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Brentford 1955–56 football season
During the 1955–56 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division South . A promising 6th-place finish was achieved with a squad mainly drawn from the club's youth system .
Season summary
Brentford went into the 1955–56 Third Division South season full of optimism, with the side having lost only four of the final 18 matches of the 1954–55 season, winning 9.[ 2] youth system (now led by former player Ernest Muttitt ), forwards Jim Towers and Dennis Heath had established themselves in the first team, while George Francis and Gerry Cakebread had also made their debuts.[ 3] Full backs Alan Bassham , George Lowden and half backs Wally Bragg and George Bristow also made up the ranks of home-grown players in the first team squad and forward John Pearson would be another to graduate from the youth team during the 1955–56 season.[ 3] Chelsea full back Sid Tickridge was manager Bill Dodgin Sr. 's only major signing of the off-season and he replaced Frank Latimer as club captain .
Despite winning more games than they had lost, Brentford hovered in mid-table during the opening three months of the season.[ 4] Jeff Taylor led the attack, scoring 11 goals in as many matches during a five-week period in September and October 1955.[ 3] Wendell Morgan and news from the boardroom that a £9,000 profit had been made on the year ending in May 1955,[ 3] [ 2] Exeter City on 4 February 1956 (courtesy of a George Francis brace ) was the first win of a strong run which lasted for the remainder of the season, with the team's record almost mirroring that of the final 18 matches of the previous campaign.[ 3] goalkeeper Gerry Cakebread had established themselves as two of the best players in the Third Division South.
Long-serving Jimmy Bain retired at the end of season, after nearly 27 years as a player, assistant manager and caretaker manager at Griffin Park . He received a Long Service Medal from the Football League in recognition of his long service.
League table
Pos
Team
Pld
Home
Away
F
A
GA
GD
Pts
W
D
L
F
A
W
D
L
F
A
1
Leyton Orient 46
18
3
2
76
20
11
5
7
30
29
106
49
2.163
+57
66
2
Brighton & Hove Albion 46
20
2
1
73
16
9
5
9
39
34
112
50
2.240
+62
65
3
Ipswich Town 46
16
6
1
59
28
9
8
6
47
32
106
60
1.767
+46
64
4
Southend United 46
16
4
3
58
25
5
7
11
30
55
88
80
1.100
+8
53
5
Torquay United 46
11
10
2
48
21
9
2
12
38
42
86
63
1.365
+23
52
6 Brentford 46 11 8 4 40 30 8 6 9 29 36 69 66 1.045 +3 52
7
Norwich City 46
15
4
4
56
31
4
9
10
30
51
86
82
1.049
+4
51
8
Coventry City 46
16
4
3
54
20
4
5
14
19
40
73
60
1.217
+13
49
9
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 46
13
6
4
39
14
6
4
13
24
37
63
51
1.235
+12
48
10
Gillingham 46
12
3
8
38
28
7
7
9
31
43
69
71
0.972
–3
48
11
Northampton Town 46
14
3
6
44
27
6
4
13
23
44
67
71
0.944
–3
47
12
Colchester United 46
14
4
5
56
37
4
7
12
20
44
76
81
0.938
–5
47
13
Shrewsbury Town 46
12
9
2
47
21
5
3
15
22
45
69
66
1.045
+3
46
14
Southampton 46
13
6
4
60
30
5
2
16
31
51
91
81
1.123
+10
44
15
Aldershot 46
9
9
5
36
33
3
7
13
34
57
70
90
0.778
–20
40
16
Exeter City 46
10
6
7
39
30
5
4
14
19
47
58
77
0.753
–19
40
17
Reading 46
10
2
11
40
37
5
7
11
30
42
70
79
0.886
–9
39
18
Queens Park Rangers 46
10
7
6
44
32
4
4
15
20
54
64
86
0.744
–22
39
19
Newport County 46
12
2
9
32
26
3
7
13
26
53
58
79
0.734
–21
39
20
Walsall 46
13
5
5
43
28
2
3
18
25
56
68
84
0.810
–16
38
21
Watford 46
8
5
10
31
39
5
6
12
21
46
52
85
0.612
–23
37
22
Millwall 46
13
4
6
56
31
2
2
19
27
69
83
100
0.830
–17
36
23
Crystal Palace 46
7
3
13
27
32
5
7
11
27
51
54
83
0.651
–29
34
24
Swindon Town 46
4
10
9
18
22
4
4
15
16
56
34
78
0.436
–44
30
P = 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
New club in the league (none)
Re-elected
Failed re-election (none)
Results
Brentford's goal tally listed first.
Legend
No.
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Scorer(s)
1
20 August 1955
Gillingham
H
1–4
12,247
Towers (pen )
2
22 August 1955
Queens Park Rangers A
1–1
11,688
Stobbart
3
27 August 1955
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic A
0–0
10,451
4
30 August 1955
Queens Park Rangers H
2–0
12,947
Towers , Taylor
5
3 September 1955
Norwich City H
1–2
12,565
Dudley
6
5 September 1955
Millwall A
0–4
6,911
7
10 September 1955
Colchester United A
3–0
7,843
Towers (2), Taylor
8
12 September 1955
Millwall H
2–2
7,597
Taylor , Stobbart
9
17 September 1955
Leyton Orient
H
1–0
17,847
Taylor
10
19 September 1955
Watford H
0–0
6,864
11
24 September 1955
Exeter City A
3–2
9,454
Taylor (3)
12
26 September 1955
Coventry City A
1–2
12,584
Taylor
13
1 October 1955
Southend United H
2–1
14,329
Taylor , Towers
14
8 October 1955
Aldershot
A
1–4
7,395
Towers
15
15 October 1955
Crystal Palace H
3–0
13,636
Taylor (2), Towers
16
22 October 1955
Brighton & Hove Albion
A
0–3
12,771
17
29 October 1955
Southampton H
2–1
12,300
Morgan , Rainford
18
5 November 1955
Shrewsbury Town A
1–1
10,551
Morgan
19
12 November 1955
Ipswich Town H
3–2
14,795
Francis , Morgan , Towers
20
26 November 1955
Torquay United
H
1–3
11,547
Heath
21
3 December 1955
Newport County A
2–1
8,035
Morgan , Dudley
22
17 December 1955
Gillingham A
2–1
5,867
Francis , Bristow
23
24 December 1955
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic H
2–1
8,592
Coote , Taylor
24
26 December 1955
Reading H
2–2
12,556
Robertson , Rainford
25
27 December 1955
Reading
A
2–5
11,910
Bragg (pen ), Francis
26
31 December 1955
Norwich City A
0–1
18,542
27
14 January 1956
Colchester United H
2–2
8,492
Rainford , Taylor
28
21 January 1956
Leyton Orient A
1–2
14,009
Morgan
29
4 February 1956
Exeter City
H
2–0
6,309
Francis (2)
30
11 February 1956
Southend United A
2–2
5,124
Towers , Stirling (og )
31
18 February 1956
Aldershot H
2–0
7,026
Towers (2)
32
25 February 1956
Crystal Palace A
2–0
10,054
Towers (2)
33
3 March 1956
Brighton & Hove Albion H
4–2
11,061
Robertson (2), Goundry , Francis
34
10 March 1956
Southampton A
1–1
11,678
Towers
35
12 March 1956
Swindon Town H
1–2
7,249
Towers
36
17 March 1956
Shrewsbury Town H
1–1
9,156
Towers
37
24 March 1956
Ipswich Town
A
1–1
13,672
Towers
38
31 March 1956
Walsall
H
2–2
8,933
Towers , Coote
39
2 April 1956
Northampton Town H
2–1
9,527
Towers (2)
40
3 April 1956
Northampton Town
A
0–1
8,248
41
7 April 1956
Torquay United
A
1–3
5,574
Taylor
42
14 April 1956
Newport County
H
1–1
5,291
Towers
43
21 April 1956
Swindon Town A
1–0
5,790
Peplow
44
23 April 1956
Coventry City H
1–1
6,078
Bragg (pen )
45
28 April 1956
Watford A
2–0
7,192
Robinson , Francis
46
3 May 1956
Walsall
A
2–1
9,033
Taylor , Newcombe
FA Cup
Playing squad
Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1955–56 season.
Coaching staff
Statistics
Appearances and goals
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season. Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[ 3]
Goalscorers
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season. Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[ 3]
Amateur international caps
Management
Name
Nat
From
To
Record All Comps
Record League
P
W
D
L
W %
P
W
D
L
W %
Bill Dodgin Sr.
20 August 1955
3 May 1956
48
20
14
14
0 41.67
46
19
14
13
0 41.30
Summary
Games played
48 (46 Second Division , 2 FA Cup )
Games won
20 (19 Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Games drawn
14 (14 Second Division, 0 FA Cup)
Games lost
14 (13 Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Goals scored
74 (69 Second Division, 5 FA Cup)
Goals conceded
70 (66 Second Division, 4 FA Cup)
Clean sheets
12 (11 Second Division, 1 FA Cup)
Biggest league win
3–0 on two occasions
Worst league defeat
4–0 versus Millwall , 5 September 1955
Most appearances
47, Gerry Cakebread , Ken Coote (45 Second Division, 2 FA Cup)
Top scorer (league)
21, Jim Towers
Top scorer (all competitions)
22, Jim Towers
References
General Grounds Affiliated clubs Players Rivalries
