| Club: | Brentford |
| Season: | 1896–97 |
| Chairman: | Bill Stephenson |
| Stadium: | Shotter's Field |
| League: | London League Second Division |
| League Result: | 2nd (promoted) |
| Cup1: | London Senior Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Semi-final |
| Cup2: | Middlesex Senior Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Second qualifying round |
| Cup3: | West Middlesex Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | Runners-up |
| League Topscorer: | Field (8) |
| Season Topscorer: | Field (15) |
| Prevseason: | 1895–96 |
| Nextseason: | 1897–98 |
During the 1896–97 English football season, Brentford competed in the London League Second Division. The club finished as runners-up to gain promotion to the First Division.
During the 1896 off-season, Brentford was elected into the Second Division of the newly-formed London League.[1] 1896–97 marked the club's first full season of competitive league play since 1892–93, when it finished as champions of the West London Alliance.[2] Long-serving half back Jimmy Ray and outside left Tommy Stevenson were released and transferred in were forwards Oakey Field, Harold Hudson, J. Wade and left half Billy Smith.
Despite a failure to win either the London Senior Cup, Middlesex Senior Cup or the West Middlesex Cup, Brentford took the London League Second Division by storm, losing just one match all season to finish as runners-up to champions Bromley and gain promotion to the First Division. Attendances at Shotter's Field were rarely below 1,500 and forward Oakey Field and captain Arthur Charlton scored many of the team's goals.
See main article: article and London League (football).
Brentford's goal tally listed first.
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| No. | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 October 1896 | Fulham | H | 6–1 | Wade, Field (3), H. Williams, Hester | |
| 2 | 21 November 1896 | Fulham | A | 2–0 | Steers, Ingram | |
| 3 | 5 December 1896 | Bromley | A | 2–2 | A. Williams, Swann (pen) | |
| 4 | 12 December 1896 | West Croydon | A | 2–2 | Hudson, Bailey | |
| 5 | 20 February 1897 | Bromley | H | 3–2 | Untraced, Hudson, Swann (pen) | |
| 6 | 6 March 1897 | Harrow Athletic | A | 2–2 | Field, Ingram | |
| 7 | 18 March 1897 | West Croydon | H | 4–0 | Untraced | |
| 8 | 24 March 1897 | Stanley | A | 2–1 | Field (2) | |
| 9 | 27 March 1897 | Forest Swifts | A | 1–1 | Field | |
| 10 | 31 March 1897 | Hammersmith Athletic | A | 3–0 | Untraced | |
| 11 | 1 April 1897 | Forest Swifts | H | 3–2 | Untraced | |
| 12 | 3 April 1897 | Harrow Athletic | H | 5–0 | Hudson, Wade (2), Charlton (2) | |
| 13 | 10 April 1897 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–2 | Field, Hudson | |
| 14 | 16 April 1897 | Hammersmith Athletic | H | 4–1 | Untraced | |
| 15 | 17 April 1897 | Stanley | H | 0–0 | ||
| 16 | 22 April 1897 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–3 | Untraced |
See main article: article and London Senior Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1QR | 17 October 1896 | Novocastrians | H | 3–1 | Hudson, Charlton, Field | ||
| 2QR | 7 November 1896 | Harrow Athletic | A | 3–0 | Hudson, Charlton, Field | ||
| 3QR | 28 November 1896 | Crescent | H | 5–1 | Charlton (2), Hester (2), Bailey | ||
| 4QR | 19 December 1896 | Old St. Mark's | H | 2–1 | Charlton, Swann (pen) | ||
| 1R | 6 February 1897 | Old Foresters | H | 4–2 | Bailey (2), Hudson, H. Williams | ||
| 2R | 27 February 1897 | Bromley | H | 3–1 | Butcher, Batchelor, Swann (pen) | ||
| SF | 8 April 1897 | Old Carthusians | N | 1–5 | Field | [3] |
See main article: article and Middlesex Senior Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1QR | 10 October 1896 | Bow | H | 8–0 | A. Williams, untraced,[4] Field (2), untraced (2 og),[5] Charlton, Hester | |
| 2QR | 14 November 1896 | Royal Scots Greys | A | 0–1 |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorer(s) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1R | 13 February 1897 | Southall | A | 3–1 | Charlton, Wade (2) | ||
| SF | 13 March 1897 | Harrow Athletic | N | 5–2 | Hudson, Field (2), Salt (og), untraced | [6] | |
| F | 24 April 1897 | Hanwell | N | 0–1 | [7] |
| Games played | 28 (16 London League Second Division, 7 London Senior Cup, 2 Middlesex Senior Cup, 3 West Middlesex Cup) | |
| Games won | 18 (9 London League Second Division, 6 London Senior Cup, 1 Middlesex Senior Cup, 2 West Middlesex Cup) | |
| Games drawn | 6 (6 London League Second Division, 0 London Senior Cup, 0 Middlesex Senior Cup, 0 West Middlesex Cup) | |
| Games lost | 4 (1 London League Second Division, 1 London Senior Cup, 1 Middlesex Senior Cup, 1 West Middlesex Cup) | |
| Goals scored | 74 (42 London League Second Division, 21 London Senior Cup, 8 Middlesex Senior Cup, 3 West Middlesex Cup) | |
| Goals conceded | 39 (19 London League Second Division, 11 London Senior Cup, 1 Middlesex Senior Cup, 8 West Middlesex Cup) | |
| Clean sheets | 7 (5 London League Second Division, 1 London Senior Cup, 1 Middlesex Senior Cup, 0 West Middlesex Cup) | |
| Biggest league win | 5–0 versus Harrow Athletic, 3 April 1897; 6–1 versus Fulham, 3 October 1896 | |
| Worst league defeat | 3–1 versus Queens Park Rangers, 22 April 1897 | |
| Most appearances (where traced) | 17, Arthur Charlton, Richard Dailley, Jack Foster (7 London League Second Division, 6 London Senior Cup, 2 Middlesex Senior Cup, 2 West Middlesex Cup) | |
| Top scorer (league, where traced) | 8, Oakey Field | |
| Top scorer (all competitions, where traced) | 15, Oakey Field |