# 1904–05 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1904–05 English football season, Brentford competed in the Southern League First Division. In its first season at Griffin Park, the club finished in 14th place.

## Season summary

It was a summer of fundraising for the Brentford board during the 1904 off-season, with the club needing to raise money for the work being undertaken at its new Griffin Park ground. £600 was raised (equivalent to £81,700 in 2024) to pay summer wages for the squad and manager Dick Molyneux was once again able to sign new players soon after the end of the 1903–04 season, with goalkeeper Walter Whittaker, half back Jimmy Tomlinson and forwards John Boag, Fred Hobson, Frank Oliver, Alex Walker and Joe Warrington being signings of note. Molyneux's biggest transfer coup was that of forward Tommy Shanks, who returned to Brentford after 18 months away and off the back of a season in which he had scored 25 goals in Woolwich Arsenal's Football League Second Division triumph. The summer wages allowed full backs Jock Watson, Tommy Davidson and half backs James Bellingham, Jimmy Jay and George Parsonage to be retained, which on paper made the Bees' 1904–05 Southern League First Division squad arguably the club's strongest yet.
Though the season proved to be a slight improvement on the previous one, with two more points won, but finishing one place lower in 14th, Brentford's first season at Griffin Park was a disappointment. Though he finished the season as top scorer and became Brentford's second international player, forward Tommy Shanks could not recreate his prolific form of the previous season and scored just seven goals. The Bees reached the intermediate round of the FA Cup for the third successive season, but could not find a way past fellow First Division club Reading.
Two club records were set during the season:
* Most Southern League draws in a season: 9
* Most Southern League home draws in a season: 7

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
| 12 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 44 | 45 | 0.978 | 32 |
| 13 | Northampton Town | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 43 | 54 | 0.796 | 32 |
| 14 | Brentford | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 33 | 38 | 0.868 | 29 |
| 15 | Millwall | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 38 | 47 | 0.809 | 29 |
| 16 | Swindon Town | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 41 | 59 | 0.695 | 29 |

## Results

    Brentford's goal tally listed first.

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Southern League First Division

| No. | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) |
| 1 | 3 September 1904 | West Ham United | H | 0–0 | |
| 2 | 10 September 1904 | Reading | A | 0–1 | |
| 3 | 17 September 1904 | Bristol Rovers | H | 0–1 | |
| 4 | 24 September 1904 | Northampton Town | A | 2–3 | Warrington, Boag |
| 5 | 1 October 1904 | Portsmouth | H | 1–3 | Warrington |
| 6 | 8 October 1904 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 1–0 | Shanks (pen) |
| 7 | 15 October 1904 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2–3 | Shanks, Gates |
| 8 | 22 October 1904 | Millwall | H | 2–0 | Hobson (2) |
| 9 | 29 October 1904 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–1 | Shanks |
| 10 | 5 November 1904 | Luton Town | H | 3–0 | Shanks (3) |
| 11 | 12 November 1904 | Swindon Town | A | 3–1 | Oliver (2), Hobson |
| 12 | 19 November 1904 | New Brompton | H | 0–2 | |
| 13 | 3 December 1904 | Southampton | H | 0–1 | |
| 14 | 17 December 1904 | Watford | H | 1–1 | Jay |
| 15 | 24 December 1904 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 0–1 | |
| 16 | 31 December 1904 | West Ham United | A | 1–0 | Oliver |
| 17 | 7 January 1905 | Reading | H | 0–0 | |
| 18 | 21 January 1905 | Northampton Town | H | 3–4 | Jay, Fletcher (2) |
| 19 | 28 January 1905 | Portsmouth | A | 0–5 | |
| 20 | 4 February 1905 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 1–0 | Shinner |
| 21 | 11 February 1905 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0–0 | |
| 22 | 18 February 1905 | Millwall | A | 1–1 | Parsonage |
| 23 | 25 February 1905 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–0 | |
| 24 | 4 March 1905 | Luton Town | A | 0–1 | |
| 25 | 11 March 1905 | Swindon Town | H | 1–1 | Warrington |
| 26 | 18 March 1905 | New Brompton | A | 1–0 | Gates |
| 27 | 25 March 1905 | Wellingborough | H | 3–0 | Parsonage, Fletcher, Warrington |
| 28 | 27 March 1905 | Wellingborough | A | 4–0 | Hobson (3), Shinner |
| 29 | 1 April 1905 | Southampton | A | 0–2 | |
| 30 | 8 April 1905 | Fulham | H | 1–1 | Gates |
| 31 | 15 April 1905 | Watford | A | 0–1 | |
| 32 | 22 April 1905 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 1–0 | Shanks (pen) |
| 33 | 25 April 1905 | Bristol Rovers | A | 0–3 | |
| 34 | 29 April 1905 | Fulham | A | 0–1 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) |
| 6QR | 10 December 1904 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2–1 | Archer (og), Swarbrick |
| IR | 14 January 1905 | Reading | H | 1–1 | Warrington |
| IR (replay) | 18 January 1905 | Reading | A | 0–2 | |
* 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 | USA | William McBride |
| — | GK | ENG | Walter Whittaker |
| — | DF | SCO | Tommy Davidson |
| — | DF | ENG | Thomas Howarth |
| — | DF | SCO | Jock Watson |
| — | MF | SCO | James Bellingham |
| — | MF | SCO | Jimmy Jay |
| — | MF | ENG | George Parsonage (c) |
| — | MF | ENG | Jimmy Tomlinson |
| — | FW | SCO | John Boag |
| — | FW | ENG | Chris Duffy |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | ENG | Harry Fletcher |
| — | FW | ENG | George Gates |
| — | FW | ENG | Fred Hobson |
| — | FW | ENG | John Moulder |
| — | FW | ENG | Frank Oliver |
| — | FW | EIR | Tommy Shanks |
| — | FW | ENG | James Shinner |
| — | FW | ENG | James Swarbrick |
| — | FW | ENG | Tosher Underwood |
| — | FW | SCO | Alex Walker |
| — | FW | ENG | Joe Warrington |
* Source: 100 Years of Brentford

## Coaching staff

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

## Statistics
### Goalscorers

| Pos. | Nat | Player | SL1 | FAC | Total |
| FW | | Tommy Shanks | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| FW | | Fred Hobson | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| HB | | Joe Warrington | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| FW | | Harry Fletcher | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| FW | | George Gates | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| FW | | Frank Oliver | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| FW | | James Shinner | 2 | — | 2 |
| HB | | Jimmy Jay | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| HB | | George Parsonage | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| FW | | John Boag | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| FW | | James Swarbrick | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Opponents | Opponents | Opponents | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | 33 | 3 | 36 |
* Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
* Source: 100 Years Of Brentford

### International caps

| Pos. | Nat | Player | Caps | Goals | Ref |
| FW | | Tommy Shanks | 1 | 0 | |

### 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 | | 3 September 1904 | 29 April 1905 | 37 | 11 | 10 | 16 | 029.73 | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 029.41 |

### Summary

| Games played | 37 (34 Southern League First Division, 3 FA Cup) |
| Games won | 11 (10 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup) |
| Games drawn | 10 (9 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup) |
| Games lost | 16 (15 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup) |
| Goals scored | 36 (33 Southern League First Division, 3 FA Cup) |
| Goals conceded | 42 (38 Southern League First Division, 4 FA Cup) |
| Clean sheets | 13 (13 Southern League First Division, 0 FA Cup) |
| Biggest league win | 4–0 versus Wellingborough, 27 March 1905 |
| Worst league defeat | 5–0 versus Portsmouth, 28 January 1905 |
| Most appearances | 37, George Parsonage (34 Southern League First Division, 3 FA Cup) |
| Top scorer (league) | 7, Tommy Shanks |
| Top scorer (all competitions) | 7, Tommy Shanks |