1981–82 season of Brentford F.C.
Brentford 1981–82 football season
During the 1981–82 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division . After losing ground in January and February 1982, just one win from the final five matches of the season ended the Bees' hopes of promotion.
Season summary [ edit ] Midfielder Chris Kamara was signed from Portsmouth in an exchange deal in October 1981 and was named captain of Brentford in March 1982.[1] Aside from the club record signing of £65,000 central defender Alan Whitehead , Brentford manager Fred Callaghan presided over a quiet 1981 off-season at Griffin Park .[2] Goalkeeper Paul Priddy returned to the club for a third spell on a part-time contract as cover for David McKellar , but the club went into the season understaffed in the striking department, having lost Gary Johnson to injury in a car crash and a suitable replacement could not be found in time.[1] Bids for midfielders John Beck , Jeff Chandler , forward David Kemp and former Brentford player Andrew McCulloch had failed to yield any transfers.[1]
Despite going unbeaten in the first four Third Division matches of the season, a bad run of results in September and October 1981 dropped the club to just above the relegation places.[3] Manager Callaghan acted swiftly in the transfer market, signing midfielders Stan Bowles , Chris Kamara and finally bolstering the forward line with the acquisition of Keith Bowen .[1] The upturn in form was immediate and seven wins and one draw from a 10-match spell lifted the Bees from 18th place on 17 October to 4th on 28 December.[3] The run included five consecutive away league wins, which equalled the club record.[4]
Brentford began 1982 with a run in which the team took just two points from a possible 24, which dropped the club back into mid-table.[3] Former player Gordon Sweetzer briefly returned to Griffin Park in January, but scored just one goal in 9 appearances before returning to his native Canada .[2] The team recovered in March and things further improved after forward David Kemp was finally signed on loan in March,[3] but he succumbed to injury after just three appearances.[2] A 2–1 win over Chester on 24 April put the Bees in 7th position,[3] four points behind 3rd-place Lincoln City with five matches to play.[5] Brentford's outside chances of promotion were killed off in the following match versus Wimbledon at Griffin Park, losing 3–2, having been leading 2–0.[2] The Bees finished the season in 8th position.[2]
League table [ edit ]
Results [ edit ] Brentford's goal tally listed first. Pre-season and friendlies [ edit ] Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s) 5 August 1981 Wembley A 5–0 n/a Crown , Walker , Booker , Rowe , B. Bowen 8 August 1981 Hillingdon Borough A 2–0 n/a Booker , Roberts 11 August 1981 Woking A 3–0 n/a Tonge (2), Roberts 15 August 1981 Cambridge United H 5–0 1,195 Crown (3), Whitehead , Booker 18 August 1981 Brighton & Hove Albion H 1–3 n/a Booker 12 October 1981 San Jose Earthquakes H 8–2 3,970 Roberts (3), K. Bowen (3), G. Johnson , Booker 10 May 1982 Watford H 1–2 2,098 Roberts
No. Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s) 1 29 August 1981 Fulham A 2–1 7,632 Tucker (pen ), Brown (og ) 2 5 September 1981 Walsall H 0–0 5,353 3 12 September 1981 Portsmouth A 2–2 10,364 Crown , Booker 4 19 September 1981 Plymouth Argyle H 0–0 4,943 5 21 September 1981 Gillingham H 0–1 5,425 6 26 September 1981 Doncaster Rovers A 0–1 5,494 7 29 September 1981 Newport County A 1–0 4,040 Tucker 8 3 October 1981 Carlisle United H 1–2 4,587 G. Johnson 9 10 October 1981 Exeter City A 1–3 3,589 Crown 10 17 October 1981 Lincoln City H 3–1 4,187 Booker , Whitehead , Tucker 11 19 October 1981 Southend United H 0–1 5,043 12 24 October 1981 Chesterfield A 2–0 5,525 K. Bowen , Roberts 13 31 October 1981 Burnley H 0–0 6,929 14 3 November 1981 Swindon Town A 3–0 6,649 G. Johnson , K. Bowen , Kamara 15 7 November 1981 Bristol City H 0–1 6,758 16 14 November 1981 Oxford United A 2–1 5,693 G. Johnson (2) 17 28 November 1981 Chester H 1–0 5,201 McNichol 18 5 December 1981 Preston North End A 3–1 4,171 K. Bowen (2), G. Johnson 19 28 December 1981 Millwall A 1–0 7,474 Roberts 20 2 January 1982 Huddersfield Town H 0–1 5,438 21 19 January 1982 Walsall A 0–3 3,853 22 23 January 1982 Fulham H 0–1 10,834 23 27 January 1982 Reading A 1–4 3,710 Sweetzer 24 30 January 1982 Plymouth Argyle A 0–1 5,008 25 6 February 1982 Portsmouth H 2–2 5,947 Tucker (pen ), Bowles 26 9 February 1982 Gillingham A 1–1 3,931 Bowles 27 13 February 1982 Carlisle United A 0–1 4,942 28 20 February 1982 Newport County H 2–0 4,297 Roberts , Kamara 29 27 February 1982 Exeter City H 2–0 4,934 Whitehead , K. Bowen 30 6 March 1982 Lincoln City A 0–1 2,880 31 8 March 1982 Southend United A 1–1 4,058 Kemp 32 13 March 1982 Chesterfield H 2–0 5,374 Roberts , Kamara 33 20 March 1982 Burnley A 0–0 7,906 34 22 March 1982 Bristol Rovers H 1–0 5,840 Bowles (pen ) 35 27 March 1982 Bristol City A 1–0 6,243 K. Bowen 36 3 April 1982 Oxford United H 1–2 5,786 Booker 37 9 April 1982 Millwall H 4–1 7,460 G. Johnson , Booker , McNichol , Roberts 38 12 April 1982 Wimbledon A 2–1 4,513 Hurlock , Roberts 39 17 April 1982 Preston North End H 0–0 5,627 40 19 April 1982 Swindon Town H 4–2 5,374 Hurlock , K. Bowen , Bowles , McNichol 41 24 April 1982 Chester A 2–1 1,484 Kamara , G. Johnson 42 26 April 1982 Wimbledon H 2–3 6,612 Bowles , G. Johnson 43 1 May 1982 Doncaster Rovers H 2–2 4,124 K. Bowen , Whitehead 44 3 May 1982 Bristol Rovers A 2–1 4,314 Roberts , Kamara 45 8 May 1982 Huddersfield Town A 1–1 4,542 Bowles (pen ) 46 15 May 1982 Reading H 1–2 4,502 Roberts
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance 1R (1st leg) 2 September 1981 Oxford United A 0–1 3,621 1R (2nd leg) 15 September 1981 Oxford United H 0–2 (lost 3–0 on aggregate) 5,490
Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[6] The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties,[7] [8] Statto Playing squad [ edit ] Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1981–82 season. Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties,[9] Timeless Bees[10] Coaching staff [ edit ] Statistics [ edit ] Appearances and goals [ edit ] Substitute appearances in brackets. Players listed in italics left the club mid-season. Source: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties[11] Goalscorers [ edit ] Players listed in italics left the club mid-season. Source: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties [11] Management [ edit ] Name Nat From To Record All Comps Record League P W D L W % P W D L W % Fred Callaghan 29 August 1981 15 May 1982 51 20 12 19 0 39.22 46 19 11 16 0 41.30
Summary [ edit ] Games played 51 (46 Third Division , 3 FA Cup , 2 League Cup ) Games won 20 (19 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) Games drawn 12 (11 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) Games lost 19 (16 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cup) Goals scored 59 (56 Third Division, 3 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) Goals conceded 52 (47 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 3 League Cup) Clean sheets 16 (15 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) Biggest league win 3–0 versus Swindon Town , 3 November 1981; 4–1 versus Millwall , 9 April 1982 Worst league defeat 3–0 versus Walsall , 19 January 1982; 4–1 versus Reading , 27 January 1982 Most appearances 50, David McKellar (45 Third Division, 3 FA Cup, 2 League Cup) Top scorer (league) 8, Keith Bowen , Gary Johnson , Gary Roberts Top scorer (all competitions) 10, Keith Bowen
Transfers & loans [ edit ] References [ edit ] ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 60-65. ^ a b c d e White, p. 316-317. ^ a b c d e "Brentford results for the 1981–1982 season" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2017 . ^ "Brentford scoring and sequence records" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2017 . ^ "English Division Three (old) 1981–1982 Table" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 19 December 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2017 . ^ White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC. p. 396. ISBN 0951526200 . ^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 48-59. ^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 390-391. ^ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties . Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. ISBN 978-1906796716 . ^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 . Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914 . ^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 423. ^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 383.
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