After a club record 5th-place finish in Brentford's
debut season in the top flight,[1] manager
Harry Curtis kept faith with the season's previous squad, releasing
outside forwardJim Brown and bringing in youngsters
Harry Bamford and
Joe Murray.[2] Teenage outside right
Les Smith, who had signed his first professional contract a year earlier, was promoted to the first team squad after
Bobby Reid was struck down by
appendicitis on the eve of the season.[3]
After a mixed start to the season, Brentford kicked into gear in late September 1936, losing just four of 19 matches to establish themselves in the top three in the
First Division.[4] In his first full season with the Bees,
forwardDavid McCulloch again showed prolific form, going on to score 33 goals in his 43 appearances.[5] Five goals in a six match spell also saw forward
Billy Scott win an
England cap in a
British Home Championship match versus
Wales in October 1937,[6] which made him Brentford's first full England international player.[7] Brentford's form dipped in mid-February 1937 and despite the signing of
Buster Brown to replace the departed
Dai Richards at
left half,[2] the club dropped to a 6th-place finish.[4]
A 6–2 defeat to champions-elect
Manchester City on 3 April equalled the club record for most goals conceded in a
Football League match.[8][9] Despite a number of other heavy defeats, manager Harry Curtis did improve the team's winning percentage in both the league and
FA Cup, with Brentford hammering
Huddersfield Town 5–0 in the third round (the first time the Bees had scored in the FA Cup for over four years) before exiting at the hands of
Derby County in the following round.[4]