Brentford F.C.

Brentford Football Club is a professional association football club based in Brentford, Greater London, England. The club competes in the Sky Bet Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded on 10 October 1889 and has played its home matches at Griffin Park since 1904, after a nomadic existence playing at five previous grounds.

Brentford
Full nameBrentford Football Club
Nickname(s)The Bees
Short nameBrentford
Founded10 October 1889 (1889-10-10)
GroundGriffin Park
Capacity12,763[1]
OwnerMatthew Benham
ChairmanCliff Crown
Head CoachThomas Frank
LeagueChampionship
2018–19Championship, 11th of 24
WebsiteClub website
Third colours

Brentford's most successful period came during the 1930s, when it achieved three consecutive top-six finishes in the top flight. The club has been Football League Trophy finalists on three occasions. Its main rivals are fellow West London clubs Fulham and Queens Park Rangers.

History
League positions of Brentford since the 1920–21 season of the Football League.

1889 to 1954

1954 to 1986

1986 to present

Current and future grounds
Griffin Park aerial view.

Griffin Park

Brentford Community Stadium

Current squad

First team
As of 16 March 2020[2]

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

No. Position Player
1 GK David Raya
2 DF Dominic Thompson
3 DF Rico Henry
4 MF Dru Yearwood
5 DF Ethan Pinnock
6 MF Christian Nørgaard
7 MF Sergi Canós
8 MF Mathias Jensen
9 FW Nikos Karelis
10 MF Saïd Benrahma
11 FW Ollie Watkins
12 MF Kamohelo Mokotjo
13 GK Patrik Gunnarsson
14 MF Josh Dasilva
15 FW Marcus Forss
No. Position Player
16 MF Joel Valencia
17 MF Emiliano Marcondes
18 DF Pontus Jansson (captain)
19 MF Bryan Mbeumo
21 FW Halil Dervişoğlu
22 DF Henrik Dalsgaard (vice-captain)
23 DF Julian Jeanvier
24 MF Tariqe Fosu
25 GK Ellery Balcombe
26 MF Shandon Baptiste
28 GK Luke Daniels
31 MF Jan Žambůrek
32 DF Luka Racic
35 DF Mads Roerslev

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player
27 FW Justin Shaibu (at Boreham Wood until 31 May 2020)
29 DF Mads Bech Sørensen (at AFC Wimbledon until 31 May 2020)
No. Position Player
— MF Reece Cole (at Partick Thistle until 31 May 2020)

Brentford B
As of 17 February 2020[3]

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

No. Position Player
33 MF Fredrik Hammar
34 MF Jaakko Oksanen
36 FW Gustav Mogensen
37 MF Arthur Read
38 MF Joe Adams
39 DF Japhet Sery Larsen (on loan from FC Midtjylland)
40 DF Kane O'Connor
41 GK Nathan Shepperd
— GK Simon Andersson
— DF Cole Dasilva
— DF Aubrel Koutismouka
No. Position Player
— DF Jonny Mitchell
— DF David Titov
— DF Nick Tsaroulla
— MF Jaden Brissett
— MF Julien Carre
— MF Paris Maghoma
— MF Matěj Majka
— MF Jayden Onen
— MF Christian Tue Jensen (on loan from FC Midtjylland)
— FW Aaron Pressley

Coaching staff
As of 24 December 2019[4]

First team
Name Role
Thomas Frank Head Coach
Brian Riemer Assistant Head Coach
Kevin O'Connor Assistant First Team Coach
Andy Quy Goalkeeper Coach
Andreas Georgson Head of Set Pieces and Individual Development
Neil Greig Head of Medical
Chris Haslam Head of Athletic Performance
Luke Stopforth Head of Performance Analysis

Brentford B
Name Role
Neil MacFarlane Head Coach
Allan Steele Assistant Coach & Technical Lead
Sam Saunders Assistant Coach
Jani Viander Goalkeeper Coach
Matt Bramhall Strength and Conditioning Coach
James Purdue Strength and Conditioning Coach
Liam Horgan Physiotherapist
Richard Potts Physiotherapist
Lewis Jordan Analyst

Management
As of 7 May 2019[5]
Name Role
Matthew Benham Owner
Cliff Crown Chairman
Donald Kerr Vice-Chairman
Jon Varney Chief Executive
Rasmus Ankersen Co-Director of Football
Phil Giles Co-Director of Football
Lee Dykes Head of Recruitment
Monique Choudhuri Director
David Merritt Director
Mike Power Director
Nity Raj Director

Nickname

Brentford's nickname is "The Bees". The nickname was unintentionally created by students of Borough Polytechnic in the 1890s, when they attended a match and shouted the college's chant "buck up Bs" in support of their friend and then-Brentford player Joe Gettins. Local newspapers misheard the chant as "Buck up Bees" and the nickname stuck.[6]

Team colours and badge

Brentford's predominant home colours are a red and white striped shirt, black shorts and red or black socks.[7] These have been the club's predominant home colours since the 1925–26 season, bar one season – 1960–61 – when yellow (gold) and blue were used, unsuccessfully.[8] The colours on entering the Football League, in 1920–21, were white shirts, navy shorts and navy socks.[7] Away kits have varied over the years, with the current colours being a black shirt with black shorts, both with yellow detailing, along with yellow socks. Brentford have had several badges on their shirts since it was formed in 1889.[9] The first one, in 1893, was a white shield, with 'BFC' in blue and a wavy line in blue, which is thought to represent the river and the rowing club, who founded the football club.[9] The next known badge, the Middlesex County Arms, was on shirts donated by a club supporter in 1909.[9] The Brentford and Chiswick arms, as a badge, was used just for the one season, in 1938–39.[9] The next badge wasn't until 1971–72 when a shield, formed into quadrants, which had a hive and bees in one, 3 seaxes in another and the other two with red and white stripes.[9] In 1972, the club organised a competition to design a new crest, which was won by Mr BG Spencer's design, a circle with a bee and stripes with founded 1888. This was introduced in 1973 and used until May 1975, when it was brought to the club's attention, via Graham Haynes, that the club was formed in 1889 and not in 1888. Therefore, a new badge, reputedly designed by Dan Tana – the club's chairman at the time – was introduced for the 1975–76 season and continued until 1994 when the current badge was introduced.[9] In 2011 Russell Grant claimed to have designed the badge in a BBC interview,[10] however it was in fact designed in 1993 for two season tickets by supporter Andrew Henning, following a request from Keith Loring the then chief executive.[8] In 2017, the club redesigned its crest to a more modern, uncluttered, design with the flexibility for use in two tone colour print.[9] The design is a double roundel with the club name and year founded in white on a red background and a large central bee.[9]

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors
Period Kit supplier Shirt sponsor
1975–1976 Umbro None
1977–1980 Bukta
1980–1981 Adidas
1981–1984 Osca DHL
1984–1986 KLM
1986–1988 Spall
1988–1990 Hobot
1990–1992 Chad
1992–1995 Hummel
1995–1996 Core Ericsson
1996–1998 Cobra
1998–2000 Super League GMB
2000–2002 Patrick
2002–2003 TFG
2003–2005 St. George
2005–2006 Lonsdale
2006–2007 Samvo Group
2007–2008 Puma
2008–2012 Hertings
2012–2013 SkyEx
2013–2015 Adidas
2015–2016 Matchbook
2016–2017 888sport
2017–2019 LeoVegas
2019–present Umbro EcoWorld London

Honours

Champions and promotions
  • Second Division / First Division / Championship (Tier 2)[11]
    • Champions (1): 1934–35
  • Third Division / Second Division / League One (Tier 3)[11]
  • Fourth Division / Third Division / League Two (Tier 4)[11]
    • Champions (3): 1962–63, 1998–99, 2008–09
    • Third-place promotion (1): 1971–72
    • Fourth-place promotion (1): 1977–78
  • Southern League Second Division: 1[11]
    • 1900–01
  • London League First Division: 1[12]
  • London League Second Division: 1[12]
    • Runners-up: 1896–97

Cup winners
  • Middlesex Junior Cup: 1[14]
    • 1893–94
  • West Middlesex Cup: 1[13]
    • 1894–95
  • London Senior Cup: 1[15]
    • 1897–98
  • Middlesex Senior Cup: 1[15]
    • 1897–98
  • Southern Professional Charity Cup: 1[16]
    • 1908–09
  • Ealing Hospital Cup: 1[17]
    • 1910–11
  • London Challenge Cup: 3[18]
    • 1934–35, 1964–65, 1966–67
  • London Charity Fund: 1[19]
    • 1928

Wartime honours
  • London Combination: 1[20]
    • 1918–19
  • London War Cup: 1[18]
    • 1941–42

Best performances

Leagues
  • First Division / Premier League (Tier 1)[11]
    • 5th – 1935–36
  • Western League[11]
    • 2nd – 1904–05
  • Southern League First Division[11]
    • 9th – 1905–06

Cups
  • FA Cup[11]
    • Sixth Round/Quarter-Final – 1937–38, 1945–46, 1948–49, 1988–89
  • Football League Cup[11]
    • Fourth Round – 1982–83, 2010–11
  • Football League Trophy[11]
    • Finalists – 1984–85, 2000–01, 2010–11
  • Empire Exhibition Trophy[21]
    • First Round – 1938
  • Southern Professional Floodlit Cup[16]
    • Semi-Final – 1955–56, 1956–57
  • First Alliance Cup[22]
    • First Round – 1988

Awards
  • Football League Awards
    • Community Club of the Year (2): 2005–06, 2013–14[23]
    • League Two Community Club of the Year (1): 2008–09[23]
    • Best Club Sponsorship (1): 2006–07[23]
    • Family Excellence Award (8): 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16[24][25]
  • Stadium Business Awards
    • Sponsorship, Sales and Marketing (1): 2013[26]
  • League Managers Association Performance of the Week
  • Littlewoods Giant Killers Award

Rivalry

Brentford's main rivals are Fulham and Queens Park Rangers.[30] Brentford have a long standing rivalry with Fulham.[31] In the past this fixture has been marred by crowd violence.[32] Brentford's rivalry with Queens Park Rangers intensified in 1967, when Rangers failed in an attempted takeover of Brentford, a move which, had it succeeded, would have seen Rangers move into Griffin Park and Brentford quit the Football League.[33] As with the Fulham rivalry, this fixture sees passions run high amongst both sets of supporters with local pride at stake.[34]

In February 2013, it was announced that Brentford had entered into partnership with Icelandic 1. deild karla club UMF Selfoss, which would enable Brentford to send youth and development squad players to Iceland to gain experience.[35] The partnership also sees the two clubs exchanging coaching philosophies and allows Brentford to utilise UMF Selfoss' scouting network.[35] In May 2013, the Brentford staff forged links with Ugandan lower league club Gulu United as part of the "United for United" project, aimed at forming the region's first youth training camp and identifying talented players.[36] Brentford owner Matthew Benham became majority shareholder in Danish club FC Midtjylland in 2014 and the staff of both clubs share ideas.[37]

Affiliated clubs

Celebrity connections
  • Actor and comedian, Bradley Walsh was a professional at the club in the late 1970s, but never made the first team squad.[40]
  • Dan Tana, Hollywood actor and restaurateur, served on the club's board and was chairman.[41]
  • Model Stephen James played for the club's youth team prior to his release in 2008.[42]
  • Entertainer Vic Oliver served as the club's vice-president in the early 1950s and was later president of the Brentford Supporters' Club.[43]
  • Politician Jack Dunnett served as club chairman between 1961 and 1967.[44]

Past managers

Past players

Capped international players

Player of the Year

Hall of Fame

Seasons

Records

Notes
  1. Not promoted
  2. Elected into Southern League
  3. No system of promotion in place

See also
  • List of fan-owned sports teams

References
  1. "EFL Official Website – Brentford". EFL. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  2. "First Team". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  3. "B Team Squad 2019/20". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  4. "Brentford FC Football Staff". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  5. "Brentford FC Company Details". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  6. KD. "Ken Daly's alternative look at the history of Middlesbrough and Brentford who play in a Sky Bet Championship play off at Griffin Park on Friday 8 May 2015". www.mfc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  7. Haynes 1998, p. 30-31.
  8. "Brentford – Historical Football Kits". Historicalkits.co.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  9. "Introducing our new club crest". Brentford FC. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  10. "Which Strictly star designed Brentford's badge?". BBC News. 12 November 2011.
  11. Brentford F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  12. "London League 1896–1910". nonleaguematters.co.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  13. Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia. Yore Publications. pp. 135–136. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
  14. Haynes 1998, p. 96.
  15. White 1989, p. 354.
  16. Haynes 1998, p. 119-120.
  17. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 97. ISBN 0951526200.
  18. White 1989, p. 82-84.
  19. Argus (16 November 1928). "A Changed Brentford". The Brentford & Chiswick Times.
  20. "England 1918/19". Rsssf.com. 15 February 2003. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  21. Haynes 1998, p. 46.
  22. Haynes 1998, p. 51.
  23. "Brentford FC CST: Awards". www.brentfordfccst.com. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  24. Chapman, Mark. "Brentford win 2015 Football League Family Excellence Award". brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  25. FC, Brentford. "Brentford achieves the Football League Family Excellence Award". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  26. Chris Wickham. "A list of all the awards collected by Brentford FC, staff and players over the past year". brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  27. Brentford Matchday Magazine versus Brighton & Hove Albion. Charlton, London: Morganprint. 22 August 1998. p. 3.
  28. "League Managers Association". leaguemanagers.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  29. "Brentford FC Moment in Time: Norwich City". Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  30. "THE RESULTS OF THE LARGEST EVER SURVEY INTO CLUB RIVALRIES" (PDF). Footballfancensus.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  31. "Football Ground Guide". Football Ground Guide. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  32. "Fulham F.C. – The 1995/1996 Season". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 23 August 2002. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  33. Haynes 1998, p. 123-125.
  34. "Brentford FC vs. QPR". Footballderbies.com. 6 October 2006. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  35. Wickham, Chris. "BEES AGREE ICELANDIC PARTNERSHIP". brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  36. Wickham, Chris. "JOIN BRENTFORD IN SUPPORTING GULU UNITED". brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  37. Chris Wickham. "Brentford club staff visit FC Midtjylland". brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  38. "BBC Sport – FC Midtjylland: Brentford owner Benham invests in Danish club". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  39. "London Tigers play on Griffin Park pitch". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  40. "Brentford | News | Latest News | Latest News | EX BEES ROVER RETURNS". brentfordfc.co.uk. 16 August 2006. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  41. "A match made in Hollywood interview". Evening Standard. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  42. "Stephen James | The Man Behind The Body Art Model". www.brother2brother.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  43. Haynes 1998, p. 100-101.
  44. Haynes 1998, p. 27.
  • Brentford FC – the club's website
  • Griffin Park Grapevine – Largest and Busiest Unofficial Brentford FC Website
  • Bees United – The Brentford Supporters' Trust and owners of the majority of shares in BFC
  • BIAS – Brentford Independent Association of Supporters
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