1960–61 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1960–61 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division. An abundance of draws led to a 17th-place finish and it was the last of seven seasons to feature the "Terrible Twins" strike partnership of Jim Towers and George Francis.

Brentford

1960–61 season
Chairman	Frank Davis
Manager	Malky MacDonald
Stadium	Griffin Park
Third Division	17th
FA Cup	First round
League Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Towers (21) All: Towers (22)
Highest home attendance	21,000
Lowest home attendance	3,500
Average home league attendance	7,392
Home colours
← 1959–60 1961–62 →

Season summary

Despite making something of a name for themselves as the "nearly men" of the Third Division, manager Malky MacDonald made few changes to the Brentford squad for the fourth-consecutive off-season.^[1] The one major change at Brentford was that of the club's traditional red and white-striped shirts, which were passed over in favour of an amber shirt with a blue 'V' neck, due to the number of times the club would be forced to wear its change strip during the season.^[1] Negative feedback from the supporters ensured that the change of colours was a one-season experiment.^[1]

Brentford started the 1960–61 season well and topped the table after winning the first two matches, but a 6–1 defeat to Watford at Vicarage Road on 30 August 1960 shook the team's confidence.^[2] The same XI atoned for that display with a 4–0 victory over Shrewsbury Town four days later, but the view had become prevalent around Griffin Park that some of Brentford's settled XI were past their peak.^[1] Manager MacDonald tinkered with his squad and bit-part, reserve or youth players Tommy Higginson, John Docherty, Ron Peplow and Johnny Hales were given runs in the team.^[3] Amidst a run of just two wins in 19 league matches, the new Football League Cup gave the Bees some cheer when Second Division club Sunderland were defeated 4–3 at Griffin Park in the club's first-ever match in the competition.^[2] The Bees were knocked out after a replay versus reigning Football League champions Burnley in the third round.^[2] A first round exit in the FA Cup in November ensured that the Third Division would be Brentford's sole focus for the remainder of the season.^[2]

Brentford entered 1961 in 15th place in the Third Division, only three points above the relegation zone.^[4] Chairman Frank Davis posted a £7,000 loss, which took the club's debt over £50,000 and a players' strike (in support of their claim for the removal of the maximum wage) was also a real possibility.^[1] In a bid to alleviate some of the club's debt, promising outside right John Docherty was sold to Sheffield United for a club record £17,000 in March 1961.^[5] The club rallied and lost just five of the remaining 21 matches of the season, but a failure to convert the 11 draws into wins (four consecutive home draws in February and March equalled the club record) ensured that Brentford finished in a lowly 17th place.^[2][6] Brentford's final match of the season versus Reading, although won 2–1, pushed the average league attendance at Griffin Park down to 7,392, which was the club's lowest since the 1924–25 season.^[1]

The "Terrible Twins" (forwards Jim Towers and George Francis) had a mixed season, with Towers scoring 22 goals (low by the standards set for himself) and Francis just 10,^[3] which led to him being dropped from the team in February 1961 – a decision which would have been considered unthinkable just six months earlier.^[1] Despite scoring 13 goals in 10 matches for the reserve team, Francis failed to earn a recall to the first team squad.^[1] Francis' replacement, teenager George Summers, scored six goals during the final months of the season.^[3]

League table

Main article: 1960–61 Football League Third Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
15	Coventry City	46	16	12	18	80	83	0.964	44
16	Swindon Town	46	14	15	17	62	55	1.127	43
17	Brentford	46	13	17	16	56	70	0.800	43
18	Reading	46	14	12	20	72	83	0.867	40
19	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	46	15	10	21	58	76	0.763	40

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Football League Third Division

No.	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1	20 August 1960	Tranmere Rovers	H	4–1	10,100	Towers (2), Bristow, Goundry (pen)
2	23 August 1960	Watford	H	2–1	16,500	Heath, Goundry (pen)
3	27 August 1960	Halifax Town	A	0–1	6,048
4	30 August 1960	Watford	A	1–6	18,065	Chung (og)
5	3 September 1960	Shrewsbury Town	H	4–0	8,900	Francis (3), Towers
6	6 September 1960	Torquay United	H	2–3	8,800	Rainford, Bettany (og)
7	10 September 1960	Walsall	A	0–4	10,864
8	14 September 1960	Torquay United	A	1–1	5,857	Francis
9	17 September 1960	Bury	H	1–5	8,800	Francis
10	19 September 1960	Queens Park Rangers	A	0–0	12,711
11	24 September 1960	Chesterfield	A	1–1	5,617	Rainford
12	27 September 1960	Queens Park Rangers	H	2–0	15,000	Rainford, Towers
13	1 October 1960	Southend United	H	1–1	7,700	Rainford
14	3 October 1960	Port Vale	A	2–3	6,843	Towers, Peplow
15	8 October 1960	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	A	1–0	5,791	McLeod
16	15 October 1960	Bradford City	H	2–2	7,300	Towers, Peplow (pen)
17	22 October 1960	Barnsley	A	1–1	7,124	Peplow (pen)
18	29 October 1960	Newport County	H	2–4	7,600	Towers (2)
19	12 November 1960	Grimsby Town	H	0–1	8,100
20	19 November 1960	Hull City	A	0–3	7,798
21	2 December 1960	Coventry City	A	0–2	13,589
22	10 December 1960	Bristol City	H	2–0	5,200	Towers, Francis
23	19 December 1960	Tranmere Rovers	A	0–2	5,584
24	23 December 1960	Swindon Town	H	2–1	4,480	Higginson, Docherty
25	31 December 1960	Halifax Town	H	2–0	7,000	Francis, Towers
26	7 January 1961	Swindon Town	A	1–1	8,663	Docherty
27	14 January 1961	Shrewsbury Town	A	0–3	6,856
28	21 January 1961	Walsall	H	3–1	6,250	Francis, Towers (2)
29	28 January 1961	Colchester United	A	4–2	4,040	Rainford, Bristow, Towers (2)
30	4 February 1961	Bury	A	0–1	5,861
31	11 February 1961	Chesterfield	H	2–2	6,250	Towers (2)
32	18 February 1961	Southend United	A	1–1	7,711	Towers
33	25 February 1961	Coventry City	H	1–1	5,500	Summers
34	4 March 1961	Bradford City	A	1–3	7,500	McLeod
35	11 March 1961	Barnsley	H	0–0	7,000
36	18 March 1961	Newport County	A	1–0	3,000	Summers
37	25 March 1961	Colchester United	H	0–0	4,800
38	1 April 1961	Grimsby Town	A	0–0	7,049
39	3 April 1961	Notts County	H	3–0	5,400	Summers, Towers (2)
40	4 April 1961	Notts County	A	0–0	3,933
41	8 April 1961	Hull City	H	2–2	6,380	Towers, McLeod
42	14 April 1961	Reading	A	0–4	10,900
43	22 April 1961	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	H	2–2	4,400	Summers, Towers
44	25 April 1961	Port Vale	H	0–0	3,500
45	29 April 1961	Bristol City	A	0–3	8,466
46	2 May 1961	Reading	H	2–1	4,700	Summers (2)

FA Cup

Main article: 1960–61 FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer
1R	5 November 1960	Watford	A	2–2	18,759	Francis (2)
1R (replay)	8 November 1960	Watford	H	0–2	21,000

Football League Cup

Main article: 1960–61 Football League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
2R	25 October 1960	Sunderland	H	4–3	10,400	Towers, McLeod, Rainford
3R	22 November 1960	Burnley	H	1–1	9,900	Rainford
3R (replay)	6 December 1960	Burnley	A	1–2	12,757	Docherty

• Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford,^[3] Statto

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1960–61 season.

Pos.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Gerry Cakebread		(1936-04-01)1 April 1936 (aged 24)	Youth	1954
Defenders
DF	Vernon Avis		(1935-10-24)24 October 1935 (aged 24)	Youth	1952
DF	Ken Coote (c)		(1928-05-19)19 May 1928 (aged 32)	Wembley	1949
DF	Jimmy Gitsham		(1942-05-12)12 May 1942 (aged 18)	Youth	1959
DF	Tom Wilson		(1930-07-03)3 July 1930 (aged 30)	Fulham	1957
Midfielders
HB	George Bristow		(1933-06-25)25 June 1933 (aged 27)	Youth	1950
HB	Ian Dargie		(1931-10-03)3 October 1931 (aged 28)	Tonbridge	1952
HB	Billy Goundry		(1934-03-28)28 March 1934 (aged 26)	Huddersfield Town	1955
HB	Tommy Higginson		(1937-01-06)6 January 1937 (aged 23)	Kilmarnock	1959
HB	Ron Peplow		(1935-05-04)4 May 1935 (aged 25)	Southall	1955
Forwards
FW	Terry Curran		(1940-06-29)29 June 1940 (aged 20)	Tottenham Hotspur	1957
FW	John Docherty		(1940-04-29)29 April 1940 (aged 20)	St Roch's	1959
FW	George Francis		(1934-02-04)4 February 1934 (aged 26)	Youth	1955
FW	Johnny Hales		(1940-05-15)15 May 1940 (aged 20)	St Roch's	1958
FW	Dennis Heath		(1934-09-28)28 September 1934 (aged 25)	Youth	1954
FW	George McLeod		(1932-11-30)30 November 1932 (aged 27)	Luton Town	1958
FW	Danny O'Donnell		(1939-02-27)27 February 1939 (aged 21)	Kirkintilloch Rob Roy	1960	Loaned to Dumbarton
FW	Eric Parsons		(1923-11-09)9 November 1923 (aged 36)	Chelsea	1956
FW	Johnny Rainford		(1930-12-11)11 December 1930 (aged 29)	Cardiff City	1953
FW	George Summers		(1941-07-30)30 July 1941 (aged 19)	Shawfield	1959
FW	Jim Towers		(1933-04-15)15 April 1933 (aged 27)	Youth	1954

• Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford,^[3] Timeless Bees^[7]

Coaching staff

Name	Role
Malky MacDonald	Manager
Fred Monk	Trainer
Jack Holliday	Assistant Trainer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Cakebread

Wilson

Coote (c)

Dargie

Bristow

Higginson

Rainford

Towers

Docherty

McLeod

Francis

Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Football League season.

Pos	Nat	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		Gerry Cakebread	46	0	2	0	3	0	51	0
DF		Vernon Avis	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
DF		Ken Coote	41	0	2	0	3	0	46	0
DF		Jimmy Gitsham	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
DF		Tom Wilson	40	0	2	0	3	0	45	0
HB		George Bristow	23	2	2	0	1	0	26	2
HB		Ian Dargie	46	0	2	0	3	0	51	0
HB		Billy Goundry	23	2	0	0	1	0	24	2
HB		Tommy Higginson	32	1	2	0	3	0	37	1
HB		Ron Peplow	17	3	0	0	1	0	18	3
FW		Terry Curran	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
FW		John Docherty	17	2	0	0	2	1	19	3
FW		George Francis	31	8	2	2	2	0	35	10
FW		Johnny Hales	22	0	0	0	0	0	22	0
FW		Dennis Heath	15	1	0	0	0	0	15	1
FW		George McLeod	36	3	2	0	3	1	41	4
FW		Danny O'Donnell	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
FW		Eric Parsons	2	0	2	0	0	0	4	0
FW		Johnny Rainford	41	5	2	0	3	3	46	8
FW		George Summers	15	6	0	0	1	0	16	6
FW		Jim Towers	42	21	2	0	3	1	47	22

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years Of Brentford^[3]

Goalscorers

Pos.	Nat	Player	FL3	FAC	FLC	Total
FW		Jim Towers	21	0	1	22
FW		George Francis	8	2	0	10
FW		Johnny Rainford	5	0	3	8
FW		George Summers	6	0	0	6
FW		George McLeod	3	0	1	4
HB		Ron Peplow	3	0	0	3
FW		John Docherty	2	0	1	3
HB		George Bristow	2	0	0	2
HB		Billy Goundry	2	0	0	2
FW		Dennis Heath	1	0	0	1
HB		Tommy Higginson	1	0	0	1
Opponents			2	0	0	2
Total			56	2	6	64

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years Of Brentford^[3]

Management

Name	Nat	From	To	Record All Comps					Record League
				P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
Malky MacDonald		20 August 1960	2 May 1961	51	14	19	18	027.45	46	13	17	16	028.26

Summary

Games played	51 (46 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
Games won	14 (13 Third Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Games drawn	19 (17 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Games lost	18 (16 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals scored	64 (56 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 6 League Cup)
Goals conceded	80 (70 Third Division, 4 FA Cup, 6 League Cup)
Clean sheets	13 (13 Third Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Biggest league win	4–0 versus Shrewsbury Town, 3 September 1960
Worst league defeat	6–1 versus Watford, 30 August 1960
Most appearances	51, Gerry Cakebread, Ian Dargie (46 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
Top scorer (league)	21, Jim Towers
Top scorer (all competitions)	22, Jim Towers

Transfers & loans

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Fee	Ref.
October 1960	FW	Barry Rowan	Watford	n/a	[8]
Players transferred out
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Fee	Ref.
10 September 1960	HB	Charlie McInally	Albion Rovers	n/a	[9]
March 1961	FW	John Docherty	Sheffield United	£17,000	[5]
Players loaned out
Date from	Pos.	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
24 September 1960	FW	Danny O'Donnell	Dumbarton	n/a	[9]
Players released
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
May 1961	DF	Vernon Avis	Bedford Town	1961	[10]
May 1961	HB	George Bristow	Queens Park Rangers	May 1961	[11]
May 1961	FW	Terry Curran	Kettering Town	1961	[12]
May 1961	HB	Billy Goundry	Bedford Town	1961	[13]
May 1961	FW	Dennis Heath	Bedford Town	1961	[14]
May 1961	DF	Ken Horne	Dover	1961	[15]
May 1961	FW	Eric Parsons	Dover	1961	[16]
May 1961	HB	Ron Peplow	Folkestone Town	1961	[17]
May 1961	FW	Barry Rowan	Dover	1961	[18]
May 1961	HB	Sid Russell	Bexleyheath & Welling	1961	[19]