1916–17 Brentford F.C. season
During the 1916–17 English football season, Brentford competed in the London Combination, due to the cessation of competitive football for the duration of the First World War. Restricted by league rules mandating that all players must be members of the armed forces or munitions workers, Brentford finished third-from-bottom, having been forced to field over 50 guest players. Season summary. Straddling the middle period the First World War, the London Combination introduced a new rule that for the 1916–17 season, stating all players must be members of the armed forces or munitions workers, which meant  Brentford secretary-manager Fred Halliday (himself a worker at the Ministry of Munitions) had trouble securing players to play. Full back Dusty Rhodes, half back Alf Amos and forwards Patsy Hendren and Henry White would be the only pre-war Bees players to appear in more than half of the matches during the season. Albert Chester joined the club from Millwall in December 1916 and also appeared in over half the matches. Due to a wrist injury suffered by Ted Price, Bradford Park Avenue's Frank Drabble was the main goalkeeper during the season, while Croydon Common's William Bushell  was also a regular in the half back line. Brentford had a torrid season, winning just 9 of the 40 matches. Defeats by three, four, five and six goal margins were a regular occurrence, contributing to a total of 99 goals conceded during the campaign. 16 goals were conceded in four matches versus Luton Town. The highlights were a 7–0 victory over Portsmouth at Griffin Park on 30 December 1916 and Henry White's performances, who top-scored for the third-consecutive season with 20 goals from 35 matches. The Battle of the Somme, which began on 1 July 1916 , represented the lowest period so far for the British Army during the war and a number of former Brentford players were killed in the battle: Two other players died during the season: