During the 1971–72 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Fourth Division. The club led the division for much of the first half of the season and 10 wins in the final 14 matches secured automatic promotion with a 3rd-place finish.

Despite the reduction of the club's debt to a manageable level and an average attendance higher than all but the top three finishers in the Third Division, Fourth Division Brentford went into the 1971–72 season with a squad of just 14 professionals. Long-time goalkeeper Chic Brodie was released, as was bit-part winger Brian Tawse and in came two defensive youngsters on free transfers – Terry Scales and Steven Tom.

Despite the club record £30,000 departure of Roger Cross to rivals Fulham and Alan Hawley also moving to Craven Cottage on loan, Brentford's 12-man squad met pre-season expectations in the early part of the season, holding onto top spot intermittently until a minor blip in October and November 1971.Utility player Michael Allen was signed from Middlesbrough for an £8,000 fee in October and proved to be a vital cog in the midfield. The team owed much of its success to prolific goalscoring from John O'Mara, with the centre forward reaching 20 goals for the season after a 6–2 thrashing of Darlington on 8 January 1972, a result which made Brentford the top scorers in in the Football League and was also notable for a 13-minute hattrick from John Docherty.

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