# 1978–79 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1978–79 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division. After a rude awakening to third-tier football, the Bees ended the season strongly to finish in 10th position.

## Season summary

After Brentford's promotion to the Third Division at the end of the previous season, manager Bill Dodgin Jr. stated that his squad would only need one or two more new players to be able to compete during the club's first season in the third tier since 1972–73. He managed to keep prolific forwards Steve Phillips and Andrew McCulloch at Griffin Park, with the former turning down a £120,000 transfer to Tottenham Hotspur. Aside from goalkeeping trialist Trevor Porter (brought in to cover for car crash-victim Len Bond and the suspended Graham Cox), Dodgin made no significant signings.
Fears that Brentford's largely-unchanged squad would be out of its depth in the Third Division were heightened after the season began with a 7–1 aggregate defeat to fellow third-tier side Watford in the first round of the League Cup. A dire start to the league season, which had seen Brentford sink into the relegation places by the end of September 1978, led manager Bill Dodgin Jr. to act in the transfer market. Potentially club-record breaking bids for Watford's Alan Mayes, Queens Park Rangers' Tony Hazell and Bristol City's John Bain were all rejected. Dodgin managed to sign defender Jim McNichol from Luton Town for a new club-record incoming fee of £30,000. While McNichol went on to be voted the Brentford Supporters' Player of the Year, Dodgin's other signing, forward Dean Smith (signed to support the misfiring Steve Phillips and Andrew McCulloch), only scored sporadically during the remainder of the season.
Between late-October 1978 and mid-March 1979, the Bees stabilised with a run of just two defeats in 17 league matches. The run ended with the club's biggest win of the season – a 6–0 thrashing of Chester at Griffin Park, with Steve Phillips scoring a hat-trick to boost his tally to six goals in four matches. The signing of Jim McNichol made an immediate impact on the defensive line, with a record of two clean sheets prior to his arrival being turned around to 14 in the following 31 matches, equivalent to a clean sheet nearly every other match. A failure to win any of the following four matches dropped the Bees back to 18th position, but a strong run of 9 wins in 12 matches to close out the season elevated the club to a 10th-place finish.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 8 | Hull City | 46 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 66 | 61 | +5 | 49 |
| 9 | Exeter City | 46 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 61 | 56 | +5 | 49 |
| 10 | Brentford | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 53 | 49 | +4 | 47 |
| 11 | Oxford United | 46 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 44 | 50 | −6 | 46 |
| 12 | Blackpool | 46 | 18 | 9 | 19 | 61 | 59 | +2 | 45 |

## Results

    Brentford's goal tally listed first.

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Pre-season and friendlies

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer(s) |
| 1 August 1978 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–1 | 2,500 | Phillips |
| 3 August 1978 | Chesham United | A | 0–0 | n/a | |
| 7 August 1978 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 1–4 | 2,800 | J. Graham |
| 8 August 1978 | Woking | A | 0–3 | n/a | |
| 9 August 1978 | Aldershot | A | 2–1 | n/a | Phillips, Kruse |
| 15 December 1978 | Northampton Town | A | 0–3 | n/a | |

### Football League Third Division

| No. | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer(s) |
| 1 | 19 August 1978 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 0–1 | 2,346 | |
| 2 | 21 August 1978 | Colchester United | H | 1–0 | 6,802 | Kruse |
| 3 | 26 August 1978 | Chesterfield | H | 0–3 | 6,162 | |
| 4 | 2 September 1978 | Exeter City | A | 2–2 | 3,645 | McCulloch (2) |
| 5 | 9 September 1978 | Hull City | H | 1–0 | 6,528 | Phillips |
| 6 | 12 September 1978 | Swindon Town | A | 0–2 | 6,902 | |
| 7 | 16 September 1978 | Peterborough United | A | 1–3 | 5,884 | Kruse |
| 8 | 23 September 1978 | Gillingham | H | 0–2 | 6,977 | |
| 9 | 25 September 1978 | Lincoln City | H | 2–1 | 6,107 | J. Graham, Eames |
| 10 | 30 September 1978 | Swansea City | A | 1–2 | 11,370 | McCulloch |
| 11 | 7 October 1978 | Bury | H | 0–1 | 5,855 | |
| 12 | 14 October 1978 | Watford | A | 0–2 | 15,180 | |
| 13 | 17 October 1978 | Rotherham United | A | 0–1 | 3,881 | |
| 14 | 21 October 1978 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–1 | 5,883 | McCulloch (2) |
| 15 | 28 October 1978 | Chester | A | 1–3 | 4,495 | McCulloch |
| 16 | 4 November 1978 | Oxford United | H | 3–0 | 6,863 | McCulloch, D. Smith (2) |
| 17 | 11 November 1978 | Exeter City | H | 0–0 | 6,387 | |
| 18 | 18 November 1978 | Chesterfield | A | 0–0 | 4,584 | |
| 19 | 2 December 1978 | Walsall | H | 1–0 | 5,140 | McCulloch |
| 20 | 9 December 1978 | Mansfield Town | A | 1–2 | 4,003 | McCulloch |
| 21 | 23 December 1978 | Southend United | A | 1–1 | 13,703 | Phillips |
| 22 | 26 December 1978 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 2–1 | 7,367 | D. Smith (2) |
| 23 | 30 December 1978 | Carlisle United | H | 0–0 | 6,477 | |
| 24 | 20 January 1979 | Peterborough United | H | 0–0 | 5,760 | |
| 25 | 27 January 1979 | Gillingham | A | 0–0 | 6,899 | |
| 26 | 10 February 1979 | Swansea City | H | 1–0 | 7,264 | Carlton |
| 27 | 24 February 1979 | Watford | H | 3–3 | 13,873 | D. Smith, Phillips (2, 1 pen) |
| 28 | 3 March 1979 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–0 | 1,882 | Phillips |
| 29 | 6 March 1979 | Hull City | A | 0–1 | 3,418 | |
| 30 | 10 March 1979 | Chester | H | 6–0 | 6,421 | Phillips (3), Glover (2), McCulloch |
| 31 | 13 March 1979 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–1 | 10,383 | |
| 32 | 21 March 1979 | Lincoln City | A | 0–1 | 2,060 | |
| 33 | 24 March 1979 | Colchester United | A | 1–1 | 3,528 | Shrubb |
| 34 | 26 March 1979 | Shrewsbury Town | H | 2–3 | 7,756 | McCulloch, D. Smith |
| 35 | 31 March 1979 | Blackpool | H | 3–2 | 6,364 | McNichol (2), Phillips |
| 36 | 4 April 1979 | Oxford United | A | 1–0 | 5,242 | Shrubb |
| 37 | 7 April 1979 | Walsall | A | 3–2 | 3,840 | Kruse, Phillips (2) |
| 38 | 13 April 1979 | Southend United | H | 3–2 | 11,509 | McCulloch, Kruse, Salman |
| 39 | 14 April 1979 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 1–2 | 6,344 | Carlton |
| 40 | 17 April 1979 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–1 | 9,050 | McNichol (2) |
| 41 | 21 April 1979 | Carlisle United | A | 0–1 | 3,967 | |
| 42 | 23 April 1979 | Rotherham United | H | 1–0 | 6,758 | D. Smith |
| 43 | 28 April 1979 | Mansfield Town | H | 1–0 | 6,838 | Phillips |
| 44 | 5 May 1979 | Blackpool | A | 1–0 | 3,464 | McCulloch |
| 45 | 8 May 1979 | Swindon Town | H | 1–2 | 13,320 | D. Smith |
| 46 | 15 May 1979 | Bury | A | 3–2 | 2,512 | Phillips (2), McCulloch |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance |
| 1R | 25 November 1978 | Exeter City | A | 0–1 | 3,810 |

### Football League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer |
| 1R (1st leg) | 12 August 1978 | Watford | A | 0–4 | 9,292 | |
| 1R (2nd leg) | 12 August 1978 | Watford | H | 1–3 (lost 7–1 on aggregate) | 7,414 | Rolph |
* Sources: 100 Years of Brentford, The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies, Statto

## Playing squad

    Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1978–79 season.
| Pos. | Name | Date of birth (age) | Signed from | Signed in | Notes |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| GK | Len Bond | (1954-01-12)12 January 1954 (aged 24) | Bristol City | 1977 | |
| GK | Trevor Porter | (1956-10-16)16 October 1956 (aged 21) | Slough Town | 1978 | |
| Defenders |||||||
| DF | Michael Allen | (1949-03-30)30 March 1949 (aged 29) | Middlesbrough | 1971 | |
| DF | John Fraser | (1953-07-12)12 July 1953 (aged 25) | Fulham | 1976 | |
| DF | Pat Kruse | (1953-11-30)30 November 1953 (aged 24) | Torquay United | 1977 | |
| DF | Jim McNichol | (1958-06-09)9 June 1958 (aged 20) | Luton Town | 1978 | |
| DF | Danis Salman | (1960-03-12)12 March 1960 (aged 18) | Youth | 1975 | |
| DF | David Silman | (1959-10-28)28 October 1959 (aged 18) | Unattached | 1978 | |
| DF | Barry Tucker | (1952-08-28)28 August 1952 (aged 25) | Northampton Town | 1978 | |
| Midfielders |||||||
| MF | Doug Allder | (1951-12-30)30 December 1951 (aged 26) | Unattached | 1977 | |
| MF | Bob Booker | (1958-01-25)25 January 1958 (aged 20) | Bedmond Sports & Social | 1978 | |
| MF | Dave Carlton | (1952-11-24)24 November 1952 (aged 25) | Northampton Town | 1976 | |
| MF | Allan Glover | (1950-10-21)21 October 1950 (aged 27) | Orient | 1978 | |
| MF | Jackie Graham (c) | (1946-07-16)16 July 1946 (aged 32) | Guildford City | 1970 | |
| MF | Willie Graham | (1959-02-14)14 February 1959 (aged 19) | Northampton Town | 1977 | |
| MF | Paul Shrubb | (1955-08-01)1 August 1955 (aged 23) | Hellenic | 1977 | |
| MF | Paul Walker | (1960-12-17)17 December 1960 (aged 17) | Youth | 1976 | |
| Forwards |||||||
| FW | Tommy Baldwin | (1945-06-10)10 June 1945 (aged 33) | Unattached | 1977 | Assistant manager |
| FW | Andrew McCulloch | (1950-01-03)3 January 1950 (aged 28) | Oxford United | 1976 | Loaned to Oakland Stompers |
| FW | Gary Rolph | (1960-02-24)24 February 1960 (aged 18) | Youth | 1976 | |
| FW | Steve Phillips | (1954-08-04)4 August 1954 (aged 24) | Northampton Town | 1977 | |
| FW | Dean Smith | (1958-11-28)28 November 1958 (aged 19) | Leicester City | 1977 | |
| Players who left the club mid-season |||||||
| DF | Nigel Smith | (1958-07-03)3 July 1958 (aged 20) | Queens Park Rangers | 1975 | Released |
| DF | Stephen Wilkins | (1959-08-31)31 August 1959 (aged 18) | Chelsea | 1978 | Released |
| FW | Billy Eames | (1957-09-20)20 September 1957 (aged 20) | Waterlooville | 1978 | Released |
| FW | Lee Frost | (1957-12-04)4 December 1957 (aged 20) | Chelsea | 1978 | Returned to Chelsea after loan |
* Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies, Timeless Bees

## Coaching staff

| Name | Role |
| Bill Dodgin Jr. | Manager |
| Tommy Baldwin | Assistant Manager |
| Eddie Lyons | Physiotherapist |
| Gordon Quinn | Chief Scout |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

    Substitute appearances in brackets.
| Pos | Nat | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos | Nat | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | | Len Bond | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| GK | | Trevor Porter | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| DF | | Michael Allen | 5 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 (2) | 0 |
| DF | | John Fraser | 21 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 21 (3) | 0 |
| DF | | Pat Kruse | 44 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 4 |
| DF | | Jim McNichol | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 4 |
| DF | | Danis Salman | 39 (1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 (1) | 1 |
| DF | | David Silman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | | Nigel Smith | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 |
| DF | | Barry Tucker | 43 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 0 |
| DF | | Stephen Wilkins | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| MF | | Doug Allder | 18 (12) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 (12) | 0 |
| MF | | Bob Booker | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 (1) | 0 |
| MF | | Dave Carlton | 36 (1) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 (1) | 2 |
| MF | | Allan Glover | 18 (1) | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 19 (1) | 2 |
| MF | | Jackie Graham | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 1 |
| MF | | Willie Graham | 8 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 (3) | 0 |
| MF | | Paul Shrubb | 39 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 2 |
| MF | | Paul Walker | 2 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (5) | 0 |
| FW | | Tommy Baldwin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | | Billy Eames | 2 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| FW | | Andrew McCulloch | 39 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 14 |
| FW | | Gary Rolph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| FW | | Steve Phillips | 46 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 14 |
| FW | | Dean Smith | 22 (3) | 8 | 0 (1) | 0 | — | — | 22 (4) | 8 |
| Players loaned in during the season |||||||||||
| FW | | Lee Frost | 5 (1) | 0 | — | — | — | — | 5 (1) | 0 |
* Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
* Source: 100 Years of Brentford

### Goalscorers

| Pos. | Nat | Player | FL3 | FAC | FLC | Total |
| FW | | Andrew McCulloch | 14 | 0 | — | 14 |
| FW | | Steve Phillips | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| FW | | Dean Smith | 8 | 0 | — | 8 |
| DF | | Pat Kruse | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| DF | | Jim McNichol | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| MF | | Dave Carlton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| MF | | Allan Glover | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| MF | | Paul Shrubb | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| FW | | Billy Eames | 1 | — | 0 | 1 |
| MF | | Jackie Graham | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| FW | | Gary Rolph | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| DF | | Danis Salman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | 53 | 0 | 1 | 54 |
* 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 % |
| Bill Dodgin, Jr. | | 12 August 1978 | 15 May 1979 | 49 | 19 | 9 | 21 | 038.78 | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 041.30 |

### Summary

| Games played | 49 (46 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cup) |
| Games won | 19 (19 Third Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) |
| Games drawn | 9 (9 Third Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) |
| Games lost | 21 (18 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cup) |
| Goals scored | 54 (53 Third Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) |
| Goals conceded | 57 (49 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 7 League Cup) |
| Clean sheets | 16 (16 Third Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) |
| Biggest league win | 6–0 versus Chester, 10 March 1979 |
| Worst league defeat | 3–0 versus Chesterfield, 26 August 1978 |
| Most appearances | 49, Steve Phillips (46 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cup) |
| Top scorer (league) | 14, Andrew McCulloch, Steve Phillips |
| Top scorer (all competitions) | 14, Andrew McCulloch, Steve Phillips |

## Transfers & loans

Players transferred in :
| Date | Pos. | Name | Previous Club | Fee | Ref. |
| August 1978 | FW | Billy Eames | Portsmouth | Trial | |
| August 1978 | GK | Trevor Porter | Slough Town | Trial | |
| September 1978 | MF | Bob Booker | Bedmond Sports & Social | Non-contract | |
| October 1978 | DF | Jim McNichol | Luton Town | £30,000 | |
| October 1978 | FW | Dean Smith | Leicester City | £20,000 | |
| November 1978 | MF | Allan Glover | Orient | Free | |
| 1978 | DF | Stephen Wilkins | Chelsea | n/a | |
| April 1979 | FW | Bradley Walsh | n/a | Non-contract | |
| Players loaned in ||||||
| Date from | Pos. | Name | From | Date to | Ref. |
| October 1978 | FW | Lee Frost | Chelsea | November 1978 | |
| Players loaned out ||||||
| Date from | Pos. | Name | To | Date to | Ref. |
| May 1978 | FW | Andrew McCulloch | Oakland Stompers | August 1978 | |
| October 1978 | GK | Graham Cox | Margate | n/a | |
| Players released ||||||
| Date | Pos. | Name | Subsequent club | Join date | Ref. |
| August 1978 | DF | Stephen Wilkins | Dagenham | 1978 | |
| October 1978 | FW | Billy Eames | n/a | n/a | |
| October 1978 | DF | Nigel Smith | Cambridge United | November 1978 | |
| December 1978 | FW | John Murray | Retired | | |
| May 1979 | DF | Michael Allen | Whitby Town | 1979 | |
| May 1979 | GK | Graham Cox | Wokingham Town | 1979 | |
| May 1979 | FW | Gary Rolph | Woking | 1979 | |
| May 1979 | DF | David Silman | Walthamstow Avenue | 1979 | |

## Awards

* Supporters' Player of the Year: Jim McNichol
* Players' Player of the Year: Len Bond