# 1951–52 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1951–52 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Second Division. The Bees secured a third-consecutive top 10 finish and reached the fourth round of the FA Cup, taking Luton Town to two replays before being knocked out.

## Season summary

After two consecutive 9th-place finishes in the Second Division, Brentford manager Jackie Gibbons elected to keep his squad together for the 1951–52 season, with former Brighton & Hove Albion utility player Frank Morrad being his only first team signing.
Aided by the goalscoring of full back-cum-centre forward Fred Monk, Brentford showed excellent form in the first half of the season and just five losses in the opening 21 matches put the club into the promotion places. The push for promotion was derailed during the Christmas period, after consecutive defeats to Southampton on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. A dressing room ruckus ensued between manager Gibbons on one side and half backs Ron Greenwood and Jimmy Hill on the other. The bust-up resulted in Greenwood and Hill requesting transfers, with Hill eventually moving to local rivals Fulham in March 1952 in exchange for inside forward Jimmy Bowie.
Centre forward Billy Dare came into goalscoring in the second half of the season, but the disruption to the Harper-Hill-Greenwood half back line (Greenwood later rescinded his transfer request) led to an increase in the number of goals conceded and Brentford drifted out of contention for promotion to finish in 10th place. Amid much fanfare, former England international Tommy Lawton was signed for a club record £16,000 fee in March 1952, but he managed to contribute only two goals in his 10 appearances. In 2010, full back Ken Horne commented that "I'm sure we could have gone up that year but the spirit completely went out the team. We'd got by on spirit. The team had been kept together for so long that they had been fighting for each other".
The end of the season saw the retirement of Brentford's final two players signed prior to the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 – goalkeeper Ted Gaskell and utility man Tom Manley. Both received a joint-testimonial in April 1954.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
| 8 | Luton Town | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 77 | 78 | 0.987 | 44 |
| 9 | Rotherham United | 42 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 73 | 71 | 1.028 | 42 |
| 10 | Brentford | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 54 | 55 | 0.982 | 42 |
| 11 | Sheffield United | 42 | 18 | 5 | 19 | 90 | 76 | 1.184 | 41 |
| 12 | West Ham United | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 67 | 77 | 0.870 | 41 |

## Results

    Brentford's goal tally listed first.

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Second Division

| No. | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer(s) |
| 1 | 18 August 1951 | Leeds United | A | 1–1 | 20,268 | Paton |
| 2 | 22 August 1951 | Everton | A | 0–1 | 32,722 | |
| 3 | 25 August 1951 | Rotherham United | H | 2–0 | 24,904 | Sperrin, Monk |
| 4 | 27 August 1951 | Everton | H | 1–0 | 19,525 | Sperrin |
| 5 | 1 September 1951 | Cardiff City | A | 0–2 | 27,772 | |
| 6 | 5 September 1951 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 2–1 | 21,154 | Goodwin, Monk (pen) |
| 7 | 8 September 1951 | Birmingham City | H | 1–0 | 25,029 | Monk |
| 8 | 15 September 1951 | Leicester City | A | 1–1 | 23,757 | Monk |
| 9 | 22 September 1951 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–1 | 26,350 | Hill |
| 10 | 29 September 1951 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–3 | 25,339 | Monk |
| 11 | 6 October 1951 | Notts County | H | 1–0 | 28,214 | Coote |
| 12 | 13 October 1951 | Luton Town | A | 2–0 | 18,521 | Sperrin, Monk |
| 13 | 20 October 1951 | Bury | H | 4–0 | 20,726 | Sperrin (2), Coote, Paton |
| 14 | 27 October 1951 | Swansea Town | A | 1–1 | 19,235 | Sperrin |
| 15 | 3 November 1951 | Coventry City | H | 4–0 | 22,899 | Monk |
| 16 | 10 November 1951 | West Ham United | A | 0–1 | 26,288 | |
| 17 | 17 November 1951 | Sheffield United | H | 4–1 | 26,288 | Paton, Monk (2), Sperrin |
| 18 | 24 November 1951 | Barnsley | A | 0–0 | 10,149 | |
| 19 | 1 December 1951 | Hull City | H | 2–1 | 26,072 | Monk (2) |
| 20 | 8 December 1951 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0–3 | 13,617 | |
| 21 | 15 December 1951 | Leeds United | H | 2–1 | 17,957 | Dare (2) |
| 22 | 22 December 1951 | Rotherham United | A | 1–1 | 14,809 | Monk |
| 23 | 25 December 1951 | Southampton | H | 1–2 | 25,841 | Dare |
| 24 | 26 December 1951 | Southampton | A | 1–2 | 21,625 | Sperrin |
| 25 | 29 December 1951 | Cardiff City | H | 1–1 | 27,547 | Paton |
| 26 | 5 January 1952 | Birmingham City | A | 2–1 | 28,368 | Dare, Badham (og) |
| 27 | 19 January 1952 | Leicester City | H | 1–3 | 19,923 | Dare |
| 28 | 26 January 1952 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–2 | 21,649 | |
| 29 | 9 February 1952 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0–0 | 25,645 | |
| 30 | 16 February 1952 | Notts County | A | 2–5 | 22,503 | Dare, Sperrin |
| 31 | 1 March 1952 | Luton Town | H | 3–3 | 21,218 | Dare (2), Horne |
| 32 | 8 March 1952 | Bury | A | 0–1 | 12,140 | |
| 33 | 15 March 1952 | Swansea Town | H | 3–1 | 29,753 | Coote, Dare (2) |
| 34 | 22 March 1952 | Coventry City | A | 1–2 | 27,577 | Dare |
| 35 | 5 April 1952 | Sheffield United | A | 4–1 | 23,435 | Lawton, Paton, Dare, Harper |
| 36 | 11 April 1952 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–3 | 35,827 | Bragg, Dare |
| 37 | 12 April 1952 | Barnsley | H | 1–1 | 19,912 | Goodwin |
| 38 | 14 April 1952 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–2 | 43,935 | |
| 39 | 19 April 1952 | Hull City | A | 1–4 | 30,891 | Dare |
| 40 | 21 April 1952 | West Ham United | H | 1–1 | 12,563 | Lawton |
| 41 | 26 April 1952 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–1 | 16,195 | Slater |
| 42 | 30 April 1952 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 1–0 | 10,243 | Morrad |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer(s) |
| 3R | 12 January 1952 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 3–1 | 35,000 | Coote, Paton, Sperrin |
| 4R | 2 February 1952 | Luton Town | A | 2–2 | 25,320 | Sperrin (2) |
| 4R (replay) | 6 February 1952 | Luton Town | H | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | 29,500 | |
| 4R (2nd replay) | 18 February 1952 | Luton Town | N | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | 37,269 | Dare (2) |
* Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford, Statto, 11v11

## Playing squad

    Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1951–52 season.
| Pos. | Name | Nat. | Date of birth (age) | Signed from | Signed in | Notes |
| Goalkeepers | Goalkeepers | Goalkeepers | Goalkeepers | Goalkeepers | Goalkeepers | |
| GK | Ted Gaskell | | (1916-12-19)19 December 1916 (aged 34) | Buxton | 1937 | |
| GK | Alf Jefferies | | (1922-02-09)9 February 1922 (aged 29) | Oxford City | 1945 | |
| GK | Reg Newton | | (1926-06-30)30 June 1926 (aged 25) | Leyton Orient | 1949 | |
| Defenders | Defenders | Defenders | Defenders | Defenders | Defenders | |
| DF | Wally Bragg | | (1929-07-08)8 July 1929 (aged 22) | Twickenham Celtic | 1946 | |
| DF | Ian Dargie | | (1931-10-03)3 October 1931 (aged 19) | Tonbridge | 1952 | |
| DF | Ken Horne | | (1926-06-25)25 June 1926 (aged 25) | Blackpool | 1950 | |
| DF | Tecwyn Jones | | (1930-01-03)3 January 1930 (aged 21) | Holywell Town | 1950 | |
| DF | Frank Morrad | | (1920-02-28)28 February 1920 (aged 31) | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1951 | |
| DF | Roddy Munro | | (1920-07-27)27 July 1920 (aged 31) | Rangers | 1946 | |
| Midfielders | Midfielders | Midfielders | Midfielders | Midfielders | Midfielders | |
| HB | George Bristow | | (1933-06-25)25 June 1933 (aged 18) | Youth | 1950 | |
| HB | Ron Greenwood (c) | | (1921-11-11)11 November 1921 (aged 29) | Bradford Park Avenue | 1949 | |
| HB | Tony Harper | | (1925-05-26)26 May 1925 (aged 26) | Headington United | 1948 | |
| HB | Frank Latimer | | (1923-10-03)3 October 1923 (aged 27) | Snowdown Colliery Welfare | 1945 | |
| HB | Bill Slater | | (1927-04-29)29 April 1927 (aged 24) | Blackpool | 1951 | Amateur |
| Forwards | Forwards | Forwards | Forwards | Forwards | Forwards | |
| FW | Jimmy Bowie | | (1924-08-09)9 August 1924 (aged 27) | Fulham | 1952 | |
| FW | Ken Coote | | (1928-05-19)19 May 1928 (aged 23) | Wembley | 1949 | |
| FW | Billy Dare | | (1927-02-14)14 February 1927 (aged 24) | Hendon | 1948 | |
| FW | Verdi Godwin | | (1926-02-11)11 February 1926 (aged 25) | Grimsby Town | 1952 | |
| FW | Jackie Goodwin | | (1920-09-29)29 September 1920 (aged 30) | Birmingham City | 1949 | |
| FW | Tommy Lawton | | (1919-10-06)6 October 1919 (aged 31) | Notts County | 1952 | |
| FW | Terry Ledgerton | | (1930-10-07)7 October 1930 (aged 20) | Huyton | 1950 | |
| FW | Fred Monk | | (1920-10-09)9 October 1920 (aged 30) | Guildford City | 1948 | |
| FW | Johnny Paton | | (1923-04-02)2 April 1923 (aged 28) | Celtic | 1949 | |
| FW | Billy Sperrin | | (1922-04-09)9 April 1922 (aged 29) | Guildford City | 1949 | |
| Players who left the club mid-season |||||||
| HB | Jimmy Hill | | (1928-07-22)22 July 1928 (aged 23) | Reading | 1949 | Transferred to Fulham |
* Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford, Timeless Bees

## Coaching staff

| Name | Role |
| Jackie Gibbons | Secretary-Manager |
| Jimmy Bain | Assistant Manager |
| David Richards | Trainer |
| Jack Cartmell | Assistant Trainer |
| Jimmy Hogan | Assistant Trainer |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| Pos | Nat | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos | Nat | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | | Ted Gaskell | 15 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| GK | | Alf Jefferies | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| GK | | Reg Newton | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| DF | | Wally Bragg | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| DF | | Ian Dargie | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| DF | | Ken Horne | 34 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 38 | 1 |
| DF | | Tecwyn Jones | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | | Frank Morrad | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| DF | | Roddy Munro | 40 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| HB | | George Bristow | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| HB | | Ron Greenwood | 37 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| HB | | Tony Harper | 37 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 41 | 1 |
| HB | | Jimmy Hill | 27 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 1 |
| HB | | Frank Latimer | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| HB | | Bill Slater | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| FW | | Jimmy Bowie | 9 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 |
| FW | | Ken Coote | 24 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 28 | 4 |
| FW | | Billy Dare | 42 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 46 | 16 |
| FW | | Verdi Godwin | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| FW | | Jackie Goodwin | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 2 |
| FW | | Tommy Lawton | 10 | 2 | — | — | 10 | 2 |
| FW | | Terry Ledgerton | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| FW | | Fred Monk | 40 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 12 |
| FW | | Johnny Paton | 36 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 39 | 6 |
| FW | | Billy Sperrin | 31 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 35 | 11 |
* Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
* Source: 100 Years Of Brentford

### Goalscorers

| Pos. | Nat | Player | FL2 | FAC | Total |
| FW | | Billy Dare | 14 | 2 | 16 |
| FW | | Fred Monk | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| FW | | Billy Sperrin | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| FW | | Johnny Paton | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| FW | | Ken Coote | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| FW | | Tommy Lawton | 2 | — | 2 |
| FW | | Jackie Goodwin | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| DF | | Wally Bragg | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| HB | | Tony Harper | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| HB | | Jimmy Hill | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| DF | | Ken Horne | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| DF | | Frank Morrad | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| HB | | Bill Slater | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Opponents | Opponents | Opponents | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | 54 | 7 | 61 |
* Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
* Source: 100 Years Of Brentford

### Amateur international caps

| Pos. | Nat | Player | Caps | Goals | Ref |
| HB | | Bill Slater | 5 | 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 % |
| Jackie Gibbons | | 18 August 1951 | 30 April 1952 | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 034.78 | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 035.71 |

### Summary

| Games played | 46 (42 Second Division, 4 FA Cup) |
| Games won | 16 (15 Second Division, 1 FA Cup) |
| Games drawn | 14 (12 Second Division, 2 FA Cup) |
| Games lost | 16 (15 Second Division, 1 FA Cup) |
| Goals scored | 61 (54 Second Division, 7 FA Cup) |
| Goals conceded | 61 (55 Second Division, 6 FA Cup) |
| Clean sheets | 11 (10 Second Division, 1 FA Cup) |
| Biggest league win | 4–0 on two occasions |
| Worst league defeat | 3–0 versus Blackburn Rovers, 8 December 1951; 4–1 versus Hull City, 19 April 1952; 5–2 versus Notts County, 16 February 1952 |
| Most appearances | 46, Billy Dare (42 Second Division, 4 FA Cup) |
| Top scorer (league) | 14, Billy Dare |
| Top scorer (all competitions) | 16, Billy Dare |

## Transfers & loans

Players transferred in :
| Date | Pos. | Name | Previous Club | Fee | Ref. |
| May 1951 | DF | George Lowden | Unattached | Amateur | |
| August 1951 | DF | Frank Morrad | Brighton & Hove Albion | n/a | |
| September 1951 | HB | Mike Skivington | Gillingham | n/a | |
| December 1951 | GK | Dave Jones | Dover | n/a | |
| December 1951 | HB | Bill Slater | Blackpool | Amateur | |
| 25 February 1952 | DF | Ian Dargie | Tonbridge | n/a | |
| March 1952 | FW | Jimmy Bowie | Fulham | Exchange | |
| March 1952 | FW | Verdi Godwin | Grimsby Town | n/a | |
| March 1952 | FW | Tommy Lawton | Notts County | £16,000 | |
| Players transferred out ||||||
| Date | Pos. | Name | Subsequent club | Fee | Ref. |
| December 1951 | n/a | Jack Nicholson | Dundee United | n/a | |
| March 1952 | HB | Jimmy Hill | Fulham | Exchange | |
| Players released ||||||
| Date | Pos. | Name | Subsequent club | Join date | Ref. |
| May 1952 | GK | Ted Gaskell | Retired | | |
| May 1952 | FW | Bernard Kelly | Deal Town | 1952 | |
| May 1952 | HB | Tom Manley | Retired | | |
| May 1952 | FW | Tommy Mycock | Tranmere Rovers | May 1952 | |
| May 1952 | HB | Mike Skivington | Retired | | |