Brentford F.C.

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Brentford
Brentford FC logo.svg
Full name Brentford Football Club
Nickname(s) The Bees, The Reds
Founded 10 October 1889; 134 years ago (1889-10-10)
Ground Griffin Park
Ground Capacity 12,300
Owner Matthew Benham
Chairman Cliff Crown
Manager Dean Smith
League Championship
2015–16 Championship, 9th
Website Club home page
Current season

Brentford Football Club is a professional association football club based in Brentford, Greater London, England. The team play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. It was founded on 10 October 1889 and plays its home games at Griffin Park, its home stadium since 1904, after a nomadic existence playing at five previous grounds. Brentford's most successful spell came during the 1930s, when it achieved consecutive top six finishes in the First Division. Brentford has been FA Cup quarter-finalists on four occasions, and has three times been Football League Trophy runners-up.

History

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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 they were a founder member of the Football League Third Division. In 1921–22, the Football League Third Division was regionalised and Brentford FC were 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.

1945–1989

League positions of Brentford since the 1920–21 season of the Football League.

During the war, Brentford competed in the London War Cup, losing in the 1941 final at Wembley Stadium to Reading and winning in the final against Portsmouth a year later. 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 team to play all of the other 91 clubs in league football.[1]

The survival of Brentford FC was threatened by a projected takeover by Queens Park Rangers in the late 1960s – 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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]

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,[5] 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.[6] 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).[7][8][9][10][11] A new CEO was appointed in March 2010, Andrew Mills.[12]

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.[13]

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 were 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.

Grounds

Griffin Park

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Main article: Griffin Park

Brentford FC have played at Griffin Park since September 1904.[citation needed] The ground is unique in British football, in that there is a pub on each corner: The Royal Oak; 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 from then on Griffin Park has three pubs on three of its four corners.[citation needed]

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 season of the 2007/08 season, on Saturday 11 August 2007, against Mansfield Town, and 4,909 watched the game.[citation needed]

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, in the west side, is used specifically as the away supporters stand, and is sometimes called the Wendy House.[citation needed]

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

Lionel Road

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Main article: Brentford Community Stadium

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.[14]

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.[15] 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.[citation needed]

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.[16]

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.

Current squad

First-team squad

As of 9 May 2016

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

No. Position Player
2 France DF Maxime Colin
3 England DF Jake Bidwell (captain)
4 Scotland MF Lewis Macleod
5 Denmark DF Andreas Bjelland
6 England DF Harlee Dean (vice-captain)
7 England MF Sam Saunders
9 Republic of Ireland FW Scott Hogan
10 England MF Josh McEachran
11 Germany FW Philipp Hofmann
12 Republic of Ireland MF Alan McCormack
15 England MF Ryan Woods
No. Position Player
16 Republic of Ireland GK Jack Bonham
17 Austria MF Konstantin Kerschbaumer
18 Republic of Ireland MF Alan Judge
21 Denmark FW Lasse Vibe
22 England DF Jack O'Connell
24 Germany MF Akaki Gogia
27 England GK David Button
28 England DF Nico Yennaris
29 France DF Yoann Barbet
36 England DF Josh Clarke

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player
23 Spain MF Jota (at SD Eibar until June 2017)

Development squad

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

No. Position Player
32 England DF Chris Mepham
37 England FW Courtney Senior
38 England MF James Ferry
39 Republic of Ireland DF Tom Field
40 England MF Reece Cole
— England DF Nathan Fox
No. Position Player
— England DF Emmanuel Onariase
— Portugal MF Herson Rodrigues Alves
— Germany MF Jan Holldack
— England MF Zain Westbrooke
— England FW Bradley Clayton
— England FW Seika Jatta

Academy squad

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Coaching staff

As of 23 May 2016[17]
Role
England Phil Giles Co-Director of Football
Denmark Rasmus Ankersen Co-Director of Football
Scotland Robert Rowan Head of Football Operations
England Dean Smith Head Coach
England Richard O'Kelly Assistant Head Coach
Poland Bartek Sylwestrzak Technical Coach
England Tom Bates Technical Coach
England Simon Royce Goalkeeping Coach
Denmark Flemming Pedersen Development Squad Head Coach
Republic of Ireland Kevin O'Connor Development Squad Assistant Coach
England Jon de Souza Youth Team Manager
England Anthony Hayes Assistant Youth Team Manager
England Luke Stopforth Head of Performance Analysis
England Daryl Martin Physiotherapist
England Richard Clarke Physiotherapist
England Chris Haslam Head of Athletic Performance
Wales Tom Perryman Conditioning Coach
England James Purdue Conditioning Coach
England Neil Greig Head of Medical
England Bob Oteng Kit Logistics Manager

Managers

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Main article: List of Brentford F.C. managers

As of 9 May 2016. Only competitive matches are counted.

Name Nat From To Record
P W D L Win %
William Lewis England August 1900 May 1903
Dick Molyneux England August 1903 May 1906
W G Brown England August 1906 January 1908
George Parsonage England February 1908 May 1908
Fred Halliday England June 1908 May 1912
Ephraim Rhodes England August 1912 May 1915
Fred Halliday England August 1915 August 1921 43 9 12 22 21
Archie Mitchell England August 1921 December 1924 60 22 13 25 37
Fred Halliday England December 1924 May 1926 68 22 12 34 32
Harry Curtis England May 1926 February 1949 705 305 157 243 43
Jackie Gibbons England February 1949 August 1952 150 53 40 57 35
Jimmy Bain Scotland August 1952 January 1953 23 7 5 11 30
Tommy Lawton England January 1953 September 1953 33 8 10 15 24
Bill Dodgin, Sr. England October 1953 May 1957 182 65 57 60 36
Malky McDonald Scotland May 1957 January 1965 379 160 94 125 42
Tommy Cavanagh England January 1965 March 1966 46 16 10 20 35
Billy Gray England 1 August 1966 30 August 1967 48 19 13 16 40
Jimmy Sirrel England 1 September 1967 30 November 1969 111 45 26 40 41
Frank Blunstone England 1 December 1969 11 July 1973 164 67 35 62 41
Mike Everitt England 1 September 1973 15 January 1975 70 21 22 27 30
John Docherty Scotland 20 January 1975 7 September 1976 69 23 20 26 33
Bill Dodgin, Jr. England 16 September 1976 1 March 1980 166 71 35 60 43
Fred Callaghan England 1 March 1980 2 February 1984 176 59 52 65 32
Frank Blunstone[lower-alpha2 1] England 2 February 1984 9 February 1984 1 0 0 1 0
Frank McLintock Scotland 9 February 1984 1 January 1987 151 51 43 57 34
Steve Perryman England 1 January 1987 15 August 1990 182 71 48 63 39
Phil Holder England 24 August 1990 11 May 1993 158 66 33 59 41
David Webb England 17 May 1993 4 August 1997 216 85 65 66 39
Eddie May England 5 August 1997 5 November 1997 20 5 5 10 25
Micky Adams England 5 November 1997 1 July 1998 33 7 15 11 21
Ron Noades England 1 July 1998 20 November 2000 130 51 33 46 39
Ray Lewington England 20 November 2000 7 May 2001 37 14 11 12 38
Steve Coppell England 8 May 2001 5 June 2002 54 27 12 15 50
Wally Downes England 28 June 2002 14 March 2004 97 29 22 46 30
Garry Thompson[lower-alpha2 1] England 14 March 2004 18 March 2004 1 0 1 0 0
Martin Allen England 18 March 2004 31 May 2006 124 54 36 34 44
Leroy Rosenior England 14 June 2006 18 November 2006 23 3 10 10 13
Scott Fitzgerald[lower-alpha2 2] Republic of Ireland 18 November 2006 10 April 2007 24 4 5 15 17
Barry Quin[lower-alpha2 1] England 10 April 2007 7 May 2007 4 1 0 3 25
Terry Butcher England 7 May 2007 11 December 2007 23 5 5 13 22
Andy Scott[lower-alpha2 2] England 11 December 2007 3 February 2011 168 64 55 49 38
Nicky Forster[lower-alpha2 2] England 3 February 2011 7 May 2011 21 9 5 7 43
Uwe Rösler Germany 10 June 2011 7 December 2013 137 60 40 37 44
Alan Kernaghan[lower-alpha2 1] Republic of Ireland 7 December 2013 9 December 2013 1 0 0 1 0
Mark Warburton England 10 December 2013 31 May 2015 78 40 16 22 51.28
Marinus Dijkhuizen Netherlands 1 June 2015 28 September 2015 9 2 2 5 22.22
Lee Carsley Republic of Ireland 28 September 2015 30 November 2015 10 5 2 3 50
Dean Smith England 1 December 2015 "Present" 30 12 5 13 40
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Served as caretaker manager.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Initially as caretaker manager.

Players with most appearances

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Main article: List of Brentford F.C. players

As of 19 November 2015

Name Appearances in League and Cup Career at Brentford
England Ken Coote 559 (514 lge 35 FAC 10 LC) 1949–1964
England Jamie Bates 524 (419 lge 21 FAC 40 LC 44 Other) 1986–1999
England Peter Gelson 516 (471 lge 28 FAC 17 LC) 1960–1975
Republic of Ireland Kevin O'Connor 501 (420 lge 31 FAC 20 LC 30 other) 2000–2015
Scotland Tommy Higginson 435 (388 lge 27 FAC 20 LC) 1959–1970
Scotland Jackie Graham 409 (374 lge 21 FAC 14 LC) 1970–1980
England Keith Millen 379 (305 lge 18 FAC 26 LC 30 other) 1984–1994
England Gerry Cakebread 374 (348 lge 20 FAC 6 LC) 1955–1964
England Danis Salman 371 (325 lge 17 FAC 19 LC 10 other) 1975–1986
England Alan Nelmes 350 (316 lge 19 FAC 15 LC) 1967–1976

Highest goalscorers

As of 19 November 2015

Name Goal Scorers in League and Cup Career at Brentford
England Jim Towers 163 (153 lge 9 FAC 1 LC) 1951–1961
England George Francis 136 (124 lge 12 FAC) 1953–1962
England Jack Holliday 122 (119 lge 3 FAC) 1932–1939
England Gary Blissett 105 (79 lge 7 FAC 9 LC 10 other) 1987–1993
Scotland Dave McCulloch 90 (85 lge 5 FAC) 1935–1938
England Bill Lane 89 (79 lge 10 FAC) 1929–1932
Ghana Lloyd Owusu 87 (76 lge 4 FAC 3 LC 4 other) 1998–2002; 2005–2007
England Billy Scott 86 (83 lge 3 FAC) 1932–1947
England Jack Lane 86 (74 lge 12 FAC) 1925–1931
Wales Idris Hopkins 80 (77 lge 3 FAC) 1932–1947

Hall of Fame

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

Capped international players

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Main article: List of Brentford F.C. 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):

Full International

U21 International

Under 20 International

Youth International

Schoolboy International

England

B International

England

Amateur Internationals

England

Ireland

Wales

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

England

Wartime International (Matches played from 1939–1945)

Representative International

Great Britain

Honours

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Main article: List of Brentford F.C. seasons

Champions

  1. ↑ Received silverware

Cup winners

Best performances

Leagues

Cups

Awards

Rivalry

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Main article: West London derby

Brentford's main rivals are Fulham and Queens Park Rangers.[46]

Brentford have a long-standing rivalry with Fulham.[47] In the past this fixture has been marred by crowd violence.[48]

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.[49]

Nickname

Brentford's nickname is The Bees.[50] 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.[51]

Celebrity connections

Actor and comedian, Bradley Walsh was a professional at the club in the late 1970s but never made the first team squad.[52]

Records

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Main article: List of Brentford F.C. records and statistics

National

Club

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[64]
  • Most appearances (league): Ken Coote, 514, 1949–1963[65]
  • Most appearances (all competitions): Ken Coote, 559, 1949–1963[66]
  • Youngest (all competitions): Paul Walker, 15 years, 7 months, 28 days (vs Watford, League Cup first round, August 1976)[67]
  • Youngest (league): Danis Salman, 15 years, 8 months, 3 days (vs Watford, Fourth Division, November 1975)[67]
  • Oldest (all competitions): Jimmy Hodson, 40 years, 8 months, 2 days (vs Plymouth Argyle, Third Division, 7 May 1921)[68]

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.[69]

Affiliated clubs

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.[75] 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, were 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,[76] 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.[75] 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.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Harvey, Geoff & Strowger, Vanessa, Rivals: The Off-Beat Guide to the 92 League Clubs, Aesculus Press Ltd, 2004
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ [1][dead link]
  26. ↑ [2][dead link]
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 164.
  29. ↑ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 70.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 30.5 30.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 75.
  35. ↑ Haynes & Coumbe 2007, p. 98.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Haynes 1998, p. 119.
  40. ↑ Haynes 1998, p. 46.
  41. ↑ Haynes 1998, p. 119-120.
  42. ↑ Haynes 1998, p. 51.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 53.2 53.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 55.2 55.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  59. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 Haynes 1998, p. 14.
  61. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  62. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  63. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  64. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  65. ↑ Haynes 1998, p. 37.
  66. ↑ Haynes 1998, p. 11.
  67. ↑ 67.0 67.1 Haynes 1998, p. 138-139.
  68. ↑ Haynes 1998, p. 99-100.
  69. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  70. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  71. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  72. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  73. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  74. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  75. ↑ 75.0 75.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  76. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

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