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| Full name | Brentford Football Club | |||
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| Nickname(s) | The Bees | |||
| Founded | 1889 | |||
| Ground | Griffin Park Brentford, London (Capacity: 12,763) |
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| Chairman |  Greg Dyke |
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| Manager | Andy Scott |
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| League | League One | |||
| 2008–09 | League Two, 1st (promoted) |
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Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One. They were founded in 1889 and play their home games at Griffin Park, their home stadium since 1904. Brentford's most successful spell came during the 1930s, when they achieved consecutive top six finishes in the First Division. Since the War, they have spent most of their time in the third and fourth tiers of English football. Brentford have been FA Cup quarter-finalists on four occasions, and have twice been Football League Trophy runners-up.
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History
Foundation to 1939
Founded in 1889 to serve as a winter pursuit for the Brentford Rowing Club, the club spent its early years in the lower divisions of the Football League and achieved little of note, save for a move to its present day home ground, Griffin Park, in 1904. In 1921, it was a founder member of the Third Division South. During the late 1920s and 1930s, the club began to make real progress. In the 1929-30 season, the side won all 21 of its home matches in the Third Division South (a record which still stands in English football), but still missed out on promotion. After several more near-misses, promotion to the Second Division was finally achieved in 1932-33. Two years later, Brentford reached the First Division and finished 5th in its debut season - which is still the club's highest ever league position - to complete a remarkable rise for the club. Brentford achieved more impressive placings in the league for the rest of the decade (6th in the following two seasons) before the Second World War interrupted.
1945-1989
Note - Dotted horizontal lines indicate league divisions.
Note - From 1920-1958 the 3rd tier was split into North and South divisions, graph indicates Brentford's position in the South division
During the war, Brentford competed in the London War Cup, losing in the 1941 final at Wembley Stadium to Reading and winning in the final against Portsmouth a year later. The club was relegated in the first season after the War, and a downward spiral set in, which culminated in relegation to the Third Division in 1953-54 and the Fourth Division in 1961-62. The survival of Brentford FC was threatened by a projected takeover by Queens Park Rangers in the late 1960s - a bid that was only narrowly averted with an emergency loan of £104,000 - while the club continued to yo-yo between the third and fourth divisions during the next three decades. The club won promotion in 1962-63, 1971-72 and 1977-78 but only on the final occasion was it able to consolidate its place in English football's third tier. Other bright spots in this period included reaching the final of the Freight Rover Trophy at Wembley in 1985, where it lost to Wigan, and a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals in 1989 which included wins over three higher-division sides and was only ended by the reigning league champions Liverpool.
1990 to present
After a 45-year absence, Brentford were promoted back to the Second Division (renamed the First Division with the advent of the Premier League in 1992) in the 1991-92 season as Third Division champions, though they were relegated again the following year.
There followed several seasons of the club narrowly missing out on promotion. Former Chelsea FA Cup hero David Webb was appointed manager in 1993 and twice led the side into the play-offs. In 1996-97 he led them to the play-off final at Wembley, but the side were beaten by Crewe Alexandra. The club were then relegated to the Third Division (by then the bottom division of the Football League) the following year. Brentford won promotion as champions again in 1998-99 under manager and chairman Ron Noades.
The club suffered more promotion agony in 2002 under manager Steve Coppell as they lost out to Stoke City in the play-off final having been just minutes away from automatic promotion on the final day of the season, and again under manager Martin Allen in 2004-05, on that occasion losing 3-1 on aggregate to Sheffield Wednesday in the semi-finals after finishing 4th in League One.
Former BBC Director-General and Bees fan Greg Dyke was announced as chairman of Brentford on 20 January 2006 as part of the takeover by Bees United, the Brentford Supporters Trust. On 28 January 2006, Brentford beat Premier League strugglers Sunderland 2-1 in the 4th Round of the FA Cup, but lost 3-1 to another Premier League club Charlton Athletic in the 5th Round. Brentford finished 3rd in the league and lost to Swansea City in the play-off semi-final.
On 30 May 2006 Allen announced his resignation as manager of Brentford[1] and the club named Leroy Rosenior as his successor on 14 June 2006. On 18 November 2006, following a run of 16 matches without a win - leaving the side in the relegation zone - Rosenior was sacked as manager, after the team lost 4-0 at home to Crewe. Following Rosenior's departure, youth team coach Scott Fitzgerald was appointed manager on a full-time basis on 21 December 2006 with Alan Reeves acting as his assistant.[2] Fitzgerald was unable to turn around the club's fortunes, and Brentford were relegated to Football League Two - English Football's 4th tier - in April 2007. Fitzgerald left the day following confirmation of Brentford's relegation, with youth team manager Barry Quin due to act as caretaker in the managerial role until the end of the season.[3]
Ex-England captain Terry Butcher was appointed as manager on 24 April 2007. Butcher's assistant was former Brentford winger Andy Scott, who was appointed on 9 May 2007. Butcher's reign at Griffin Park was, however, not a successful one, and his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 11 December 2007[4], after winning just 5 matches in 23. Butcher's assistant Andy Scott was appointed as manager on 4 January 2008 following a successful caretaker spell. (Scott's assistant is the experienced coach Terry Bullivant).
On 25 April 2009 Brentford sealed the Coca-Cola League Two Championship (English Football's 4th tier) with a 3-1 win at Darlington. The Bees were awarded the Trophy in front of 10,223 fans at Griffin Park on May 2. They are the second team (after Doncaster Rovers) to win the fourth tier three times, and the only one so far to win the tier under its three names (Fourth Division, Division Three and League Two).
Scott's excellent first calendar year in charge was recognised with an award, the BBC London 'Manager of the Year 2008'. Scott was also awarded the 'Coca Cola League Two Manager of the Month' award for April/May 2009, which recognised the above title was won in difficult circumstances; with 4 strikers hospitalised in 8 games. During the 2008-09 campaign, three players also picked up awards:
- Marcus Bean — 'Powerade Player of the Month' for League Two December 2008
- Charlie MacDonald — 'Powerade Player of the Month' for League Two February 2009
- Jordan Rhodes — League Two 'PFA Fans' Player of the Season 2009' and League Two 'PFA Fans' Player of the Month' March 2009.
2009/10: A total of 13 new players have been bought in, mostly on free transfers.
Benham Partnership: On 5 August 2009 The amalgamation of fans' groups which help run the club - Bees United - announced they had ".. negotiated terms with Matthew Benham that will enable BU to continue in its role of ensuring the club is governed well, of protecting the long term interests of Brentford Football Club, and of giving you, our members, the right of veto over any unreasonable sale of the ground in which Brentford plays, so long as Brentford FC remains solvent". The full detals are here: http://www.beesunited.org.uk/content/view/418/. The 'Benham Partnership' will hopefully see monies to keep the club afloat and improve the facilties at the ground, as well as helping the Management imropove the squad. Benham is a Professional Gambler: the CEO of Smartodds.
Grounds
Griffin Park
Brentford have played at Griffin Park since 1904. The ground is unique in British football in that there is a pub in each corner of Griffin Park, Royal Oak, New Inn, The Griffin - which was used in the film Green Street - and The Princess Royal which is owned by the club.
In 2007 The Ealing Road end of the ground has had a roof installed after a grant by the Football Trust and makes all 4 stands of the ground covered. The Ealing Road remains a terrace but has been "given back" to home supporters and was re-opened for the first game of the season of the 2007/08 season on Saturday 11 August 2007 against Mansfield Town (4,909 watched the game).
(A fan's guide to Griffin Park can be found at Duncan Adams's website www.footballgroundguide.co.uk)
Lionel Road
Brentford, with the aim of securing a more financially sustainable future, have been considering relocation since 2002. Plans were announced in October 2002 for a new 20,000 capacity stadium at a state-of-the-art arena complex in Lionel Road, Brentford. It was announced on 7 December 2007 that the club had secured an option to purchase the site - a major breakthrough in the club's plans to relocate.[5]
The new stadium moved another step closer on 22 February 2008 when it was announced that Brentford's development partner, Barratt Homes, had acquired a 7.6 acre regeneration site in Lionel Road, Brentford.[6] Following this news, it was anticipated that the stadium would be completed in time for the 2012/13 season, and be used as a training venue for teams participating in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. However, due to the on-going economic downturn and fall in property prices, the club and Barratt Homes admitted in early 2009 that this date would no longer be feasible.
Current squad
- As of 20th November 2009
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Out on loan
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Fan-held squad numbers
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Coaching staff
- As of 18 September 2009.
ManagersAs of 1 November 2009. Only competitive matches are counted.
Players with most appearancesas at 24 November 2009
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