1965–66_Brentford_F.C._season

Brentford
1965–66 season
Chairman	Jack Dunnett
Manager	Tommy Cavanagh; (until 18 April 1966); Ian Black; (18 April–2 May 1966); Billy Gray; (from 2 May 1966)
Stadium	Griffin Park
Third Division	23rd (relegated)
FA Cup	Second round
League Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Lawther (10); All: Lawther (11)
Highest home attendance	15,000
Lowest home attendance	4,450
Average home league attendance	8,416
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1964–65 1966–67 →

1965–66 Brentford F.C. season

1965–66 season of Brentford F.C.

During the 1965–66 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division. After an awful first half of the season, Brentford dropped into the relegation places in January 1966 and failed to recover, ending the club's three-season spell in the Third Division.

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Season summary

The lack of incoming transfer activity during the 1965 off-season served to highlight the view at Griffin Park that Brentford's squad was strong enough to secure promotion to the Second Division during the 1965–66 season.^[1] The campaign began with a rousing 6–1 victory over local rivals Queens Park Rangers at Griffin Park, courtesy of goals from John Fielding, Joe Bonson, Ian Lawther and a Micky Block hat-trick.^[1] The win gave way to three defeats and a draw in the following four matches, but consecutive victories over Shrewsbury Town and Swansea Town in mid-September proved to be a false drawn.^[2] Brentford would win just one more league match before the end of 1965 and the team's plight was worsened by the departures of influential attackers Jimmy Bloomfield, Mark Lazarus and John Fielding after disputes with manager Tommy Cavanagh.^[1] Outside forward John Docherty was bought back from Sheffield United for his second spell at Griffin Park in December 1965,^[1] but Brentford began 1966 entrenched in the relegation places.^[2]

Misfiring forward Joe Bonson was sold in January 1966 and though manager Cavanagh was provided with the funds to purchase replacement forwards Brian Etheridge, John Regan and Bobby Ross,^[1] the new signings failed to help the team convert draws into all-important wins, with four matches being drawn in March.^[2] Three consecutive defeats in early April left the supporters clamouring for Cavanagh's head and despite a brief respite after a 2–0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion, a 5–0 defeat away to Exeter City on 16 April led chairman Jack Dunnett to dispense with Cavanagh's services.^[1] Youth team manager Ian Black won, drew and lost each of the following three matches in a caretaker capacity, before Billy Gray was appointed as manager.^[1]

Gray began his reign with Brentford in 23rd place and three points from safety with five matches remaining.^[3] A 3–0 home defeat to Mansfield Town in his first match in charge effectively ended all survival hopes after the gap to safety opened up to five points.^[4] A draw and a win versus Watford and Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic respectively in the following two matches put the Bees back within two points of safety,^[5] but defeats in the final two matches of the season sealed the club's relegation to the Fourth Division.^[2]

Three club records were set or equalled during the season:

Most away Football League games without a win: 21 (24 April 1965 – 16 April 1966)^[6]
Record home Football League defeat: 0–5 versus Bristol Rovers, 5 February 1966^[6]
First substitute to be utilised: Hugh McLaughlin (replaced Billy Cobb versus Oldham Athletic, Third Division, 23 October 1965)^[7]

Statistics

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[FOOTNOTEWhite1989260-262-1] [1]
White 1989, p. 260-262.

[StattoResults-2] [2]
"Brentford results for the 1965–1966 season". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2017.

[3] [3]
"11v11 league table generator". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 5 September 2019.

[4] [4]
"11v11 league table generator". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 5 September 2019.

[5] [5]
"11v11 league table generator". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 5 September 2019.

[StattoRecords-6] [6]
"Brentford scoring and sequence records". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2017.

[7] [7]
Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z of Bees : A Brentford Encyclopaedia. Harefield: Yore. p. 121. ISBN 1874427577. OCLC 39504068.

[White-8] [8]
White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 388. ISBN 0951526200.

[9] [9]
Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.

[FOOTNOTEHaynesCoumbe2006118-10] [10]
Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 118.

[FOOTNOTEHaynesCoumbe200642-11] [11]
Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 42.

[FOOTNOTEHaynesCoumbe200644-12] [12]
Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 44.

[FOOTNOTEHaynesCoumbe2006160-13] [13]
Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 160.

[FOOTNOTEHaynesCoumbe200649-14] [14]
Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 49.

[FOOTNOTEHaynesCoumbe200653-15] [15]
Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 53.

[FOOTNOTEHaynesCoumbe2006132-16] [16]
Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 132.

[FOOTNOTEHaynesCoumbe2006138-17] [17]
Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 138.

[18] [18]
"V, W, X, Y and Z". The Bristol Rovers History Group. Retrieved 18 March 2023.

[FOOTNOTEHaynesCoumbe200622-24-19] [19]
Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 22-24.

[20] [20]
"Seasonal Stats – 1965/66". QPRnet. Retrieved 9 May 2018.

[FOOTNOTEHaynesCoumbe200656-21] [21]
Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 56.

[22] [22]
"Joe Gadston". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 23 January 2017.

[FOOTNOTEHaynesCoumbe2006107-23] [23]
Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 107.

[24] [24]
"Busy Time Ahead For Brentford". The Brentford & Chiswick Times. 5 August 1966.

[FOOTNOTEHaynesCoumbe2006152-25] [25]
Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 152.

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Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Promotion or relegation
20	Oldham Athletic	46	12	13	21	55	81	0.679	37
21	Southend United	46	16	4	26	54	83	0.651	36	Relegated
22	Exeter City	46	12	11	23	53	79	0.671	35
23	Brentford	46	10	12	24	48	69	0.696	32
24	York City	46	9	9	28	53	106	0.500	27

No.	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1	21 August 1965	Queens Park Rangers	H	6–1	15,000	Fielding, (Block 3, 1 pen), Bonson, Lawther
2	24 August 1965	Grimsby Town	A	2–3	5,002	Block, Gelson
3	28 August 1965	Bristol Rovers	A	1–1	12,160	Cobb
4	4 September 1965	York City	H	0–1	10,850
5	11 September 1965	Oxford United	A	0–2	10,003
6	14 September 1965	Shrewsbury Town	H	4–0	10,950	Lazarus (2), Lawther, Cobb
7	18 September 1965	Swansea Town	H	2–0	10,300	Lawther, Block
8	25 September 1965	Walsall	A	1–1	8,384	Cobb
9	2 October 1965	Workington	H	0–1	8,700
10	6 October 1965	Shrewsbury Town	A	0–0	4,982
11	9 October 1965	Scunthorpe United	H	0–1	7,720
12	16 October 1965	Watford	A	1–1	12,337	Lawther
13	23 October 1965	Oldham Athletic	H	0–0	8,110
14	30 October 1965	Gillingham	A	0–1	8,669
15	6 November 1965	Millwall	H	1–2	14,800	Higginson
16	20 November 1965	Exeter City	H	1–2	5,940	Cobb
17	23 November 1965	Grimsby Town	H	3–2	5,180	Cobb, Thomson, Lawther
18	27 November 1965	Reading	A	0–2	6,128
19	11 December 1965	Mansfield Town	A	0–2	3,637
20	1 January 1966	Scunthorpe United	A	2–3	5,568	Block, Docherty
21	8 January 1966	Peterborough United	H	1–0	7,380	Lawther
22	15 January 1966	Oldham Athletic	A	1–1	12,029	Cobb
23	29 January 1966	Queens Park Rangers	A	0–1	14,493
24	5 February 1966	Bristol Rovers	H	0–5	6,240
25	12 February 1966	Swindon Town	A	1–2	12,376	Docherty
26	26 February 1966	Oxford United	H	5–1	7,100	Docherty, Cobb, Etheridge, Lawther (2)
27	1 March 1966	Southend United	H	2–0	9,000	Lawther, Curley
28	5 March 1966	Swindon Town	H	0–1	9,900
29	7 March 1966	Southend United	A	0–1	7,029
30	12 March 1966	Swansea Town	A	1–1	7,925	Regan
31	19 March 1966	Walsall	H	2–2	7,900	Regan, Docherty (pen)
32	26 March 1966	Workington	A	1–1	2,207	Docherty
33	28 March 1966	York City	A	1–1	2,598	Etheridge
34	2 April 1966	Millwall	A	0–1	13,385
35	8 April 1966	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	0–2	17,176
36	9 April 1966	Hull City	H	2–4	9,920	Lawther, Docherty
37	11 April 1966	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	2–0	7,670	Regan, Curley
38	16 April 1966	Exeter City	A	0–5	4,975
39	23 April 1966	Reading	H	1–1	7,800	Gelson
40	26 April 1966	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	H	1–0	5,790	Regan
41	30 April 1966	Hull City	A	1–4	24,318	Regan
42	7 May 1966	Mansfield Town	H	0–3	7,970
43	10 May 1966	Watford	H	1–1	5,580	Thomson
44	17 May 1966	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	H	1–0	5,130	Docherty
45	21 May 1966	Peterborough United	A	0–3	3,936
46	28 May 1966	Gillingham	H	0–2	4,450

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1R	13 November 1965	Yeovil Town	H	2–1	9,320	Fielding (2)
2R	4 December 1965	Reading	A	0–5	10,582

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
2R	22 November 1965	Workington	A	0–0	3,374
2R (replay)	30 November 1965	Workington	H	1–2	4,720	Lawther

Pos.	Name	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Chic Brodie	(1937-02-22)22 February 1937 (aged 28)	Northampton Town	1963
GK	Gordon Phillips	(1946-11-17)17 November 1946 (aged 18)	Hayes	1963
Defenders
DF	Peter Gelson	(1941-10-18)18 October 1941 (aged 23)	Youth	1961
DF	Alan Hawley	(1946-06-07)7 June 1946 (aged 19)	Youth	1962
DF	Allan Jones	(1940-01-06)6 January 1940 (aged 25)	Liverpool	1963
DF	Hamish MacKenzie	(1945-03-11)11 March 1945 (aged 20)	Dunfermline Athletic	1964
DF	George Thomson	(1936-10-19)19 October 1936 (aged 28)	Everton	1963
Midfielders
HB	Ron Crisp	(1938-09-24)24 September 1938 (aged 26)	Watford	1965
HB	Tommy Higginson	(1937-01-06)6 January 1937 (aged 28)	Kilmarnock	1959
HB	Hugh McLaughlin	(1943-09-02)2 September 1943 (aged 21)	St Roch's	1961
HB	Eddie Reeve	(1947-12-03)3 December 1947 (aged 17)	Youth	1964
HB	Mel Scott (c)	(1939-09-26)26 September 1939 (aged 25)	Chelsea	1963
HB	Willie Smith	(1943-12-06)6 December 1943 (aged 21)	Celtic	1963
Forwards
FW	Micky Block	(1940-01-28)28 January 1940 (aged 25)	Chelsea	1962
FW	Billy Cobb	(1940-09-29)29 September 1940 (aged 24)	Plymouth Argyle	1964
FW	Tom Curley	(1945-06-11)11 June 1945 (aged 20)	Celtic	1965
FW	John Docherty	(1940-04-29)29 April 1940 (aged 25)	Sheffield United	1966
FW	Brian Etheridge	(1944-03-04)4 March 1944 (aged 21)	Northampton Town	1966
FW	Ian Lawther	(1939-10-20)20 October 1939 (aged 25)	Scunthorpe United	1964
FW	John Regan	(1944-06-18)18 June 1944 (aged 21)	Shrewsbury Town	1966
FW	Bobby Ross	(1942-05-10)10 May 1942 (aged 23)	Shrewsbury Town	1966
FW	Barry Thornley	(1948-02-11)11 February 1948 (aged 17)	Gravesend & Northfleet	1965
Players who left the club mid-season
FW	Jimmy Bloomfield	(1934-02-15)15 February 1934 (aged 31)	Birmingham City	1964	Transferred to West Ham United
FW	Joe Bonson	(1936-06-09)9 June 1936 (aged 29)	Newport County	1964	Transferred to Lincoln City
FW	John Fielding	(1939-09-02)2 September 1939 (aged 25)	Southport	1963	Transferred to Grimsby Town
FW	Mark Lazarus	(1938-12-05)5 December 1938 (aged 26)	Queens Park Rangers	1964	Transferred to Queens Park Rangers

1965–66_Brentford_F.C._season

1965–66 Brentford F.C. season

Season summary

League table

Results

Legend

Football League Third Division

FA Cup

Football League Cup

Playing squad

Coaching staff

Tommy Cavanagh (21 August 1965 – 18 April 1966)

Ian Black (18 April – 2 May 1966)

Billy Gray (3–28 May 1966)

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Goalscorers

Management

Summary

Transfers & loans

References

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Name	Role
Tommy Cavanagh	Manager
Jimmy Sirrel	Trainer
Eddie Lyons	Physiotherapist

Name	Role
Ian Black	Caretaker Manager
Jimmy Sirrel	Trainer
Eddie Lyons	Physiotherapist

Name	Role
Billy Gray	Manager
Jimmy Sirrel	Trainer
Eddie Lyons	Physiotherapist

Pos	Nat	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
Pos	Nat	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		Chic Brodie	35	0	1	0	2	0	38	0
GK		Gordon Phillips	11	0	1	0	0	0	12	0
DF		Peter Gelson	34	2	2	0	0	0	36	2
DF		Allan Jones	44	0	2	0	2	0	48	0
DF		Alan Hawley	36	0	2	0	2	0	40	0
DF		Hamish MacKenzie	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
DF		George Thomson	44	2	1	0	2	0	47	2
HB		Ron Crisp	10 (1)	0	1	0	0	0	11 (1)	0
HB		Tommy Higginson	30	1	2	0	2	0	34	1
HB		Hugh McLaughlin	0 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0
HB		Eddie Reeve	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
HB		Mel Scott	38	0	1	0	2	0	41	0
HB		Willie Smith	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
FW		Micky Block	29	6	2	0	2	0	33	6
FW		Jimmy Bloomfield	2	0	—		0	0	2	0
FW		Joe Bonson	12	1	1	0	2	0	15	1
FW		Billy Cobb	27 (2)	7	2	0	2	0	31 (2)	7
FW		Tom Curley	14	2	0	0	0	0	14	2
FW		John Docherty	26	7	—		—		26	7
FW		Brian Etheridge	16	2	—		—		16	2
FW		John Fielding	9	1	2	2	0	0	11	3
FW		Ian Lawther	37	10	2	0	2	1	41	11
FW		Mark Lazarus	9	2	—		2	0	11	2
FW		John Regan	12	5	—		—		12	5
FW		Bobby Ross	17	0	—		—		17	0
FW		Barry Thornley	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0

Name	Nat	From	To	Record All Comps					Record League
Name	Nat	From	To	P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
Tommy Cavanagh		22 August 1964	16 April 1966	42	9	11	22	021.43	38	8	10	20	021.05
Ian Black (caretaker)		23 April 1966	30 April 1966	3	1	1	1	033.33	3	1	1	1	033.33
Billy Gray		7 May 1966	28 May 1966	5	1	1	3	020.00	5	1	1	3	020.00

Games played	50 (46 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)
Games won	11 (10 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Games drawn	13 (12 Third Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Games lost	26 (24 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals scored	51 (48 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals conceded	77 (69 Third Division, 6 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)
Clean sheets	10 (9 Third Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Biggest league win	6–1 versus Queens Park Rangers, 21 August 1965
Worst league defeat	5–0 on two occasions
Most appearances	48, Allan Jones (44 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)
Top scorer (league)	10, Ian Lawther
Top scorer (all competitions)	11, Ian Lawther