During the 1967–68 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Fourth Division. Weathering the storm of a severe financial crisis for the second successive season, the threadbare squad managed a mid-table finish.
The positive outcome of the events of 19 January 1967 meant that Brentford would stay in business long enough to compete in the 1967–68 Fourth Division season.[1] A syndicate headed by Ron Blindell had taken over the shares of former chairman Jack Dunnett and assumed control of the club, with Blindell as chairman.[2] With a £100,000 debt (equivalent to £2,292,600 in 2024) needing to be paid by 30 June 1968, drastic cost-cutting measures were enacted at Griffin Park.[2] Brentford's reserve and youth teams were scrapped and a mass clear-out of the squad led to just 16 professionals being retained.[2] Having been installed in the role full-time, manager Jimmy Sirrel was permitted to sign a small number of players, including Chelsea youth product Alan Nelmes and Charlton Athletic's inside forwardCliff Myers.[2]
Injuries to John Richardson and George Thomson prior to the opening match of the season left Brentford with just 15 fit players and a lack of personnel would be a running saga during the campaign.[2] Regular goals from John Docherty and Ian Lawther in the early months of the season helped Brentford tread water in mid-table and then slowly rise towards the promotion places, coming as high as 6th place by early December 1967.[3] Hopes of money-raising runs in the FA Cup and League Cup were extinguished with first round defeats in each competition, but chairman Blindell had revealed the positive news in November that the club was more or less breaking even.[2] 9 defeats and just one victory in a 12-match spell between December 1967 and February 1968 undid all the good early-season work and dropped the Bees back into mid-table.[3] Manager Sirrel was permitted to spend £12,000 on attackers Ron Fenton and Allan Mansley in January 1968, but was forced to sell Cliff Myers and top-scorer John Docherty to balance the books.[2]
By March 1968, spiralling debts and the "Brentford Borough" saga threatened the club's existence for the second time in a year.[2] With £70,000 of the £135,000 debt needed to be paid in June 1968, former director Walter Wheatley stepped in and provided the club with a £69,000 interest-fee loan, repayable in 12 months.[2] On the pitch, the team had experienced something of a revival, winning five matches and drawing two of a 9-match spell between late February and early April,[3] but the retirement of George Thomson and the departure of Eddie Reeve left manager Jimmy Sirrel with just 14 players with which to complete the season.[2] Brentford finished in 14th place and used just 18 outfield players during the course of the season.[2][4]
^ abBrentford Football Club Official Programme – Season 1967–68 – Football League Div. IV – Brentford v. Luton Town(PDF). Brentford: The Brentford Printing & Publishing Co. 17 February 1968. p. 6.
^Sands, George (24 May 1968). "End of a frustrating season. December–January slump kills Bees' chances of promotion". Middlesex Chronicle.
January 01, 1970
1967, brentford, season, during, 1967, english, football, season, brentford, competed, football, league, fourth, division, weathering, storm, severe, financial, crisis, second, successive, season, threadbare, squad, managed, table, finish, brentford1967, seaso. During the 1967 68 English football season Brentford competed in the Football League Fourth Division Weathering the storm of a severe financial crisis for the second successive season the threadbare squad managed a mid table finish Brentford1967 68 seasonChairmanRon BlindellManagerJimmy SirrelStadiumGriffin ParkFourth Division14thFA CupFirst roundLeague CupFirst roundTop goalscorerLeague Docherty Lawther 11 All Docherty 12 Highest home attendance9 440Lowest home attendance3 740Average home league attendance6 211Home colours 1966 671968 69 Contents 1 Season summary 2 League table 3 Results 3 1 Legend 3 2 Football League Fourth Division 3 3 FA Cup 3 4 Football League Cup 4 Playing squad 5 Coaching staff 6 Statistics 6 1 Appearances and goals 6 2 Goalscorers 6 3 Management 6 4 Summary 7 Transfers amp loans 8 Notes 9 ReferencesSeason summary editThe positive outcome of the events of 19 January 1967 meant that Brentford would stay in business long enough to compete in the 1967 68 Fourth Division season 1 A syndicate headed by Ron Blindell had taken over the shares of former chairman Jack Dunnett and assumed control of the club with Blindell as chairman 2 With a 100 000 debt equivalent to 2 292 600 in 2024 needing to be paid by 30 June 1968 drastic cost cutting measures were enacted at Griffin Park 2 Brentford s reserve and youth teams were scrapped and a mass clear out of the squad led to just 16 professionals being retained 2 Having been installed in the role full time manager Jimmy Sirrel was permitted to sign a small number of players including Chelsea youth product Alan Nelmes and Charlton Athletic s inside forward Cliff Myers 2 Injuries to John Richardson and George Thomson prior to the opening match of the season left Brentford with just 15 fit players and a lack of personnel would be a running saga during the campaign 2 Regular goals from John Docherty and Ian Lawther in the early months of the season helped Brentford tread water in mid table and then slowly rise towards the promotion places coming as high as 6th place by early December 1967 3 Hopes of money raising runs in the FA Cup and League Cup were extinguished with first round defeats in each competition but chairman Blindell had revealed the positive news in November that the club was more or less breaking even 2 9 defeats and just one victory in a 12 match spell between December 1967 and February 1968 undid all the good early season work and dropped the Bees back into mid table 3 Manager Sirrel was permitted to spend 12 000 on attackers Ron Fenton and Allan Mansley in January 1968 but was forced to sell Cliff Myers and top scorer John Docherty to balance the books 2 By March 1968 spiralling debts and the Brentford Borough saga threatened the club s existence for the second time in a year 2 With 70 000 of the 135 000 debt needed to be paid in June 1968 former director Walter Wheatley stepped in and provided the club with a 69 000 interest fee loan repayable in 12 months 2 On the pitch the team had experienced something of a revival winning five matches and drawing two of a 9 match spell between late February and early April 3 but the retirement of George Thomson and the departure of Eddie Reeve left manager Jimmy Sirrel with just 14 players with which to complete the season 2 Brentford finished in 14th place and used just 18 outfield players during the course of the season 2 4 League table editMain article 1967 68 Football League Fourth Division Pos Teamvte Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts 12 Newport County 46 16 13 17 58 63 0 921 45 13 Lincoln City 46 17 9 20 71 68 1 044 43 14 Brentford 46 18 7 21 61 64 0 953 43 15 Swansea Town 46 16 10 20 63 77 0 818 42 16 Darlington 46 12 17 17 47 53 0 887 41Source rsssf comRules for classification 1 points 2 goal average 3 number of goals scored Results editBrentford s goal tally listed first Legend edit Win Draw Loss Football League Fourth Division edit No Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer s 1 19 August 1967 Hartlepools United A 0 2 5 343 2 26 August 1967 Newport County H 3 1 4 500 Docherty Lawther Dobson 3 2 September 1967 York City A 1 0 4 529 Docherty 4 5 September 1967 Swansea Town A 1 2 6 559 Docherty pen 5 9 September 1967 Rochdale H 4 0 5 630 Ross Docherty Lawther Melledew og 6 16 September 1967 Halifax Town H 0 0 6 890 7 23 September 1967 Bradford Park Avenue A 0 1 3 403 8 26 September 1967 Swansea Town H 2 1 7 570 Lawther Docherty 9 30 September 1967 Doncaster Rovers H 4 2 7 300 Lawther Edwards Jones Thomson 10 2 October 1967 Wrexham A 2 1 8 000 Smith og Docherty 11 7 October 1967 Crewe Alexandra A 0 2 6 246 12 14 October 1967 Notts County H 2 1 7 430 Edwards Lawther 13 21 October 1967 Port Vale A 1 4 5 944 Higginson 14 24 October 1967 Wrexham H 0 0 7 960 15 28 October 1967 Chester H 3 1 6 290 Hooker Thomson Hawley 16 4 November 1967 Chesterfield A 1 2 9 644 Higginson 17 11 November 1967 Exeter City H 5 1 7 215 Lawther 2 Ross Wilkinson og Docherty 18 14 November 1967 York City H 3 1 7 910 Lawther Gelson Dobson 19 18 November 1967 Darlington A 3 2 4 789 Gelson Dobson Albeson og 20 25 November 1967 Aldershot H 1 1 9 440 Docherty 21 2 December 1967 Workington A 0 2 1 764 22 16 December 1967 Hartlepools United H 0 1 6 200 23 23 December 1967 Newport County A 2 2 2 700 Docherty 2 24 26 December 1967 Southend United H 1 2 8 360 Richardson 25 30 December 1967 Southend United A 0 1 9 059 26 6 January 1968 Barnsley H 0 1 5 180 27 20 January 1968 Halifax Town A 0 3 4 610 28 27 January 1968 Bradford City H 0 1 5 550 29 3 February 1968 Bradford Park Avenue H 2 1 4 310 Dobson Fenton 30 10 February 1968 Doncaster Rovers A 0 2 7 183 31 17 February 1968 Luton Town H 0 2 7 710 32 24 February 1968 Darlington H 2 0 4 155 Lawther 2 33 2 March 1968 Notts County A 1 2 4 486 Nelmes 34 9 March 1968 Bradford City A 3 2 7 118 Fenton 2 Gelson pen 35 16 March 1968 Port Vale H 3 1 4 700 Fenton Hawley Mansley 36 18 March 1968 Rochdale A 1 1 1 722 Cockcroft og 37 23 March 1968 Chester A 0 3 2 861 38 30 March 1968 Chesterfield H 1 1 3 845 Lawther 39 6 April 1968 Exeter City A 3 0 3 900 Higginson Fenton 2 40 13 April 1968 Crewe Alexandra H 2 1 5 390 Mansley 2 41 15 April 1968 Barnsley A 0 3 12 174 42 20 April 1968 Aldershot A 0 0 5 183 43 23 April 1968 Lincoln City H 1 3 4 890 Gelson pen 44 27 April 1968 Workington H 2 1 3 740 Mansley Gelson 45 4 May 1968 Lincoln City A 0 1 8 701 46 11 May 1968 Luton Town A 1 2 14 643 Moore og FA Cup edit Main article 1967 68 FA Cup Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer s Notes 1R 13 December 1967 Guildford City H 2 2 6 725 Docherty Myers nb 1 1R replay 18 December 1967 Guildford City A 1 2 10 050 Myers nb 1 Football League Cup edit Main article 1967 68 Football League Cup Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance 1R 23 August 1967 Southend United A 0 1 7 905 Sources 100 Years Of Brentford 5 StattoPlaying squad editPlayers ages are as of the opening day of the 1967 68 season Pos Name Nat Date of birth age Signed from Signed in Notes Goalkeepers GK Chic Brodie nbsp 1937 02 22 22 February 1937 aged 30 Northampton Town 1963 GK Gordon Phillips nbsp 1946 11 17 17 November 1946 aged 20 Hayes 1963 Defenders DF Peter Gelson c nbsp 1941 10 18 18 October 1941 aged 25 Youth 1961 DF Alan Hawley nbsp 1946 06 07 7 June 1946 aged 21 Youth 1962 DF Tommy Higginson nbsp 1937 01 06 6 January 1937 aged 30 Kilmarnock 1959 DF Allan Jones nbsp 1940 01 06 6 January 1940 aged 27 Liverpool 1963 DF Alan Nelmes nbsp 1948 10 20 20 October 1948 aged 18 Chelsea 1967 Midfielders MF George Dobson nbsp 1949 08 24 24 August 1949 aged 17 Youth 1966 MF Allan Mansley nbsp 1946 08 31 31 August 1946 aged 20 Blackpool 1968 MF John Richardson nbsp 1949 02 05 5 February 1949 aged 18 Millwall 1966 MF Bobby Ross nbsp 1942 05 10 10 May 1942 aged 25 Shrewsbury Town 1966 MF George Thomson nbsp 1936 10 19 19 October 1936 aged 30 Everton 1963 Forwards FW Ron Fenton nbsp 1940 09 21 21 September 1940 aged 26 Birmingham City 1968 FW Keith Hooker nbsp 1950 01 31 31 January 1950 aged 17 Youth 1965 FW Ian Lawther nbsp 1939 10 20 20 October 1939 aged 27 Scunthorpe United 1964 Players who left the club mid season MF John Docherty nbsp 1940 04 29 29 April 1940 aged 27 Sheffield United 1966 Transferred to Reading MF Cliff Myers nbsp 1946 09 23 23 September 1946 aged 20 Charlton Athletic 1967 Transferred to Yeovil Town FW Dennis Edwards nbsp 1937 01 19 19 January 1937 aged 30 Portsmouth 1967 Returned to Portsmouth after loan FW Eddie Reeve nbsp 1947 12 03 3 December 1947 aged 19 Youth 1964 Loaned to Lincoln City released FW Ron Still nbsp 1943 06 20 20 June 1943 aged 24 Notts County 1967 Released Sources 100 Years Of Brentford 5 Timeless Bees 6 Coaching staff editName Role nbsp Jimmy Sirrel Manager nbsp Eddie Lyons PhysiotherapistStatistics editAppearances and goals edit Substitute appearances in brackets Pos Nat Name League FA Cup League Cup Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals GK nbsp Chic Brodie 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 GK nbsp Gordon Phillips 45 0 2 0 1 0 48 0 DF nbsp Peter Gelson 43 5 2 0 1 0 46 5 DF nbsp Alan Hawley 46 2 2 0 1 0 49 2 DF nbsp Tommy Higginson 41 1 3 2 0 1 0 44 1 3 DF nbsp Allan Jones 42 1 1 2 0 1 0 45 1 1 DF nbsp Alan Nelmes 24 1 2 0 0 1 0 26 1 1 MF nbsp George Dobson 36 3 0 0 1 0 37 3 MF nbsp John Docherty 28 11 2 1 1 0 31 12 MF nbsp Allan Mansley 19 4 19 4 MF nbsp Cliff Myers 9 1 0 1 1 2 1 0 11 2 2 MF nbsp John Richardson 20 1 1 1 0 0 0 21 1 1 MF nbsp Bobby Ross 39 2 2 2 0 1 0 42 2 2 MF nbsp George Thomson 29 2 2 0 0 0 31 2 FW nbsp Ron Fenton 19 6 19 6 FW nbsp Keith Hooker 16 5 1 1 0 1 0 18 5 1 FW nbsp Ian Lawther 40 11 1 0 1 0 42 11 FW nbsp Eddie Reeve 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 FW nbsp Ron Still 1 0 1 0 Players loaned in during the season FW nbsp Dennis Edwards 11 2 11 2 Players listed in italics left the club mid season Source 100 Years Of Brentford 5 Goalscorers edit Pos Nat Player FL4 FAC FLC Total MF nbsp John Docherty 11 1 0 12 FW nbsp Ian Lawther 11 0 0 11 FW nbsp Ron Fenton 6 6 DF nbsp Peter Gelson 5 0 0 5 MF nbsp Allan Mansley 4 4 MF nbsp George Dobson 3 0 0 3 DF nbsp Tommy Higginson 3 0 0 3 FW nbsp Dennis Edwards 2 2 DF nbsp Alan Hawley 2 0 0 2 MF nbsp Bobby Ross 2 0 0 2 MF nbsp George Thomson 2 0 0 2 MF nbsp Cliff Myers 0 2 0 2 FW nbsp Keith Hooker 1 0 0 1 DF nbsp Allan Jones 1 0 0 1 DF nbsp Alan Nelmes 1 0 0 1 MF nbsp John Richardson 1 0 0 1 Opponents 6 0 0 6 Total 61 3 0 64 Players listed in italics left the club mid season Source 100 Years Of Brentford 5 Management edit Name Nat From To Record All Comps Record League P W D L W P W D L W Jimmy Sirrel nbsp 19 August 1967 11 May 1968 49 18 8 23 0 36 73 46 18 7 21 0 39 13 Summary edit Games played 49 46 Fourth Division 2 FA Cup 1 League Cup Games won 18 18 Fourth Division 0 FA Cup 0 League Cup Games drawn 8 7 Fourth Division 1 FA Cup 0 League Cup Games lost 23 21 Fourth Division 1 FA Cup 1 League Cup Goals scored 64 61 Fourth Division 3 FA Cup 0 League Cup Goals conceded 69 64 Fourth Division 4 FA Cup 1 League Cup Clean sheets 7 7 Fourth Division 0 FA Cup 0 League Cup Biggest league win 4 0 versus Rochdale 9 September 1967 5 1 versus Exeter City 11 November 1967 Worst league defeat 3 0 on three occasions 4 1 versus Port Vale 21 October 1967 Most appearances 49 Alan Hawley 46 Fourth Division 2 FA Cup 1 League Cup Top scorer league 11 John Docherty Ian Lawther Top scorer all competitions 12 John DochertyTransfers amp loans editPlayers transferred in Date Pos Name Previous Club Fee Ref June 1967 MF nbsp Cliff Myers nbsp Charlton Athletic n a 7 July 1967 DF nbsp Alan Nelmes nbsp Chelsea n a 7 July 1967 FW nbsp Ron Still nbsp Notts County Trial 8 August 1967 MF nbsp Geoff Anderson nbsp Lincoln City n a 9 January 1968 FW nbsp Ron Fenton nbsp Birmingham City n a 10 January 1968 MF nbsp Allan Mansley nbsp Blackpool n a 11 February 1968 FW nbsp Dave Boothman nbsp Hampton Amateur 12 February 1968 GK nbsp John Maskell nbsp Wycombe Wanderers Amateur 12 Players loaned in Date from Pos Name From Date to Ref September 1967 FW nbsp Dennis Edwards nbsp Portsmouth December 1967 13 Players transferred out Date Pos Name Subsequent club Fee Ref November 1967 MF nbsp Geoff Anderson nbsp Port Vale n a 9 February 1968 MF nbsp John Docherty nbsp Reading n a 14 1968 MF nbsp Cliff Myers nbsp Yeovil Town n a 7 Players loaned out Date from Pos Name To Date to Ref n a FW nbsp Eddie Reeve nbsp Lincoln City n a 15 Players released Date Pos Name Subsequent club Join date Ref August 1967 FW nbsp Ron Still nbsp Margate 1967 8 March 1968 FW nbsp Eddie Reeve nbsp Los Angeles Wolves March 1968 15 May 1968 MF nbsp George Thomson Retired 16 Notes edit a b Both teams wore change colours References edit White 1989 p 262 266 a b c d e f g h i j k White 1989 p 266 270 a b c Brentford results for the 1967 1968 season Statto com Archived from the original on 29 August 2016 Retrieved 26 January 2017 Brentford League Table 1967 1968 Statto com Archived from the original on 24 March 2016 Retrieved 26 January 2017 a b c d White Eric ed 1989 100 Years Of Brentford Brentford FC p 389 ISBN 0951526200 Haynes Graham Coumbe Frank 2006 Timeless Bees Brentford F C Who s Who 1920 2006 Yore Publications ISBN 978 0955294914 a b c Haynes amp Coumbe 2006 p 114 115 a b Haynes amp Coumbe 2006 p 155 a b Geoff Anderson Barry Hugman s Footballers Retrieved 26 January 2017 Haynes amp Coumbe 2006 p 55 Haynes amp Coumbe 2006 p 100 a b Brentford Football Club Official Programme Season 1967 68 Football League Div IV Brentford v Luton Town PDF Brentford The Brentford Printing amp Publishing Co 17 February 1968 p 6 Haynes amp Coumbe 2006 p 52 53 Haynes amp Coumbe 2006 p 49 a b Haynes amp Coumbe 2006 p 132 Sands George 24 May 1968 End of a frustrating season December January slump kills Bees chances of promotion Middlesex Chronicle Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1967 68 Brentford F C season amp oldid 1047890270, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
