1986–87 season of Brentford F.C.
Brentford 1986–87 football season
During the 1986–87 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division . Frank McLintock resigned as manager in January 1987 and his replacement Steve Perryman saved the club's season, elevating the Bees to an 11th-place finish.
Season summary
It was all change at Griffin Park during the 1986 off-season.[ 1] Assistant manager John Docherty left the club to become manager of Millwall and took long-serving defender Danis Salman with him, for a "ridiculous" £20,000 fee which was settled by tribunal.[ 1] Manager Frank McLintock released midfielders Terry Bullivant , Tony Lynch , George Torrance and forwards Rowan Alexander and Steve Butler .[ 2] Wimbledon winger Ian Holloway 's loan was made permanent for a £28,000 fee and also arriving at Griffin Park were defender Phil Bater , midfielder Paul Maddy and forward Gary Stevens .[ 3] The marquee signing of Chelsea winger Paul Canoville was set to be decided by tribunal, but fell through after Reading won the day with a £60,000 bid.[ 1]
A poor start to the season led manager Frank McLintock to continue to act in the transfer market during the opening months.[ 3] [ 4] £35,000 midfielder Wayne Turner was installed as the new captain , Tony Obi arrived on loan and Henry Hughton and Robbie Carroll joined on non-contract terms.[ 3] Brentford continued to tread water in the lower reaches of mid-table through November and December 1986 and McLintock attempted to remedy the situation by signing experienced defenders Steve Perryman and Micky Droy .[ 1] By January 1987, the Brentford supporters were calling for the sacking of McLintock and after a 4–1 defeat to Port Vale on 24 January, the club's board announced that his contract would not be renewed at the end of the season.[ 1] McLintock immediately left the club.[ 1]
After Frank McLintock's departure, player Steve Perryman was announced as caretaker manager .[ 1] An immediate turnaround in the team's form led the board, who had reportedly shown interest in Wimbledon's Dave Bassett , to appoint Perryman to the role on a permanent basis in late-February 1987.[ 1] He made two important additions to the club's staff, appointing Phil Holder as assistant manager and signing forward Gary Blissett for a £60,000 fee from Crewe Alexandra .[ 1] Perryman lost just five of his first 23 games in the job and steered Brentford to an 11th-place finish.[ 4]
League table
Results
Brentford's goal tally listed first.
Legend
Pre-season and friendlies
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Scorer(s)
29 July 1986
Ashford Town (Middlesex)
A
5–0
n/a
F. Joseph , Maddy , Allen, untraced (og )
2 August 1986
Baldock Town
A
1–1
n/a
Bater
5 August 1986
West Ham United
H
1–2
1,970
F. Joseph
9 August 1986
Oxford United
H
1–2
1,144
Maddy
13 August 1986
Queens Park Rangers
H
0–1
2,245
16 August 1986
Orient
A
1–1
540
Stevens
28 October 1986
Arsenal XI
H
6–3
412
F. Joseph (2), Carroll , og (2)
15 May 1987
Queens Park Rangers
H
2–3
7,049
Bowles , og
No.
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Scorer(s)
1
23 August 1986
Bournemouth
H
1–1
3,856
Cooke (pen )
2
30 August 1986
Doncaster Rovers
A
0–2
1,675
3
6 September 1986
Port Vale
H
0–2
3,150
4
13 September 1986
Fulham
A
3–1
4,820
Stevens , Cooke , R. Joseph
5
16 September 1986
Carlisle United
A
0–0
2,904
6
20 September 1986
Darlington
H
5–3
3,265
Stevens (2), Bater , Cooke (pen )
7
27 September 1986
Gillingham
A
0–2
4,710
8
30 September 1986
Bury
H
0–2
3,238
9
4 October 1986
Newport County
H
2–0
3,231
Sinton , Maddy
10
11 October 1986
Mansfield Town
A
0–1
3,456
11
18 October 1986
York City
H
3–1
3,457
Cooke , Stevens (2)
12
25 October 1986
Walsall
A
2–5
4,495
Cooke , Millen
13
1 November 1986
Bolton Wanderers
H
1–2
3,522
Maddy
14
4 November 1986
Notts County
H
1–0
3,057
Carroll
15
8 November 1986
Chester City
A
1–1
2,055
Cooke
16
22 November 1986
Blackpool
H
1–1
4,471
Stevens
17
30 November 1986
Rotherham United
A
3–2
3,148
Sinton , Cooke (2)
18
13 December 1986
Wigan Athletic
A
1–1
2,411
Cooke
19
21 December 1986
Middlesbrough
H
0–1
5,504
20
26 December 1986
Swindon Town
A
0–2
8,086
21
28 December 1986
Bristol Rovers
H
1–2
4,500
Cooke
22
1 January 1987
Chesterfield
H
2–2
3,622
Cooke , Bater
23
3 January 1987
Blackpool
A
0–2
4,384
24
10 January 1987
Bournemouth
A
1–1
4,682
Millen
25
24 January 1987
Port Vale
A
1–4
3,062
Cooke
26
1 February 1987
Fulham
H
3–3
5,340
Stevens , Sinton , Bates
27
7 February 1987
Carlisle United
H
3–1
3,032
Maddy , F. Joseph , Wright (og )
28
15 February 1987
Darlington
A
1–1
2,303
Droy
29
21 February 1987
Gillingham
H
3–2
4,015
Maddy , Stevens , Cooke
30
28 February 1987
Bury
A
1–1
2,317
Stevens
31
3 March 1987
Bolton Wanderers
A
2–0
3,465
Stevens , Cooke (pen )
32
7 March 1987
Walsall
H
0–1
3,442
33
14 March 1987
York City
A
1–2
2,426
Cooke
34
17 March 1987
Bristol City
H
1–1
4,051
Maddy
35
21 March 1987
Mansfield Town
H
3–1
3,336
Carroll (2), Cooke
36
4 April 1987
Chester City
H
3–1
3,496
Droy (2), Blissett (pen )
37
7 April 1987
Newport County
A
2–2
1,596
Nogan , Blissett
38
11 April 1987
Notts County
A
1–1
4,358
Priest
39
14 April 1987
Doncaster Rovers
H
1–1
3,426
Blissett
40
18 April 1987
Chesterfield
A
2–1
2,116
Cooke , Williamson (og )
41
20 April 1987
Swindon Town
H
1–1
7,443
Cooke
42
25 April 1987
Middlesbrough
A
0–2
9,942
43
28 April 1987
Bristol City
A
2–0
9,050
Carroll , Blissett
44
2 May 1987
Rotherham United
H
2–0
3,425
Cooke , Nogan
45
4 May 1987
Bristol Rovers
A
1–0
3,513
Sinton
46
9 May 1987
Wigan Athletic
H
2–3
4,235
Sinton , Blissett (pen )
FA Cup
Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[ 6] The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties,[ 7] [ 8] Statto
Playing squad
Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1986–87 season.
Sources: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties,[ 9] Timeless Bees[ 10]
Coaching staff
Frank McLintock (23 August 1986 – 24 January 1987)
Steve Perryman (24 January – 9 May 1987)
Statistics
Appearances and goals
Substitute appearances in brackets.
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties[ 11]
Goalscorers
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties[ 11]
Management
Name
Nat
From
To
Record All Comps
Record League
P
W
D
L
W %
P
W
D
L
W %
Frank McLintock
23 August 1986
24 January 1987
32
9
8
15
0 28.13
25
6
7
12
0 24.00
Steve Perryman
26 January 1987
9 May 1987
23
10
8
5
0 43.48
21
9
8
4
0 42.86
Summary
Games played
55 (46 Third Division , 3 FA Cup , 2 League Cup , 4 Football League Trophy )
Games won
19 (15 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup, 3 Football League Trophy)
Games drawn
16 (15 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup, 0 Football League Trophy)
Games lost
20 (16 Third Division, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy)
Goals scored
81 (64 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 2 League Cup, 13 Football League Trophy)
Goals conceded
80 (66 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 4 League Cup, 8 Football League Trophy)
Clean sheets
9 (7 Third Division, 2 FA Cup, 0 League Cup, 0 Football League Trophy)
Biggest league win
2–0 on two occasions; 3–1 on five occasions; 5–3 versus Darlington , 20 September 1986
Worst league defeat
4–1 versus Port Vale , 24 January 1987; 5–2 versus Walsall , 25 October 1986
Most appearances
55, Andy Sinton (46 Third Division, 3 FA Cup, 2 League Cup, 4 Football League Trophy)
Top scorer (league)
20, Robbie Cooke
Top scorer (all competitions)
25, Robbie Cooke
Transfers & loans
Awards
References
^ a b c d e f g h i White, p. 331-333.
^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 173.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 194-199.
^ a b "Brentford results for the 1986–1987 season" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2017 .
^ "League Division Three end of season table for 1986–87 season" . 11v11 . AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021 .
^ White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC. p. 399. ISBN 0951526200 .
^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 178-193.
^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 400-403.
^ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties . Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. ISBN 978-1906796716 .
^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 . Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914 .
^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 428.
^ "Transfer In" . www.millwall-history.org.uk . Retrieved 25 June 2022 .
^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 218.
^ a b Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 383.
National teams
League competitions
Levels 1–4 Level 5 Levels 6–7 Levels 8–9
Isthmian League (Two North , Two South )
Combined Counties League (level 8 only )
Eastern Counties League (level 8 only )
Essex Senior League (level 8 only )
Hellenic League (Premier , One )
Kent League (level 8 only )
London Spartan League (Premier , One )
Midland Football Combination (level 8 only )
North West Counties League (One , Two )
Northern Counties East League (Premier , One )
Northern League (One , Two )
South Midlands League (Premier , One )
Sussex County League (One , Two )
United Counties League (Premier , One )
Wessex League (level 8 only )
West Midlands (Regional) League (level 8 only )
Western League (Premier , One )
Cup competitions
FA cups Football League cups