1995–96 Brentford F.C. season

Brentford
1995–96 season
ChairmanMartin Lange
ManagerDavid Webb
StadiumGriffin Park
Second Division15th
FA CupFourth round
League CupSecond round
Football League TrophyFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague: Taylor (11)
All: Taylor (16)
Highest home attendance7,878
Lowest home attendance3,104
Average home league attendance4,768

During the 1995–96 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Second Division. After spending over two mid-season months in the relegation places, the club achieved a 15th-place finish. A bright spot was a run to the fourth round of the FA Cup, falling to First Division high-flyers Charlton Athletic.

Season summary

Brentford began the 1995–96 season with the majority of the squad that finished runners-up in the previous season still intact, with Shane Westley,[1] Simon Ratcliffe and Paul Stephenson the only players to depart.[2][3] Manager David Webb's only addition to the squad during the off-season was Southend United's teenage left-sided midfielder and full back Ijah Anderson.[4] 1994–95 top scorer Nicky Forster looked set to depart for First Division club Crystal Palace for a £2,000,000 fee, but the Eagles' interest cooled after multiple rejections by Brentford.[5][6]

A win and a draw from the opening two games of the league season put Brentford in its highest league position of the season (6th), but a run of only four wins from the following 21 games left the club second-from-bottom at the mid-point of the season.[7] With Nicky Forster damaging knee ligaments in October 1995 and his subsequent goalscoring form faltering amid "distracting" transfer speculation,[6][8] Robert Taylor was burdened with leading the team's strikeforce.[9] Taylor ended the season as the club's top scorer, with 16 goals.[10]

A memorable 2–1 victory over First Division club Norwich City at Carrow Road on in the FA Cup third round on 6 January 1996 provided the spark needed for a revival of the team's league form,[5][11] with 19 of a possible 30 points being won between mid-January and mid-March to climb to 13th in the table.[7] Four wins from the final seven matches of the season led Brentford to a 15th-place finish in the Second Division.[7] The FA Cup run ended with a 3–2 defeat at the hands of high-flying First Division club Charlton Athletic in the fourth round.[7]

League table

Main article: 1995–96 Football League Second Division

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
13 Bristol City 46 15 15 16 55 60 −5 60
14 Bournemouth 46 16 10 20 51 70 −19 58
15 Brentford 46 15 13 18 43 49 −6 58
16 Rotherham United 46 14 14 18 54 62 −8 56
17 Burnley 46 14 13 19 56 68 −12 55
Source:

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Pre-season and friendlies

Date Opponent Venue Result Scorer(s)
19 July 1995 Hampton A 7–0 Forster (3), Ashby (2), Statham, Grainger (pen)
20 July 1995 Basingstoke Town A 1–1 Ravenscroft
22 July 1995 St Albans City A 5–1 Grainger (2, 1 pen), Taylor, Forster, Stephenson
24 July 1995 Hitchin Town A 3–1 Omigie (2), Annon
26 July 1995 Kingstonian A 2–1 Forster, Grainger
28 July 1995 Colchester United A 1–1 Taylor
1 August 1995 Barnet A 2–3 Abrahams, Forster
5 August 1995 Yeading A 5–2 Ravenscroft (2), Annon, Hooker, Omigie
7 August 1995 Walton & Hersham A 4–0 Forster, Smith, Taylor, Grainger (pen)
30 August 1995 Harrow Borough A 5–0 Annon (2, 1 pen), Hutchings, Hooker, Omigie

Football League Second Division

No. Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s)
1 12 August 1995 York City A 2–2 3,239 Smith, Forster
2 19 August 1995 Oxford United H 1–0 5,516 Taylor
3 26 August 1995 Burnley A 0–1 9,586
4 29 August 1995 Hull City H 1–0 4,535 Taylor
5 2 September 1995 Swindon Town H 0–2 7,878
6 9 September 1995 Rotherham United A 0–1 3,061
7 12 September 1995 Bristol City A 0–0 5,054
8 16 September 1995 Walsall H 1–0 4,717 Taylor
9 23 September 1995 Bristol Rovers A 0–2 5,131
10 30 September 1995 Chesterfield H 1–2 4,734 McGhee
11 7 October 1995 Blackpool H 1–2 5,313 McGhee
12 14 October 1995 Stockport County A 1–1 6,228 Smith
13 21 October 1995 Peterborough United H 3–0 4,865 Bates (2), Grainger (pen)
14 28 October 1995 Crewe Alexandra A 1–3 3,835 Forster
15 1 November 1995 Notts County A 0–4 4,005
16 4 November 1995 Shrewsbury Town H 0–2 4,104
17 18 November 1995 Bournemouth A 0–1 3,894
18 25 November 1995 Bradford City H 2–1 4,237 Taylor (2)
19 9 December 1995 Bristol Rovers H 0–0 5,679
20 16 December 1996 Chesterfield A 2–2 4,016 Smith, Ansah
21 22 December 1996 Wrexham A 2–2 3,670 Taylor, Martin
22 26 December 1995 Brighton & Hove Albion H 0–1 5,794
23 13 January 1996 Oxford United A 1–2 5,574 Ashby
24 20 January 1996 York City H 2–0 3,915 Bates, Taylor
25 30 January 1996 Wycombe Wanderers H 1–0 4,616 Taylor
26 3 February 1996 Burnley H 1–0 5,195 Forster
27 10 February 1996 Carlisle United A 1–2 5,143 Bates
28 17 February 1996 Bristol City H 2–2 5,213 McGhee, Taylor
29 21 February 1996 Swindon Town A 2–2 8,814 Abrahams (2)
30 24 February 1996 Walsall A 1–0 3,506 Abrahams
31 27 February 1996 Rotherham United H 1–1 3,446 Grainger
32 2 March 1996 Brighton & Hove Albion A 0–0 5,914
33 5 March 1996 Hull City A 1–0 2,284 Anderson
34 9 March 1996 Wrexham H 1–0 4,579 Anderson
35 12 March 1996 Swansea City A 1–2 3,538 Forster
36 16 March 1996 Wycombe Wanderers A 1–2 4,912 Forster
37 19 March 1996 Carlisle United H 1–1 3,104 Grainger
38 23 March 1996 Swansea City H 0–0 4,378
39 30 March 1996 Blackpool A 0–1 5,899
40 2 April 1996 Stockport County H 1–0 3,274 Smith
41 6 April 1996 Crewe Alexandra H 2–1 4,408 Taylor (2)
42 8 April 1996 Peterborough United A 1–0 4,343 McGhee
43 13 April 1996 Notts County H 0–0 4,588
44 20 April 1996 Shrewsbury Town A 1–2 2,711 McGhee
45 27 April 1996 Bradford City A 1–2 7,730 Bent
46 4 May 1996 Bournemouth H 2–0 6,091 Asaba (2)

FA Cup

Main article: 1995–96 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s)
R1 11 November 1995 Farnborough Town H 1–1 4,711 Bent
R1 (replay) 22 November 1995 Farnborough Town A 4–0 3,581 Smith, Taylor (2), Bent
R2 2 December 1995 Bournemouth A 1–0 4,451 Taylor
R3 6 January 1996 Norwich City A 2–1 10,082 Newsome (og), Bent
R4 7 February 1996 Charlton Athletic A 2–3 15,000 Ashby, Smith

League Cup

Main article: 1995–96 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s)
R1 (1st leg) 15 August 1995 Walsall A 2–2 2,405 Harvey, Forster
R1 (2nd leg) 22 August 1995 Walsall H 3–2 (won 5–4 on aggregate) 3,549 Taylor, Anderson, McGhee
R2 (1st leg) 19 September 1995 Bolton Wanderers A 0–1 5,243
R2 (2nd leg) 3 October 1995 Bolton Wanderers H 2–3 (lost 4–2 on aggregate) 4,861 Forster, Grainger (pen)

Football League Trophy

Main article: 1995–96 Football League Trophy
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s)
SR1 (match 1) 27 September 1995 Bournemouth A 1–0 1,092 Taylor
SR1 (match 2) 17 October 1995 Exeter City H 1–1 1,431 Forster
  • Source: Statto, The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties[12]

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1995–96 season.
Position Name Nationality Date of birth (age) Signed from Signed in Notes
Goalkeepers
GK Kevin Dearden England (1970-03-08)8 March 1970 (aged 25) Tottenham Hotspur 1993
GK Tamer Fernandes England (1974-12-07)7 December 1974 (aged 20) Youth 1993
Defenders
DF Ijah Anderson England (1975-12-30)30 December 1975 (aged 19) Southend United 1995
DF Barry Ashby England (1970-11-21)21 November 1970 (aged 24) Watford 1994
DF Jamie Bates (c) England (1968-02-24)24 February 1968 (aged 27) Youth 1986
DF Paul Davis England (1961-12-09)9 December 1961 (aged 33) Arsenal 1995
DF Lee Harvey England (1966-12-21)21 December 1966 (aged 28) Nottingham Forest 1993
DF Carl Hutchings England (1974-09-24)24 September 1974 (aged 20) Youth 1993
DF Brian Statham England (1969-05-21)21 May 1969 (aged 26) Tottenham Hotspur 1992
Midfielders
MF Paul Abrahams England (1973-10-31)31 October 1973 (aged 21) Colchester United 1995 Loaned to Colchester United
MF Jon Hooker England (1972-03-31)31 March 1972 (aged 23) Gillingham 1994 Loaned to Bishop's Stortford
MF Gus Hurdle Barbados (1973-10-14)14 October 1973 (aged 21) Carshalton Athletic 1993
MF Dean Martin England (1972-08-31)31 August 1972 (aged 22) KA 1995
MF David McGhee England (1976-06-19)19 June 1976 (aged 19) Youth 1994
MF Craig Ravenscroft England (1974-12-20)20 December 1974 (aged 20) Youth 1993
MF Paul Smith England (1971-09-18)18 September 1971 (aged 23) Southend United 1993
Forwards
FW Carl Asaba England (1973-01-28)28 January 1973 (aged 22) Dulwich Hamlet 1994
FW Marcus Bent England (1978-05-19)19 May 1978 (aged 17) Youth 1995
FW Nicky Forster England (1973-09-08)8 September 1973 (aged 21) Gillingham 1994
FW Joe Omigie England (1972-06-13)13 June 1972 (aged 23) Donna 1994 Loaned to Woking
FW Robert Taylor England (1971-04-30)30 April 1971 (aged 24) Leyton Orient 1994
Players who left the club mid-season
DF Martin Grainger England (1972-08-23)23 August 1972 (aged 22) Colchester United 1993 Transferred to Birmingham City
MF Darren Annon England (1972-02-17)17 February 1972 (aged 23) Carshalton Athletic 1994 Released
MF Andy Ansah England (1969-03-19)19 March 1969 (aged 26) Southend United 1995 Returned to Southend United after loan
MF Scott Canham England (1974-11-11)11 November 1974 (aged 20) West Ham United 1996 Returned to West Ham United after loan
MF David Greene Republic of Ireland (1973-10-26)26 October 1973 (aged 21) Luton Town 1996 Returned to Luton Town after loan
MF Denny Mundee England (1968-10-10)10 October 1968 (aged 26) Bournemouth 1993 Released
FW Andy Sussex England (1964-11-23)23 November 1964 (aged 30) Southend United 1995 Returned to Southend United after loan
  • Source: The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties[13]

Coaching staff

Name Role
England David Webb Manager
England Kevin Lock First Team Coach
England Graham Benstead Goalkeeping Coach
England Roy Johnson Physiotherapist
England Fergus Dignan Medical Officer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Substitute appearances in brackets.
Pos Nat Name League FA Cup League Cup FL Trophy Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England Kevin Dearden 41 0 3 0 3 0 1 0 48 0
GK England Tamer Fernandes 5 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 7 0
DF England Ijah Anderson 25 2 1 (2) 0 2 1 0 (1) 0 28 (3) 3
DF England Barry Ashby 31 (2) 1 4 1 4 0 2 0 41 (2) 2
DF England Jamie Bates 36 4 5 0 4 0 2 0 47 4
DF England Paul Davis 5 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 8 0
DF England Martin Grainger 33 3 5 0 4 1 2 0 44 4
DF England Lee Harvey 38 (2) 0 4 (1) 0 2 (1) 1 1 0 45 (4) 1
DF England Carl Hutchings 20 (3) 0 5 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 25 (4) 0
DF England Brian Statham 17 0 1 0 4 0 2 0 24 0
MF England Paul Abrahams 14 (3) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 (3) 3
MF England Darren Annon 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0
MF England Marcus Bent 8 (4) 1 4 3 0 0 0 0 12 (4) 4
MF England Jon Hooker 4 0 0 (2) 0 1 0 0 0 5 (2) 0
MF Barbados Gus Hurdle 11 (3) 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 13 (3) 0
MF England Dean Martin 14 (5) 1 4 (1) 0 — 1 0 18 (6) 1
MF England David McGhee 31 (5) 5 4 0 2 (1) 1 1 (1) 0 38 (7) 6
MF England Denny Mundee 5 (1) 0 — 1 (1) 0 0 0 6 (2) 0
MF England Craig Ravenscroft 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF England Paul Smith 46 4 5 2 4 0 2 0 57 6
FW England Carl Asaba 5 (5) 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 8 (5) 2
FW England Nicky Forster 37 (1) 5 3 0 4 2 2 1 46 (1) 8
FW England Joe Omigie 3 (8) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 (8) 0
FW England Robert Taylor 42 11 4 3 4 1 2 1 52 16
Players loaned in during the season
MF England Andy Ansah 6 1 — — — 6 1
MF England Scott Canham 14 0 — — — 14 0
MF Republic of Ireland David Greene 11 0 — — — 11 0
FW England Andy Sussex 3 0 — — — 3 0
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties[13]

Goalscorers

Pos. Nat Player FL2 FAC FLC FLT Total
FW England Robert Taylor 11 3 1 1 16
FW England Nicky Forster 5 0 2 1 8
MF England David McGhee 5 0 1 0 6
MF England Paul Smith 4 2 0 0 6
DF England Jamie Bates 4 0 0 0 4
DF England Martin Grainger 3 0 1 0 4
MF England Marcus Bent 1 3 0 0 4
MF England Paul Abrahams 3 0 0 0 3
DF England Ijah Anderson 2 0 1 0 3
FW England Carl Asaba 2 0 0 1 2
DF England Barry Ashby 1 1 0 0 2
FW England Andy Ansah 1 — — — 1
FW England Dean Martin 1 0 — 0 1
MF England Lee Harvey 0 0 1 0 1
Opponents 0 1 0 0 1
Total 43 11 7 2 63
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties[13]

International caps

Pos Nat Player Caps Goals Ref
MF Barbados Gus Hurdle 2 0 [14]

Management

Name Nat From To Record All Comps Record League
P W D L W % P W D L W %
David Webb England 12 August 1995 4 May 1996 57 20 16 21 035.09 46 15 13 18 032.61

Summary

Games played 57 (46 Second Division, 5 FA Cup, 4 League Cup, 2 Football League Trophy)
Games won 20 (15 Second Division, 3 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy)
Games drawn 16 (13 Second Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy)
Games lost 21 (18 Second Division, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cup, 0 Football League Trophy)
Goals scored 62 (43 Second Division, 10 FA Cup, 7 League Cup, 2 Football League Trophy)
Goals conceded 63 (49 Second Division, 5 FA Cup, 8 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy)
Clean sheets 21 (18 Second Division, 2 FA Cup, 0 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy)
Biggest league win 3–0 versus Peterborough United, 21 October 1995
Worst league defeat 4–0 versus Notts County, 1 November 1995
Most appearances 63, Paul Smith (46 Second Division, 5 FA Cup, 4 League Cup, 2 Football League Trophy)
Top scorer (league) 11, Robert Taylor
Top scorer (all competitions) 16, Robert Taylor

Transfers & loans

Players transferred in
Date Pos. Name Previous Club Fee Ref.
31 July 1995 DF England Ijah Anderson England Southend United Free [4]
12 September 1995 MF England Paul Davis England Arsenal Free [15]
12 October 1995 MF England Dean Martin Iceland KA Free [16]
Players loaned in
Date from Pos. Name From Date to Ref.
15 November 1995 FW England Andy Ansah England Southend United 27 December 1995 [17]
12 December 1995 FW England Andy Sussex England Southend United 12 January 1996 [18]
19 January 1996 MF England Scott Canham England West Ham United 20 April 1996 [19]
1 March 1996 MF Republic of Ireland David Greene England Luton Town 13 April 1996 [20]
Players transferred out
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Fee Ref.
4 August 1995 MF England Simon Ratcliffe England Gillingham Free [2]
7 August 1995 MF England Paul Stephenson England York City £35,000 [3]
10 August 1995 DF England Shane Westley England Cambridge United Free [1]
25 March 1996 DF England Martin Grainger England Birmingham City £400,000 [21]
Players loaned out
Date from Pos. Name To Date to Ref.
September 1995 MF England Joe Omigie England Woking October 1995 [22]
29 December 1995 MF England Paul Abrahams England Colchester United 20 February 1996 [23]
Players released
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Join date Ref.
18 October 1995 MF England Denny Mundee England Brighton & Hove Albion 19 October 1995 [24]
29 February 1996 MF England Darren Annon England Kingstonian March 1996 [25]
30 June 1996 DF England Corey Campbell England Dover Athletic 1996 [26]
30 June 1996 MF England Paul Davis Retired [27]
30 June 1996 MF England Jon Hooker England Bishop's Stortford 1996 [26]
30 June 1996 MF England Dean Martin Iceland KA 1996 [26]
30 June 1996 MF England Craig Ravenscroft England Kingstonian August 1996 [26]

Kit

Supplier: Core
Sponsor(s): Ericsson

Home
Away
Goalkeeper

Source: Brentford F.C.

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b Shane Westley at Soccerbase
  2. ^ a b Simon Ratcliffe at Soccerbase
  3. ^ a b Paul Stephenson at Soccerbase
  4. ^ a b Ijah Anderson at Soccerbase
  5. ^ a b "Brentford duo back to the fore". The Independent. 8 January 1996. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  6. ^ a b Long, Dan. "Nicky Forster: The challenges of being Brentford player-manager". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d "Brentford results for the 1995–1996 season". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 1 September 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  8. ^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 202.
  9. ^ Street, Tim. "Scott sends warning over Nicky Forster signing". getwestlondon. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  10. ^ a b Sewell, Albert, ed. (1996). News Of The World Football Annual 1996–97. Hammersmith, London: Invincible Press. p. 352. ISBN 000218737X.
  11. ^ a b "Moment in Time: Norwich City". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  12. ^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 182-199, 460–463.
  13. ^ a b c Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 481.
  14. ^ "Player x-ray :: Gus Hurdle :: Barbados". www.thefinalball.com. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  15. ^ Paul Davis at Soccerbase
  16. ^ Dean Martin at Soccerbase
  17. ^ Andy Ansah at Soccerbase
  18. ^ "Andy Sussex". 11v11.com. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  19. ^ "Scott Canham". 11v11.com. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  20. ^ "David Greene". 11v11.com. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  21. ^ Martin Grainger at Soccerbase
  22. ^ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2013). The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. p. 201. ISBN 9781906796723.
  23. ^ Paul Abrahams at Soccerbase
  24. ^ Denny Mundee at Soccerbase
  25. ^ "Darren Annon". Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  26. ^ a b c d Griffin Gazette versus AFC Bournemouth. Quay Design of Poole. 4 May 1996. p. 2.
  27. ^ "Paul Davis". Arsenal.com. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  28. ^ Brentford's Official Matchday Magazine versus Peterborough United. 3 May 1997. p. 3.
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