During the 1933–34 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Second Division for the first time in the club's history. A strong run in the middle of the season saw the Bees hold the second promotion place throughout March 1934, before a slight drop in form led the club to a still-impressive 4th-place finish.
Season summary
In preparation for Brentford's first-ever season in the Second Division, manager Harry Curtis brought in a number of younger players to replace ageing full backs Tom Adamson, Alexander Stevenson and half back captain Jimmy Bain. Curtis stuck with the same free-scoring strikeforce of the previous season, electing to add only outside left Charlie Fletcher from Clapton Orient. Despite winning just 6 of the opening 16 matches of the season, Brentford found themselves in 8th place, before a run of 8 wins in 11 matches put the club into the second promotion place on 3 February 1934.[2] Manager Curtis had made an astute purchase in the transfer market in January, purchasing Southend United's full back Arthur Bateman as a replacement for Tom Adamson.
2nd place was held until a defeat to Bradford City on 24 March dropped Brentford back to 3rd, with results in the following four matches dropping the club to 4th.[2] A 2–0 win over Swansea Town on 14 April saw the Bees rise back to the one remaining promotion place, with just three matches to play.[2] Defeat to Millwall in the first of those matches dropped Brentford back to 4th,[2] but a resounding 5–0 victory over Lincoln City in the penultimate match of the season left the Bees knowing that a draw and favourable results for 2nd-place Preston North End and 3rd-place Bolton Wanderers on the final day would be enough to secure promotion to the First Division.[4] Despite Brentford's 2–1 victory over Bury at Gigg Lane on the final day, victory for Preston North End saw the Lilywhites pip Bolton Wanderers into the second promotion place,[5] with Brentford forced to settle for a still-brilliant 4th-place finish in the club's first season in the second tier of English football.[6]
Just one of Brentford's 85 goals during the season came from a player who was not a forward, centre half Joe James and the tally of 8 goalscorers was at that time the lowest in club history.[7][8] Jack Holliday top-scored with an impressive 27 goals,[9] while Idris Hopkins flourished at the higher level, scoring 21 times.[10] Ernest Muttitt,[11] Billy Scott and Charlie Fletcher ably supported Holliday and Hopkins by also scoring in double-figures.[12][13]
League table
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Pos |
Team |
Pld |
Home |
Away |
F |
A |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
1 |
Grimsby Town |
42 |
15 |
3 |
3 |
62 |
28 |
12 |
2 |
7 |
41 |
31 |
103 |
59 |
1.746 |
+44 |
59 |
2 |
Preston North End |
42 |
15 |
3 |
3 |
47 |
20 |
8 |
3 |
10 |
24 |
32 |
71 |
52 |
1.365 |
+19 |
52 |
3 |
Bolton Wanderers |
42 |
14 |
2 |
5 |
45 |
22 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
34 |
33 |
79 |
55 |
1.436 |
+24 |
51 |
4 |
Brentford |
42 |
15 |
2 |
4 |
52 |
24 |
7 |
5 |
9 |
33 |
36 |
85 |
60 |
1.417 |
+25 |
51 |
5 |
Bradford Park Avenue |
42 |
16 |
2 |
3 |
63 |
27 |
7 |
1 |
13 |
23 |
40 |
86 |
67 |
1.284 |
+19 |
49 |
6 |
Bradford City |
42 |
14 |
4 |
3 |
46 |
25 |
6 |
2 |
13 |
27 |
42 |
73 |
67 |
1.090 |
+6 |
46 |
7 |
West Ham United |
42 |
13 |
3 |
5 |
51 |
28 |
4 |
8 |
9 |
27 |
42 |
78 |
70 |
1.114 |
+8 |
45 |
8 |
Port Vale |
42 |
14 |
4 |
3 |
39 |
14 |
5 |
3 |
13 |
21 |
41 |
60 |
55 |
1.091 |
+5 |
45 |
9 |
Oldham Athletic |
42 |
12 |
5 |
4 |
48 |
28 |
5 |
5 |
11 |
24 |
32 |
72 |
60 |
1.200 |
+12 |
44 |
10 |
Plymouth Argyle |
42 |
12 |
7 |
2 |
43 |
20 |
3 |
6 |
12 |
26 |
50 |
69 |
70 |
0.986 |
–1 |
43 |
11 |
Blackpool |
42 |
10 |
8 |
3 |
39 |
27 |
5 |
5 |
11 |
23 |
37 |
62 |
64 |
0.969 |
–2 |
43 |
12 |
Bury |
42 |
12 |
4 |
5 |
43 |
31 |
5 |
5 |
11 |
27 |
42 |
70 |
73 |
0.959 |
–3 |
43 |
13 |
Burnley |
42 |
14 |
2 |
5 |
40 |
29 |
4 |
4 |
13 |
20 |
43 |
60 |
72 |
0.833 |
–12 |
42 |
14 |
Southampton |
42 |
15 |
2 |
4 |
40 |
21 |
0 |
6 |
15 |
14 |
37 |
54 |
58 |
0.931 |
–4 |
38 |
15 |
Hull City |
42 |
11 |
4 |
6 |
33 |
20 |
2 |
8 |
11 |
19 |
48 |
52 |
68 |
0.765 |
–16 |
38 |
16 |
Fulham |
42 |
13 |
3 |
5 |
29 |
17 |
2 |
4 |
15 |
19 |
50 |
48 |
67 |
0.716 |
–19 |
37 |
17 |
Nottingham Forest |
42 |
11 |
4 |
6 |
50 |
27 |
2 |
5 |
14 |
23 |
47 |
73 |
74 |
0.986 |
–1 |
35 |
18 |
Notts County |
42 |
9 |
7 |
5 |
32 |
22 |
3 |
4 |
14 |
21 |
40 |
53 |
62 |
0.855 |
–9 |
35 |
19 |
Swansea Town |
42 |
10 |
9 |
2 |
36 |
19 |
0 |
6 |
15 |
15 |
41 |
51 |
60 |
0.850 |
–9 |
35 |
20 |
Manchester United |
42 |
9 |
3 |
9 |
29 |
33 |
5 |
3 |
13 |
30 |
52 |
59 |
85 |
0.694 |
–26 |
34 |
21 |
Millwall |
42 |
8 |
8 |
5 |
21 |
17 |
3 |
3 |
15 |
18 |
51 |
39 |
68 |
0.574 |
–29 |
33 |
22 |
Lincoln City |
42 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
31 |
23 |
2 |
1 |
18 |
13 |
52 |
44 |
75 |
0.587 |
–31 |
26 |
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against;
GA = Goal average; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Key |
|
|
Division Champions, promoted |
|
Promoted |
|
Relegated |
Results
- Brentford's goal tally listed first.
Legend
No. |
Date |
Opponent |
Venue |
Result |
Attendance |
Scorer(s) |
1 |
26 August 1933 |
Nottingham Forest |
A |
1–1 |
12,702 |
Hopkins |
2 |
31 August 1933 |
Bradford Park Avenue |
H |
2–0 |
13,667 |
Holliday (2) |
3 |
2 September 1933 |
West Ham United |
H |
4–1 |
19,918 |
Holliday (2), Hopkins (2) |
4 |
6 September 1933 |
Bradford Park Avenue |
A |
2–5 |
11,982 |
Hopkins, Muttitt |
5 |
9 September 1933 |
Plymouth Argyle |
A |
1–1 |
20,945 |
Watson |
6 |
16 September 1933 |
Manchester United |
H |
3–4 |
17,180 |
Fletcher, Holliday, Muttitt |
7 |
23 September 1933 |
Bolton Wanderers |
A |
2–3 |
9,894 |
Fletcher, Hopkins |
8 |
30 September 1933 |
Hull City |
H |
2–2 |
14,570 |
Fletcher, Holliday |
9 |
7 October 1933 |
Burnley |
H |
5–2 |
14,797 |
Hopkins (2), Holliday (2), Muttitt |
10 |
14 October 1933 |
Oldham Athletic |
A |
4–1 |
9,831 |
James, Hopkins (2), Holliday |
11 |
21 October 1933 |
Fulham |
A |
1–1 |
35,421 |
Holliday (pen) |
12 |
28 October 1933 |
Southampton |
H |
2–0 |
15,611 |
Hopkins (2) |
13 |
4 November 1933 |
Blackpool |
A |
1–3 |
14,229 |
Muttitt |
14 |
11 November 1933 |
Bradford City |
H |
2–1 |
12,932 |
Muttitt, Holliday |
15 |
18 November 1933 |
Port Vale |
A |
0–1 |
11,349 |
|
16 |
25 November 1933 |
Notts County |
H |
2–2 |
12,110 |
Holliday, Scott |
17 |
2 December 1933 |
Swansea Town |
A |
3–2 |
4,269 |
Fletcher (2), Muttitt |
18 |
9 December 1933 |
Millwall |
H |
3–0 |
12,017 |
Scott (2), Holliday |
19 |
16 December 1933 |
Lincoln City |
A |
2–0 |
6,080 |
Holliday (2, 1 pen) |
20 |
23 December 1933 |
Bury |
H |
2–3 |
12,761 |
Muttitt, Fletcher |
21 |
25 December 1933 |
Preston North End |
H |
3–2 |
20,662 |
Fletcher, Hopkins (2) |
22 |
26 December 1933 |
Preston North End |
A |
2–3 |
24,451 |
Scott (2) |
23 |
30 December 1933 |
Nottingham Forest |
H |
2–1 |
12,795 |
Hopkins, Scott |
24 |
6 January 1934 |
West Ham United |
A |
2–3 |
24,108 |
Muttitt, Holliday |
25 |
20 January 1934 |
Plymouth Argyle |
H |
3–0 |
17,566 |
Scott, Fletcher, Holliday |
26 |
27 January 1934 |
Manchester United |
A |
3–1 |
16,891 |
Muttitt (2), Fletcher |
27 |
3 February 1934 |
Bolton Wanderers |
H |
3–1 |
16,037 |
Holliday (2), Scott |
28 |
10 February 1934 |
Hull City |
A |
1–0 |
10,566 |
Hopkins |
29 |
17 February 1934 |
Burnley |
A |
1–3 |
11,666 |
Holliday |
30 |
24 February 1934 |
Oldham Athletic |
H |
2–1 |
15,927 |
Scott, Muttitt |
31 |
3 March 1934 |
Fulham |
H |
1–2 |
25,184 |
Holliday (pen) |
32 |
10 March 1934 |
Southampton |
A |
0–0 |
10,349 |
|
33 |
17 March 1934 |
Blackpool |
H |
1–0 |
16,461 |
Hopkins |
34 |
24 March 1934 |
Bradford City |
A |
1–2 |
12,394 |
Hopkins |
35 |
30 March 1934 |
Grimsby Town |
A |
2–2 |
23,233 |
Hopkins, Holliday |
36 |
31 March 1934 |
Port Vale |
H |
2–0 |
19,758 |
Holliday, Scott |
37 |
2 April 1934 |
Grimsby Town |
H |
1–2 |
26,934 |
Holliday |
38 |
7 April 1934 |
Notts County |
A |
2–1 |
11,657 |
Allen, Hopkins |
39 |
14 April 1934 |
Swansea Town |
H |
2–0 |
14,848 |
Hopkins, Muttitt |
40 |
21 April 1934 |
Millwall |
A |
0–2 |
21,671 |
|
41 |
28 April 1934 |
Lincoln City |
H |
5–0 |
12,184 |
Scott, Holliday (3), Hopkins |
42 |
5 May 1934 |
Bury |
A |
2–1 |
9,461 |
Fletcher, Scott |
FA Cup
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Round |
Date |
Opponent |
Venue |
Attendance |
Result |
3R |
13 January 1934 |
Hull City |
A |
18,000 |
0–1 |
Playing squad
- Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1933–34 season.
Coaching staff
Statistics
Appearances and goals
Goalscorers
Management
Name |
Nat |
From |
To |
Record All Comps |
Record League |
P |
W |
D |
L |
W % |
P |
W |
D |
L |
W % |
Harry Curtis |
![England](/w/images/thumb/b/be/Flag_of_England.svg/23px-Flag_of_England.svg.png) |
26 August 1933 |
5 May 1933 |
43 |
22 |
7 |
14 |
51.16 |
42 |
22 |
7 |
13 |
52.38 |
Summary
Games played |
43 (42 Second Division, 1 FA Cup) |
Games won |
22 (22 Second Division, 0 FA Cup) |
Games drawn |
7 (7 Second Division, 0 FA Cup) |
Games lost |
14 (13 Second Division, 1 FA Cup) |
Goals scored |
85 (85 Second Division, 0 FA Cup) |
Goals conceded |
61 (60 Second Division, 1 FA Cup) |
Clean sheets |
11 (11 Second Division, 0 FA Cup) |
Biggest league win |
5–0 versus Lincoln City, 28 April 1934 |
Worst league defeat |
5–2 versus Bradford Park Avenue, 6 September 1933 |
Most appearances |
43, Charlie Fletcher, Idris Hopkins (42 Second Division, 1 FA Cup) |
Top scorer (league) |
27, Jack Holliday |
Top scorer (all competitions) |
27, Jack Holliday |
References
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General |
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Grounds |
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Affiliated clubs |
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Players |
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Rivalries |
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Matches |
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Related articles |
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