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Widely unknown how good Brentford were in the late-1930s, competing for league title race (and even dreaming of the double) in 1937/38, after winning second division in 1935 finishing 5th in div 1 in 1936, surging after poor start, 6th in both 1937 & 1938
https://web.archive.org/web/20160310181300/http://fl125.co.uk/brentford
https://web.archive.org/web/20160310181300/http://fl125.co.uk/brentford
In 1937/38, Brentford were top of division one from the end of September until mid-February.
Their season collapsed in Jan/Feb/March, 8 games without a win. They won only 4 league games from February to May, finishing sixth again.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937%E2%80%9338_Brentford_F.C._season
Their season collapsed in Jan/Feb/March, 8 games without a win. They won only 4 league games from February to May, finishing sixth again.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937%E2%80%9338_Brentford_F.C._season
In 1938/39, they just avoided relegation, finishing 18th after coming 6th twice. An erratic season, but they stayed up by a point as Chelsea went down with once-mighty Huddersfield.
So how Brentford would have done without WW2 is a debatable point.
So how Brentford would have done without WW2 is a debatable point.
After several years in the Southern League of wartime and post-war football, Brentford had an absolute shocker in the first full competitive season (1946/47). Making the play-off semi-final in 2015 + this season are the closest Brentford have got to the top flight since 1947.
This gives Brentford a higher historical status than other southern clubs with compact grounds (Griffin Park holds 12,500) & famous neighbours
I think we'd have tended to see them as rivals of a quite similar status to clubs like Southend United. Cambridge United in early 1990s
I think we'd have tended to see them as rivals of a quite similar status to clubs like Southend United. Cambridge United in early 1990s
