In the wake of
Brentford's relegation straight back to the
Fourth Division at the end of the
previous season, manager
Frank Blunstone, who had come to the end of his contract, left
Griffin Park to take over as
youth team manager at
Manchester United.[1] Despite the relegation, fan support for Blunstone was high and the finger of blame pointed at the board of directors, with one letter to the Middlesex Chronicle summing up the situation that the board's penny-pinching ways since
1967 were "necessary for a couple of years or so, but timidity of this sort prompts me to believe that promotion last year was an unwelcome accident, which has now been rectified".[1] Brentford entered
pre-season without a manager and training was taken by
full backAlan Hawley and other senior professionals.[2] Eventually former
Wimbledonplayer-managerMike Everitt was appointed as manager, just seven days before the beginning of the season.[1] Everitt made no signings before the first match of the season and inherited a tiny 14-man squad, with backup
goalkeeperGary Towse being Brentford's only incoming transfer, signed two months earlier.[1]
With Brentford one place above the
re-election zone after seven league matches,[3] manager Everitt began recruiting new players, including
defenderGordon Riddick for a £4,000 fee and
loaneesMichael Brown and
Hughie Reed.[1] The signings had no immediate impact and Brentford sank to the bottom of the
Football League after a 4–1 defeat to
Scunthorpe United at the
Old Showground.[3] The loss meant that Brentford became the first club to occupy both first and last places in the Football League, having risen to top position during the early months of the
1937–38 season.[1] Behind the scenes, the Brentford board had split into two factions, with one side pushing for a move to a new stadium and the other half wishing to stay at Griffin Park.[1] Joint-chairmen Les Davey and Walter Wheatley were split on the matter and Wheatley became sole chairman of the club in January 1974,[2] though he would be ousted two months later.[1]
With Brentford still struggling on the field,
midfielderStewart Houston was sold to Manchester United in December 1973 for a club-record £55,000 fee,[4] but the money was not immediately reinvested in the squad.[1] The disharmony in the boardroom also spread to the playing squad, with
Paul Bence,
Alan Nelmes,
Jackie Graham,
Barry Salvage and
Paul Priddy requesting moves away, though ultimately none would depart Griffin Park.[5] A 10-match unbeaten run from mid-February through to early-April 1974 finally assured safety and youth products
Richard Poole,
Kevin Harding and
Roy Cotton were able to be blooded,[3] though none of the trio would make more than a handful of senior appearances for the club.[1]Cambridge United forward
Dave Simmonds and
Bournemouth defender
Jimmy Gabriel were brought in on transfer deadline day.[2] Brentford ended the season in 19th place, the club's lowest finish in the Football League since the
1925–26 season.[1] The average home league attendance of 5,063 was the lowest since the club joined the Football League in 1920.[6]
^Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing.
ISBN978-1906796709.
^Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications.
ISBN978-0955294914.