Notable Matches

Fulham 1 Brentford 1 – Sky Bet Championship, 2017

Birthdays

Bill Slater (1927); 13 appearances, 3 goals

It was only after Slater left Brentford in the summer of 1952 that his career really took off. The half-back spent just six months in West London initially before upping sticks to Wolverhampton Wanderers where he would become a Club legend. While at Molineux he won three league titles, an FA Cup, and a Charity Shield and was voted the Football Writers Association Footballer of the Year in 1960. He also earned 12 England caps, playing all four games at the 1958 World Cup.

After leaving Wolves in the summer of 1963, Slater returned to Griffin Park, playing a further five league games during his professional swansong. He netted twice in a 4-2 win over Wrexham in early October and was also part of the team which won the return fixture 9-0 a week later, which still remains our biggest-ever league win.

John Docherty (1940); 278 appearances, 79 goals

One of the small band of men to have been both Brentford player and manager, the Glasgow-born winger had five spells in total with the Club over a 27-year period. Signed alongside Tommy Higginson in 1959, Docherty scored three goals in 19 appearances before joining Sheffield United in March 1961. He returned nearly five years later, but his seven goals couldn’t help us avoid relegation in May 1966. The following season brought 19 goals in 50 appearances and Docherty ended the 1967/68 season as our top scorer, despite departing for Reading in March. It was only a short stay in Berkshire as a third, more successful, stint at Brentford beckoned. Docherty struck 13 times during the 1970/71 season, the same as he would manage during the following, promotion-winning, season. He top scored with eight as we were instantly relegated and registered the final of his 79 goals for the Club during a 5-1 win over Barnsley in September 1973.

15 months later he was back, this time as manager, with The Bees sitting in the lower reaches of the Division Four table. His impact was instant, we lost just four of that term’s remaining 19 matches to finish eighth. Four wins, two draws and just one defeat in April also won Docherty the Football League Manager of the Month award. The 1975/76 campaign ended in a disappointed 18th place finish with Docherty departing after six winless games at the beginning of the following season. That wasn't the end of the story however with Docherty returning for a fifth time in February 1984 as Frank McLintock's assistant, a role he would hold until the summer of 1986.

Pim Balkestein (1987); 46 appearances, 2 goals

Signed twice on loan during the 2009/10 season from Ipswich Town, Balkestein made 14 appearances at the heart of our defence, netting his first career goal during a 3-2 win over Oldham Athletic in March. That summer the powerful defender made his move permanent and began the season in our first-choice centre-back pairing. However, he flitted in and out of the team during the second half of the season and spent the 2011/12 campaign out on loan before departing.

Debuts

Douglas Anderson (1939) vs Blackpool (H) – D 1-1

Tom Garneys (1950) vs Grimsby Town (A) – L 1-4

Zain Westbrooke (2017) vs Fulham (A) – D 1-1