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.
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]
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 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] 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] Players listed in italics left the club mid-season. Source: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties [ 11] 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
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
^ 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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