1938–39 Brentford F.C. season

After successive top-six finishes in Brentford's first three seasons in the First Division and with the club making a record £7,348 profit on the previous season (equivalent to £427,600 in 2025),^[1][2] manager Harry Curtis again elected to not make any significant off-season signings,^[3] stating "negotiations took place in an effort to get certain players of great repute, but the deals did not come off. During this close season the position still seems to be the same, the clubs being unwilling to part with players, irrespective of the price offered".^[4] Enquiries for Manchester City's Peter Doherty, Blackpool's Danny Blair, Everton's Joe Mercer, Hull City's David Parker and Scots Jimmy Carabine and Andy Black were all rebuffed.^[4]

Long-serving Scottish international wing half Duncan McKenzie was sold to Middlesbrough in May 1938 for a £6,000 fee.^[5] After youngsters Les Smith and Gerry McAloon were promoted into the first team during the previous two seasons,^[6] Curtis would again dip into the reserve and junior ranks and give debuts to left back Doug Anderson and forwards Len Townsend and George Wilkins during the season.^[6] Brentford finished pre-season with a 2–1 Football League Jubilee Fund victory over neighbours Chelsea.^[7]

Brentford started the First Division season with two wins and a draw – the second victory being played in front of a club record 38,535 home crowd versus London rivals Arsenal.^[8][9] Just one point from the following seven matches dropped the Bees to the bottom of the First Division.^[8] Scottish international forward David McCulloch's previous prolific goalscoring form had deserted him and reliable forwards Bobby Reid and Billy Scott also found goalscoring chances hard to come by.^[6] Having scored just twice in 9 appearances, McCulloch departed Griffin Park to join Derby County for a £9,500 fee on 22 October 1938.^[10] Brentford's form picked up slightly after McCulloch's departure, losing just three of the following 12 matches,^[8] but two other regular starters departed in the midst of the run – forward George Eastham to Blackpool for £5,000 and long-serving captain Arthur Bateman was forced to retire.^[11] Manager Curtis signed Irish international full back Bill Gorman to partner George Poyser in defence and promoted young forwards Len Townsend and George Wilkins to the first team.^[12] In December 1938, he added former Fulham reserve team manager Joe Edelston to the coaching staff.^[13]

Brentford's bad form continued through to February 1939 and again the team was hit by the loss of a key players, with Scottish international forward Bobby Reid moving to Sheffield United and Gerry McAloon departing for Wolverhampton Wanderers the following month.^[14] Manager Curtis brought in two new forwards, Tommy Cheetham from local rivals Queens Park Rangers and Les Boulter from Charlton Athletic for £5,000 each.^[15] Cheetham scored on his second appearance to begin a run of five wins and a draw,^[6] which took the Bees up to 13th position and effectively saved the club's top-flight status.^[8] Brentford lost seven of the remaining 10 matches and finished in 18th place.^[8]

Despite the poor finish, the season ended on a high note, when on 24 May 1939, 21-year-old forward Les Smith became the second Brentford player to win a full England cap,^[16] which came in a 2–0 friendly win over Romania in Bucharest.^[17]

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1938–39 season.

More information Pos., Name ...

Pos.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Joe Crozier		(1914-12-02)2 December 1914 (aged 23)	East Fife	1937
Defenders
DF	Doug Anderson		(1914-03-25)25 March 1914 (aged 24)	Hibernian	1937
DF	Bill Gorman		(1911-01-13)13 January 1911 (aged 27)	Bury	1938
DF	George Poyser		(1910-02-06)6 February 1910 (aged 28)	Port Vale	1934
DF	Joe Wilson		(1911-09-29)29 September 1911 (aged 26)	Southend United	1935
Midfielders
HB	Vic Aicken		(1914-10-29)29 October 1914 (aged 23)	Glentoran	1937
HB	Sam Briddon		(1915-07-26)26 July 1915 (aged 23)	Port Vale	1935
HB	Buster Brown		(1910-09-06)6 September 1910 (aged 27)	Huddersfield Town	1937
HB	Joe James (c)		(1910-01-13)13 January 1910 (aged 28)	Battersea Church	1929
HB	Tally Sneddon		(1914-04-01)1 April 1914 (aged 24)	Falkirk	1937
Forwards
FW	Les Boulter		(1913-08-31)31 August 1913 (aged 24)	Charlton Athletic	1939
FW	Tommy Cheetham		(1910-10-11)11 October 1910 (aged 27)	Queens Park Rangers	1939
FW	Maurice Edelston		(1918-04-27)27 April 1918 (aged 20)	Wimbledon	1937	Amateur
FW	Jackie Gibbons		(1914-04-10)10 April 1914 (aged 24)	Tottenham Hotspur	1938	Amateur
FW	Jack Holliday		(1908-12-19)19 December 1908 (aged 29)	Middlesbrough	1932
FW	Idris Hopkins		(1910-10-11)11 October 1910 (aged 27)	Crystal Palace	1932
FW	Ernest Muttitt		(1908-07-24)24 July 1908 (aged 30)	Middlesbrough	1932
FW	Billy Scott		(1907-12-06)6 December 1907 (aged 30)	Middlesbrough	1932
FW	Les Smith		(1918-03-13)13 March 1918 (aged 20)	Petersham	1934
FW	Len Townsend		(1917-08-31)31 August 1917 (aged 20)	Hayes	1937
FW	George Wilkins		(1919-10-27)27 October 1919 (aged 18)	Hayes	1938
Players who left the club mid-season
DF	Arthur Bateman		(1909-04-01)1 April 1909 (aged 29)	Southend United	1934	Retired
FW	George Eastham		(1914-08-13)13 August 1914 (aged 24)	Bolton Wanderers	1937	Transferred to Blackpool
FW	Gerry McAloon		(1916-09-13)13 September 1916 (aged 21)	St Francis	1934	Transferred to Wolverhampton Wanderers
FW	David McCulloch		(1912-10-05)5 October 1912 (aged 25)	Heart of Midlothian	1935	Transferred to Derby County
FW	Bobby Reid		(1911-02-19)19 February 1911 (aged 27)	Hamilton Academical	1936	Transferred to Sheffield United

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• Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,^[6] Timeless Bees,^[18] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939^[19]

Cricketers are not included in this list.

More information Players transferred in, Date ...

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous club	Fee	Ref.
May 1938	HB	William Gibbons	Wrexham	n/a	[24]
May 1938	DF	Harry Oliver	Hartlepools United	£1,500	[25]
19 June 1938	FW	Fred Durrant	Folkestone	n/a	[26]
June 1938	DF	Bob Allen	Doncaster Rovers	n/a	[27]
July 1938	HB	Ray Ferris	Glentoran	Amateur	[28]
July 1938	FW	Fred Rowell	Sunderland	n/a	[29]
16 August 1938	FW	Jackie Gibbons	Tottenham Hotspur	Amateur	[30]
December 1938	DF	Bill Gorman	Bury	£7,000	[31]
1938	GK	James Bayne	n/a	n/a	[32]
1938	HB	John Moore	Unattached	Free	[33]
1938	DF	Robert Smith	Unattached	n/a	[34]
January 1939	FW	Cyril Brown	Felixstowe	n/a	[35]
7 February 1939	FW	Les Boulter	Charlton Athletic	£5,000	[36]
7 February 1939	FW	Tommy Cheetham	Queens Park Rangers	£5,000	[37]
April 1939	DF	Fred Mansfield	Cambridge Town	n/a	[38]
n/a	FW	Albert Degnan	Charlton Athletic	n/a	[39]
n/a	FW	Ron Griffin	Lincoln City	n/a	[39]
n/a	FW	Johnny Kay	n/a	n/a	[40]
n/a	n/a	Archie Waddell	n/a	n/a	[40]
Players transferred out
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
May 1938	HB	Duncan McKenzie	Middlesbrough	£6,000	[5]
21 October 1938	FW	David McCulloch	Derby County	£9,500	[10]
November 1938	FW	George Eastham	Blackpool	£5,000	[11]
February 1939	FW	Bobby Reid	Sheffield United	£6,000	[41]
16 March 1939	FW	Gerry McAloon	Wolverhampton Wanderers	£5,000	[39]
Players released
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
May 1939	DF	Bob Allen	Dartford	June 1939	[27]
May 1939	DF	Arthur Bateman	Retired		[42]
May 1939	FW	Albert Degnan	Albion Rovers	15 June 1939	[39]
May 1939	FW	Maurice Edelston	Corinthian	May 1939	[43]
May 1939	HB	Ray Ferris	Cambridge Town	1939	[44]
May 1939	FW	Jackie Gibbons	Tottenham Hotspur	1939	[25]
May 1939	FW	Ron Griffin	Watford	August 1939	[39]

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