# 1897–98 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1897–98 English football season, Brentford competed in the London League First Division. A hugely successful season saw the Bees win the London Senior Cup, the Middlesex Senior Cup and finish as runners-up in the league.

## Season summary

After winning promotion from the London League Second Division at the first attempt, the Brentford committee bolstered the team's firepower for its first season in the First Division by signing forwards Thomas Knapman, John Richardson and Ernest Booth. Goalkeeper Jack Foster, then one of the club's highest appearance-makers, elected to retire from football and Arthur Charlton, one of the club's first great players, moved to Nottingham and was succeeded as captain by Herbert Edney – though Charlton would return to play for Brentford sporadically through the season.
Brentford obliterated all opposition throughout the season, with the goals of forward Oakey Field providing the firepower to help the club win the London Senior Cup and the Middlesex Senior Cup. The pileup of London League fixtures meant that the Bees had to close the season with seven matches in just over three weeks, which included two matches in one day on 16 April. Brentford went into the final day of the season knowing that a victory over strugglers Barking Woodville would seal the league title, but the best the jaded team could manage was a 0–0 draw, which allowed Thames Ironworks, who won their final match, to finish the season as champions.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Thames Ironworks | 16 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 47 | 15 | 3.133 | 27 | Elected to the 1898–99 Southern League Second Division |
| 2 | Brentford | 16 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 43 | 17 | 2.529 | 26 | Elected to the 1898–99 Southern League Second Division |
| 3 | Leyton | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 41 | 33 | 1.242 | 20 | Left league at end of season |
| 4 | 3rd Grenadier Guards | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 34 | 33 | 1.030 | 17 | Left league at end of season |
| 5 | Ilford | 16 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 33 | 25 | 1.320 | 17 | Left league at end of season |
| 6 | Stanley | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 22 | 22 | 1.000 | 14 | Left league at end of season |
| 7 | Barking Woodville | 16 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 37 | 0.432 | 10 | Left league at end of season |
| 8 | Bromley | 16 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 20 | 49 | 0.408 | 10 | Transferred to Kent League at end of season |
| 9 | 2nd Grenadier Guards | 16 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 17 | 42 | 0.405 | 3 | Left league at end of season |

## Results

    Brentford's goal tally listed first.

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### London League First Division

| No. | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) |
| 1 | 11 September 1897 | Thames Ironworks | A | 0–1 | |
| 2 | 18 September 1897 | 2nd Grenadier Guards | H | 4–2 | Untraced, Dailley, Wade, Field |
| 3 | 9 October 1897 | Ilford | A | 2–2 | Dailley, Field |
| 4 | 6 November 1897 | Stanley | A | 1–0 | Booth |
| 5 | 4 December 1897 | Barking Woodville | A | 2–1 | Untraced |
| 6 | 11 December 1897 | Bromley | A | 1–0 | Booth |
| 7 | 8 January 1898 | Leyton | H | 8–4 | Dailley, Field (6), Booth |
| 8 | 15 January 1898 | 3rd Grenadier Guards | A | 5–1 | Dailley, Field (3), Knapman |
| 9 | 10 March 1898 | 2nd Grenadier Guards | A | 2–1 | Wade (2) |
| 10 | 7 April 1898 | Bromley | H | 9–1 | Untraced |
| 11 | 9 April 1898 | Stanley | H | 1–0 | Knapman |
| 12 | 16 April 1898 | Leyton | A | 1–2 | Knapman |
| 13 | 16 April 1898 | Ilford | H | 2–1 | Fox, Butcher |
| 14 | 23 April 1898 | Thames Ironworks | H | 1–0 | Lloyd |
| 15 | 27 April 1898 | 3rd Grenadier Guards | H | 4–1 | Booth (2), Richardson, Butcher |
| 16 | 30 April 1898 | Barking Woodville | H | 0–0 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) |
| 1QR | 25 September 1897 | 1st Coldstream Guards | H | 6–1 | Wade (3), Knapman, Field, untraced |
| 2QR | 16 October 1897 | 3rd Grenadier Guards | H | 1–1 | Swann (pen) |
| 2QR (replay) | 20 October 1897 | 3rd Grenadier Guards | A | 1–4 | Richardson |

### London Senior Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) |
| 1R | 22 January 1898 | Stanley | H | 4–2 | Field (3), Dailley |
| 2R | 19 February 1898 | Clapton | H | 4–1 | Dailley, Earle (og), Field, Swann (pen) |
| SF | 12 March 1898 | Casuals | N | 4–3 | Field (3), Knapman |
| F | 2 April 1898 | Ilford | N | 5–1 | Lloyd (2), Field (2), Booth |

### Middlesex Senior Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) |
| 1R | 29 January 1898 | 1st Scots Guards | H | 4–2 | Field (2), Booth, Knapman |
| 2R | 26 February 1898 | 2nd Grenadier Guards | H | 0–0 | |
| 2R (replay) | 5 March 1898 | 2nd Grenadier Guards | H | 3–1 | Newman (2), Booth |
| SF | 19 March 1898 | 3rd Grenadier Guards | N | 4–1 | Field (2), Booth, Richardson |
| F | 28 April 1898 | 2nd Scots Guards | N | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Field, Charlton, Knapman |
* 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 | Charles Gillett |
| — | GK | ENG | Harry Pennington |
| — | DF | | G. Collings |
| — | DF | ENG | Alfred Lugg |
| — | DF | ENG | J. Reed |
| — | DF | ENG | Percy Swann |
| — | DF | ENG | Archie Williams |
| — | DF | ENG | Harry Williams |
| — | MF | ENG | "A. Bee" |
| — | MF | | Blunt |
| — | MF | SCO | Arthur Charlton |
| — | MF | ENG | Herbert Edney (c) |
| — | MF | ENG | W. Harrison |
| — | MF | ENG | George Haslen |
| — | MF | ENG | Alfred Mattocks |
| — | MF | ENG | "A. Newman" |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | G. Pearce |
| — | MF | ENG | Billy Smith |
| — | MF | ENG | W. Walker |
| — | MF | ENG | Arthur Yeoman |
| — | FW | ENG | Ernest Booth |
| — | FW | ENG | Fred Butcher |
| — | FW | ENG | C. Fox |
| — | FW | ENG | Richard Dailley |
| — | FW | ENG | Oakey Field |
| — | FW | ENG | Harold Hudson |
| — | FW | ENG | Thomas Knapman |
| — | FW | ENG | David Lloyd |
| — | FW | ENG | John Richardson |
| — | FW | SCO | James Rough |
| — | FW | ENG | Billy Steers |
| — | FW | | J. Wade |
* "A. Bee" and "A. Newman" are aliases
* Source: 100 Years of Brentford

## Statistics
### Management

| Name | 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 | From | To | P | W | D | L | W % | P | W | D | L | W % |
| Committee | 11 September 1897 | 30 April 1898 | 28 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 075.00 | 16 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 075.00 |

### Summary

| Games played | 28 (16 London League First Division, 3 FA Cup, 4 London Senior Cup, 5 Middlesex Senior Cup) |
| Games won | 21 (12 London League First Division, 1 FA Cup, 4 London Senior Cup, 4 Middlesex Senior Cup) |
| Games drawn | 4 (2 London League First Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 London Senior Cup, 1 Middlesex Senior Cup) |
| Games lost | 3 (2 London League First Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 London Senior Cup, 0 Middlesex Senior Cup) |
| Goals scored | 82 (43 London League First Division, 8 FA Cup, 17 London Senior Cup, 14 Middlesex Senior Cup) |
| Goals conceded | 36 (17 London League First Division, 6 FA Cup, 7 London Senior Cup, 6 Middlesex Senior Cup) |
| Clean sheets | 6 (5 London League First Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 London Senior Cup, 1 Middlesex Senior Cup) |
| Biggest league win | 9–1 versus Bromley, 7 April 1898 |
| Worst league defeat | 1–0 versus Thames Ironworks, 11 September 1897; 2–1 versus Leyton, 16 April 1898 |
| Most appearances (where traced) | 25, Richard Dailley (13 London League First Division, 3 FA Cup, 4 London Senior Cup, 5 Middlesex Senior Cup) |
| Top scorer (league, where traced) | 11, Oakey Field |
| Top scorer (all competitions, where traced) | 26, Oakey Field |