1898–99 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1898–99 English football season, Brentford competed in the Southern League Second Division London. Though the season was largely viewed as a disappointment, the Bees finished in 4th place.

Brentford
1898–99 season
ChairmanBill Stephenson
StadiumCross Roads
Southern League Second Division London4th
FA CupThird qualifying round
London Senior CupFirst round
Middlesex Senior CupSecond round
West Middlesex CupSemi-final
Top goalscorerLeague: Booth,
Dailley, Ward (9)

All: Booth,
Dailley (12)

Season summary

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The 1898–99 season was half back Arthur Charlton's last with Brentford, after a career stretching back to 1892.

Brentford enjoyed a meteoric rise in London amateur football during a three-year period, going from playing only friendly and cup matches in 1895–96, to being promoted through the London League and elected into the Southern League for 1898–99 season.[1] The club paid for its success and a number of its better players were lured away during the off-season, with forwards Oakey Field and David Lloyd turning professional and signing for Sheffield United and Thames Ironworks respectively.[1] On the financial front, attendances had consistently improved year-on-year for the previous three seasons, but the leaseholder of the club's Shotter's Lane ground took the opportunity to increase the rent to an unacceptable amount.[1] The club, which had made a loss on the previous season, were forced to move out of Brentford to Cross Roads, an unsatisfactory patch of ground located near South Ealing tube station.[1] To compound the financial problems, while the club remained officially amateur, it was illegally forced to pay some of its new signings more than their travelling expenses to entice them to play.[1]

Despite the goals of Oakey Field's replacement C. Ward, Brentford had a modest start to life in the London section of the Southern League Second Division, but after the departure of Ward in early November 1898, wins over Southall and St Albans put the club top of the division late in the month.[1] The Bees subsequently fell away badly, taking just one point from a possible 10 over the next five matches.[2] After winning two cups during the previous season, the club experienced little joy in 1898–99, suffering early exits in the FA Cup, London Senior Cup, Middlesex Senior Cup and suffering a semi-final defeat to Harrow Athletic in the West Middlesex Cup.[2] The club entered the FA Amateur Cup for the only time, but withdrew after progressing to the second round.[3] Though the season was largely a disappointment, Brentford finished in a credible 4th place in the London section of the Southern League Second Division.[1]

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
2 Wolverton L&NWR 22 13 4 5 88 43 2.047 30
3 Watford 22 14 2 6 62 35 1.771 30
4 Brentford 22 11 3 8 59 39 1.513 25
5 Wycombe Wanderers 22 10 2 10 55 57 0.965 22
6 Southall 22 11 0 11 44 55 0.800 22
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.

Results

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Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Southern League Second Division London

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No. Date Opponent Venue Result Scorer(s)
1 10 September 1898 St Albans H 6–1 Ward (3), Booth, Dailley, Richardson
2 17 September 1898 Fulham A 4–1 Edney, Booth (2), Knapman
3 24 September 1898 Thames Ironworks A 1–3 Tranter (og)
4 8 October 1898 Watford H 2–4 Dailley (pen), Booth
5 15 October 1898 Wycombe Wanderers H 9–2 Knapman, Ward (5), Richardson, Dailley (2, 1 pen)
6 5 November 1898 Wolverton London & North Western Railway A 2–4 Dailley, Booth
7 12 November 1898 Southall A 3–0 Booth, Richardson, Ward
8 24 November 1898 St Albans A 5–4 McMillan, Dailley (2, 1 pen), Booth
9 3 December 1898 Uxbridge A 0–3
10 17 December 1898 Shepherds Bush H 1–1 Johnson
11 24 December 1898 Watford A 1–2 Evans
12 31 December 1898 Chesham A 1–2 Dailley
13 11 February 1899 Thames Ironworks H 0–2
14 18 February 1899 Maidenhead A 3–0 Walker, Booth, Robey (og)
15 25 February 1899 Fulham H 2–1 Evans, Johnson
16 4 March 1899 Wolverton London & North Western Railway H 3–3 Johnson, Knapman (2)
17 11 March 1899 Uxbridge H 0–1
18 18 March 1899 Shepherds Bush A 2–1 Walker, Dailley
19 1 April 1899 Chesham H 5–2 Knapman (2), Walker (pen), Westhead, Richardson
20 8 April 1899 Maidenhead H 6–0 Evans, Johnson (2), Walker, Richardson
21 15 April 1899 Southall H 2–1 Johnson (2)
22 22 April 1899 Wycombe Wanderers A 1–1 Turner

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Scorer(s)
3QR 29 October 1898 Clapton A 1–6 Dailley

London Senior Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Scorer(s)
1R 14 January 1899 London Caledonians H 1–6 Evans

Middlesex Senior Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Scorer(s)
1R 7 January 1899 Uxbridge H 7–0 Evans, Dailley (2, 1 pen), Booth, Knapman (2), Johnson
2R 4 February 1899 Barnet H 1–2 Johnson

West Middlesex Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Scorer(s) Notes
1R 21 January 1899 Civil Service H 4–3 Evans, Booth (2), Johnson
SF 18 March 1899 Harrow Athletic N 1–2 (a.e.t.) Johnson [nb 1]
  • Source: 100 Years of Brentford[2]

Playing squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   ENG Ben Brown
GK   SCO Frank Burton
GK   SCO Henry Gill
GK   ENG Charles Gillett
GK   ENG Harry Pennington
DF   ENG "Gosling"
DF   WAL Frank Lewis
DF   ENG Alfred Lugg
DF   ENG George Pollitt
DF   ENG Percy Swann
DF   SCO George Turner
DF   ENG Archie Williams
MF   SCO Arthur Charlton
MF   ENG George Haslen
MF   ENG Alfred Mattocks
MF   ENG William Mehew
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   ENG Billy Smith
MF   ENG W. Walker
MF   ENG William Westhead
FW   ENG Ernest Booth
FW   ENG J. Chambers
FW   ENG John Cotton
FW   ENG Richard Dailley
FW    Charlie Evans
FW   ENG W. Hancock
FW   ENG Frederick Johnson
FW   ENG Thomas Knapman
FW    J. McMillan
FW   WAL Trevor Owen
FW   ENG John Richardson
FW   SCO James Rough

Left club during season

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   ENG Herbert Edney (Retired)
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW    C. Ward
  • "Gosling" is an alias
  • Source: 100 Years of Brentford[2]

Statistics

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Gilett
Lugg (c)
Turner
Walker
Westhead
Mattocks
Knapman
Dailley
Evans
Booth
Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Southern League season.

Goalscorers

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Pos. Nat Player SL2 FAC LSC MSC WMC Total
FW   Ernest Booth 9 0 0 1 2 12
FW   Richard Dailley 9 1 0 2 0 12
FW   Frederick Johnson 7 0 0 2 2 11
FW n/a C. Ward 9 9
FW   Thomas Knapman 6 0 0 2 0 8
FW   John Richardson 6 0 0 0 0 6
FW n/a Charlie Evans 3 0 1 1 1 6
HB   W. Walker 4 0 0 0 0 4
HB   Herbert Edney 1 0 1
DF   George Turner 1 0 0 0 1
FW n/a J. McMillan 1 0 0 0 0 1
HB   William Westhead 1 0 0 0 0 1
Opponents 2 0 0 0 0 2
Total 59 1 1 8 5 74
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[2]

Management

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Name From To Record All Comps Record League
P W D L W % P W D L W %
Committee 10 September 1898 22 April 1899 28 13 3 12 046.43 22 11 3 8 050.00

Summary

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Games played 28 (22 Southern League Second Division London, 1 FA Cup, 1 London Senior Cup, 2 Middlesex Senior Cup, 2 West Middlesex Cup)
Games won 13 (11 Southern League Second Division London, 0 FA Cup, 0 London Senior Cup, 1 Middlesex Senior Cup, 1 West Middlesex Cup)
Games drawn 3 (3 Southern League Second Division London, 0 FA Cup, 0 London Senior Cup, 0 Middlesex Senior Cup, 0 West Middlesex Cup)
Games lost 12 (8 Southern League Second Division London, 1 FA Cup, 1 London Senior Cup, 1 Middlesex Senior Cup, 1 West Middlesex Cup)
Goals scored 74 (59 Southern League Second Division London, 1 FA Cup, 1 London Senior Cup, 8 Middlesex Senior Cup, 5 West Middlesex Cup)
Goals conceded 58 (39 Southern League Second Division London, 6 FA Cup, 6 London Senior Cup, 2 Middlesex Senior Cup, 5 West Middlesex Cup)
Clean sheets 4 (3 Southern League Second Division London, 0 FA Cup, 0 London Senior Cup, 1 Middlesex Senior Cup, 0 West Middlesex Cup)
Biggest league win 9–2 versus Wycombe Wanderers, 15 October 1898
Worst league defeat 3–0 versus Uxbridge, 3 December 1898
Most appearances 27, Richard Dailley (22 Southern League Second Division London, 1 FA Cup, 1 London Senior Cup, 2 Middlesex Senior Cup, 1 West Middlesex Cup)
Top scorer (league) 9, Ernest Booth, Richard Dailley, C. Ward
Top scorer (all competitions) 12, Ernest Booth, Richard Dailley

Notes

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  1. ^ Match played at Hanwell, London.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g White, p. 71-72.
  2. ^ a b c d e White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 355. ISBN 0951526200.
  3. ^ Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopaedia. Yore Publications. p. 47. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.