Your ’23 / ’24 season guide to the Bees history against our opponents

Jonathan Burchill is a “fantastically well informed historian and statistician” who has pretty much every fact and figure relating to the Bees seemingly at his fingertips. BU Commissioning Editor Greville Waterman asked Jonathan to provide some unusual facts about each of our opponents this season.

Arsenal

• One of 5 teams we have met in all of our 7 previous top tier seasons.
• We were undefeated in our first 7 league meetings (won 5, drew 2) but then have just one win in our last 7 (won 1, drew 2, lost 4), which was, of course, our first Premier League game.
• Never have had a home draw with Arsenal.
• Our first ever meeting with Woolwich Arsenal, as they were then known, was a home FA Cup tie in 1902-03. It ended 1-1 and was played at the Boston Park Cricket Ground, our home before Griffin Park.
• The top tier (Division 1) match in September 1938 saw an attendance of 38,535, which was Griffin Park’s record for a league game.

Aston Villa       

• We played them in 3 of our original top tier seasons and never won (drew 1, lost 5).
• The last penalty we’ve had against them was 1946. It was scored by George Wilkins, father of future Bees Graham & Steve, and Chelsea & England’s Ray.
• We regularly started playing them again in 2016-17 when our record improved to won 4, draw 5, lost 1, with that loss being last season’s 0-4 away.
• Not only was that 0-4 out of character with our recent Villa form, but it was also only the 11^th time we’ve been 0-3 down at half time in the league game and went on to lose 0-4 (Sheff Wed in 2016 was the previous). Happens about once every 9 years.
• When Dean Smith left his role as Brentford’s Head Coach to move to Villa in October 2018, Thomas Frank took over…… and the rest is history!

Bournemouth  

• A team we’ve played in all 4 tiers.
• We’ve had 104 previous league meetings and they’ve been on our fixture list for 53 of our 97 EFL/PL seasons.
• In the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy match in 2011, we won 6-0 with American Mike Grella becoming the last player to score 4 goals in a single game, in the 116 years we were at Griffin Park.
• We’ve not lost a league game to them since August 2014, when we were defeated 0-1 away. Since then, our run is WWWDW.
• The first ever match report of a Brentford game on the World Wide Web / Internet, was the FA Cup 2^nd round tie against Bournemouth, in December 1995.

Brighton & Hove Albion

• Brighton were our 5^th opponents in our very first season in the Football League, in 1920-21.
• Our match against them in January 2002 was the only game at Griffin Park shown live by the short lived “ITV digital”. The match on a Thursday evening saw the Bees win 4-0 (Burgess 2, Sidwell, Ingimarsson).
• We also won 4-0 in October 2003 in a game which Stephen Hunt scored 2 penalties. He also missed a 3^rd spot kick awarded and could have been the only Bees player to score a hat-trick of penalties.
• In the 10^th minute of the FA Cup meeting in 2015, the referee’s “vanishing spray” was used for the first time at Griffin Park.
• Last season’s away game saw the last Bees goal scored by captain Pontus Jansson.

Burnley

• In our 13 away league visits, we’ve recorded just 2 wins, the last in December 1996.
• The away trip in April 1994 ended in a 1-4 defeat, with 2 Bees sent off – right back Brian Statham and goalkeeper Kevin Dearden.
• It’s never been a fixture chosen for live TV. Yet the highlights of a 3^rd tier encounter in 1980 were shown on Match Of The Day (another defeat, 0-2).
• Supporters attending the Burnley game at Griffin Park in 1983 were given a voucher which entitled them to purchase a ticket for the forthcoming League Cup tie with Liverpool. 7,000 fans then returned to Griffin Park with their voucher on the Sunday morning to purchase a cup ticket. (No TAP points back then!)
• Our 2-0 win in March 2022 ended a run of 5 straight league & cup defeats against them, and was the first time we had taken maximum points since 1997.

Chelsea

• Back in 1905 Brentford’s club secretary, William Lewis, who had been with the Bees since 1898, left to move to the newly formed Chelsea FC. He led them to their first promotion, to Division 1, in 1906-07.
• Played them in all our top tier seasons.
• We played them away in September 1943 in a wartime league match. Frank Soo made his Bees debut as a “guest” (an informal sort of loan during the war years) and had been a player we had tried to sign before the war. He was of mixed Chinese and English parentage and had been the first player of Chinese origin to play in the Football League. He was also the first ethnic minority player to represent England (in unofficial wartime matches).
• Our 4-1 win at Stamford Bridge in 2022 is our best top tier away result (with 4 goals scored, and a +3-goal diff).
• Although we have back-to-back Premier League wins away against Chelsea, we’ve only taken 1 point at home and yet to score to score at the Gtech.

Crystal Palace  

• Prior to reaching the Premier League, we hadn’t played Crystal Palace in a league fixture since 1963-64.
• Honours even between the two sides in the Premier League, as all 4 games have ended in a draw.
• Both last season’s games ended 1-1, with both Brentford’s goals scored by substitutes – Wissa (away) & Janelt (home).
• The tier 3 match at Griffin Park on Christmas Day in 1930 saw the Bees win 8-2, with hat-tricks for both Billy Lane & Jack Lane (unrelated). The reverse fixture on Boxing Day ended in a 1-5 defeat.
• We’re looking for our first league win against them since September 1963 (a 2-1 win at Griffin Park).

Everton

• We have met in all our top tier seasons, as well as 3 in tier 2.
• The records show we’ve never had an away league draw at Everton, with 3 wins and 7 defeats.
• However, the opening game of the 1939-40 away at Everton ended in a 1-1 draw. Unfortunately after 3 games of the new season, World War II was declared, and all football results were expunged from the records. No league football was played for 7 seasons.
• The 2^nd tier match against Everton in October 1953 saw the Bees win 1-0 in the first game with Bill Dodgin (senior) as manager. He went on to be in charge for 169 league games. 20 years later his son, Bill Dodgin (junior) also became Bees manager, and was in charge for 3 more games than his father.
• Everton visited Griffin Park in the 2010 League Cup. After playing time finished 1-1 it went onto our first ever penalty shoot-out in the League Cup at Griffin Park. Goalkeeper Richard Lee was the hero as the Bees went through 4-3 on penalties.

Fulham

• Last year’s 2-3 away defeat brought to an end an unbeaten league & cup run at Craven Cottage going back to 1990, WWWDD WDDDW L
• Haven’t had a home draw in last 18 league & cup games – won 11, lost 7. The last draw, 3-3, was back in 1987.
• Despite the local rivalry there’s only been one Brentford red card, to Gary Blissett, in the away match in December 1987.
• We played them at a neutral venue in this year’s Premier League Summer Series. We did likewise back in 1903 when we played them in the Southern League Test Match (bit like a play-off) at Shepherd’s Bush FC . Bees won 7-2.
• Former Fulham player and chairman, Jimmy Hill, started his playing career at Brentford in 1949. He left a significant legacy on the game, not least of which was when he was chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) and successfully campaigned, in 1961, for the abolition of the players’ £20 per week maximum wage.

Liverpool         

• Our last 4 league trips to Anfield, back to 1939, have all ended in defeat, without a single Bees goal. The 3 cup visits during that period also ended in defeat, with just a solitary goal scored by Roger Cross, as we were knocked out of the 1974-5 League Cup, 1-2.
• Have met Liverpool in all top tier seasons, neither side has achieved a “double”.
• In both our Premier League games at the Gtech we’ve scored 3 goals against them.
• In 1989 we lost 0-4 at Anfield in 6th round of FA Cup, the furthest we’ve ever progressed in that competition (equal with 1938, 1946, 1949).
• Liverpool’s visit to Brentford in 1983 attracted a crowd of 17,859, the highest attendance at Griffin Park for a League Cup match.

Luton Town     

• Will be our first ever season meeting them in the top tier.
• Our tier 3 visit to Luton in February 1933 ended in a 5-5 draw, our highest ever scoring draw in a league fixture. Also, Jack Holliday scored all 5 away goals, the only Brentford to achieve that feat.
• In the 7-0 win over them at Griffin Park in 2019 saw both Said Benrahma and Josh Dasilva (to complete his hat-trick) score penalties. It’s the only time in our league history that 2 different players have scored penalties, in the same game.
• The 7-0 is also the highest winning goal margin in a league game achieved under Thomas Frank. The club record is 9-0 against Wrexham in 1963.
• The 2008-09 season finished with Luton the visitors to Griffin Park, as Andy Scott’s Brentford were presented with the League 2 (tier 4) champions trophy. The game finished with a 2-0 win, and with the benefit of hindsight, it was Brentford’s first promotion on the way to the Premier League.

Manchester City          

• In our 12 previous league meetings, we’ve only had one draw, a 0-0 in 1936.
• Our 1-0 win over City in the last game of the season, completed our “double” over last season’s “treble” winners.
• Ethan Pinnock’s winner in that game was scored in the 85th minute. Not a great surprise as 25% of our Premier League goals last season scored were after the 80th minute.
• Baring a major twist, it was David Raya’s last game for us. In his 150 league games he conceded 147 goals, average 0.98 per game. No Bees keeper, who started more than 75 games, has achieved a better figure.
• Ivan Toney missed the game as the 2^nd match his suspension. He will be unavailable until next January and will exceed the current suspension record of Terry Evans, who was unavailable for 2 months in 1985 and missed 14 league and cup games.

Manchester United      

• Our first Premier League visit to Old Trafford in May 2022 had a crowd of 73,482, the highest ever attendance to watch one of our games.
• Our worst cup defeat (in all competitions) is 1-7, away at Man Utd in 1928, in the FA Cup. Even our goal was an own goal!
• In 1953 Brentford played Man Utd in semi-final of FA Youth Cup. The United side at Griffin Park included youngsters Bobby Charlton and Duncan Edwards, plus other “Busby Babes”.
• Man Utd broke (4th tier) Brentford’s record transfer fee received in 1973 when they paid £55k for full back Stewart Houston.
• We’ve never been awarded a penalty awarded to us in a game with Man Utd, in 17 league and cup meetings.

Newcastle United        

• We haven’t beaten Newcastle since 1948. Our current league form against them is WLLL LDLLL, with the draw coming in 2021.
• Our League Cup visit to St James’s Park in 2001 ended in a 1-4 defeat. It was the first match broadcast by the club’s new Bees Player commentary service, with Mark Burridge.
• Last season we conceded 5 goals in the away game. It was the first time we’d let in 5 since a visit to Norwich in 2016.
• It’s the only time David Raya let in 5 in his Brentford career. A clean sheet was far more likely with him in goal as he recorded 52 in his 150 league games.
• The home game in April ended in a 1-2 defeat and was the first time Ivan Toney missed penalty for Brentford, in a total of 24 taken. Also, of the 30 Premier League where we’ve taken the lead, it is the only game we’ve lost.

Nottingham Forest       

• Thomas Frank’s Brentford have met Nottingham Forest 7 times, which is the most of any of our current Premier League opponents, although still looking for the first clean sheet.
• Unbeaten in our last 4 meetings, WDDW.
• Ex-Brentford manager, Billy Gray (1966-67), won the FA Cup with Forest in 1959.
• We have had 14 league wins against Forest, but April’s match was the first time we’d come back from losing at half-time, to win.
• Brentford tend to score late in Forest games under Thomas Frank. Of the 9 goals scored, 3 were in the first half, with the other 6 coming in minute 75, 82, 83, 88, 89, 90+4.

Sheffield United           

• Last met them in the top tier in 1946-47, our relegation season. They inflicted a 1-6 defeat in the away game, equalling our worst top tier result.
• The last season we met, 2018-19, in tier 2, they did the “double” over us.
• Our last win was in August 2013 at Griffin Park, 3-1, as we went on to be promoted from League 1 (tier 3) under Mark Warburton.
• Of this season’s Premier League opponents, we’ve had the most players sent off against Sheff Utd – Doug Allder 1979, Chris Kamara 1983, Tony Craig & Clayton Donaldson 2013 and Ryan Woods 2018
• United’s first match with Brentford (then of the Southern League) was in 1899, just 10 years after the Bees were founded. United, of the Football League, had just won their first FA Cup 2 days earlier and played the friendly fixture as part of the transfer of a Bees player to them earlier in the season. Bees lost 2-5 at the Cross Roads Ground, our 4^th home location.

Tottenham Hotspur     

• Brentford started this season playing Spurs at home, just as we did in 1949-50. That day Bees gave a debut to Ken Coote, who would go on to play a total record 559 games for the Bees, over 14 years.
• We lost 0-2 to Spurs in 2021 (behind closed doors), in the League Cup semi-final. The only time we’ve reached a semi-final of a major cup.
• Last season’s 3-1 win was our first ever away win at Spurs, and the first time we’d scored 3 in an away game against them.
• That match was only the 7th time in our league history that we’ve been 0-1 down at half time and gone on to win 3-1, away.
• All 5 of our Premier League games, to date, with Spurs have been selected for live TV coverage.

West Ham United        

• We’ve won all 4 Premier League games against West Ham, thereby completing the double “double”.
• West Ham were the first visitors to the newly opened Griffin Park for a Southern League fixture in 1904. The kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes as they were late arriving.
• The fixture in March 1952 ended up being one of only 4 league matches to be abandoned at Griffin Park (along with Walsall 1927, Chesterfield 1959, Colchester 2003). Snow meant the players didn’t return for the 2^nd
• In pre-season 1965-66, former Brentford player, then West Ham’s manager, Ron Greenwood, brought his side to Griffin Park for Ken Coote’s testimonial match. Visiting centre-forward, Geoff Hurst missed an open goal. Ron Greenwood went on to be England Manager and is the only one to be unbeaten during a World Cup Finals, apart from Alf Ramey, who won the World Cup. The 1982 World Cup tournament had a 2^nd group stage where his England team drew both games but were still eliminated.
• In 1976 Brentford signed former West Ham winger Harry Redknapp. Just 38 minutes into his Bees debut he went off injured and never played for the club again.

Wolverhampton Wanderers     

• Have played Wolves in all our top tier seasons.
• We’ve had 30 league meetings, but no Bees player has ever scored hat-trick against them.
• There’s only been 4 drawn league games.
• Our first Premier League game against them at the Gtech in January 2022 was disrupted by a drone over the pitch. It also saw Jensen and Henry clash heads requiring both to leave the field and be replaced by 2 “concussion” subs. Later in the game those 2 subs, Roerslev & Baptiste, were themselves replaced for tactical reasons, becoming the first double Bees subs to be subbed.
• Of the current Premier League sides, we recorded our best top tier result against Wolves, a 5-0 win at Griffin Park in 1936.

Jonathan Burchill is the author of a fascinating book about Griffin park, “A Pub On Each Corner” and everything that happened there, which we wholeheartedly recommend
Jonathan’s book is still available from the club superstore and Amazon