# 1903–04 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1903–04 English football season, Brentford competed in the Southern League First Division. Despite leading the division in September 1903, disruption behind the scenes and the suspension of manager Dick Molyneux for the final month of the season led to a 13th-place finish.

## Season summary

Directly after the end of the dire 1902–03 season, the Brentford committee decided to act and appoint a first team manager. Dick Molyneux became the first official manager in the club's history and arrived at York Road having served as manager at Everton for 12 years, with a CV boasting one Football League First Division championship and two FA Cup runners-up medals. One of the first major changes Molyneux enacted was to request that the board raise funds to pay adequate off-season wages for the playing squad, which would put an end to the failures of previous seasons, when the board waited until almost before the beginning of the season to transfer players in, so as to cut down on off-season wages. Due to the majority of clubs conducting their transfer business shortly after the end of the season, the tactic meant that Brentford were always short on transfer options, when conducting business close to the beginning of the following season.
The board raised £330 in donations (equivalent to £44,800 in 2024) and Molyneux set about building a 16-man all-professional squad which could compete in the Southern League First Division. Of the previous season's squad, only goalkeeper Tommy Spicer, inside left Percy Turner and outside left Tosher Underwood were retained and by early June 1903, Molyneux had signed an almost entirely new XI. Brentford's colours were changed for the first time since the mid-1890s, with the old claret and blue replaced by a kit consisting of gold shirts with blue stripes, white shorts and black socks.
Dick Molyneux's team started season strongly, reaching top spot in the First Division after five matches. The demands on the small squad led Brentford to fall back into mid-table and a goalkeeping crisis suffered in early 1904 exacerbated the problem. Molyneux brought in former trialist John Bishop and paid him money to play, an illegal move as Bishop was a serving soldier with the Scots Guards and therefore an amateur player. After his third appearance, Bishop returned late to barracks, was reported to his commanding officer and then made a statement in writing about his involvement with Brentford. The statement was passed on to the FA, who fined Brentford £25 and suspended director Bill Dodge for two years and manager Molyneux for the final month of the season. With secretary William Lewis in caretaker charge, the Bees took one point from the remaining five matches of the season to finish in 13th position. The five away draws was the most by the club during its Southern League seasons.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
| 11 | Fulham | 34 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 34 | 36 | 0.944 | 30 |
| 12 | West Ham United | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 39 | 44 | 0.886 | 27 |
| 13 | Brentford | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 34 | 48 | 0.708 | 27 |
| 14 | Wellingborough | 34 | 11 | 5 | 18 | 44 | 63 | 0.698 | 27 |
| 15 | Northampton Town | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 36 | 60 | 0.600 | 27 |

## Results

    Brentford's goal tally listed first.

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Southern League First Division

| No. | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) |
| 1 | 5 September 1903 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–1 | |
| 2 | 7 September 1903 | Swindon Town | H | 2–1 | Turner, Swarbrick |
| 3 | 12 September 1903 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 1–0 | Leigh |
| 4 | 14 September 1903 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–0 | |
| 5 | 19 September 1903 | Reading | A | 1–1 | Underwood |
| 6 | 26 September 1903 | Wellingborough | H | 0–1 | |
| 7 | 3 October 1903 | Bristol Rovers | A | 1–5 | Parsonage |
| 8 | 10 October 1903 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 1–0 | Leigh |
| 9 | 17 October 1903 | Portsmouth | A | 1–3 | Atherton |
| 10 | 24 October 1903 | Northampton Town | H | 4–1 | Buchanan, Bell (2), Durber (og) |
| 11 | 7 November 1903 | West Ham United | A | 1–0 | Underwood |
| 12 | 21 November 1903 | Luton Town | A | 0–1 | |
| 13 | 5 December 1903 | Kettering | A | 0–1 | |
| 14 | 26 December 1903 | Fulham | H | 1–1 | Leigh |
| 15 | 28 December 1903 | Millwall | H | 1–3 | Bellingham |
| 16 | 2 January 1904 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–4 | Buchanan |
| 17 | 4 January 1904 | Kettering | H | 4–2 | Buchanan (3), Jay |
| 18 | 9 January 1904 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 2–2 | Atherton, Davidson |
| 19 | 16 January 1904 | Reading | H | 0–0 | |
| 20 | 23 January 1904 | Wellingborough | A | 0–2 | |
| 21 | 30 January 1904 | Bristol Rovers | H | 1–2 | Parsonage (pen) |
| 22 | 1 February 1904 | New Brompton | H | 1–1 | Parsonage |
| 23 | 6 February 1904 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 1–3 | Underwood |
| 24 | 13 February 1904 | Portsmouth | H | 4–0 | Underwood (2), Brett (pen), Jay |
| 25 | 20 February 1904 | Northampton Town | A | 0–3 | |
| 26 | 27 February 1904 | Swindon Town | A | 1–1 | Barron |
| 27 | 5 March 1904 | West Ham United | H | 2–0 | Underwood, Barron |
| 28 | 12 March 1904 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–1 | Buchanan |
| 29 | 19 March 1904 | Luton Town | H | 2–1 | Bell (2) |
| 30 | 26 March 1904 | New Brompton | A | 0–3 | |
| 31 | 2 April 1904 | Southampton | H | 0–1 | |
| 32 | 9 April 1904 | Southampton | A | 0–1 | |
| 33 | 16 April 1904 | Fulham | A | 0–0 | |
| 34 | 23 April 1904 | Millwall | A | 0–2 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) |
| 3QR | 31 October 1903 | Uxbridge | H | 8–0 | Bell (2), Leigh, Parsonage, Buchanan (2), Underwood (2) |
| 4QR | 14 November 1903 | Oxford City | A | 3–1 | Underwood, Leigh, Parsonage |
| 5QR | 28 November 1903 | Wycombe Wanderers | A | 4–1 | Leigh (2), Bell, Buchanan |
| IR | 12 December 1903 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 1–1 | Underwood |
| IR (replay) | 16 December 1903 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 1–4 | Buchanan |
* Source: 100 Years of Brentford

## Playing squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | George Bishop |
| — | GK | ENG | Bill Howarth |
| — | GK | ENG | Tommy Spicer |
| — | GK | SCO | Bob Watson |
| — | DF | SCO | Tommy Davidson (c) |
| — | DF | ENG | Thomas Howarth |
| — | DF | SCO | Jock Watson |
| — | MF | SCO | James Bellingham |
| — | MF | SCO | Alex Caie |
| — | MF | ENG | Jimmy Jay |
| — | MF | ENG | George Parsonage |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | ENG | Tommy Atherton (on loan from Grimsby Town) |
| — | FW | SCO | John Barron |
| — | FW | SCO | Lawrence Bell |
| — | FW | ENG | Ralph Brett |
| — | FW | SCO | Dave Buchanan |
| — | FW | ENG | Charles Lanham |
| — | FW | ENG | Tommy Leigh |
| — | FW | ENG | James Swarbrick |
| — | FW | ENG | Percy Turner |
| — | FW | ENG | Tosher Underwood |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Joe Frail (to Stalybridge Rovers) |
* Source: 100 Years of Brentford

## Coaching staff
### Dick Molyneux (5 September 1903 – March 1904)

| Name | Role |
| Dick Molyneux | Secretary Manager |
| Bob Crone | Trainer |

### William Lewis (March – 23 April 1904)

| Name | Role |
| William Lewis | Caretaker Manager |
| Bob Crone | Trainer |

## Statistics
### Goalscorers

| Pos. | Nat | Player | SL1 | FAC | Total |
| FW | | Dave Buchanan | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| FW | | Tosher Underwood | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| FW | | Tommy Leigh | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| FW | | Lawrence Bell | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| HB | | George Parsonage | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| FW | | John Barron | 2 | — | 2 |
| FW | | Tommy Atherton | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| HB | | James Bellingham | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| FW | | Ralph Brett | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| DF | | Tommy Davidson | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| HB | | Jimmy Jay | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| FW | | Percy Turner | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| FW | | James Swarbrick | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Opponents | Opponents | Opponents | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | 34 | 17 | 51 |
* Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
* Source: 100 Years Of Brentford

### Management

| Name | Nat | From | To | Record All Comps | Record All Comps | Record All Comps | Record All Comps | Record All Comps | Record League | Record League | Record League | Record League | Record League |
| Name | Nat | From | To | P | W | D | L | W % | P | W | D | L | W % |
| Dick Molyneux | | 5 September 1903 | 19 March 1904 | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 035.29 | 29 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 031.03 |
| William Lewis (caretaker) | | 26 March 1904 | 23 April 1904 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 000.00 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 000.00 |

### Summary

| Games played | 39 (34 Southern League First Division, 5 FA Cup) |
| Games won | 12 (9 Southern League First Division, 3 FA Cup) |
| Games drawn | 10 (9 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup) |
| Games lost | 17 (16 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup) |
| Goals scored | 51 (34 Southern League First Division, 17 FA Cup) |
| Goals conceded | 55 (48 Southern League First Division, 7 FA Cup) |
| Clean sheets | 9 (8 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup) |
| Biggest league win | 4–0 versus Portsmouth, 13 February 1904 |
| Worst league defeat | 5–1 versus Bristol Rovers, 3 October 1903 |
| Most appearances | 39, George Parsonage, Jock Watson (34 Southern League First Division, 5 FA Cup) |
| Top scorer (league) | 6, Dave Buchanan, Tosher Underwood |
| Top scorer (all competitions) | 10, Dave Buchanan, Tosher Underwood |