1907–08 Brentford F.C. season
# 1907–08 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1907–08 English football season, Brentford competed in the Southern League First Division. A poor season ended with a 16th-place finish.

## Season summary

Though Brentford manager William Brown managed to retain most of his key players for the 1907–08 season, his release of future England international forward Fred Pentland was seen as being ill-advised. In came goalkeeper John Montgomery, full back Vince Hayes, half back Jock Hamilton and centre forward Adam Bowman. Brentford started the Southern League First Division season poorly and with the club entering a period of financial instability, the relationship between the committee and the players began to deteriorate. Hopes of a money-spinning FA Cup run ended in the first round at the hands of Lancashire Combination club Carlisle United and in January 1908 manager Brown tendered his resignation, which was accepted.

Captain George Parsonage was named as player-caretaker manager in January 1908 and after reshuffling the lineup, he oversaw an upturn in form which led the Bees to a 16th-place finish. One of the highlights of a dreadful season was the goalscoring of forward Adam Bowman, who scored 22 goals in all competitions before being sold to Leeds City for £300 in April. There was some cheer to be had in the United League, in which the first team won the division title, while the reserve team finished the season as Great Western Suburban League champions.

The season marked a beginning of a period of financial trouble for Brentford, with Fulham's election to the Football League and Chelsea's home fixtures clashing with those at Griffin Park conspiring to draw potential support in West London away from the Bees. By mid-April 1908, the club owed its players £500 in unpaid wages (equivalent to £55,500 in 2023), which necessitated the sale of top-scorer Bowman.

One club record was set during the season:

* Most Southern League away defeats in a season: 16

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 14 | Watford | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 47 | 59 | 0.797 | 34 |
| 15 | Norwich City | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 46 | 49 | 0.939 | 33 |
| 16 | Brentford | 38 | 14 | 5 | 19 | 49 | 53 | 0.925 | 33 |
| 17 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 46 | 59 | 0.780 | 32 |
| 18 | Luton Town | 38 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 33 | 56 | 0.589 | 30 |

## Results

    Brentford's goal tally listed first.

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| - | - | - |

### Southern League First Division

| No. | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 3 September 1907 | Leyton | A | 0–2 | |
| 2 | 7 September 1907 | Bristol Rovers | A | 0–3 | |
| 3 | 14 September 1907 | Leyton | H | 2–0 | Hagan, Parsonage |
| 4 | 21 September 1907 | Reading | A | 1–5 | Bowman |
| 5 | 28 September 1907 | Watford | H | 4–1 | Bowman (2), Corbett (2) |
| 6 | 5 October 1907 | Norwich City | A | 2–3 | Bowman (2) |
| 7 | 12 October 1907 | Northampton Town | H | 3–1 | Bowman (3) |
| 8 | 19 October 1907 | Southampton | A | 0–3 | |
| 9 | 26 October 1907 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 2–1 | Parsonage, Corbett |
| 10 | 2 November 1907 | West Ham United | A | 1–5 | Hagan (pen) |
| 11 | 9 November 1907 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–1 | Hagan (pen) |
| 12 | 16 November 1907 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–1 | |
| 13 | 23 November 1907 | Swindon Town | H | 2–0 | Corbett, Hagan |
| 14 | 30 November 1907 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–2 | McAllister |
| 15 | 7 December 1907 | Luton Town | H | 3–1 | Underwood, Bowman (2) |
| 16 | 14 December 1907 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 0–1 | |
| 17 | 21 December 1907 | Portsmouth | H | 1–1 | Corbett |
| 18 | 25 December 1907 | Millwall | H | 1–2 | Corbett |
| 19 | 26 December 1907 | New Brompton | A | 1–2 | Bowman |
| 20 | 28 December 1907 | Bradford Park Avenue | A | 0–2 | |
| 21 | 4 January 1908 | Bristol Rovers | H | 0–3 | |
| 22 | 18 January 1908 | Reading | H | 1–0 | Parsonage |
| 23 | 25 January 1908 | Watford | A | 2–1 | Corbett, Bowman |
| 24 | 8 February 1908 | Northampton Town | A | 0–0 | |
| 25 | 15 February 1908 | Southampton | H | 4–0 | Corbett, Bowman (2), Underwood |
| 26 | 22 February 1908 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 1–2 | Black (og) |
| 27 | 29 February 1908 | West Ham United | H | 4–0 | Bowman (2), Corbett, Parsonage |
| 28 | 7 March 1908 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–1 | |
| 29 | 9 March 1908 | Norwich City | H | 2–1 | Bowman, Brown |
| 30 | 14 March 1908 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 3–0 | Bowman (3) |
| 31 | 21 March 1908 | Swindon Town | A | 0–0 | |
| 32 | 28 March 1908 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–1 | Corbett |
| 33 | 4 April 1908 | Luton Town | A | 0–1 | |
| 34 | 11 April 1908 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 2–0 | Underwood, Bowman |
| 35 | 17 April 1908 | Millwall | A | 0–2 | |
| 36 | 18 April 1908 | Portsmouth | A | 2–3 | Underwood, Tomlinson |
| 37 | 20 April 1908 | New Brompton | H | 1–0 | Corbett |
| 38 | 25 April 1908 | Bradford Park Avenue | H | 1–2 | Underwood |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1R | 11 January 1908 | Carlisle United | A | 2–2 | Bowman, Corbett |
| 1R (replay) | 15 January 1908 | Carlisle United | H | 1–3 (a.e.t.) | Tomlinson |

* Source: 100 Years of Brentford

## Playing squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| — | GK | SCO | John Montgomery |
| — | GK | ENG | Charlie Williams |
| — | DF | ENG | Raymond Abbott |
| — | DF | SCO | Andy Clark |
| — | DF | ENG | Vince Hayes |
| — | DF | SCO | Jock Watson |
| — | MF | ENG | Albert Bull |
| — | MF | SCO | Jock Hamilton |
| — | MF | ENG | Jimmy Jay |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | George Parsonage (c) |
| — | MF | ENG | Jimmy Tomlinson |
| — | FW | ENG | Norman Brown |
| — | FW | ENG | Fred Corbett |
| — | FW | ENG | Patsy Hendren |
| — | FW | ENG | James Lloyd-Evans |
| — | FW | SCO | Tom McAllister |
| — | FW | ENG | Lindsay Syrad |
| — | FW | ENG | Tosher Underwood |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| — | FW | SCO | Adam Bowman (to Leeds City) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | SCO | Patrick Hagan (to Hibernian) |

* Source: 100 Years of Brentford, The Football Association

## Coaching staff

### William Brown (3 September 1907 – January 1908)

| Name | Role |
| - | - |
| William Brown | Secretary Manager |
| Bob Crone | Trainer |

### George Parsonage ( – 25 January April 1908)

| Name | Role |
| - | - |
| George Parsonage | Caretaker Manager |
| Bob Crone | Trainer |

## Statistics

### Goalscorers

| Pos. | Nat | Player | SL1 | FAC | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| FW | | Adam Bowman | 21 | 1 | 22 |
| FW | | Fred Corbett | 11 | 1 | 12 |
| FW | | Tosher Underwood | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| FW | | Patrick Hagan | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| HB | | George Parsonage | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| HB | | Jimmy Tomlinson | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| FW | | Norman Brown | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| FW | | Tom McAllister | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Opponents | Opponents | Opponents | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | 49 | 3 | 52 |

* Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
* Source: 100 Years Of Brentford

### Summary

| Games played | 40 (38 Southern League First Division, 2 FA Cup) |
| - | - |
| Games won | 14 (14 Southern League First Division, 0 FA Cup) |
| Games drawn | 6 (5 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup) |
| Games lost | 20 (19 Southern League First Division, 1 FA Cup) |
| Goals scored | 52 (49 Southern League First Division, 3 FA Cup) |
| Goals conceded | 58 (53 Southern League First Division, 5 FA Cup) |
| Clean sheets | 10 (10 Southern League First Division, 0 FA Cup) |
| Biggest league win | 4–0 on two occasions |
| Worst league defeat | 5–1 on two occasions |
| Most appearances | 40, George Parsonage (38 Southern League First Division, 2 FA Cup) |
| Top scorer (league) | 21, Adam Bowman |
| Top scorer (all competitions) | 22, Adam Bowman |
