During the 2003–04 English football season, Brentford competed in Football League Second Division. After mid-season spell of one win in 18 matches and relegation looking definite, manager Wally Downes was sacked in mid-March 2004. Martin Allen took over and pulled off "The Great Escape" to secure safety on the final day of the season.
Cash-strapped Brentford began the 2003–04 season with a threadbare squad, depleted through injuries and propped up with youngsters,[1] with managerWally Downes admitting that the club's "immediate goal is keeping ourselves afloat for a period that shows the bank we can manage ourselves".[2] Five defeats in the opening six games left the club second-from-bottom, before the integration of loaneesBen May, Tommy Wright and Joel Kitamirike yielded an improvement in form in September 2003,[3][4][5] going unbeaten and winning three of five matches.[6] In October, amidst speculation that former Brentford manager Steve Perryman would return to the club as director of football, manager Wally Downes was assured that his role would not be affected.[7] Perryman eventually turned the offer down.[7]
Despite a morale-boosting 7–1 FA Cup first round victory over Gainsborough Trinity and four wins from six matches in October and November lifting the Bees to mid-table, the rot soon set in.[6] After the goalkeeping position weakened by the £500,000 sale of Paul Smith in January 2004 and with just one win from 19 matches in all competitions,[8] Wally Downes was sacked after a 2–0 home defeat to Stockport County on 13 March 2004,[9] which was Brentford's fifth consecutive defeat.[6]Caretaker managerGarry Thompson took charge for the away match versus Blackpool on 16 March,[10] with a 1–1 draw securing the first point won for a month.[6]
Former Barnet manager Martin Allen took over on 18 March 2004 and was tasked with retaining Brentford's Second Division status.[11] Allen released a number of players,[12] installed his own backroom team and immediately galvanised the squad,[2] winning three and drawing three of his first six matches to lift the Bees above the relegation places.[6] A priceless point salvaged at already-relegated Wycombe Wanderers on 24 April kept the Bees above the relegation places.[6] A 1–0 defeat away to fellow strugglers Grimsby Town in the penultimate match of the season meant the club would need to secure safety on the final day with a victory over Bournemouth or favourable results elsewhere.[13] The match versus Bournemouth at Griffin Park remained scoreless until seven minutes from time, when substitute Alex Rhodes "coolly slotted" past Cherries' goalkeeper Neil Moss for a 1–0 win that completed Brentford's escape from relegation.[14]
^TW8 Matchday: Official Brentford FC Matchday Programme versus Oldham Athletic. Charlton, London: The Yellow Printing Company Limited. 25 August 2003. p. 7.
^ abTW8 Matchday: Official Brentford FC Matchday Programme versus Chesterfield. Charlton, London: The Yellow Printing Company Limited. 3 April 2004. p. 5.