Wikipedia

1980–81 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1980–81 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division. In a mid-table season, the Bees drew a club-record 19 league matches.

Brentford
1980–81 season
ChairmanDan Tana
ManagerFred Callaghan
StadiumGriffin Park
Third Division9th
FA CupSecond round
League CupFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague: Booker (7)
All: Booker,
Crown, Funnell (8)
Highest home attendance11,610
Lowest home attendance4,883
Average home league attendance6,752

Season summary

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Free transfer left back signing Mark Hill made 42 appearances during the season.

After narrowly saving Brentford from relegation to the Fourth Division at the end of the previous season, interim manager Fred Callaghan was given the job on a full-time basis, with Ron Harris appointed as his assistant.[1] Callaghan conducted a clear-out of the squad, releasing captain Jackie Graham and bit-part players Doug Allder, Allan Glover, Billy Holmes and Trevor Porter.[1] Aside from Ron Harris (who would continue his playing career), Callaghan brought in five new players, with £20,000 laid out on midfielders David Crown, Terry Hurlock and Barry Silkman.[2] £55,000 was generated from the sales of forwards Steve Phillips and Lee Holmes,[2] but Callaghan was presented with a problem when Len Bond, Barry Tucker, John Fraser and Dave Carlton, mainstays of the team for the previous two years, refused to sign new contracts.[1] All but Tucker would depart Griffin Park during the early months of the season, with Bond fetching a £12,000 fee.[2]

Brentford had a mixed start to the season, exiting the League Cup at the first hurdle, but three wins and two draws from six matches in September 1980 put the club in 6th position.[3] Gradually the season played itself out into one of consolidation in mid-table,[3] with Callaghan continuing to overhaul his squad.[1] Forwards Gary Johnson and Lee Frost arrived from Chelsea in December 1980 for a £30,000 fee, while squad members Willie Graham, Iori Jenkins and Dean Smith were released in February 1981.[2] Brentford ended the season in 9th place, off the back of a run of just two defeats in the final 21 matches.[3] Bob Booker finished the season as the team's top scorer in league matches, with a meagre seven goals.[4]

Four club records were set or equalled during the season:[5][6]

  • Most Football League draws in a season: 19
  • Most Football League away draws in a season: 10
  • Most consecutive away Football League draws: 6 (27 December 1980 – 7 March 1981)
  • Most consecutive away Football League clean sheets: 4 (6 September – 8 October 1980)

League table

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Main article: 1980–81 Football League Third Division

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
7 Plymouth Argyle 46 19 14 13 56 44 +12 52
8 Burnley 46 18 14 14 60 48 +12 50
9 Brentford 46 14 19 13 52 49 +3 47
10 Reading 46 18 10 18 62 62 0 46
11 Exeter City 46 16 13 17 62 66 −4 45
Source: rsssf.com

Results

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Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Pre-season and friendlies

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s)
28 July 1980 Yeovil Town A 2–2 n/a Booker, Crown
31 July 1980 Hounslow A 1–1 n/a Funnell
2 August 1980 Wimbledon A 1–2 772 Booker
4 August 1980 Slough Town A 0–2 n/a
6 August 1980 Chelsea H 3–0 4,550 Smith, Hill, Crown
5 February 1981 Hillingdon Borough A 1–4 n/a Pullen
9 March 1981 KB H 3–0 2,090 Funnell (3)
19 March 1981 Dorchester Town A 1–0 n/a Roberts
14 April 1981 Walthamstow Avenue A 5–2 n/a Crown (2), Funnell, Roberts, McKellar (pen)
27 April 1981 Walton & Hersham A 2–2 n/a Crown (2)
28 April 1981 Leytonstone/Ilford A 1–4 n/a Booker
5 May 1981 Wembley A 4–2 n/a Roberts (2), R. Johnson
7 May 1981 NK GOŠK Dubrovnik A 1–3 n/a Harris
12 May 1981 HNK Hajduk Split A 1–1 n/a Shrubb

Football League Third Division

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No. Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s)
1 16 August 1980 Charlton Athletic A 1–3 5,125 Hill
2 18 August 1980 Millwall H 1–0 6,524 Funnell
3 23 August 1980 Reading H 1–2 6,717 Funnell
4 30 August 1980 Walsall A 3–2 4,586 Walker, Hill, Funnell
5 6 September 1980 Portsmouth A 2–0 16,971 Booker, Funnell
6 13 September 1980 Fulham H 1–3 11,610 Booker
7 15 September 1980 Barnsley H 1–1 6,935 Funnell
8 20 September 1980 Blackpool A 3–0 3,738 Crown (2), Walker
9 27 September 1980 Hull City H 2–2 6,305 Jenkins, Funnell
10 30 September 1980 Barnsley A 1–0 11,227 Walker
11 4 October 1980 Newport County H 0–1 7,309
12 8 October 1980 Exeter City A 0–0 4,665
13 11 October 1980 Carlisle United A 2–1 3,030 Walker, Silkman (pen)
14 18 October 1980 Chester H 0–1 6,604
15 20 October 1980 Gillingham H 3–3 6,786 Crown, Hurlock, Smith
16 25 October 1980 Burnley A 0–2 7,324
17 28 October 1980 Plymouth Argyle A 1–0 7,249 Smith
18 1 November 1980 Oxford United H 3–0 6,549 Hill, Crown (2)
19 3 November 1980 Exeter City H 0–1 6,593
20 8 November 1980 Chesterfield A 1–2 7,127 Graham
21 11 November 1980 Millwall A 2–2 4,279 Booker, Hurlock
22 15 November 1980 Charlton Athletic H 0–1 8,181
23 29 November 1980 Huddersfield Town A 0–3 8,871
24 6 December 1980 Swindon Town H 1–1 5,727 Kruse
25 20 December 1980 Rotherham United A 1–4 5,913 G. Johnson
26 26 December 1980 Colchester United H 2–1 6,241 Kruse, Hurlock
27 27 December 1980 Sheffield United A 0–0 13,130
28 3 January 1981 Burnley H 0–0 6,379
29 10 January 1981 Chester A 0–0 2,237
30 17 January 1981 Huddersfield Town H 0–0 5,831
31 24 January 1981 Walsall H 4–0 5,503 Frost, G. Johnson, Shrubb
32 31 January 1981 Reading A 0–0 6,374
33 7 February 1981 Fulham A 1–1 8,627 Roberts
34 14 February 1981 Portsmouth H 2–2 10,162 Tucker (pen), Roberts
35 21 February 1981 Hull City A 0–0 4,535
36 28 February 1981 Blackpool H 2–0 5,850 G. Johnson, Frost
37 7 March 1981 Newport County A 1–1 5,270 Crown
38 14 March 1981 Carlisle United H 1–1 6,209 Frost
39 21 March 1981 Gillingham A 0–2 3,916
40 28 March 1981 Plymouth Argyle H 0–1 5,868
41 4 April 1981 Oxford United A 1–1 4,085 Booker
42 11 April 1981 Chesterfield H 3–2 4,883 Roberts, G. Johnson, Ridley (og)
43 18 April 1981 Sheffield United H 1–1 5,622 Booker
44 20 April 1981 Colchester United A 2–0 2,609 Shrubb, Booker
45 25 April 1981 Rotherham United H 2–1 6,909 Booker, Hurlock
46 2 May 1981 Swindon Town A 0–0 8,968

FA Cup

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Main article: 1980–81 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s) Notes
1R 22 November 1980 Addlestone & Weybridge Town A 2–2 6,536 Booker, Funnell (pen) [nb 1]
1R (replay) 25 November 1980 Addlestone & Weybridge Town H 2–0 7,678 Crown, Funnell
2R 13 December 1980 Fulham A 0–1 11,261

Football League Cup

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Main article: 1980–81 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s)
1R (1st leg) 9 August 1980 Charlton Athletic H 3–1 5,847 Crown, Smith, Walker
1R (2nd leg) 12 August 1980 Charlton Athletic A 0–5 (lost 6–3 on aggregate) 3,764
  • Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[4] The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties,[7][8] Statto

Playing squad

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Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1980–81 season.
Pos. Name Nat. Date of birth (age) Signed from Signed in Notes
Goalkeepers
GK Paul McCullough   (1959-10-26)26 October 1959 (aged 20) Dawlish Town 1980
GK David McKellar   (1956-05-22)22 May 1956 (aged 24) Derby County 1980 Loaned from Derby County before transferring permanently
Defenders
DF Mark Hill   (1961-01-21)21 January 1961 (aged 19) Queens Park Rangers 1980
DF Robbie Johnson   (1962-03-30)30 March 1962 (aged 18) Arsenal 1981
DF Pat Kruse   (1953-11-30)30 November 1953 (aged 26) Torquay United 1977
DF Jim McNichol   (1958-06-09)9 June 1958 (aged 22) Luton Town 1978
DF Danis Salman   (1960-03-12)12 March 1960 (aged 20) Youth 1975
DF Paul Shrubb   (1955-08-01)1 August 1955 (aged 25) Hellenic 1977
DF Barry Tucker   (1952-08-28)28 August 1952 (aged 27) Northampton Town 1978
Midfielders
MF David Crown   (1958-02-16)16 February 1958 (aged 22) Walthamstow Avenue 1980
MF Lee Frost   (1957-12-04)4 December 1957 (aged 22) Chelsea 1980
MF Tony Funnell   (1957-08-20)20 August 1957 (aged 22) Gillingham 1980
MF Ron Harris (c)   (1944-11-13)13 November 1944 (aged 35) Chelsea 1980 Assistant manager
MF Terry Hurlock   (1958-11-22)22 November 1958 (aged 21) Leytonstone/Ilford 1980
MF Gary Roberts   (1960-04-05)5 April 1960 (aged 20) Wembley 1980
MF Kevin Teer   (1963-12-07)7 December 1963 (aged 16) Youth 1981
MF Paul Walker   (1960-12-17)17 December 1960 (aged 19) Youth 1976
Forwards
FW Bob Booker   (1958-01-25)25 January 1958 (aged 22) Bedmond Sports & Social 1978
FW Gary Johnson   (1959-09-14)14 September 1959 (aged 20) Chelsea 1980
Players who left the club mid-season
DF Iori Jenkins   (1959-12-11)11 December 1959 (aged 20) Chelsea 1979 Released
MF Willie Graham   (1959-02-14)14 February 1959 (aged 21) Northampton Town 1977 Transferred to Hillingdon Borough
MF Barry Silkman   (1952-06-29)29 June 1952 (aged 28) Manchester City 1980 Transferred to Queens Park Rangers
FW Dean Smith   (1958-11-28)28 November 1958 (aged 21) Leicester City 1977 Released
  • Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties,[9] Timeless Bees[10]

Coaching staff

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Name Role
  Fred Callaghan Manager
  Ron Harris Assistant Manager
  Eddie Lyons Physiotherapist
  John Griffin Chief Scout

Statistics

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Appearances and goals

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Substitute appearances in brackets.
Pos Nat Name League FA Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK   Paul McCullough 7 0 0 0 0 2 9 0
GK   David McKellar 39 0 3 0 0 0 42 0
DF   Mark Hill 37 (1) 3 2 0 2 0 41 (1) 3
DF   Iori Jenkins 11 (3) 1 0 0 2 0 13 (3) 1
DF   Robbie Johnson 1 0 — — 1 0
DF   Pat Kruse 42 2 3 0 2 0 47 2
DF   Jim McNichol 11 (3) 0 1 0 0 0 12 (3) 0
DF   Danis Salman 38 0 2 0 0 (1) 0 40 (1) 0
DF   Paul Shrubb 38 (4) 2 3 0 2 0 43 (4) 2
DF   Barry Tucker 23 1 1 0 0 0 24 1
MF   David Crown 37 (1) 6 3 1 2 1 42 (1) 8
MF   Lee Frost 15 3 — — 15 3
MF   Tony Funnell 21 (2) 6 2 (1) 2 0 0 23 (3) 8
MF   Willie Graham 5 1 0 0 0 0 5 1
MF   Ron Harris 29 0 3 0 2 0 34 0
MF   Terry Hurlock 42 4 3 0 0 0 45 4
MF   Gary Roberts 14 (5) 3 0 0 — 14 (5) 3
MF   Barry Silkman 14 1 — 2 0 16 1
MF   Kevin Teer 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0
MF   Paul Walker 29 4 3 0 2 1 34 5
FW   Bob Booker 25 (1) 7 3 1 2 0 30 (1) 8
FW   Gary Johnson 22 5 — — 22 5
FW   Dean Smith 6 (1) 2 1 0 2 1 9 (1) 3
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties[11]

Goalscorers

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Pos. Nat Player FL3 FAC FLC Total
FW   Bob Booker 7 1 0 8
MF   Tony Funnell 6 2 0 8
MF   David Crown 6 1 1 8
FW   Gary Johnson 5 — — 5
MF   Paul Walker 4 0 1 5
MF   Terry Hurlock 4 0 0 4
MF   Lee Frost 3 — — 3
MF   Gary Roberts 3 0 — 3
DF   Mark Hill 3 0 0 3
FW   Dean Smith 2 0 1 3
DF   Pat Kruse 2 0 0 2
DF   Paul Shrubb 2 0 0 2
MF   Barry Silkman 1 — 0 1
MF   Willie Graham 1 0 0 1
DF   Iori Jenkins 1 0 0 1
DF   Barry Tucker 1 0 0 1
Opponents 1 0 0 1
Total 52 4 3 59
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties[11]

Management

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Name Nat From To Record All Comps Record League
P W D L W % P W D L W %
Fred Callaghan   9 August 1980 2 May 1981 51 16 20 15 031.37 46 14 19 13 030.43

Summary

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Games played 51 (46 Third Division, 3 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)
Games won 16 (14 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Games drawn 20 (19 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Games lost 15 (13 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals scored 59 (52 Third Division, 4 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
Goals conceded 58 (49 Third Division, 3 FA Cup, 6 League Cup)
Clean sheets 18 (17 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Biggest league win 4–0 versus Walsall, 24 January 1981
Worst league defeat 3–0 versus Huddersfield Town, 29 November 1980; 4–1 versus Rotherham United, 20 December 1980
Most appearances 47, Pat Kruse, Paul Shrubb (42 Third Division, 3 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)
Top scorer (league) 7, Bob Booker
Top scorer (all competitions) 8, Bob Booker, David Crown

Transfers & loans

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Players transferred in
Date Pos. Name Previous Club Fee Ref.
May 1980 MF   Ron Harris   Chelsea n/a [2]
July 1980 MF   David Crown   Walthamstow Avenue £5,000 [2]
July 1980 DF   Mark Hill   Queens Park Rangers Free [12]
July 1980 GK   Paul McCullough   Dawlish Town n/a [13]
August 1980 MF   Terry Hurlock   Leytonstone/Ilford £10,000 [2]
August 1980 MF   Barry Silkman   Manchester City £5,000 [2]
October 1980 GK   David McKellar   Derby County £25,000 [2]
October 1980 MF   Gary Roberts   Wembley £6,000 [2]
December 1980 FW   Lee Frost   Chelsea n/a [2]
December 1980 FW   Gary Johnson   Chelsea £30,000 [2]
1980 DF   Kevin Teer n/a n/a [2]
1980 DF   Terry Rowe n/a n/a [2]
March 1981 DF   Robbie Johnson   Arsenal Trial [2]
Players loaned in
Date from Pos. Name From Date to Ref.
September 1980 GK   David McKellar   Derby County October 1980 [2]
Players transferred out
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Fee Ref.
August 1980 FW   Steve Phillips   Northampton Town £50,000 [2]
October 1980 GK   Len Bond   Exeter City £12,000 [2]
October 1980 MF   Barry Silkman   Queens Park Rangers £20,000 [2]
1980 FW   Lee Holmes   Enfield £5,000 [2]
Players released
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Join date Ref.
August 1980 MF   Dave Carlton   Northampton Town September 1980 [2]
August 1980 MF   John Fraser   Oxford City 1980 [2]
November 1980 DF   Dave O'Mahoney n/a n/a [2]
February 1981 MF   Willie Graham   Hillingdon Borough February 1981 [2]
February 1981 DF   Iori Jenkins   Kettering Town 1981 [2]
February 1981 FW   Dean Smith   Nuneaton Borough February 1981 [2]
May 1981 FW   Lee Frost   Addlestone & Weybridge Town 1981 [2]
May 1981 GK   Paul McCullough   Mjällby AIF n/a [2]

Awards

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Notes

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  1. ^ Match played at Griffin Park, Brentford. Brentford wore away colours.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d White, p. 314-315.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 36-43.
  3. ^ a b c "Brentford results for the 1980–1981 season". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 396. ISBN 0951526200.
  5. ^ "Brentford scoring and sequence records". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  6. ^ Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia. Yore Publications. pp. 78–79. ISBN 1-874427-57-7.
  7. ^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 22-35.
  8. ^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 386-389.
  9. ^ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. ISBN 978-1906796716.
  10. ^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  11. ^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 422.
  12. ^ "Mark Hill". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  13. ^ "Paul McCullough". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  14. ^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 383.
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