WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
We catch up with Brentford’s 1977-78 promotion winners
STEVE PHILLIPS scored 32 goals to fire Brentford to only their third promotion in the Football League. His reward? £100 plus a golden boot!
Phillips was converted from a midfielder when Gordon Sweetzer was sold to Cambridge United and went onto become the highest scorer in the country.
While the First Division’s leading marksman, Everton’s Bob Latchford, found himself £10,000 better off for scoring two goals fewer, Phillips had to settle for much less.
His season’s return was a personal best for a career which saw him win promotions for the Bees, as well as Birmingham and Northampton Town.
But, sadly, he has nothing but memories left of his feat after the boot was stolen just days after retiring out to Spain to start a new life.
“I’ve still got the case but the boot got nicked,” said Phillips. “I had only been there a week! I’ve always tried to get the Golden Boot replaced but to no avail.
“Bob Latchford got £10,000 for being top scorer in the First Division but I was top scorer in the Football League and I got a golden boot and just £100.
“I’d actually spent most of the season playing in midfield or on the wing and it wasn’t until we sold Sweetzer to Cambridge that I started to play up front and scored 15 in 12 games.
“Between Andy McCulloch and myself we scored nearly 60 goals. We both stayed fit all season which was bad considering Andy had dodgy knees.
“I had a few seasons where I got 20-odd goals but that is the most that I ever scored in a season and I finished top scorer in the Football League.”
Square pegs
Phillips believes the Bees’ promotion-winning campaign started a season earlier when they climbed away from the bottom of the Football League with a long unbeaten run.
And that continued into the following season when they eventually clinched promotion to Division Three in fourth place along with Watford, Southend United and Swansea City.
“The season before we were near bottom of the league but then we only lost one of the last 19 games and the team who beat us were Cambridge United,” he recalls.
“Then, the following season, we just carried on where we left off and ended up getting promoted.
“When you look at that team, we were square pegs in round holes really. I played most of the season in midfield or on the wing.
“We didn’t really have a player who could tackle in midfield. Danis Salmon played half the season at right-back then centre-half or in midfield.
“We had a number of players who could play in all different positions – Paul Shrubb could play in midfield or alongside the centre-half,” he adds.
1. John Fraser: A full-back who was an FA Cup finalist with Fulham. Settled in Chertsey, Surrey and a drives a black cab after doing his knowledge while at Brentford. 2. Mike Allen: Another full-back who won two promotions with Brentford before returning to his native Middlesbrough, working at ICI Wilton. 3. Andy McCulloch: A striker who was Brentford’s Player of the Year in 1977-78. He got a civil engineering degree but started Cardinal Cleaning Services in East Molesey, Surrey, in 1989. 4. Steve Aylott: A midfielder who replaced Ron Atkinson at Oxford. Is now living in Abingdon and became a carpenter working for a building contractors. 5. Gordon Sweetzer: A Canadian international forward. Managed Staines Town and now lives in his native Toronto. He has worked as a money dealer, media pundit and also coaches a girls’ team. 6. Gary Rolph: The forward is the Bees’ youngest scorer in the FA Cup. Lives in Hornchurch, Essex and drives a black cab for a living. 7. Dave Carlton: A midfielder who also won a promotion with Northampton where he settled working as a golf equipment wholesaler in Little Billing, Northampton. 8. Graham Cox: A goalkeeper, who has scouted for Slough, has been sales director for Kyocera in Reading for 13 years having started out selling photocopiers for Nashua, then Ricoh. 9. Eddie Lyons (physio): He died in November 1996 aged 76 after serving the club as trainer, physio and assistant manager for 30 years before his retirement in 1985. 10. Pat Kruse: Centre-half who won a promotion on loan at Mansfield Town. Was forced to retire at the age of 29 and became a self-employed builder in Hertfordshire. 11. Nigel Smith: A central defender, he became a policeman in South London and played for England police. He has also helped run soccer camps in the United States. 12. Paul Shrubb: Midfielder, later won promotion with Aldershot where he was also assistant manager. He later ran a window cleaning business and has also scouted for Plymouth and Charlton. 13. Paul Walker: An England schoolboy midfielder who lives near Bracknell and has scouted for Slough Town as well as managing Chertsey Town and Egham Town. 14. Jackie Graham: Central midfielder who settled near Guildford and has worked as a security guard at Heathrow Airport for many years after coaching at Millwall and managing Staines. 15. Barry Lloyd: Midfielder who won a promotion with Fulham, managed Worthing and worked for a BMW dealership. He returned to Brighton as chief scout and now scouts for the development squad. 16. Steve Phillips: England youth striker who ran his own bar, Inchys Sports Pub in Benalmadena, Spain, before returning to run pubs in Northamptonshire.