# 1972–73 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1972–73 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division. The early-season departures of goalscorers John O'Mara and Bobby Ross and 15 consecutive away league defeats led to Brentford's relegation straight back to the Fourth Division.

## Season summary

Brentford's promotion to the Third Division at the end of the 1971–72 season meant that the club would compete in the third-tier for the first time since 1965–66. Self-imposed financial austerity since the club's relegation to the Fourth Division had enabled the club's large debts to be paid off, but despite promotion and increasing attendances, manager Frank Blunstone would again be forced to maintain a small playing squad. Blunstone turned down the chance to become assistant manager at Everton during the off-season. Released in the wake of the promotion were defender Steven Tom, midfielder Brian Turner and winger Gordon Neilson and in came amateur goalkeeper Paul Priddy, midfielders David Court and Alan Murray, winger David Jenkins and Stewart Houston's loan was turned into a permanent transfer for a £15,000 fee. The Brentford youth team was also reactivated after being disbanded due to the budget cuts of 1967, with Kevin Harding, Richard Poole and Graham Pearce being taken on as apprentices. Gary Huxley would win an England Youth cap during the season.
Despite losing and drawing the first two league matches of the season, three consecutive wins put Brentford in 2nd position by 2 September 1972. 10 days later, forward John O'Mara, the previous season's Gallagher's Divisional Footballer Of The Year, was sold to Third Division rivals Blackburn Rovers for a club-record £50,000 fee. Given that Chelsea had recently paid Southend United £100,000 for 25-goal forward Bill Garner, it was felt amongst the Brentford supporters that O'Mara had been sold cheaply. The loss of O'Mara's goals and the departure of captain Bobby Ross shortly afterwards contributed a great deal to Brentford's relegation at the end of the season, given that the two players had scored over half of Brentford's goals during the previous campaign.
By early October 1972, Brentford were in the bottom-six of the Third Division, but a profit of nearly £80,000 from the first eight league matches of the season and the £50,000 from the sale of John O'Mara allowed manager Frank Blunstone to pay £10,000 for Carlisle United forward Stan Webb. By mid-December, Blunstone had just 12 fit players available and despite spending over a further £25,000 on attackers Roger Cross, Barry Salvage and Andy Woon, Brentford's slide towards relegation continued through the early months of 1973. The mid-season signings failed to help arrest the slump and Brentford were relegated after taking just two points from the final six matches of the season. Aside from the lack of goals (winger John Docherty top-scored with 8), Brentford lost 15 consecutive away league matches during the season, a new club record.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 20 | Halifax Town | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 43 | 53 | 0.811 | 41 | |
| 21 | Rotherham United | 46 | 17 | 7 | 22 | 51 | 65 | 0.785 | 41 | Relegated |
| 22 | Brentford | 46 | 15 | 7 | 24 | 51 | 69 | 0.739 | 37 | Relegated |
| 23 | Swansea City | 46 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 51 | 73 | 0.699 | 37 | Relegated |
| 24 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 10 | 10 | 26 | 33 | 72 | 0.458 | 30 | Relegated |

## Results

    Brentford's goal tally listed first.

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Pre-season and friendlies

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer(s) |
| 29 July 1972 | Portsmouth | H | 0–1 | n/a | |
| 1 August 1972 | Hillingdon Borough | A | 2–1 | n/a | Allen, Murray (pen) |
| 5 August 1972 | Aldershot | A | 1–1 | 2,730 | Allen |
| 8 August 1972 | Ashford | A | 1–4 | n/a | Murray (pen) |
| 18 October 1972 | Hampton | A | 2–3 | n/a | Murray, Proctor |
| 9 December 1972 | Exeter City | A | 0–1 | n/a | |
| 4 May 1973 | Everton | H | 3–0 | 3,035 | Salvage, Woon, Bence |

### Football League Third Division

| No. | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer(s) |
| 1 | 12 August 1972 | Halifax Town | H | 0–1 | 10,164 | |
| 2 | 19 August 1972 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–1 | 6,106 | Houston |
| 3 | 26 August 1972 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 4–0 | 9,427 | Arentoft (og), Houston, O'Mara, Graham |
| 4 | 28 August 1972 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–1 | 11,803 | Allen, Murray |
| 5 | 2 September 1972 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 1–0 | 7,833 | Murray |
| 6 | 9 September 1972 | Swansea City | H | 0–2 | 9,986 | |
| 7 | 16 September 1972 | Port Vale | A | 0–1 | 4,663 | |
| 8 | 20 September 1972 | Chesterfield | A | 0–3 | 6,507 | |
| 9 | 23 September 1972 | Bournemouth | H | 1–1 | 11,100 | Docherty |
| 10 | 25 September 1972 | Bristol Rovers | H | 2–1 | 9,720 | Docherty, Jenkins |
| 11 | 30 September 1972 | Notts County | A | 0–1 | 8,152 | |
| 12 | 7 October 1972 | Scunthorpe United | A | 0–1 | 3,378 | |
| 13 | 9 October 1972 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–0 | 8,154 | Docherty, D'Arcy (og) |
| 14 | 14 October 1972 | Walsall | H | 2–0 | 9,493 | Houston, Docherty |
| 15 | 21 October 1972 | Southend United | A | 0–4 | 7,205 | |
| 16 | 28 October 1972 | Rochdale | H | 1–0 | 9,201 | Docherty |
| 17 | 4 November 1972 | Bristol Rovers | A | 1–3 | 7,916 | Houston |
| 18 | 11 November 1972 | Chesterfield | H | 3–1 | 8,078 | Murray (pen), Webb, Houston |
| 19 | 25 November 1972 | York City | H | 2–0 | 7,111 | Webb, Graham |
| 20 | 28 November 1972 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–2 | 6,192 | Docherty |
| 21 | 2 December 1972 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 0–2 | 2,079 | |
| 22 | 16 December 1972 | Grimsby Town | A | 0–4 | 9,110 | |
| 23 | 23 December 1972 | Wrexham | H | 1–0 | 6,067 | Docherty |
| 24 | 26 December 1972 | Bournemouth | A | 2–3 | 14,372 | Houston, Graham |
| 25 | 30 December 1972 | Oldham Athletic | H | 1–1 | 7,719 | Webb |
| 26 | 6 January 1973 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–2 | 6,534 | Graham |
| 27 | 13 January 1973 | Rotherham United | H | 1–1 | 7,446 | Cross |
| 28 | 20 January 1973 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 0–2 | 7,075 | |
| 39 | 26 January 1973 | Swansea City | A | 1–2 | 2,119 | Murray |
| 30 | 2 February 1973 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 2–6 | 6,650 | Court, Murray |
| 31 | 10 February 1973 | Port Vale | H | 5–0 | 6,694 | Woon (3), Graham, Salvage |
| 32 | 24 February 1973 | Grimsby Town | H | 0–1 | 9,302 | |
| 33 | 26 February 1973 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–0 | 9,929 | Salvage |
| 34 | 3 March 1973 | Scunthorpe United | H | 1–0 | 7,896 | Murray |
| 35 | 6 March 1973 | Rotherham United | A | 1–2 | 3,758 | Webb |
| 36 | 10 March 1973 | Walsall | A | 0–3 | 4,192 | |
| 37 | 17 March 1973 | Southend United | H | 1–2 | 8,051 | Cross |
| 38 | 19 March 1973 | Watford | H | 1–1 | 8,232 | Cross |
| 39 | 24 March 1973 | Rochdale | A | 1–0 | 1,747 | Allen |
| 40 | 31 March 1973 | York City | A | 1–0 | 2,307 | Allen |
| 41 | 4 April 1973 | Halifax Town | A | 2–3 | 970 | Webb, Allen |
| 42 | 7 April 1973 | Shrewsbury Town | H | 1–2 | 6,758 | Salvage |
| 43 | 14 April 1973 | Watford | A | 2–2 | 7,813 | Cross, Murray |
| 44 | 20 April 1973 | Notts County | H | 1–1 | 11,658 | Graham |
| 45 | 23 April 1973 | Wrexham | A | 1–4 | 2,611 | Webb |
| 46 | 28 April 1973 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–2 | 21,917 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer |
| 1R | 18 November 1972 | Yeovil Town | A | 1–2 | 9,447 | Allen |

### Football League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer |
| 1R | 16 August 1972 | Cambridge United | H | 1–0 | 7,750 | Docherty |
| 2R | 5 September 1972 | Rotherham United | A | 0–2 | 4,996 | |
* 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 1972–73 season.
| Pos. | Name | Date of birth (age) | Signed from | Signed in | Notes |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| GK | Gordon Phillips | (1946-11-17)17 November 1946 (aged 25) | Hayes | 1963 | |
| GK | Paul Priddy | (1953-07-11)11 July 1953 (aged 19) | Maidenhead United | 1972 | |
| Defenders |||||||
| DF | Peter Gelson | (1941-10-18)18 October 1941 (aged 30) | Youth | 1961 | |
| DF | Alan Hawley (c) | (1946-06-07)7 June 1946 (aged 26) | Youth | 1962 | |
| DF | Alan Nelmes | (1948-10-20)20 October 1948 (aged 23) | Chelsea | 1967 | |
| DF | Terry Scales | (1951-01-18)18 January 1951 (aged 21) | West Ham United | 1971 | |
| Midfielders |||||||
| MF | Michael Allen | (1949-03-30)30 March 1949 (aged 23) | Middlesbrough | 1971 | |
| MF | Paul Bence | (1948-12-21)21 December 1948 (aged 23) | Reading | 1970 | |
| MF | David Court | (1944-03-01)1 March 1944 (aged 28) | Luton Town | 1972 | |
| MF | John Docherty | (1940-04-29)29 April 1940 (aged 32) | Reading | 1970 | |
| MF | Jackie Graham | (1946-07-16)16 July 1946 (aged 26) | Guildford City | 1970 | |
| MF | David Jenkins | (1946-09-02)2 September 1946 (aged 25) | Tottenham Hotspur | 1972 | Loaned to Hereford United |
| MF | Alan Murray | (1949-11-05)5 November 1949 (aged 22) | York City | 1972 | |
| MF | Barry Salvage | (1946-12-21)21 December 1946 (aged 25) | Queens Park Rangers | 1973 | |
| Forwards |||||||
| FW | Roger Cross | (1948-10-20)20 October 1948 (aged 23) | Fulham | 1973 | |
| FW | Stewart Houston | (1949-08-20)20 August 1949 (aged 22) | Chelsea | 1972 | |
| FW | Stan Webb | (1947-12-06)6 December 1947 (aged 24) | Carlisle United | 1972 | |
| FW | Andy Woon | (1952-06-26)26 June 1952 (aged 20) | Bognor Regis Town | 1973 | |
| Players who left the club mid-season |||||||
| GK | Kieron Baker | (1949-10-29)29 October 1949 (aged 22) | Bournemouth | 1972 | Returned to Bournemouth after loan |
| FW | John O'Mara | (1947-03-19)19 March 1947 (aged 25) | Wimbledon | 1971 | Transferred to Blackburn Rovers |
| FW | Bobby Ross | (1942-05-10)10 May 1942 (aged 30) | Shrewsbury Town | 1966 | Released |
* Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies, Timeless Bees

## Coaching staff

| Name | Role |
| Frank Blunstone | Manager |
| Eddie Lyons | Trainer |

## 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 | | Gordon Phillips | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| GK | | Paul Priddy | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| DF | | Peter Gelson | 41 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 (1) | 0 |
| DF | | Alan Hawley | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 0 |
| DF | | Alan Nelmes | 35 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 (1) | 0 |
| DF | | Terry Scales | 41 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| MF | | Michael Allen | 26 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 5 |
| MF | | Paul Bence | 33 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 (3) | 0 |
| MF | | David Court | 8 (4) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 (4) | 1 |
| MF | | John Docherty | 34 (2) | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 36 (2) | 8 |
| MF | | Jackie Graham | 30 (1) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 33 (1) | 6 |
| MF | | David Jenkins | 13 (5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 (5) | 1 |
| MF | | Alan Murray | 42 (3) | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 (3) | 7 |
| MF | | Barry Salvage | 16 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 3 |
| FW | | Roger Cross | 19 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 4 |
| FW | | Stewart Houston | 39 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 6 |
| FW | | John O'Mara | 4 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| FW | | Bobby Ross | 7 | 0 | — | — | 1 (1) | 0 | 8 (1) | 0 |
| FW | | Stan Webb | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 6 |
| FW | | Andy Woon | 5 (1) | 3 | — | — | — | — | 5 (1) | 3 |
| Players loaned in during the season |||||||||||
| GK | | Kieron Baker | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 |
* Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
* Source: 100 Years of Brentford

### Goalscorers

| Pos. | Nat | Player | FL3 | FAC | FLC | Total |
| MF | | John Docherty | 7 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| MF | | Alan Murray | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| MF | | Jackie Graham | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| FW | | Stewart Houston | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| FW | | Stan Webb | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| MF | | Michael Allen | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| FW | | Roger Cross | 4 | — | — | 4 |
| MF | | Barry Salvage | 3 | — | — | 3 |
| FW | | Andy Woon | 3 | — | — | 3 |
| FW | | John O'Mara | 1 | — | 0 | 1 |
| MF | | David Court | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| MF | | David Jenkins | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Opponents | Opponents | Opponents | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | Total | Total | 51 | 1 | 1 | 53 |
* 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 % |
| Frank Blunstone | | 12 August 1972 | 28 April 1973 | 49 | 16 | 7 | 26 | 032.65 | 46 | 15 | 7 | 24 | 032.61 |

### Summary

| Games played | 49 (46 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cup) |
| Games won | 16 (15 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) |
| Games drawn | 7 (7 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) |
| Games lost | 26 (24 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) |
| Goals scored | 53 (51 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) |
| Goals conceded | 73 (69 Fourth Division, 2 FA Cup, 2 League Cup) |
| Clean sheets | 13 (12 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) |
| Biggest league win | 5–0 versus Port Vale, 10 February 1973 |
| Worst league defeat | 4–0 on two occasions; 6–2 versus Tranmere Rovers, 2 February 1973 |
| Most appearances | 48, Alan Murray (45 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cup) |
| Top scorer (league) | 7, John Docherty, Alan Murray |
| Top scorer (all competitions) | 8, John Docherty |

## Transfers & loans

Players transferred in :
| Date | Pos. | Name | Previous Club | Fee | Ref. |
| June 1972 | MF | Alan Murray | Middlesbrough | Free | |
| July 1972 | MF | David Jenkins | Tottenham Hotspur | Free | |
| August 1972 | MF | David Court | Luton Town | Free | |
| October 1972 | MF | Billy Stagg | n/a | n/a | |
| October 1972 | FW | Stan Webb | Carlisle United | £10,000 | |
| 1972 | FW | Stewart Houston | Chelsea | £15,000 | |
| 1972 | FW | Roy Cotton | Tottenham Hotspur | n/a | |
| January 1973 | FW | Roger Cross | Fulham | £16,000 | |
| February 1973 | MF | Barry Salvage | Queens Park Rangers | £9,000 | |
| February 1973 | FW | Andy Woon | Bognor Regis Town | £1,000 | |
| Players loaned in ||||||
| Date from | Pos. | Name | From | Date to | Ref. |
| February 1973 | GK | Kieron Baker | Bournemouth | March 1973 | |
| Players transferred out ||||||
| Date | Pos. | Name | Subsequent club | Fee | Ref. |
| 12 September 1972 | FW | John O'Mara | Blackburn Rovers | £50,000 | |
| Players loaned out ||||||
| Date from | Pos. | Name | To | Date to | Ref. |
| March 1973 | MF | David Jenkins | Hereford United | End of season | |
| Players released ||||||
| Date | Pos. | Name | Subsequent club | Join date | Ref. |
| October 1972 | FW | Bobby Ross | Cambridge United | October 1972 | |
| May 1973 | MF | David Court | Barnet | 1973 | |
| May 1973 | MF | Alan Murray | Doncaster Rovers | July 1973 | |
| May 1973 | GK | Gordon Phillips | Hillingdon Borough | 1973 | |

## Awards

* Supporters' Player of the Year: Peter Gelson
* Players' Player of the Year: Paul Bence