Brentford

1994–95 season
Chairman	Martin Lange
Manager	David Webb
Stadium	Griffin Park
Second Division	2nd
Play-offs	Semi-finals
FA Cup	First round
League Cup	Second round
Football League Trophy	Second round
Top goalscorer	League:Forster (24) All: Forster (26)
Highest home attendance	9,562
Lowest home attendance	4,031
Average home league attendance	6,076
Home colours Away colours
← 1993–94 1995–96 →

During the1994–95 English football season,Brentford competed in theFootball League Second Division. After a runners-up finish in the league, club's season ended with defeat in the1995 play-off semi-finals.

Brentford entered the1994–95 Second Division season with the nucleus of a new squad, built since the breakup of the team which was relegated from theFirst Division at the end of the1992–93 season.^[1]ForwardNicky Forster wasmanagerDavid Webb's only significant summer signing, a £200,000 buy fromThird DivisionGillingham.^[2]

Eight wins and four defeats from the opening 12 games saw the Bees placed 4th in the league, before four defeats in the next five matches dropped the club into mid-table.^[3] By early December 1994, first and second round exits from the three cup competitions lightened the fixture load and Brentford set off on a 14-match unbeaten run, winning 10 matches and racking up notable 7–0 and 6–0 victories overPlymouth Argyle andCambridge United respectively.^[3] The victory over Cambridge United in late January 1995 returned the Bees to the top of the table for the first time since the opening day of the season, when five goals were put past Plymouth Argyle atHome Park.^[3] Twin strikers Nicky Forster andRobert Taylor were in imperious form, scoring over half the team's goals and forming apartnership that came to be known as the 'FT Index'.^[4] The pair saw to it that Brentford finished the 1994–95 season as the only club in the top four divisions with two players scoring 20 league goals or more.^[5]

The unbeaten run came to an end with defeat toShrewsbury Town on 25 February, but another 11-match unbeaten sequence kept Brentford in top spot going into late April.^[3] Brentford's good form ran in tandem with that ofBirmingham City's and the Blues topped the table for the first time in eight weeks on 19 April,^[6] with the Bees returning to the summit three days later after a 2–0 victory overCardiff City.^[3] Due to a restructuring of theEnglish league system, only top spot in the 1994–95 Second Division offeredautomatic promotion,^[7] which placed heavy emphasis on a "winner takes all" fixture between Birmingham City and Brentford on atSt Andrew's on 26 April.^[2] A 2–0 defeat for Brentford in front of a 25,581 crowd (the Second Division's record attendance for the season), plus a home defeat toBournemouth and a draw away withBristol Rovers in the final two matches, led to a runners-up finish and a place in theplay-offs.^[2] The Bees met fifth-placedHuddersfield Town in the play-off semi-finals and were knocked out onpenalties atGriffin Park after a 2–2 draw onaggregate, withcaptainJamie Bates seeing his decisivespot kick saved.^[8]

A number of club records were set or equalled during the season:

• FewestFootball League goals conceded in a season: 39 (equalled club record)^[8][9]
• Most clean sheets kept in a Football League season: 22 (equalled club record)^[10]
• Most goalscorers in a Football League match: 6 –Darren Annon,Paul Smith, Robert Taylor, Nicky Forster,Denny Mundee andLee Harvey (versus Plymouth Argyle, 17 December 1994)^[11]

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

• Source:Statto, The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties^[8]

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1994–95 season.

No.	Pos.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
1	GK	Kevin Dearden		(1970-03-08)8 March 1970 (aged 24)	Tottenham Hotspur	1993
20	GK	Tamer Fernandes		(1974-12-07)7 December 1974 (aged 19)	Youth	1993
25	GK	Neil Mason		(1973-10-29)29 October 1973 (aged 20)	—	—	Assistant physiotherapist
Defenders
2	DF	Brian Statham		(1969-05-21)21 May 1969 (aged 25)	Tottenham Hotspur	1992
3	DF	Martin Grainger		(1972-08-23)23 August 1972 (aged 21)	Colchester United	1993
4	DF	Barry Ashby		(1970-11-21)21 November 1970 (aged 23)	Watford	1994
5	DF	Shane Westley		(1965-06-16)16 June 1965 (aged 29)	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1992	Loaned toSouthend United
6	DF	Carl Hutchings		(1974-09-24)24 September 1974 (aged 19)	Youth	1993
12	DF	Jamie Bates (c)		(1968-02-24)24 February 1968 (aged 26)	Youth	1986
19	DF	Gus Hurdle		(1973-10-14)14 October 1973 (aged 20)	Carshalton Athletic	1993
21	DF	Corey Campbell		(1976-03-06)6 March 1976 (aged 18)	Youth	1994
Midfielders
7	MF	Lee Harvey		(1966-12-21)21 December 1966 (aged 27)	Nottingham Forest	1993
8	MF	Paul Smith		(1971-09-18)18 September 1971 (aged 22)	Southend United	1993
10	MF	Darren Annon		(1972-02-17)17 February 1972 (aged 22)	Carshalton Athletic	1994
14	MF	Denny Mundee		(1968-10-10)10 October 1968 (aged 25)	Bournemouth	1993
17	MF	Simon Ratcliffe		(1967-02-08)8 February 1967 (aged 27)	Norwich City	1989
18	MF	Paul Stephenson		(1968-01-02)2 January 1968 (aged 26)	Millwall	1993
22	MF	Jon Hooker		(1972-03-31)31 March 1972 (aged 22)	Gillingham	1994
23	MF	Paul Abrahams		(1973-10-31)31 October 1973 (aged 20)	Colchester United	1995
Forwards
9	FW	Nicky Forster		(1973-09-08)8 September 1973 (aged 20)	Gillingham	1994
11	FW	Robert Taylor		(1971-04-30)30 April 1971 (aged 23)	Leyton Orient	1994
13	FW	Craig Ravenscroft		(1974-12-20)20 December 1974 (aged 19)	Youth	1993	Loaned toWoking
16	FW	David McGhee		(1976-06-19)19 June 1976 (aged 18)	Youth	1994
27	FW	Carl Asaba		(1973-01-28)28 January 1973 (aged 21)	Dulwich Hamlet	1994	Loaned toColchester United
Players who left the club mid-season
15	FW	Ian Benjamin		(1961-12-11)11 December 1961 (aged 32)	Luton Town	1993	Released
23	FW	Dennis Bailey		(1965-12-13)13 December 1965 (aged 28)	Queens Park Rangers	1995	Returned toQueens Park Rangers after loan
23	FW	Andy Ansah		(1969-03-19)19 March 1969 (aged 25)	Southend United	1994	Returned toSouthend United after loan
24	DF	George Parris		(1964-09-11)11 September 1964 (aged 29)	Birmingham City	1994	Returned toBirmingham City after loan

• Source:The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties^[13]

Name	Role
David Webb	Manager
Kevin Lock	First Team Coach
Roy Johnson	Physiotherapist
Neil Mason	Assistant Physiotherapist
Fergus Dignan	Medical Officer

Substitute appearances in brackets.

No.	Pos	Nat	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		FL Trophy		Playoffs		Total
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Kevin Dearden	43	0	2	0	4	0	3	0	2	0	54	0
2	DF		Brian Statham	26 (10)	0	2	0	2	0	2	0	2	0	34 (10)	0
3	DF		Martin Grainger	36 (1)	7	2	1	2	0	3	1	2	1	45 (1)	10
4	DF		Barry Ashby	40	1	2	0	3	0	3	0	2	0	50	1
5	DF		Shane Westley	15 (1)	0	2	0	3	0	2	0	0	0	22 (1)	0
6	DF		Carl Hutchings	38 (1)	0	1 (1)	0	4	0	2 (1)	0	0 (1)	0	45 (4)	0
7	MF		Lee Harvey	24 (1)	2	2	0	4	0	2	0	0	0	32 (1)	2
8	MF		Paul Smith	35	3	2	0	4	1	1	0	2	0	44	4
9	FW		Nicky Forster	46	24	2	0	4	0	2 (1)	1	2	1	56 (1)	26
10	MF		Darren Annon	9 (1)	1	1	1	0	0	1 (1)	1	0	0	11 (2)	3
11	FW		Robert Taylor	43	23	2	1	4	1	2	0	2	0	53	25
12	DF		Jamie Bates	38	2	1	0	2	0	2	0	2	0	45	2
13	MF		Craig Ravenscroft	1	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0	0	1 (1)	0
14	MF		Denny Mundee	22 (17)	5	1	0	0 (1)	0	2	0	1 (1)	0	26 (19)	5
15	MF		Ian Benjamin	1	0	—		0 (1)	0	—		—		1 (1)	0
16	MF		David McGhee	1 (6)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1 (6)	1
17	MF		Simon Ratcliffe	24 (1)	1	0	0	0 (1)	0	1	0	2	0	27 (2)	1
18	MF		Paul Stephenson	34	2	0	0	4	1	1	0	2	0	41	3
19	MF		Gus Hurdle	7 (2)	0	0 (1)	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	10 (3)	0
20	GK		Tamer Fernandes	3 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0	0	3 (2)	0
22	MF		Jon Hooker	0 (1)	0	—		—		0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0
23	MF		Paul Abrahams	7 (3)	3	—		—		—		1	0	8 (3)	3
27	FW		Carl Asaba	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1
	Players loaned in during the season
23	MF		Andy Ansah	2 (1)	1	—		—		2	1	—		4 (1)	2
23	FW		Dennis Bailey	6	3	—		—		—		—		6	3
24	MF		George Parris	5	0	—		2	1	—		—		7	1

• Players listed initalics left the club mid-season.
• Source: The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties^[13]

No.	Pos.	Nat	Player	FL2	FAC	FLC	FLT	FLP	Total
9	FW		Nicky Forster	24	0	0	1	1	26
11	FW		Robert Taylor	23	1	1	0	0	25
3	DF		Martin Grainger	7	1	0	1	1	10
14	MF		Denny Mundee	5	0	0	0	0	5
8	MF		Paul Smith	3	0	1	0	0	4
23	MF		Paul Abrahams	3	—	—	—	0	3
23	FW		Dennis Bailey	3	—	—	—	—	3
18	MF		Paul Stephenson	2	0	1	0	0	3
10	MF		Darren Annon	1	1	0	1	0	3
12	DF		Jamie Bates	2	0	0	0	0	2
7	MF		Lee Harvey	2	0	0	0	0	2
23	FW		Andy Ansah	1	—	—	1	—	2
4	DF		Barry Ashby	1	0	0	0	0	1
16	MF		David McGhee	1	0	0	0	0	1
17	MF		Simon Ratcliffe	1	0	0	0	0	1
27	FW		Carl Asaba	0	0	0	1	0	1
24	MF		George Parris	0	—	1	—	—	1
Opponents				2	0	0	0	0	2
Total				81	3	4	5	2	95

• Players listed initalics left the club mid-season.
• Source: The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties^[13]

Name	Nat	From	To	Record All Comps					Record League
				P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
David Webb		13 August 1994	17 May 1995	57	29	14	14	050.88	46	25	10	11	054.35

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous club	Fee	Ref.
17 June 1994	FW	Nicky Forster	Gillingham	£200,000	[2]
9 August 1994	FW	Carl Asaba	Dulwich Hamlet	Free	[1]
December 1994	FW	Joe Omigie	Donna	Free	[14]
14 November 1994	MF	Jon Hooker	Gillingham	£5,000	[15]
9 March 1995	MF	Paul Abrahams	Colchester United	£30,000	[16]
Players loaned in
Date from	Pos.	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
8 August 1994	DF	George Parris	Birmingham City	September 1994	[17]
November 1994	FW	Andy Ansah	Southend United	December 1994	[18]
26 January 1995	FW	Dennis Bailey	Queens Park Rangers	26 February 1995	[19]
Players transferred out
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Fee	Ref.
12 August 1994	FW	Dean P. Williams	Doncaster Rovers	£2,000	[20]
Players loaned out
Date from	Pos.	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
9 September 1994	DF	David Thompson	Blackpool	November 1994	[21]
December 1994	MF	Craig Ravenscroft	Woking	January 1995	[14]
January 1995	DF	Shane Westley	Southend United	March 1995	[14]
16 February 1995	FW	Carl Asaba	Colchester United	End of season	[22]
Players released
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
n/a	FW	Matthew Metcalf	Wroxham	n/a	[1]
n/a	FW	Dean A. Williams	Stevenage Borough	August 1994	[14]
August 1994	DF	Billy Manuel	Peterborough United	16 September 1994	[23]
September 1994	MF	Ian Benjamin	Wigan Athletic	30 September 1994	[21]
September 1994	MF	Robbie Peters	Carlisle United	November 1994	[21]
November 1994	DF	David Thompson	Blackpool	November 1994	[14]

In February 1995, it was announced that Brentford had cancelled its sponsorship deal withKLM.^[24] As a result, theHummel International home shirt was replaced by an unbranded replica, which was devoid of sponsorship.^[24]

Supplier:Hummel International (home shirt) / Core (home shorts & socks / away & goalkeeper kit)
Sponsor(s):KLM

Home 1

Home 2

Away

Goalkeeper

Goalkeeper

Source:^[24]

• Supporters' Player of the Year:Jamie Bates^[25]
• Football League Second Division PFA Team of the Year:Nicky Forster^[26]
• Football League Second Division Manager of the Year:David Webb^[7]

• Brentford F.C. seasons
• 1994–95 Football League Second Division by team

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