1995–96 Brentford F.C. season

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.

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

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 youngster Ijah Anderson.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6] With Nicky Forster damaging knee ligaments in October 1995 and his subsequent goalscoring form faltering,[7] Robert Taylor was burdened with leading the team's strikeforce and he finished the season as the club's top scorer,[8] with 16 goals.[9] 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][10] with 19 of a possible 30 points being won between mid-January and mid-March to climb to 13th in the table.[6] Four wins from the final seven matches of the season led Brentford to a 15th-place finish in the Second Division.[6] 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.[6]

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 AFC 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
DateOpponentVenueResultScorer(s)
19 July 1995HamptonA7–0Forster (3), Ashby (2), Statham, Grainger (pen)
20 July 1995Basingstoke TownA1–1Ravenscroft
22 July 1995St Albans CityA5–1Grainger (2, 1 pen), Taylor, Forster, Stephenson
24 July 1995Hitchin Town A3–1Omigie (2), Annon
26 July 1995Kingstonian A2–1Forster, Grainger
28 July 1995Colchester UnitedA1–1Taylor
1 August 1995BarnetA2–3Abrahams, Forster
5 August 1995Yeading A5–2Ravenscroft (2), Annon, Hooker, Omigie
7 August 1995Walton & Hersham A4–0Forster, Smith, Taylor, Grainger (pen)
30 August 1995 Harrow Borough A 5–0 Annon (2, 1 pen), Hutchings, Hooker, Omigie

Football League Second Division
No. DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorer(s)
1 12 August 1995York CityA2–23,239Smith, Forster
2 19 August 1995Oxford UnitedH1–05,516Taylor
3 26 August 1995BurnleyA0–19,586
4 29 August 1995Hull CityH1–04,535Taylor
5 2 September 1995Swindon TownH0–27,878
6 9 September 1995Rotherham UnitedA0–13,061
7 12 September 1995Bristol CityA0–05,054
8 16 September 1995WalsallH1–04,717Taylor
9 23 September 1995Bristol RoversA0–25,131
10 30 September 1995ChesterfieldH1–24,734McGhee
11 7 October 1995BlackpoolH1–25,313McGhee
12 14 October 1995Stockport CountyA1–16,228Smith
13 21 October 1995Peterborough UnitedH3–04,865Bates (2), Grainger (pen)
14 28 October 1995Crewe AlexandraA1–33,835Forster
15 1 November 1995Notts CountyA0–44,005
16 4 November 1995Shrewsbury TownH0–24,104
17 18 November 1995BournemouthA0–13,894
18 25 November 1995Bradford CityH2–14,237Taylor (2)
19 9 December 1995Bristol RoversH0–05,679
20 16 December 1996ChesterfieldA2–24,016Smith, Ansah
21 22 December 1996WrexhamA2–23,670Taylor, Martin
22 26 December 1995Brighton & Hove AlbionH0–15,794
23 13 January 1996Oxford UnitedA1–25,574Ashby
24 20 January 1996York CityH2–03,915Bates, Taylor
25 30 January 1996Wycombe WanderersH1–04,616Taylor
26 3 February 1996BurnleyH1–05,195Forster
27 10 February 1996Carlisle UnitedA1–25,143Bates
28 17 February 1996Bristol CityH2–25,213McGhee, Taylor
29 21 February 1996Swindon TownA2–28,814Abrahams (2)
30 24 February 1996WalsallA1–03,506Abrahams
31 27 February 1996Rotherham UnitedH1–13,446Grainger
32 2 March 1996Brighton & Hove AlbionA0–05,914
33 5 March 1996Hull CityA1–02,284Anderson
34 9 March 1996WrexhamH1–04,579Anderson
35 12 March 1996Swansea CityA1–23,538Forster
36 16 March 1996Wycombe WanderersA1–24,912Forster
37 19 March 1996Carlisle UnitedH1–13,104Grainger
38 23 March 1996Swansea CityH0–04,378
39 30 March 1996BlackpoolA0–15,899
40 2 April 1996Stockport CountyH1–03,274Smith
41 6 April 1996Crewe AlexandraH2–14,408Taylor (2)
42 8 April 1996Peterborough UnitedA1–04,343McGhee
43 13 April 1996Notts CountyH0–04,588
44 20 April 1996Shrewsbury TownA1–22,711McGhee
45 27 April 1996Bradford CityA1–27,730Bent
46 4 May 1996 Bournemouth H 2–0 6,091 Asaba (2)

FA Cup
Main article: 1995–96 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendance Scorer(s)
R111 November 1995Farnborough TownH1–14,711Bent
R1 (replay)22 November 1995Farnborough TownA4–03,581Smith, 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
R47 February 1996Charlton AthleticA2–315,000Ashby, Smith

League Cup
Main article: 1995–96 Football League Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendance Scorer(s)
R1 (1st leg)15 August 1995WalsallA2–22,405Harvey, Forster
R1 (2nd leg)22 August 1995WalsallH3–2 (won 5–4 on aggregate)3,549Taylor, Anderson, McGhee
R2 (1st leg)19 September 1995Bolton WanderersA0–15,243
R2 (2nd leg)3 October 1995Bolton WanderersH2–3 (lost 4–2 on aggregate)4,861Forster, Grainger (pen)

Football League Trophy
Main article: 1995–96 Football League Trophy
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendance Scorer(s)
SR1 (match 1)27 September 1995BournemouthA1–01,092Taylor
SR1 (match 2)17 October 1995Exeter CityH1–11,431Forster
  • Source: Statto, The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties[11]

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[12]

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 EnglandKevin Dearden 410303010480
GK EnglandTamer Fernandes 5020001070
DF EnglandIjah Anderson 2521 (2)0210 (1)028 (3)3
DF EnglandBarry Ashby 31 (2)141402041 (2)2
DF EnglandJamie Bates 364504020474
DF EnglandPaul Davis 5000201080
DF EnglandMartin Grainger 333504120444
DF EnglandLee Harvey 38 (2)04 (1)02 (1)11045 (4)1
DF EnglandCarl Hutchings 20 (3)050000 (1)025 (4)0
DF EnglandBrian Statham 170104020240
MF EnglandPaul Abrahams 14 (3)300000014 (3)3
MF EnglandDarren Annon 0 (1)00000000 (1)0
MF EnglandMarcus Bent 8 (4)143000012 (4)4
MF EnglandJon Hooker 400 (2)010005 (2)0
MF BarbadosGus Hurdle 11 (3)000200013 (3)0
MF EnglandDean Martin 14 (5)14 (1)0— 1018 (6)1
MF EnglandDavid McGhee 31 (5)5402 (1)11 (1)038 (7)6
MF EnglandDenny Mundee 5 (1)0—1 (1)0006 (2)0
MF EnglandCraig Ravenscroft 1000000010
MF EnglandPaul Smith 464524020576
FW EnglandCarl Asaba 5 (5)21010108 (5)2
FW EnglandNicky Forster 37 (1)530422146 (1)8
FW EnglandJoe Omigie 3 (8)00000003 (8)0
FW EnglandRobert Taylor 42114341215216
Players loaned in during the season
MF EnglandAndy Ansah 61———61
MF EnglandScott Canham 140——— 140
MF Republic of IrelandDavid Greene 110——— 110
FW EnglandAndy Sussex 30———30
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties[12]

Goalscorers
Pos. Nat Player FL2 FAC FLC FLT Total
FW England Robert Taylor1131 116
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
Total43117263
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties[12]

International caps
Pos Nat Player Caps Goals Ref
MF Barbados Gus Hurdle 2 0 [13]

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

Summary
Games played57 (46 Second Division, 5 FA Cup, 4 League Cup, 2 Football League Trophy)
Games won20 (15 Second Division, 3 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy)
Games drawn16 (13 Second Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy)
Games lost21 (18 Second Division, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cup, 0 Football League Trophy)
Goals scored62 (43 Second Division, 10 FA Cup, 7 League Cup, 2 Football League Trophy)
Goals conceded63 (49 Second Division, 5 FA Cup, 8 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy)
Clean sheets21 (18 Second Division, 2 FA Cup, 0 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy)
Biggest league win3–0 versus Peterborough United, 21 October 1995
Worst league defeat4–0 versus Notts County, 1 November 1995
Most appearances63, 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 1995DFEngland Ijah AndersonEngland Southend UnitedFree[4]
12 September 1995MFEngland Paul DavisEngland ArsenalFree[14]
12 October 1995MFEngland Dean MartinIceland KAFree[15]
Players loaned in
Date from Pos. Name From Date to Ref.
15 November 1995FWEngland Andy AnsahEngland Southend United27 December 1995[16]
12 December 1995FWEngland Andy SussexEngland Southend United12 January 1996[17]
19 January 1996MFEngland Scott CanhamEngland West Ham United20 April 1996[18]
1 March 1996MFRepublic of Ireland David GreeneEngland Luton Town13 April 1996[19]
Players transferred out
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Fee Ref.
4 August 1995MFEngland Simon RatcliffeEngland GillinghamFree[2]
7 August 1995MFEngland Paul StephensonEngland York City£35,000[3]
10 August 1995DFEngland Shane WestleyEngland Cambridge UnitedFree[1]
25 March 1996DFEngland Martin GraingerEngland Birmingham City£400,000[20]
Players loaned out
Date from Pos. Name To Date to Ref.
September 1995MFEngland Joe OmigieEngland WokingOctober 1995[21]
29 December 1995MFEngland Paul AbrahamsEngland Colchester United20 February 1996[22]
Players released
Date Pos. Name Subsequent club Join date Ref.
18 October 1995 MF England Denny Mundee England Brighton & Hove Albion 19 October 1995 [23]
29 February 1996 MF England Darren Annon England Kingstonian March 1996 [24]
30 June 1996 DF England Corey Campbell England Dover Athletic 1996 [25]
30 June 1996 MF England Paul Davis Retired [26]
30 June 1996 MF England Jon Hooker England Bishop's Stortford 1996 [25]
30 June 1996 MF England Dean Martin Iceland KA 1996 [25]
30 June 1996 MF England Craig Ravenscroft England Kingstonian August 1996 [25]

Kit

Supplier: Core
Sponsor(s): Ericsson

Home
Away
Goalkeeper

Source: Brentford F.C.

Awards

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