1997–98 Brentford F.C. season

1997–98 season of Brentford F.C.

Brentford 1997–98 football season

Brentford

1997–98 season

Chairman

Tony Swaisland

Manager

Kevin Lock
(until 12 August 1997)
Eddie May
(12 August-5 November 1997)
Micky Adams
(from 5 November 1997)

Stadium

Griffin Park

Second Division

21st (relegated)

FA Cup

First round

League Cup

Second round

Football League Trophy

Second round

Top goalscorer

League: Taylor (13)
All: Taylor (18)

Highest home attendance

10,510

Lowest home attendance

3,424

Average home league attendance

5,029

Home colours

Away colours

← 1996–97

1998–99 →

During the 1997–98 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Second Division. Just 11 wins in 46 matches saw the club relegated to the Third Division on the final day of the season.

Season summary

In August 1997 and following defeat in the 1997 Second Division play-off final, David Webb moved "upstairs" to become the club's new chief executive.^[1] Formerly Brentford manager since the beginning of the 1993–94 season, Webb acquired a majority shareholding of the club as part of a consortium with Tony Swaisland (chairman) and John Herting (director).^[1] Within days of the takeover and still without a manager, the spine of the previous season's team (Carl Asaba, Barry Ashby and Paul Smith) were sold for six-figure fees.^[1] Brian Statham was sold later in August and promising youngster Marcus Bent was transfer-listed.^[1] Replacements were found in the lower divisions, non-League and in Premier League reserve teams, with Paul Barrowcliff, Derek Bryan, Leon Townley, Ricky Reina and Charlie Oatway arriving for five-figure fees.^[1] First team coach Kevin Lock took caretaker charge of the club until the appointment of Eddie May just four days before the season began.^[1] Clive Walker installed as May's assistant.^[1]

A 3–0 defeat to Millwall on the opening day saw Brentford begin the season bottom of the Second Division.^[2] Despite registering two wins in late-August and early-September to move into mid-table, just two wins in the following 13 matches in all competitions saw May and Walker removed from their posts on 4 November.^[3] Amidst rumours that David Webb had fallen out with chairman Swaisland, Webb resigned as chief executive, but remained on the board of directors.^[3] Former Swansea City manager Micky Adams was installed as manager and fared little better, failing to win until mid-December.^[2]

In a bid to strengthen the team, Adams sought experienced players and signed Glenn Cockerill (as player/assistant manager), Warren Aspinall and loanee Nigel Gleghorn.^[3] Injuries soon began to mount, with first-choice right back Ijah Anderson and summer signings Derek Bryan and Ricky Reina succumbing.^[4] Continuing player sales and bad results led some Bees supporters to call for the removal of David Webb.^[4] Multiple protests were staged over a disparity between the incoming and outgoing transfer fees and questioning where the incoming money was going.^[4]

It wasn't until late-January 1998 that the team found some form, losing just once in 12 matches, but registering seven draws.^[2] Brentford went into the final day of the season one place above the relegation zone, having won just one of the previous four matches.^[2] A win away to play-off contenders Bristol Rovers (themselves needing to win) or other favourable results were required for the Bees to regain their Second Division status.^[5] A 2–1 defeat and victory for 22nd-place Burnley relegated the club to the Third Division for the first time in 20 years.^[5]^[6]

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
19	Walsall	46	14	12	20	43	52	−9	54
20	Burnley	46	13	13	20	55	65	−10	52
21	Brentford	46	11	17	18	50	71	−21	50	Relegated
22	Plymouth Argyle	46	12	13	21	55	70	−15	49
23	Carlisle United	46	12	8	26	57	73	−16	44

Source: ^[7]
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Pre-season and friendlies

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
16 July 1997	Hampton	A	3–0	n/a	Anderson, Dennis, Bent
21 July 1997	Hertford Town	A	5–0	n/a	Spencer (2), Hurdle (2), Asaba
23 July 1997	Chertsey Town	A	4–0	n/a	Taylor, Spencer, Rapley, Canham (pen)
26 July 1997	Dover Athletic	A	2–0	n/a	Taylor, Myall
29 July 1997	Wimbledon	H	1–3	2,322	Asaba
31 July 1997	Yeading	A	1–0	n/a	Rapley
2 August 1997	Hayes	A	0–3	n/a
6 December 1997	St Albans City	A	5–3	n/a	Denys (2), Spencer, Hurdle, Omigie
27 January 1998	Kingstonian	A	1–1	n/a	Goddard
23 March 1998	Kingstonian	A	0–1	n/a
4 May 1998	Feltham	A	4–4	n/a	Bryan (2), Rapley, Adams

Football League Second Division

No.	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1	9 August 1997	Millwall	A	0–3	8,951
2	16 August 1997	Chesterfield	H	0–0	4,000
3	23 August 1997	Watford	A	1–3	10,125	Taylor (pen)
4	30 August 1997	Grimsby Town	H	3–1	3,875	Rapley, Taylor (2)
5	2 September 1997	Gillingham	H	2–0	4,903	Bent, Taylor (pen)
6	5 September 1997	Southend United	A	1–3	3,387	Rapley
7	13 September 1997	Plymouth Argyle	A	0–0	4,394
8	19 September 1997	Wycombe Wanderers	H	1–1	3,755	Taylor
9	27 September 1997	Burnley	H	2–1	4,317	Hutchings, Rapley
10	4 October 1997	Preston North End	A	1–2	8,954	Bent
11	11 October 1997	York City	A	1–3	2,831	Taylor
12	18 October 1997	Walsall	H	3–0	4,874	Taylor, Denys, Bent
13	21 October 1997	Bristol Rovers	H	2–3	3,967	Bent, Rapley
14	25 October 1997	Luton Town	A	0–2	6,494
15	1 November 1997	Bournemouth	A	0–0	4,772
16	4 November 1997	Carlisle United	H	0–1	3,424
17	8 November 1997	Bristol City	H	1–4	6,162	Reina
18	18 November 1997	Northampton Town	A	0–4	5,227
19	22 November 1997	Oldham Athletic	A	1–1	5,012	Scott
20	29 November 1997	Wrexham	H	1–1	3,748	Aspinall
21	2 December 1997	Fulham	A	1–1	10,783	Gleghorn
22	13 December 1997	Blackpool	H	3–1	3,725	Taylor, Townley (2)
23	20 December 1997	Wigan Athletic	A	0–4	3,301
24	26 December 1997	Southend United	H	1–1	5,341	Taylor
25	29 December 1997	Gillingham	A	1–3	5,786	Taylor
26	3 January 1998	Chesterfield	A	0–0	4,049
27	10 January 1998	Millwall	H	2–1	5,529	Taylor, Aspinall
28	17 January 1998	Grimsby Town	A	0–4	4,886
29	24 January 1998	Watford	H	1–2	6,969	Rapley
30	31 January 1998	Plymouth Argyle	H	3–1	4,783	Bates, Scott, Hogg
31	7 February 1998	Wycombe Wanderers	A	0–0	6,328
32	14 February 1998	Preston North End	H	0–0	4,952
33	21 February 1998	Burnley	A	1–1	10,097	Taylor
34	24 February 1998	Walsall	A	0–0	3,166
35	28 February 1998	York City	H	1–2	4,490	McGhee
36	3 March 1998	Bristol City	A	2–2	10,398	Bryan, Rapley
37	7 March 1998	Bournemouth	H	3–2	4,973	Hutchings, Bryan, Rapley
38	14 March 1998	Carlisle United	A	2–1	6,021	Hogg, Scott
39	21 March 1998	Northampton Town	H	0–0	5,746
40	28 March 1998	Oldham Athletic	H	2–1	4,547	Scott, Taylor
41	4 April 1998	Wrexham	A	2–2	3,654	Rapley, Hutchings
42	11 April 1998	Fulham	H	0–2	10,510
43	13 April 1996	Blackpool	A	2–1	3,926	Hutchings, Aspinall (pen)
44	18 April 1998	Wigan Athletic	H	0–2	4,480
45	25 April 1998	Luton Town	H	2–2	6,598	Scott, Hutchings
46	2 May 1998	Bristol Rovers	A	1–2	9,043	Rapley

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
R1	15 November 1997	Colchester United	H	2–2	2,899	Taylor (2)
R1 (replay)	25 November 1997	Colchester United	A	0–0 (a.e.t.), lost 4–2 on pens)	3,613	Smith, Taylor (2), Bent

Football League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
R1 (1st leg)	12 August 1997	Shrewsbury Town	H	1–1	2,040	Denys
R1 (2nd leg)	26 August 1997	Shrewsbury Town	A	5–3 (won 6–4 on aggregate)	2,136	Rapley (2), Taylor (2), Bent
R2 (1st leg)	17 September 1997	Southampton	A	1–3	8,004	Taylor
R2 (2nd leg)	30 September 1997	Southampton	H	0–2 (lost 5–1 on aggregate)	3,957

Football League Trophy

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
SR2	13 January 1998	Luton Town	A	1–2	3,106	Townley

Sources: Soccerbase, 11v11, Griffin Gazette,^[8] The Big Brentford Book of the Nineties^[9]

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1997–98 season.

Position	Name	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Kevin Dearden	(1970-03-08)8 March 1970 (aged 27)	Tottenham Hotspur	1993
Defenders
DF	Micky Adams	(1961-11-08)8 November 1961 (aged 35)	Swansea City	1997	Manager
DF	Ijah Anderson	(1975-12-30)30 December 1975 (aged 21)	Southend United	1995
DF	Jamie Bates (c)	(1968-02-24)24 February 1968 (aged 29)	Youth	1986
DF	Danny Cullip	(1976-09-17)17 September 1976 (aged 20)	Fulham	1998
DF	Graeme Hogg	(1964-06-17)17 June 1964 (aged 33)	Notts County	1998
MF	Carl Hutchings	(1974-09-24)24 September 1974 (aged 22)	Youth	1993
DF	Leon Townley	(1976-02-16)16 February 1976 (aged 21)	Tottenham Hotspur	1997
DF	Paul Watson	(1975-01-04)4 January 1975 (aged 22)	Fulham	1997	Loaned from Fulham before transferring permanently
Midfielders
MF	Warren Aspinall	(1967-09-13)13 September 1967 (aged 29)	Carlisle United	1997
MF	Paul Barrowcliff	(1969-06-15)15 June 1969 (aged 28)	Stevenage Borough	1997	Loaned to Stevenage Borough
MF	Steven Blaney	(1977-03-24)24 March 1977 (aged 20)	West Ham United	1993	Loaned from West Ham United
MF	Scott Canham	(1974-11-11)11 November 1974 (aged 22)	West Ham United	1996
MF	Dean Clark	(1980-03-31)31 March 1980 (aged 17)	Youth	1997
MF	Glenn Cockerill	(1959-08-25)25 August 1959 (aged 37)	Fulham	1997	Assistant manager
MF	Kevin Dennis	(1976-12-14)14 December 1976 (aged 20)	Arsenal	1996
MF	Ryan Denys	(1978-08-16)16 August 1978 (aged 18)	Youth	1997	Loaned to Yeovil Town
MF	David McGhee	(1976-06-19)19 June 1976 (aged 21)	Youth	1994
MF	Charlie Oatway	(1973-11-28)28 November 1973 (aged 23)	Torquay United	1997
Forwards
FW	Derek Bryan	(1974-11-11)11 November 1974 (aged 22)	Hampton	1997
FW	Malcolm McPherson	(1974-12-09)9 December 1974 (aged 22)	West Ham United	1996
FW	Kevin Rapley	(1977-09-21)21 September 1977 (aged 19)	Youth	1997
FW	Andy Scott	(1972-08-02)2 August 1972 (aged 25)	Sheffield United	1997
FW	Robert Taylor	(1971-04-30)30 April 1971 (aged 26)	Leyton Orient	1994
FW	Niall Thompson	(1974-04-16)16 April 1974 (aged 23)	Zultse VV	1998
Players who left the club mid-season
GK	Graham Benstead	(1963-08-20)20 August 1963 (aged 33)	Kingstonian	1997	Goalkeeping coach, released
GK	Nick Colgan	(1973-09-19)19 September 1973 (aged 23)	Chelsea	1997	Returned to Chelsea after loan
GK	Tamer Fernandes	(1974-12-07)7 December 1974 (aged 22)	Youth	1993	Loaned to Peterborough United, released
GK	Mike Pollitt	(1972-02-29)29 February 1972 (aged 25)	Notts County	1998	Returned to Notts County after loan
DF	Gareth Hall	(1969-03-20)20 March 1969 (aged 28)	Sunderland	1997	Returned to Sunderland after loan
DF	Gus Hurdle	(1973-10-14)14 October 1973 (aged 23)	Carshalton Athletic	1993	Released
DF	Stuart Myall	(1974-11-12)12 November 1974 (aged 22)	Brighton & Hove Albion	1996	Released
MF	Nigel Gleghorn	(1962-08-12)12 August 1962 (aged 34)	Burnley	1997	Returned to Burnley after loan
MF	Richard Goddard	(1978-03-31)31 March 1978 (aged 19)	Arsenal	1996	Transferred to Woking
MF	Simon Spencer	(1976-09-10)10 September 1976 (aged 20)	Tottenham Hotspur	1997	Released
MF	Simon Wormull	(1976-12-01)1 December 1976 (aged 20)	Tottenham Hotspur	1997	Released
FW	Marcus Bent	(1978-05-19)19 May 1978 (aged 19)	Youth	1995	Transferred to Crystal Palace
FW	Joe Omigie	(1972-06-13)13 June 1972 (aged 23)	Donna	1994	Released
FW	Ricky Reina	(1971-10-02)2 October 1971 (aged 25)	Dover Athletic	1997	Retired

Source: Soccerbase

Coaching staff

Kevin Lock (1 – 12 August 1997)

Name	Role
Kevin Lock	Caretaker Manager
Graham Benstead	Goalkeeping Coach
Keith Allinson	Physiotherapist
Fergus Dignan	Medical Officer

Eddie May (12 August – 5 November 1997)

Name	Role
Eddie May	Manager
Clive Walker	Assistant Manager
Graham Benstead	Goalkeeping Coach
Kevin Lock	Football Coordinator
Keith Allinson	Physiotherapist
Fergus Dignan	Medical Officer

Micky Adams (5 November 1997 – 2 May 1998)

Name	Role
Micky Adams	Manager
Glenn Cockerill	Assistant Manager
Kevin Lock	Football Coordinator
Stuart Bevis	Physiotherapist
Fergus Dignan	Medical Officer
Colin Martin	Medical Officer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Substitute appearances in brackets.

Pos	Nat	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		FL Trophy		Total
Pos	Nat	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		Graham Benstead	1	0	0 (1)	0	0	0	—		1 (1)	0
GK		Kevin Dearden	35	0	2	0	4	0	1	0	42	0
GK		Tamer Fernandes	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF		Micky Adams	0	0	0	0	—		0 (1)	0	0 (1)	0
DF		Ijah Anderson	17	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	21	0
DF		Jamie Bates	40	1	2	0	4	0	1	0	47	1
DF		Danny Cullip	13	0	—		—		—		13	0
DF		Graeme Hogg	17	2	—		—		—		17	2
DF		Gus Hurdle	17	0	1 (1)	0	4	0	0	0	22 (1)	0
DF		Carl Hutchings	43	5	2	0	4	0	0	0	49	5
DF		Stuart Myall	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
DF		Leon Townley	15 (1)	2	1	0	1	0	1	1	18 (1)	3
DF		Paul Watson	25	0	—		—		0	0	25	0
MF		Warren Aspinall	24	3	—		—		1	0	25	3
MF		Paul Barrowcliff	5 (6)	0	2	0	3	0	0	0	10 (6)	0
MF		Steven Blaney	4 (1)	0	—		—		—		4 (1)	0
MF		Scott Canham	11 (11)	0	0 (1)	0	2 (2)	0	1	0	14 (14)	0
MF		Dean Clark	0 (4)	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0 (5)	0
MF		Glenn Cockerill	23	0	2	0	—		0	0	25	0
MF		Kevin Dennis	0 (5)	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0 (6)	0
MF		Ryan Denys	12 (7)	1	0	0	4	1	0	0	16 (7)	2
MF		Richard Goddard	0	0	0	0	0 (2)	0	0	0	0 (2)	0
MF		David McGhee	19 (10)	1	2	0	2	0	0	0	23 (10)	1
MF		Charlie Oatway	30 (3)	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	32 (3)	0
MF		Simon Spencer	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
MF		Simon Wormull	3 (2)	0	0	0	1 (1)	0	1	0	5 (3)	0
FW		Marcus Bent	19 (5)	4	2	0	3	1	—		24 (5)	5
FW		Derek Bryan	2 (9)	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2 (9)	2
FW		Malcolm McPherson	7 (2)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8 (2)	0
FW		Joe Omigie	0 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0
FW		Kevin Rapley	23 (14)	9	0 (1)	0	3 (1)	2	1	0	27 (16)	11
FW		Ricky Reina	2 (4)	1	2	0	0 (1)	0	0	0	4 (5)	1
FW		Andy Scott	24 (2)	5	0	0	—		1	0	25 (2)	5
FW		Robert Taylor	39 (1)	13	1	2	4	3	1	0	45 (1)	18
FW		Niall Thompson	6 (2)	0	—		—		—		6 (2)	0
Players loaned in during the season
GK		Nick Colgan	5	0	—		—		—		5	0
GK		Mike Pollitt	5	0	—		—		—		5	0
DF		Gareth Hall	6	0	—		—		—		6	0
MF		Nigel Gleghorn	11	1	0	0	—		1	0	12	1

Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: Soccerbase

Goalscorers

Pos	Player	FL2	FAC	FLC	FLT	Total
FW	Robert Taylor	13	2	3	0	18
FW	Kevin Rapley	9	0	2	0	11
FW	Andy Scott	5	0	—	0	5
DF	Carl Hutchings	5	0	0	0	5
FW	Marcus Bent	4	0	1	—	5
MF	Warren Aspinall	3	—	—	0	3
DF	Leon Townley	2	0	0	1	3
DF	Graeme Hogg	2	—	—	—	2
FW	Derek Bryan	2	0	0	0	2
MF	Ryan Denys	1	0	1	0	2
MF	Nigel Gleghorn	1	—	—	—	1
DF	Jamie Bates	1	0	0	0	1
MF	David McGhee	1	0	0	0	1
FW	Ricky Reina	1	0	0	0	1
Total		50	2	7	1	60

Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: Soccerbase

Discipline

Pos	Nat	Player	FL2		FAC		FLC		FLT		Total		Pts
Pos	Nat	Player											Pts
DF		Jamie Bates	8	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	1	11
FW		Robert Taylor	4	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	6	1	9
MF		Warren Aspinall	7	0	—		—		1	0	8	0	8
DF		Paul Watson	7	0	—		—		0	0	7	0	7
MF		Charlie Oatway	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	6
MF		Glenn Cockerill	5	0	1	0	—		0	0	6	0	6
DF		Carl Hutchings	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	6
DF		Danny Cullip	5	0	—		—		—		5	0	5
FW		Niall Thompson	2	1	—		—		—		2	1	5
MF		David McGhee	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	5	0	5
DF		Gus Hurdle	1	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	4	0	4
DF		Graeme Hogg	3	0	—		—		—		3	0	3
FW		Malcolm McPherson	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	3
DF		Leon Townley	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	3
MF		Nigel Gleghorn	2	0	0	0	—		0	0	2	0	2
FW		Andy Scott	2	0	0	0	—		0	0	2	0	2
MF		Ryan Denys	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
FW		Kevin Rapley	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
MF		Paul Barrowcliff	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	2
MF		Steven Blaney	1	0	—		—		—		1	0	1
DF		Gareth Hall	1	0	—		—		—		1	0	1
FW		Marcus Bent	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0	1
DF		Ijah Anderson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
FW		Derek Bryan	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
MF		Kevin Dennis	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
DF		Stuart Myall	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
MF		Scott Canham	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1
Total			78	3	5	0	6	0	1	0	90	3	99

Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: Soccerbase

International caps

Pos	Nat	Player	Caps	Goals	Ref
FW		Niall Thompson	1	0	^[10]

Management

Name	Nat	From	To	Record All Comps					Record League
Name	Nat	From	To	P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
Kevin Lock (caretaker)		9 August 1997	12 August 1997	1	0	0	1	000.00	1	0	0	1	000.00
Eddie May		12 August 1997	5 November 1997	19	5	5	9	026.32	15	4	4	7	026.67
Micky Adams		5 November 1997	2 May 1998	33	7	15	11	021.21	30	7	13	10	023.33

Summary

Games played	53 (46 Second Division, 2 FA Cup, 4 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy)
Games won	12 (11 Second Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 0 Football League Trophy)
Games drawn	20 (17 Second Division, 2 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 0 Football League Trophy)
Games lost	21 (18 Second Division, 0 FA Cup, 2 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy)
Goals scored	60 (50 Second Division, 2 FA Cup, 7 League Cup, 1 Football League Trophy)
Goals conceded	84 (71 Second Division, 2 FA Cup, 9 League Cup, 2 Football League Trophy)
Clean sheets	11 (10 Second Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup, 0 Football League Trophy)
Biggest league win	3–0 versus Walsall, 18 October 1997
Worst league defeat	4–0 on three occasions
Most appearances	49, Carl Hutchings (43 Second Division, 2 FA Cup, 4 League Cup, 0 Football League Trophy)
Top scorer (league)	13, Robert Taylor
Top scorer (all competitions)	18, Robert Taylor

Transfers & loans

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Fee	Ref.
1 August 1997	MF	Paul Barrowcliff	Stevenage Borough	£60,000	^[1]
1 August 1997	DF	Graham Benstead	Kingstonian	Free	^[11]
1 August 1997	MF	Simon Spencer	Tottenham Hotspur	Free	^[12]
1 August 1997	MF	Simon Wormull	Tottenham Hotspur	Free	^[13]
22 August 1997	MF	Charlie Oatway	Torquay United	£12,000	^[14]
29 August 1997	FW	Derek Bryan	Hampton	£50,000	^[15]
1 September 1997	FW	Ricky Reina	Dover Athletic	£50,000	^[16]
17 September 1997	DF	Leon Townley	Tottenham Hotspur	£25,000	^[17]
7 November 1997	MF	Glenn Cockerill	Fulham	Free	^[18]
20 November 1997	MF	Warren Aspinall	Carlisle United	£50,000	^[19]
21 November 1997	FW	Andy Scott	Sheffield United	£75,000	^[20]
19 December 1997	DF	Paul Watson	Fulham	£55,000	^[4]
23 January 1998	DF	Graeme Hogg	Notts County	£5,000	^[21]
18 February 1998	DF	Danny Cullip	Fulham	£75,000	^[22]
27 February 1998	FW	Niall Thompson	Zultse VV	Non-contract	^[23]
27 March 1998	MF	Steven Blaney	West Ham United	Free	^[24]
Players loaned in
Date from	Pos.	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
29 August 1997	MF	Michael Black	Arsenal	29 September 1997	^[25]
3 October 1997	DF	Gareth Hall	Sunderland	3 November 1997	^[26]
16 October 1997	GK	Nick Colgan	Chelsea	4 November 1997	^[27]
17 November 1997	MF	Nigel Gleghorn	Burnley	24 January 1998	^[28]
12 December 1997	DF	Paul Watson	Fulham	18 December 1997	^[29]
21 January 1998	GK	Mike Pollitt	Notts County	21 February 1998	^[30]
28 March 1998	GK	David Nurse	Millwall	End of season	^[31]
Players transferred out
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Fee	Ref.
1 August 1997	MF	Paul Smith	Gillingham	£195,000	^[1]
7 August 1997	FW	Carl Asaba	Reading	£800,000	^[32]
9 August 1997	DF	Barry Ashby	Gillingham	£140,000	^[1]
22 August 1997	DF	Brian Statham	Gillingham	£10,000	^[14]
8 January 1998	FW	Marcus Bent	Crystal Palace	£300,000	^[33]
31 March 1998	MF	Richard Goddard	Woking	£7,500	^[8]
Players loaned out
Date from	Pos.	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
3 October 1997	GK	Tamer Fernandes	Peterborough United	3 November 1997	^[34]
10 October 1997	MF	Paul Barrowcliff	Stevenage Borough	10 November 1997	^[35]
10 October 1997	MF	Richard Goddard	Woking	31 March 1998	^[36]
30 January 1998	MF	Ryan Denys	Yeovil Town	28 February 1998	^[37]
Players released
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
1 January 1998	DF	Stuart Myall	Hastings Town	1998	^[38]
January 1998	GK	Graham Benstead	Basingstoke Town	January 1998	^[21]
January 1998	DF	Gus Hurdle	Plymouth Argyle	1998	^[21]
January 1998	FW	Joe Omigie	Welling United	1998	^[21]
January 1998	MF	Simon Spencer	Yeovil Town	February 1998	^[21]
29 January 1998	GK	Tamer Fernandes	Colchester United	29 January 1998	^[21]
25 February 1998	DF	Lee Harvey	Stevenage Borough	28 February 1998	^[39]
25 March 1998	MF	Simon Wormull	Brighton & Hove Albion	25 March 1998	^[40]
April 1998	FW	Ricky Reina	Dover Athletic	August 1998	^[41]
30 June 1998	MF	Paul Barrowcliff	Hendon	1998	^[42]
30 June 1998	MF	Steven Blaney	St Albans City	August 1998	^[42]
30 June 1998	MF	Scott Canham	Leyton Orient	10 August 1998	^[42]
30 June 1998	MF	Glenn Cockerill	Retired		^[43]
30 June 1998	DF	Graeme Hogg	Retired		^[42]
30 June 1998	FW	Malcolm McPherson	Retired		^[42]

Kit

Supplier: Cobra Sports
Sponsor(s): Ericsson

Home

Away

Source: Brentford F.C.

Awards

Brentford Supporters' Player of the Year: Carl Hutchings^[44]
Brentford Internet Supporters' Player of the Year: Carl Hutchings^[42]
Brentford Programme's Star Man of the Year: Carl Hutchings^[42]
Eric White Memorial Trophy: Glenn Cockerill^[42]
Football League Second Division Manager of the Month: Micky Adams (March 1998)^[31]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2013). The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. pp. 258–259. ISBN 9781906796723.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Brentford results for the 1997–1998 season". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 260-261.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 262.
^ ^a ^b James, Alex (22 May 2022). "Inside story of Burnley's last final day survival shoot-out". LancsLive. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
^ "Brentford Complete History". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
^ "England 1997–98". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
^ ^a ^b Brentford Matchday Magazine versus Northampton Town. Quay Design of Poole. 21 March 1998. p. 3.
^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, pp. 467–470.
^ Niall Thompson at the Canadian Soccer Association. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
^ "Graham Benstead". rdfc1992. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
^ Simon Spencer at Soccerbase
^ Simon Wormull at Soccerbase
^ ^a ^b Brentford Matchday Magazine versus Grimsby Town. Quay Design of Poole. 30 August 1997. p. 2.
^ Derek Bryan at Soccerbase
^ Ricky Reina at Soccerbase
^ Brentford Matchday Magazine versus Burnley. Quay Design of Poole. 27 September 1997. p. 2.
^ Glenn Cockerill at Soccerbase
^ Warren Aspinall at Soccerbase
^ Andy Scott at Soccerbase
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 263.
^ Danny Cullip at Soccerbase
^ Niall Thompson at Soccerbase
^ Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 429.
^ Michael Black at Soccerbase
^ Gareth Hall at Soccerbase
^ Nick Colgan at Soccerbase
^ Nigel Gleghorn at Soccerbase
^ Paul Watsn at Soccerbase
^ Mike Pollitt at Soccerbase
^ ^a ^b Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 264.
^ Carl Asaba at Soccerbase
^ Marcus Bent at Soccerbase
^ Tamer Fernandes at Soccerbase
^ Paul Barrowcliff at Soccerbase
^ Richard Goddard-Crawley at Soccerbase
^ Ryan Denys at Soccerbase
^ "Stuart Myall". 11v11.com. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
^ Lee Harvey at Soccerbase
^ "Seagulls in signing blitz". The Argus. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
^ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 133.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Around the Hive". 10 June 1998. Archived from the original on 10 June 1998. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 38. ISBN 0955294916.
^ Sewell, Albert, ed. (1998). News Of The World Football Annual 1998–99. Hammersmith, London: Invincible Press. p. 353. ISBN 0002188570.

v t e Brentford F.C. seasons
1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900
1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

1997–98 in English football

« 1996–97

1998–99 »

National teams

1998 FIFA World Cup (UEFA Qualification Group 2
Group G
Knockout stage
Squad)
Glenn Hoddle

League competitions

Level 1	Premier League
Levels 2–4	Football League (First Division, Second Division, Third Division, play-offs)
Level 5	Football Conference
Levels 6–7	Isthmian League (Premier, One) Northern Premier League (Premier, One) Southern League (Premier, Midland, Southern)
Levels 8–9	Isthmian League (Two, Three) Combined Counties League (level 8 only) Eastern Counties League (Premier, One) Essex Senior League (level 8 only) Hellenic League (Premier, One) Kent League (level 8 only) Midland Alliance (level 8 only) Midland Football Combination (level 9 only) North West Counties League (One, Two) Northern Counties East League (Premier, One) Northern League (One, Two) Spartan South Midlands League (Premier North, Premier South, Senior) Sussex County League (One, Two) United Counties League (Premier, One) Wessex League (level 8 only) West Midlands (Regional) League (level 9 only) Western League (Premier, One)

Cup competitions

FA cups	FA Cup (Qualifying rounds, Final) Charity Shield FA Trophy (Final)
Football League cups	League Cup (Final) Football League Trophy (Final)

European competitions

Club seasons
Premier League	Arsenal Aston Villa Barnsley Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Chelsea Coventry City Crystal Palace Derby County Everton Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester United Newcastle United Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wimbledon
First Division	Birmingham City Bradford City Bury Charlton Athletic Crewe Alexandra Huddersfield Town Ipswich Town Manchester City Middlesbrough Norwich City Nottingham Forest Oxford United Portsmouth Port Vale Queens Park Rangers Reading Sheffield United Stockport County Stoke City Sunderland Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers
Second Division	Blackpool Bournemouth Brentford Bristol City Bristol Rovers Burnley Carlisle United Chesterfield Fulham Gillingham Grimsby Town Luton Town Millwall Northampton Town Oldham Athletic Plymouth Argyle Preston North End Southend United Walsall Watford Wigan Athletic Wrexham Wycombe Wanderers York City
Third Division	Barnet Brighton & Hove Albion Cambridge United Cardiff City Chester City Colchester United Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Hartlepool United Hull City Leyton Orient Lincoln City Macclesfield Town Mansfield Town Notts County Peterborough United Rochdale Rotherham United Scarborough Scunthorpe United Shrewsbury Town Swansea City Torquay United

Summer 1997 transfers
Winter 1997–98 transfers