| 1896–97 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Bill Stephenson |
| Stadium | Shotter's Field |
| London League Second Division | 2nd (promoted) |
| London Senior Cup | Semi-final |
| Middlesex Senior Cup | Second qualifying round |
| West Middlesex Cup | Runners-up |
| Top goalscorer | League:Field (8) All: Field (15) |
← 1895–96 1897–98 → | |
During the1896–97 English football season,Brentford competed in theLondon League Second Division. The club finished as runners-up to gain promotion to the First Division.

During the 1896 off-season,Brentford was elected into the Second Division of the newly-formedLondon League.[1] 1896–97 marked the club's first full season of competitive league play since 1892–93, when it finished as champions of the West London Alliance.[2] Long-servinghalf back Jimmy Ray andoutside left Tommy Stevenson were released and transferred in wereforwardsOakey Field, Harold Hudson, J. Wade andleft half Billy Smith.[1]
Despite a failure to win either theLondon Senior Cup,Middlesex Senior Cup or the West Middlesex Cup, Brentford took the London League Second Division by storm, losing just one match all season to finish as runners-up to championsBromley and gain promotion to the First Division.[2] Attendances at Shotter's Field were rarely below 1,500 and forward Oakey Field andcaptainArthur Charlton scored many of the team's goals.[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bromley | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 42 | 16 | 2.625 | 25 | Promoted to the 1897–98London League First Division |
| 2 | Brentford | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 42 | 19 | 2.211 | 24 | Promoted to the 1897–98 London League First Division |
| 3 | Queens Park Rangers | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 31 | 14 | 2.214 | 21 | |
| 4 | Stanley | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 22 | 10 | 2.200 | 20 | |
| 5 | Hammersmith Athletic | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 25 | 0.720 | 13 | |
| 6 | Harrow Athletic | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 34 | 0.559 | 11 | |
| 7 | Forest Swifts | 16 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 25 | 37 | 0.676 | 10 | |
| 8 | Fulham | 16 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 40 | 0.425 | 10 | |
| 9 | West Croydon | 16 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 33 | 0.364 | 10 |
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| No. | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 October 1896 | Fulham | H | 6–1 | Wade,Field (3), H. Williams, Hester |
| 2 | 21 November 1896 | Fulham | A | 2–0 | Steers, Ingram |
| 3 | 5 December 1896 | Bromley | A | 2–2 | A. Williams, Swann (pen) |
| 4 | 12 December 1896 | West Croydon | A | 2–2 | Hudson, Bailey |
| 5 | 20 February 1897 | Bromley | H | 3–2 | Untraced, Hudson, Swann (pen) |
| 6 | 6 March 1897 | Harrow Athletic | A | 2–2 | Field, Ingram |
| 7 | 18 March 1897 | West Croydon | H | 4–0 | Untraced |
| 8 | 24 March 1897 | Stanley | A | 2–1 | Field (2) |
| 9 | 27 March 1897 | Forest Swifts | A | 1–1 | Field |
| 10 | 31 March 1897 | Hammersmith Athletic | A | 3–0 | Untraced |
| 11 | 1 April 1897 | Forest Swifts | H | 3–2 | Untraced |
| 12 | 3 April 1897 | Harrow Athletic | H | 5–0 | Hudson, Wade (2),Charlton (2) |
| 13 | 10 April 1897 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–2 | Field, Hudson |
| 14 | 16 April 1897 | Hammersmith Athletic | H | 4–1 | Untraced |
| 15 | 17 April 1897 | Stanley | H | 0–0 | |
| 16 | 22 April 1897 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–3 | Untraced |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1QR | 17 October 1896 | Novocastrians | H | 3–1 | Hudson,Charlton,Field | |
| 2QR | 7 November 1896 | Harrow Athletic | A | 3–0 | Hudson,Charlton,Field | |
| 3QR | 28 November 1896 | Crescent | H | 5–1 | Charlton (2), Hester (2), Bailey | |
| 4QR | 19 December 1896 | Old St. Mark's | H | 2–1 | Charlton, Swann (pen) | |
| 1R | 6 February 1897 | Old Foresters | H | 4–2 | Bailey (2), Hudson, H. Williams | |
| 2R | 27 February 1897 | Bromley | H | 3–1 | Butcher, Batchelor, Swann (pen) | |
| SF | 8 April 1897 | Old Carthusians | N | 1–5 | Field | [nb 1] |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1QR | 10 October 1896 | Bow | H | 8–0 | A. Williams,untraced,[nb 2]Field (2),untraced (2og),[nb 3]Charlton, Hester |
| 2QR | 14 November 1896 | Royal Scots Greys | A | 0–1 |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1R | 13 February 1897 | Southall | A | 3–1 | Charlton, Wade (2) | |
| SF | 13 March 1897 | Harrow Athletic | N | 5–2 | Hudson,Field (2), Salt (og),untraced | [nb 4] |
| F | 24 April 1897 | Hanwell | N | 0–1 | [nb 5] |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Name | From | To | Record All Comps | Record League | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | W % | P | W | D | L | W % | |||
| Committee | 3 October 1896 | 24 April 1897 | 28 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 064.29 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 056.25 |
| Games played | 28 (16London League Second Division, 7London Senior Cup, 2Middlesex Senior Cup, 3 West Middlesex Cup) |
| Games won | 18 (9 London League Second Division, 6 London Senior Cup, 1 Middlesex Senior Cup, 2 West Middlesex Cup) |
| Games drawn | 6 (6 London League Second Division, 0 London Senior Cup, 0 Middlesex Senior Cup, 0 West Middlesex Cup) |
| Games lost | 4 (1 London League Second Division, 1 London Senior Cup, 1 Middlesex Senior Cup, 1 West Middlesex Cup) |
| Goals scored | 74 (42 London League Second Division, 21 London Senior Cup, 8 Middlesex Senior Cup, 3 West Middlesex Cup) |
| Goals conceded | 39 (19 London League Second Division, 11 London Senior Cup, 1 Middlesex Senior Cup, 8 West Middlesex Cup) |
| Clean sheets | 7 (5 London League Second Division, 1 London Senior Cup, 1 Middlesex Senior Cup, 0 West Middlesex Cup) |
| Biggest league win | 5–0 versusHarrow Athletic, 3 April 1897; 6–1 versusFulham, 3 October 1896 |
| Worst league defeat | 3–1 versusQueens Park Rangers, 22 April 1897 |
| Most appearances (where traced) | 17,Arthur Charlton, Richard Dailley, Jack Foster (7 London League Second Division, 6 London Senior Cup, 2 Middlesex Senior Cup, 2 West Middlesex Cup) |
| Top scorer (league, where traced) | 8,Oakey Field |
| Top scorer (all competitions, where traced) | 15, Oakey Field |