Football Season Review

Brentford had their second season back in League 1 and it was very strange one. An awful start to the season saw the club sitting on or around the bottom of the table for much of the first third, before pulling away from trouble and into the top ten. However, a losing streak of eight matches had the club sliding back towards trouble and saw manager Andy Scott surprisingly sacked, with veteran player Nicky Forster taking charge. The change in management had the desired effect and the club soon moved back into mid-table, where they remained for the rest of the campaign, finishing in a decent position of 11th. The season will best be remembered for the Bees’ cup exploits. Indeed they played more fixtures than any other club in the Football League, and enjoyed runs in two of the three cups. They made it to Wembley in the JPT competition, but were defeated and outplayed by Carlisle, who themselves were beaten finalists the year before. In the League Cup the Bees knocked out Hull, then Premier League Everton on penalties before losing to Birmingham, also on penalties, in the 4th Round. However, the FA Cup proved less successful, with defeat at Aldershot in the replay following a draw at Griffin Park. While Forster did what was asked of him, the board look likely to offer the permanent position to a more experienced man, with Derek McInnes already turning down the role. Andy Scott was unlucky to have been fired considering his success the previous season and it is hard to imagine that they would have been relegated with him at the helm.

Player of the Season: Richard Lee