1952–53 Brentford F.C. season
During the 1952–53 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Second Division. A forgettable season, during which Tommy Lawton was appointed as the club's player-manager, ended with a 17th-place finish.
Season summary
Brentford's 1952–53 pre-season preparations were thrown into disarray by the departure of secretary-manager Jackie Gibbons in August 1952. In his letter of resignation, Gibbons wrote of having failed to see "eye to eye" with the Brentford board. Long-serving assistant manager Jimmy Bain took over as caretaker until a permanent appointment could be made. 34 year old former Brentford forward Les Smith was the club's only signing and returned to Griffin Park after six years with Aston Villa. Half backs Bill Slater and forwards Johnny Paton and Jimmy Bowie were the only departures of note.
Brentford had a poor start to the Second Division season, winning just five of the opening 20 matches.[2] Four defeats and no wins in a five match spell in September 1952 led caretaker Bain to break up his settled XI and experiment with playing players in different positions. Want-away captain Ron Greenwood left for First Division club Chelsea in October 1952, with forward Jimmy D'Arcy arriving in part-exchange. The tide began to turn in December, after back to back victories over Barnsley on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.[2] Forward Tommy Lawton was announced as Brentford's player-manager on 2 January 1953, with Jimmy Bain reverting to his previous role. Lawton was unbeaten in 9 of his first 12 matches, but the team lost confidence after 4–1 and 5–0 defeats to West Ham United and rivals Fulham respectively in late March and would win just once more before the end of the season, leading to a 17th-place finish.[2]
League table
P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Key | |
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Division Champions, promoted |
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Promoted |
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Relegated |
Results
- Brentford's goal tally listed first.
Legend
Football League Second Division
No. |
Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
Attendance | Scorer(s) |
1 |
23 August 1952 | Lincoln City | H | 1–0 |
27,787 | Goodwin |
2 |
27 August 1952 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–0 |
21,358 | |
3 |
30 August 1952 | Hull City | A | 2–2 |
35,993 | Dare, Monk (pen) |
4 |
3 September 1952 | Huddersfield Town |
H | 1–3 |
21,733 | Lawton |
5 |
6 September 1952 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 3–2 |
21,904 | Sperrin, Lawton, Monk (pen) |
6 |
8 September 1952 | Sheffield United | A | 2–3 |
17,397 | Goodwin, Ledgerton |
7 |
13 September 1952 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–3 |
26,923 | |
8 |
17 September 1952 | Sheffield United | H | 0–0 |
11,707 | |
9 |
20 September 1952 | Everton | H | 2–4 |
21,042 | Lawton, Harper |
10 |
27 September 1952 | Bury |
A | 0–3 |
12,398 | |
11 |
4 October 1952 | Doncaster Rovers |
A | 2–0 |
13,465 | Monk, Goodwin |
12 |
11 October 1952 | Southampton | H | 3–0 |
17,225 | Lawton, Monk (pen), Smith |
13 |
18 October 1952 | Notts County |
A | 0–4 |
26,033 | |
14 |
25 October 1952 | Leicester City | H | 4–2 |
21,655 | Goodwin, Lawton (2), Dare |
15 |
1 November 1952 | West Ham United | A | 1–3 |
23,263 | D'Arcy |
16 |
8 November 1952 | Fulham | H | 2–2 |
29,241 | D'Arcy, Monk (pen) |
17 |
15 November 1952 | Rotherham United |
A | 1–4 |
15,427 | Monk (pen) |
18 |
22 November 1952 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 1–2 |
17,192 | Lawton |
19 |
29 November 1952 | Leeds United | A | 2–3 |
16,077 | Dare, Ledgerton |
20 |
13 December 1952 | Birmingham City | A | 1–3 |
9,963 | Lawton |
21 |
20 December 1952 | Lincoln City | A | 0–0 |
11,953 | |
22 |
25 December 1952 | Barnsley | H | 4–0 |
15,976 | Sperrin, Dare, Lawton (2) |
23 |
26 December 1952 | Barnsley | A | 2–0 |
13,725 | McNeil (og), Ledgerton |
24 |
3 January 1953 | Hull City |
H | 1–0 |
16,035 | D'Arcy |
25 |
17 January 1953 | Blackburn Rovers |
A | 0–3 |
21,487 | |
26 |
24 January 1953 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–1 |
15,110 | Ledgerton |
27 |
7 February 1953 | Everton | A | 0–5 |
36,431 | |
28 |
14 February 1953 | Bury | H | 2–2 |
9,387 | Sperrin, Bloomfield |
29 |
21 February 1953 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 1–0 |
16,716 | Lawton |
30 |
28 February 1953 | Southampton | A | 2–0 |
20,327 | Ellerington (og), Dare |
31 |
7 March 1953 | Notts County | H | 5–0 |
16,147 | Monk (pen), Harper, Dare, Lawton (2) |
32 |
14 March 1953 | Leicester City | A | 3–2 |
21,307 | Morrad, Latimer |
33 |
21 March 1953 | West Ham United | H | 1–4 |
18,117 | Latimer |
34 |
28 March 1953 | Fulham |
A | 0–5 |
25,550 | |
35 |
3 April 1953 | Swansea Town | H | 0–0 |
17,876 | |
36 |
4 April 1953 | Rotherham United | H | 1–1 |
14,411 | Bloomfield |
37 |
6 April 1953 | Swansea Town | A | 2–3 |
21,695 | Ledgerton, Godwin |
38 |
11 April 1953 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 0–1 |
19,955 | |
39 |
18 April 1953 | Leeds United | H | 3–3 |
12,783 | Ledgerton, Coote, Lawton |
40 |
22 April 1953 | Luton Town | H | 1–1 |
16,347 | Ledgerton |
41 |
25 April 1953 | Luton Town |
A | 1–0 |
15,826 | Dare |
42 |
1 May 1953 | Birmingham City | H | 1–2 |
8,565 | |
FA Cup
Playing squad
- Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1952–53 season.
Coaching staff
Jimmy Bain (23 August 1952 – 2 January 1953)
Tommy Lawton (2 January 1953 – 1 May 1953)
Statistics
Appearances and goals
- Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
- Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[3]
Goalscorers
- Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
- Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[3]
International caps
Management
Name |
Nat |
From |
To |
Record All Comps |
Record League |
P | W | D | L | W % | P | W | D | L | W % |
Jimmy Bain |
|
23 August 1952 |
26 December 1952 |
7001230000000000000♠23 |
7000700000000000000♠7 |
7000500000000000000♠5 |
7001110000000000000♠11 |
7001304300000000000♠30.43 |
7001230000000000000♠23 |
7000700000000000000♠7 |
7000500000000000000♠5 |
7001110000000000000♠11 |
7001304300000000000♠30.43 |
Tommy Lawton |
|
3 January 1952 |
1 May 1953 |
7001220000000000000♠22 |
7000700000000000000♠7 |
7000700000000000000♠7 |
7000800000000000000♠8 |
7001318200000000000♠31.82 |
7001190000000000000♠19 |
7000600000000000000♠6 |
7000600000000000000♠6 |
7000700000000000000♠7 |
7001315800000000000♠31.58 |
Summary
Games played | 45 (42 Second Division, 3 FA Cup) |
Games won | 13 (13 Second Division, 1 FA Cup) |
Games drawn | 12 (11 Second Division, 1 FA Cup) |
Games lost | 19 (18 Second Division, 1 FA Cup) |
Goals scored | 62 (59 Second Division, 3 FA Cup) |
Goals conceded | 79 (76 Second Division, 3 FA Cup) |
Clean sheets | 15 (14 Second Division, 1 FA Cup) |
Biggest league win | 5–0 versus Notts County, 7 March 1953 |
Worst league defeat | 5–0 on two occasions |
Most appearances | 43, Fred Monk (43 Second Division, 3 FA Cup) |
Top scorer (league) | 13, Tommy Lawton |
Top scorer (all competitions) | 15, Tommy Lawton |
Transfers & loans
References
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General | |
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History | |
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Grounds | |
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Rivalries | |
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FA competitions | |
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Football League | |
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Lower leagues | |
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Related to national team | |
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Club seasons | | First Division | |
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| Second Division |
- Barnsley
- Birmingham City
- Blackburn Rovers
- Brentford
- Bury
- Doncaster Rovers
- Everton
- Fulham
- Huddersfield Town
- Hull City
- Leeds United
- Leicester City
- Lincoln City
- Luton Town
- Nottingham Forest
- Notts County
- Plymouth Argyle
- Rotherham United
- Sheffield United
- Southampton
- Swansea Town
- West Ham United
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| Third Division | North |
- Accrington Stanley
- Barrow
- Bradford City
- Bradford Park Avenue
- Carlisle United
- Chester
- Chesterfield
- Crewe Alexandra
- Darlington
- Gateshead
- Grimsby Town
- Halifax Town
- Hartlepools United
- Mansfield Town
- Oldham Athletic
- Port Vale
- Rochdale
- Scunthorpe United
- Southport
- Stockport County
- Tranmere Rovers
- Workington
- Wrexham
- York City
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| South |
- Aldershot
- Bournemouth
- Brighton & Hove Albion
- Bristol City
- Bristol Rovers
- Colchester United
- Coventry City
- Crystal Palace
- Exeter City
- Gillingham
- Ipswich Town
- Leyton Orient
- Millwall
- Newport County
- Northampton Town
- Norwich City
- Queens Park Rangers
- Reading
- Shrewsbury Town
- Southend United
- Swindon Town
- Torquay United
- Walsall
- Watford
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