Brentford began the Second Division season with an 11-match unbeaten run and firmly held on to top spot in the table.[2] The four-pronged attack of Carl Asaba, Nicky Forster, Robert Taylor and Marcus Bent proved fruitful and Asaba's 7-minute hat-trick versus Shrewsbury Town on 31 August 1996 was the quickest ever in a league match by a Brentford player.[3][4] One win in eight matches from mid-October through to mid-November dropped the Bees back into the playoff positions, but the club returned to the summit early in the following 13-match unbeaten run.[2] Forward Nicky Forster, who was in the final year of his contract, was sold to Birmingham City for a £700,000 fee on 31 January 1997, but he was not replaced.[1]
Despite the loss of Forster, the unbeaten run continued until defeat away to Preston North End on 8 March.[1] In the aftermath of the match, manager David Webb tendered his resignation,[5] citing verbal abuse of himself, the coaching staff and the players and "undisclosed sensitive issues" as the reason.[1] Chairman Martin Lange refused to accept Webb's resignation.[1] The fallout from the Preston match gave way to a run of eight defeats in the final 13 matches of the season, in which just six goals were scored and the team failed to find the net at all during the final four matches.[2] Things went from bad to worse when central defender Barry Ashby suffered an injury on 19 April and Carl Asaba was sent off in the penultimate match of the season.[1] The run dropped Brentford from 1st to 4th place and into a two-legged tie with Bristol City in the playoff semi-finals.[1]
Brentford rallied in the playoff semi-finals, seeing off Bristol City (who had finished the regular season with five consecutive wins) 4–2 on aggregate,[2] winning 2–1 home and away.[6] The Bees were "exposed and outclassed" in the final at Wembley Stadium versus Crewe Alexandra, losing 1–0 in a match which saw the Railwaymen hit the woodwork on three occasions and have two goalbound efforts cleared off the line by Carl Hutchings.[3] In addition, Bees defender Brian Statham was sent off for committing a second bookable offence 15 minutes from time.[3]
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l mCroxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2013). The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. pp. 230–234. ISBN9781906796723.
^ a b c d"Brentford results for the 1996–1997 season". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
^ a b cCroxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 208-229.
^Brentford's Official Matchday Magazine versus AFC Bournemouth. 16 November 1996. p. 2.
^"Furious Webb set to quit". Sunday Mirror. 9 March 1997. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
^"Moment in time: Bristol City". Retrieved 18 August 2017.
^"England 1996–97". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
^Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 208-229, 464–467.
^ a bCroxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 482.
^"Kevin Dennis". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
^"Richard Goddard-Crawley". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
^"Malcolm McPherson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
^"Stuart Myall". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
^Steve Slade at Soccerbase
^"England's Tournoi de France match against Brazil has been switched to Paris because the stadium in Lens, being rebuilt for the 1998 Cup finals, will not be ready on time". The Independent. 15 March 1997. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
^Mark Janney at Soccerbase
^Paul Abrahams at Soccerbase
^"Premier and Football League transfers". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
^Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 445.
^ a bBrentford's Official Matchday Magazine versus Peterborough United. 3 May 1997. p. 3.