Frederick John Monk (9 October 1920 – October 1987) was an English professional footballer and coach who played in Football League for Brentford and Aldershot. He is best remembered for his time with Brentford, for whom he made over 200 appearances and served as caretaker manager. He was posthumously inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in May 2015.

Fred Monk
Personal information
Full name Frederick John Monk[1]
Date of birth (1920-10-09)9 October 1920
Place of birth Brighton, England
Date of death October 1987 (aged 66–67)[1]
Place of death Aldershot, England[1]
Position(s) Centre forward, right back
Youth career
Guildford City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1946–1948 Guildford City (46)
1948–1954 Brentford 206 (47)
1954–1956 Aldershot 49 (0)
International career
England Schoolboys
Managerial career
1953 Brentford (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Guildford City

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After leaving school, Monk joined the reserve team at Southern League club Guildford City prior to the outbreak of the Second World War.[2] After the war, Monk broke into the first team and scored 29 goals in the 1946–47 season.[3] He scored another 17 goals during the 1947–48 season, before departing in March 1948.[2]

Brentford

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Monk transferred to Second Division club Brentford in March 1948 and made his debut in a 2–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Griffin Park on 20 March.[2][4] He was Brentford's top-scorer during the 1948–49 season,[2] with 13 goals.[4] A centre forward by trade, Monk moved to right back during the 1949–50 season, but returned to his forward role in January 1951 and set a club record by scoring in 10 consecutive games between January and March 1951.[2] Towards the end of the 1951–52 season, he again reverted to his right back role.[2]

Monk served as player-caretaker manager between the departure of Tommy Lawton and the appointment of Bill Dodgin Sr. early in the 1953–54 season.[5] He left Brentford at the end of the season, after the club's relegation to the Third Division South was confirmed.[2] He made 219 appearances and scored 49 goals for Brentford and he was posthumously inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in May 2015.[2][6]

Aldershot

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Monk transferred to Third Division South club Aldershot during the 1954 off-season and made 49 league appearances before retiring in 1956.[1]

International career

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Monk was an England Schoolboy international.[2]

Coaching career

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After his retirement from football, Monk returned to Brentford and worked as the first team's trainer between 1957 and 1962.[7]

Career statistics

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Player

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Guildford City 1946–47[3] Southern League 32 29 0 0 32 29
Brentford 1947–48[4] Second Division 4 2 4 2
1948–49[4] Second Division 37 11 4 2 41 13
1949–50[4] Second Division 25 1 1 0 26 1
1950–51[4] Second Division 37 13 1 0 38 13
1951–52[4] Second Division 40 12 2 0 42 12
1952–53[4] Second Division 40 7 3 0 43 7
1953–54[4] Second Division 23 1 2 0 25 1
Total 206 47 13 2 219 49
Career total 238 76 13 2 251 78

Manager

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Team From To Record Ref
G W D L Win %
Brentford September 1953 October 1953 2 0 1 1 000.00 [4]
Total 2 0 1 1 000.00

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Fred Monk". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. p. 110. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  3. ^ a b "Guildford City 1921/1976". Guildford City FC. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 379–383. ISBN 0951526200.
  5. ^ White 1989, p. 212.
  6. ^ a b Wickham, Chris. "Kevin O'Connor and Marcus Gayle join others in being added to Brentford FC Hall of Fame". brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  7. ^ White 1989, p. 246.