players Registered or Transferred from September 1st to September 30th 1914. 1915.
  15. ^ a b "The Football Association – Season 1914–15 – Summary Of Professional Registrations". Sky is Blue – The Chesterfield FC history resource. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  16. ^ a b The Southern Football League – Season 1914–15 – Players Registered or Transferred from October 1st to October 31st 1914. 1915.
  17. ^ a b The Southern Football League – Season 1914–15 – Players Registered or Transferred from November 1st to November 30th 1914. 1915.
  18. ^ a b The Southern Football League – Season 1914–15 – Players Registered or Transferred from January 1st to February 28th 1915. 1915.
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