# 1976–77 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1976–77 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Fourth Division. After a poor start to the season, Bill Dodgin Jr. appointed to replace inexperienced manager John Docherty. With re-election looking likely, Dodgin overhauled the playing squad and the Bees won 14 of the final 18 matches of the season to complete a remarkable turnaround and finish in mid-table.

## Season summary

After Brentford's lowest-ever finish in the Fourth Division at the end of the previous season, manager John Docherty released defenders Alan Nelmes and Keith Lawrence and replaced them with John Fraser and Bobby Goldthorpe respectively. Also arriving at Griffin Park were defender Keith Pritchett and midfielder Steve Aylott, while teenagers Danis Salman, Gary Rolph, Graham Cox and Paul Walker all signed apprentice professional contracts. A catalogue of injuries to Fraser, Aylott, Riddick, Sweetzer, McCulloch, Allen and Johnson and a failure to win any of the first six games of the season led to manager Docherty quitting the club, after failing to win a vote of confidence from chairman Dan Tana. Physiotherapist Eddie Lyons was put in caretaker charge of the team for one match before Bill Dodgin Jr. was appointed manager on 16 September 1976, who followed in his father's footsteps by taking over the role.
While Brentford were entrenched in the re-election places the first five months of Bill Dodgin Jr.'s reign, behind the scenes he overhauled the squad and sought players who would meld with his attacking philosophy. Between September 1976 and February 1977, Dodgin brought in midfielder Dave Carlton from his previous club Northampton Town and a number of players on loan – goalkeeper Tony Burns and midfielders Allan Glover, Steve Scrivens, Neil Smillie and John Bain. The sales of defender Keith Pritchett and forwards Roger Cross and Micky French generated over £20,000 in transfer fees, a small portion of which was spent on midfielders Paul Shrubb and Steve Phillips. Most significantly, teenage forward Gordon Sweetzer was promoted through the ranks and began to establish himself in the starting lineup in the New Year.
By January 1977, manager Dodgin's new-look squad was starting to produce results on the field, with Gordon Sweetzer scoring a hat-trick in a 4–0 victory over Stockport County in the middle of the month. In late February, Brentford set off on a run which would see the club become one of the Fourth Division's form teams, winning 14 and drawing two of the final 18 matches of the season. Gordon Sweetzer established a strike partnership with fit-again Andrew McCulloch and showed prolific form, finishing the season with 23 goals from 28 appearances. In March, despite a shaky start, the £20,000 purchase of central defender Pat Kruse would prove to be an important signing for the future. Brentford finished the season in 15th place.
Two club records were set during the season:
* Youngest debutant: Paul Walker, 15 years, 7 months, 28 days (versus Watford, League Cup first round, 14 August 1976)
* Youngest FA Cup goalscorer: Gary Rolph – 16 years, 9 months, 26 days (versus Colchester United, FA Cup second round, 20 December 1976)

## League table

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 13 | AFC Bournemouth | 46 | 15 | 18 | 13 | 54 | 44 | +10 | 48 |
| 14 | Stockport County | 46 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 53 | 57 | −4 | 45 |
| 15 | Brentford | 46 | 18 | 7 | 21 | 77 | 76 | +1 | 43 |
| 16 | Torquay United | 46 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 59 | 67 | −8 | 43 |
| 17 | Aldershot | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 49 | 59 | −10 | 43 |

## Results

    Brentford's goal tally listed first.

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Pre-season

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) |
| 2 August 1976 | Walton | A | 1–1 | Sweetzer |
| 9 August 1976 | Hayes | A | 1–3 | Cross |
| 12 August 1976 | Addlestone | A | 2–4 | Cross, Walker |

### Football League Fourth Division

| No. | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer(s) |
| 1 | 21 August 1976 | Barnsley | H | 0–1 | 3,903 | |
| 2 | 23 August 1976 | Stockport County | A | 0–2 | 3,191 | |
| 3 | 28 August 1976 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–1 | 4,559 | |
| 4 | 4 September 1976 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 2–2 | 3,804 | Johnson, French |
| 5 | 10 September 1976 | Aldershot | A | 1–1 | 5,129 | French |
| 6 | 18 September 1976 | Southport | H | 3–0 | 4,185 | Graham, Johnson, Cross |
| 7 | 25 September 1976 | Torquay United | A | 1–1 | 2,456 | Cross |
| 8 | 2 October 1976 | Bradford City | A | 2–3 | 4,809 | Cross (2) |
| 9 | 9 October 1976 | Newport County | H | 1–1 | 5,894 | Goldthorpe |
| 10 | 15 October 1976 | Swansea City | A | 3–5 | 3,656 | Allen, Pritchett, Goldthorpe |
| 11 | 23 October 1976 | Darlington | H | 0–3 | 4,303 | |
| 12 | 25 October 1976 | Workington | H | 5–0 | 3,158 | Cross, Sweetzer, McCulloch (2), Fraser |
| 13 | 30 October 1976 | Colchester United | A | 1–2 | 3,607 | Cross |
| 14 | 3 November 1976 | Exeter City | A | 2–3 | 2,779 | McCulloch, Graham |
| 15 | 6 November 1976 | Bournemouth | H | 3–2 | 4,254 | Cross, French, McCulloch |
| 16 | 13 November 1976 | Hartlepool | A | 0–2 | 1,888 | |
| 17 | 27 November 1976 | Cambridge United | H | 0–2 | 5,040 | |
| 18 | 27 December 1976 | Southend United | A | 1–2 | 9,239 | Cross (pen) |
| 19 | 1 January 1977 | Bournemouth | A | 1–3 | 4,268 | Cross |
| 20 | 3 January 1977 | Colchester United | H | 1–4 | 4,629 | McCulloch |
| 21 | 8 January 1977 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 2–3 | 2,198 | McCulloch, Sweetzer |
| 22 | 15 January 1977 | Stockport County | H | 4–0 | 3,981 | Fraser, Sweetzer (3) |
| 23 | 22 January 1977 | Barnsley | A | 0–2 | 4,095 | |
| 24 | 25 January 1977 | Scunthorpe United | A | 1–2 | 2,867 | Sweetzer |
| 25 | 29 January 1977 | Halifax Town | H | 2–1 | 4,517 | Sweetzer, French |
| 26 | 5 February 1977 | Huddersfield Town | H | 1–3 | 4,833 | Salman |
| 27 | 12 February 1977 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 0–5 | 4,095 | |
| 28 | 19 February 1977 | Aldershot | H | 0–1 | 4,542 | |
| 29 | 22 February 1977 | Rochdale | H | 3–2 | 3,307 | Johnson, Phillips, Sweetzer |
| 30 | 5 March 1977 | Torquay United | H | 3–2 | 4,172 | Sweetzer (3, 1 pen) |
| 31 | 8 March 1977 | Southport | A | 2–1 | 969 | Johnson (pen), Sweetzer |
| 32 | 12 March 1977 | Bradford City | H | 4–0 | 5,742 | Shrubb, Johnson, Bain, Phillips |
| 33 | 18 March 1977 | Newport County | A | 1–3 | 1,747 | Sweetzer |
| 34 | 23 March 1977 | Watford | H | 3–0 | 7,602 | Sweetzer (2), Graham |
| 35 | 26 March 1977 | Swansea City | H | 4–0 | 6,201 | Johnson (2, 1 pen), Sweetzer, Phillips |
| 36 | 2 April 1977 | Darlington | A | 2–2 | 1,681 | Johnson, Sweetzer |
| 37 | 8 April 1977 | Southend United | H | 1–0 | 8,951 | Phillips |
| 38 | 9 April 1977 | Watford | A | 1–0 | 9,382 | McCulloch |
| 39 | 12 April 1977 | Exeter City | H | 1–0 | 7,641 | Sweetzer |
| 40 | 16 April 1977 | Workington | A | 3–1 | 1,032 | Sweetzer, McCulloch, Phillips |
| 41 | 19 April 1977 | Halifax Town | A | 0–0 | 1,464 | |
| 42 | 23 April 1977 | Hartlepool | H | 3–1 | 5,978 | Kruse, McCulloch, Sweetzer (pen) |
| 43 | 30 April 1977 | Cambridge United | A | 2–3 | 5,617 | Sweetzer, Graham |
| 44 | 2 May 1977 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 0–0 | 5,842 | |
| 45 | 7 May 1977 | Scunthorpe United | H | 4–2 | 5,298 | Kruse, Sweetzer (2), Phillips |
| 46 | 14 May 1977 | Rochdale | A | 3–2 | 977 | Shrubb, McCulloch, Phillips |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer(s) |
| 1R | 20 November 1976 | Chesham United | H | 2–0 | 5,633 | French, Cross |
| 2R | 20 December 1976 | Colchester United | A | 2–3 | 4,730 | Rolph, Fraser |

### Football League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer |
| 1R (1st leg) | 14 August 1976 | Watford | A | 1–1 | 4,827 | Cross |
| 1R (2nd leg) | 17 August 1976 | Watford | H | 0–2 (lost 3–1 on aggregate) | 5,542 | |
* 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 1976–77 season.
| Pos. | Name | Date of birth (age) | Signed from | Signed in | Notes |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| GK | Graham Cox | (1959-04-30)30 April 1959 (aged 17) | Youth | 1975 | |
| GK | Paul Priddy | (1953-01-11)11 January 1953 (aged 23) | Walton & Hersham | 1975 | |
| Defenders |||||||
| DF | Michael Allen | (1949-03-30)30 March 1949 (aged 27) | Middlesbrough | 1971 | |
| DF | Steve Aylott | (1951-09-03)3 September 1951 (aged 24) | Oxford United | 1976 | |
| DF | John Fraser | (1953-07-12)12 July 1953 (aged 23) | Fulham | 1976 | |
| DF | Bobby Goldthorpe | (1950-12-06)6 December 1950 (aged 25) | Charlton Athletic | 1976 | |
| DF | Pat Kruse | (1953-11-30)30 November 1953 (aged 22) | Torquay United | 1977 | |
| DF | Danis Salman | (1960-03-12)12 March 1960 (aged 16) | Youth | 1975 | |
| DF | Tom Sharp | (1957-07-30)30 July 1957 (aged 19) | Everton | 1976 | |
| DF | Nigel Smith | (1958-07-03)3 July 1958 (aged 18) | Queens Park Rangers | 1975 | |
| Midfielders |||||||
| MF | John Bain | (1957-06-03)3 June 1957 (aged 19) | Bristol City | 1977 | On loan from Bristol City |
| MF | Dave Carlton | (1952-11-24)24 November 1952 (aged 23) | Northampton Town | 1976 | |
| MF | Jackie Graham (c) | (1946-07-16)16 July 1946 (aged 30) | Guildford City | 1970 | |
| MF | Terry Johnson | (1949-08-30)30 August 1949 (aged 26) | Southend United | 1974 | |
| MF | Steve Phillips | (1954-08-04)4 August 1954 (aged 22) | Northampton Town | 1977 | |
| MF | Paul Shrubb | (1955-08-01)1 August 1955 (aged 21) | Hellenic | 1977 | |
| MF | Paul Walker | (1960-12-17)17 December 1960 (aged 15) | Youth | 1976 | Loaned to Slough Town |
| Forwards |||||||
| FW | Andrew McCulloch | (1950-01-03)3 January 1950 (aged 26) | Oxford United | 1976 | |
| FW | Gary Rolph | (1960-02-24)24 February 1960 (aged 16) | Youth | 1976 | |
| FW | Gordon Sweetzer | (1957-01-27)27 January 1957 (aged 19) | Queens Park Rangers | 1975 | |
| Players who left the club mid-season |||||||
| GK | Tony Burns | (1944-03-27)27 March 1944 (aged 32) | Crystal Palace | 1977 | Returned to Crystal Palace after loan |
| DF | Paul Bence | (1948-12-21)21 December 1948 (aged 27) | Reading | 1970 | Loaned to Torquay United, released |
| DF | Keith Pritchett | (1953-11-08)8 November 1953 (aged 22) | Queens Park Rangers | 1976 | Transferred to Watford |
| DF | Gordon Riddick | (1943-11-06)6 November 1943 (aged 32) | Northampton Town | 1973 | Released |
| MF | Allan Glover | (1950-10-21)21 October 1950 (aged 25) | West Bromwich Albion | 1976 | Returned to West Bromwich Albion after loan |
| MF | Harry Redknapp | (1947-03-02)2 March 1947 (aged 29) | Bournemouth | 1976 | Released |
| MF | Terry Scales | (1951-01-18)18 January 1951 (aged 25) | West Ham United | 1971 | Released |
| MF | Steve Scrivens | (1957-03-11)11 March 1957 (aged 19) | Fulham | 1976 | Returned to Crystal Palace after loan |
| MF | Neil Smillie | (1958-07-19)19 July 1958 (aged 18) | Crystal Palace | 1977 | Returned to Crystal Palace after loan |
| FW | Roger Cross | (1948-10-20)20 October 1948 (aged 27) | Fulham | 1973 | Transferred to Millwall |
| FW | Micky French | (1955-05-07)7 May 1955 (aged 21) | Queens Park Rangers | 1975 | Transferred to Swindon Town |
* Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies, Timeless Bees

## Coaching staff
### John Docherty (14 August – 7 September 1976)

| Name | Role |
| John Docherty | Manager |
| Eddie Lyons | Physiotherapist |
| Bob Pearson | Chief Scout |

### Eddie Lyons (7 – 16 September 1976)

| Name | Role |
| Eddie Lyons | Caretaker Manager |
| Bob Pearson | Chief Scout |

### Bill Dodgin Jr. (16 September 1976 – 14 May 1977)

| Name | Role |
| Bill Dodgin Jr. | Manager |
| Fred Callaghan | 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 | | Graham Cox | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| GK | | Paul Priddy | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| DF | | Michael Allen | 40 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 1 |
| DF | | Steve Aylott | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| DF | | Paul Bence | 10 (1) | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 11 (1) | 0 |
| DF | | John Fraser | 39 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 3 |
| DF | | Bobby Goldthorpe | 19 | 2 | 1 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 (1) | 2 |
| DF | | Pat Kruse | 15 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 2 |
| DF | | Keith Pritchett | 11 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| DF | | Gordon Riddick | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| DF | | Danis Salman | 16 (2) | 1 | 1 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 (3) | 1 |
| DF | | Tom Sharp | 2 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (3) | 0 |
| DF | | Nigel Smith | 32 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34 (2) | 0 |
| MF | | Dave Carlton | 31 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 (1) | 0 |
| MF | | Jackie Graham | 42 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 4 |
| MF | | Terry Johnson | 24 (3) | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 (3) | 8 |
| MF | | Steve Phillips | 19 | 7 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 7 |
| MF | | Harry Redknapp | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| MF | | Terry Scales | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| MF | | Paul Shrubb | 10 (3) | 2 | — | — | — | — | 10 (3) | 2 |
| MF | | Paul Walker | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 (1) | 0 |
| FW | | Roger Cross | 21 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 11 |
| FW | | Micky French | 15 (4) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 19 (4) | 5 |
| FW | | Andrew McCulloch | 18 (2) | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 (2) | 10 |
| FW | | Gary Rolph | 6 (1) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 (1) | 1 |
| FW | | Gordon Sweetzer | 25 (2) | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 (2) | 23 |
| Players loaned in during the season |||||||||||
| GK | | Tony Burns | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 |
| MF | | John Bain | 17 (1) | 1 | — | — | — | — | 17 (1) | 1 |
| MF | | Allan Glover | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 |
| MF | | Steve Scrivens | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 |
| MF | | Neil Smillie | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 |
* Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
* Source: 100 Years of Brentford

### Goalscorers

| Pos. | Nat | Player | FL4 | FAC | FLC | Total |
| FW | | Gordon Sweetzer | 23 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| FW | | Roger Cross | 9 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| FW | | Andrew McCulloch | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| MF | | Terry Johnson | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| MF | | Steve Phillips | 7 | — | — | 7 |
| FW | | Micky French | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| MF | | Jackie Graham | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| DF | | John Fraser | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| DF | | Pat Kruse | 2 | — | — | 2 |
| MF | | Paul Shrubb | 2 | — | — | 2 |
| DF | | Bobby Goldthorpe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| MF | | John Bain | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| DF | | Michael Allen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| DF | | Keith Pritchett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| DF | | Danis Salman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| FW | | Gary Rolph | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | 77 | 4 | 1 | 82 |
* 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 % |
| John Docherty | | 14 August 1976 | 7 September 1976 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 000.00 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 000.00 |
| Eddie Lyons (caretaker) | | 7 September 1976 | 16 September 1976 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 000.00 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 000.00 |
| Bill Dodgin, Jr. | | 16 September 1976 | 14 May 1977 | 43 | 19 | 5 | 19 | 044.19 | 41 | 18 | 5 | 18 | 043.90 |

### Summary

| Games played | 50 (46 Fourth Division, 2 FA Cup, 2 League Cup) |
| Games won | 19 (18 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) |
| Games drawn | 8 (7 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) |
| Games lost | 23 (21 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) |
| Goals scored | 82 (77 Fourth Division, 4 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) |
| Goals conceded | 82 (76 Fourth Division, 3 FA Cup, 3 League Cup) |
| Clean sheets | 12 (11 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) |
| Biggest league win | 5–0 versus Workington, 25 October 1976 |
| Worst league defeat | 5–0 versus Doncaster Rovers, 12 February 1977 |
| Most appearances | 46, Jackie Graham (42 Fourth Division, 2 FA Cup, 2 League Cup) |
| Top scorer (league) | 23, Gordon Sweetzer |
| Top scorer (all competitions) | 23, Gordon Sweetzer |

## Transfers & loans

Players transferred in :
| Date | Pos. | Name | Previous Club | Fee | Ref. |
| July 1976 | DF | Steve Aylott | Oxford United | Free | |
| July 1976 | DF | John Fraser | Fulham | Free | |
| July 1976 | DF | Bobby Goldthorpe | Fulham | Free | |
| July 1976 | DF | Keith Pritchett | Queens Park Rangers | Free | |
| September 1976 | MF | Harry Redknapp | Bournemouth | Trial | |
| October 1976 | MF | Dave Carlton | Northampton Town | £3,000 | |
| October 1976 | DF | Gordon Riddick | Unattached | Non-contract | |
| 1976 | FW | Gary Rolph | n/a | n/a | |
| February 1977 | MF | Steve Phillips | Northampton Town | £4,000 | |
| February 1977 | MF | Paul Shrubb | Hellenic | n/a | |
| March 1977 | DF | Pat Kruse | Torquay United | £20,000 | |
| Players loaned in ||||||
| Date from | Pos. | Name | From | Date to | Ref. |
| October 1976 | MF | Allan Glover | West Bromwich Albion | November 1976 | |
| December 1976 | MF | Steve Scrivens | Fulham | January 1977 | |
| January 1977 | GK | Tony Burns | Crystal Palace | February 1977 | |
| January 1977 | MF | Neil Smillie | Crystal Palace | February 1977 | |
| February 1977 | MF | John Bain | Bristol City | End of season | |
| Players transferred out ||||||
| Date | Pos. | Name | Subsequent club | Fee | Ref. |
| November 1976 | DF | Keith Pritchett | Watford | £4,000 | |
| 20 January 1977 | FW | Roger Cross | Millwall | £9,500 | |
| 24 February 1977 | FW | Micky French | Swindon Town | £7,000 | |
| Players loaned out ||||||
| Date from | Pos. | Name | To | Date to | Ref. |
| November 1976 | DF | Paul Bence | Torquay United | January 1977 | |
| April 1977 | MF | Paul Walker | Slough Town | End of season | |
| Players released ||||||
| Date | Pos. | Name | Subsequent club | Join date | Ref. |
| September 1976 | DF | Gordon Riddick | Retired | | |
| October 1976 | MF | Harry Redknapp | Seattle Sounders | 1976 | |
| February 1977 | DF | Gordon Riddick | Wealdstone | 1977 | |
| March 1977 | DF | Paul Bence | Wokingham Town | 1977 | |
| March 1977 | MF | Terry Scales | Dagenham | 1977 | |
| May 1977 | DF | Bobby Goldthorpe | Hayes | 1977 | |
| May 1977 | GK | Paul Priddy | Tooting & Mitcham United | 1977 | |
| May 1977 | DF | Tom Sharp | n/a | n/a | |

## Awards

* Supporters' Player of the Year: Gordon Sweetzer
* Players' Player of the Year: Jackie Graham