1990–91 Brentford F.C. season
During the 1990–91 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division. Five wins in the final six matches of the season propelled the Bees from mid-table into the play-offs, where the club was defeated by Tranmere Rovers in the semi-finals.
Season summary
conducted little transfer business during the 1990 off-season, buying only Sheffield United goalkeeper Graham Benstead and selling full back Roger Stanislaus to Bury. Midfielder Eddie May was transfer-listed at his own request, while midfielders Keith Jones, Kevin Godfrey and forward Richard Cadette rejected new contracts and instead signed weekly deals. 10 days before the first match of the season, the club was rocked by the resignation of manager Steve Perryman, who had been in charge since February 1987. Perryman's assistant Phil Holder took over to begin his first job in football management.Just two defeats from the opening 12 league matches of the season had Brentford flirting with automatic promotion, before successive defeats in late October and early November dropped the club into the play-off places. Aided by the goalscoring of fit-again Gary Blissett, the Bees showed good league form through November and December and finished 1990 in the automatic promotion places. After loss to Oldham Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup, attention turned to the Football League Trophy, in which the Bees went all the way to the Southern Area finals before being defeated over two legs by league rivals Birmingham City. The run in the Trophy affected Brentford's promotion-chasing form, with the team having won just seven of 17 matches since the turn of the year. A draw and a defeat in the wake of the Trophy exit gave way to improved form for the remainder of the season, with five wins from six matches sealing a 6th-place finish and a matchup with Tranmere Rovers in the play-offs. A 3–2 defeat over two legs ended Brentford's season.
League table
Results
Legend
Pre-season
Football League Third Division
Football League Third Division play-offs
Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer |
SF | 19 May 1991 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–2 | 14,160 | Evans, Godfrey |
SF | 22 May 1991 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 0–1 | 11,161 |
FA Cup
Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer |
R1 | 17 November 1990 | Yeovil Town | H | 5–0 | 5,830 | Blissett, Holdsworth, May, Jones |
R2 | 12 December 1990 | Birmingham City | A | 3–1 | 7,328 | Blissett, Millen, Jones |
R3 | 5 January 1991 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–3 | 6,538 | Holdsworth |
Football League Cup
Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer |
R1 | 28 August 1990 | Hereford United | H | 2–0 | 5,583 | Bates, Godfrey |
R1 | 5 September 1990 | Hereford United | A | 0–1 | 4,927 | |
R2 | 26 September 1990 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–2 | 4,502 | Evans |
R2 | 9 October 1990 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–2 | 7,394 | Jones |
Football League Trophy
Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer | ||
SPR | 27 November 1990 | Fulham | A | 1–1 | 2,761 | Blissett | ||
SPR | 29 January 1991 | Leyton Orient | H | 2–0 | 1,348 | Blissett | 2,247 | |
SQF | 28 February 1991 | Hereford United | A | 2–0 | 2,207 | Smilie, Holdsworth | ||
SSF | 5 March 1991 | Southend United | A | 3–0 | 3,937 | Smilie, Jones, Cadette | ||
SAF | 26 March 1991 | Birmingham City | A | 1–2 | 1,871 | Gayle | ||
SAF | 9 April 1991 | Birmingham City | H | 0–1 | 1,861 |
- Source: , , The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties
Playing squad
- Source: The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties
Coaching staff
Statistics
Appearances and goals
- Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
- Source: The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties
Goalscorers
- Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
- Source: The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties
Management
Summary
Transfers & loans
Kit
Awards
- Supporters' Player of the Year: Graham Benstead
- Players' Player of the Year: Graham Benstead
- Football League Third Division PFA Team of the Year: Keith Jones
- Football League Third Division Manager of the Month: Phil Holder