Fred Monk

Frederick John Monk (9 October 1920 – October 1987) was an English professional footballer and coach who played in Football League for Brentford and Aldershot. He is best remembered for his time with Brentford, for whom he made over 200 appearances and served as caretaker manager. He was posthumously inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in May 2015.

Fred Monk

Personal information
Full name	Frederick John Monk[1]
Date of birth	(1920-10-09)9 October 1920
Place of birth	Brighton, England
Date of death	October 1987 (aged 66–67)[1]
Place of death	Aldershot, England[1]
Position(s)	Centre forward, right back
Youth career
	Guildford City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1946–1948	Guildford City		(46)
1948–1954	Brentford	206	(47)
1954–1956	Aldershot	49	(0)
International career
	England Schoolboys
Managerial career
1953	Brentford (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Guildford City

After leaving school, Monk joined the reserve team at Southern League club Guildford City prior to the outbreak of the Second World War.^[2] After the war, Monk broke into the first team and scored 29 goals in the 1946–47 season.^[3] He scored another 17 goals during the 1947–48 season, before departing in March 1948.^[2]

Brentford

Monk transferred to Second Division club Brentford in March 1948 and made his debut in a 2–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Griffin Park on 20 March.^[2][4] He was Brentford's top-scorer during the 1948–49 season,^[2] with 13 goals.^[4] A centre forward by trade, Monk moved to right back during the 1949–50 season, but returned to his forward role in January 1951 and set a club record by scoring in 10 consecutive games between January and March 1951.^[2] Towards the end of the 1951–52 season, he again reverted to his right back role.^[2]

Monk served as player-caretaker manager between the departure of Tommy Lawton and the appointment of Bill Dodgin Sr. early in the 1953–54 season.^[5] He left Brentford at the end of the season, after the club's relegation to the Third Division South was confirmed.^[2] He made 219 appearances and scored 49 goals for Brentford and he was posthumously inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in May 2015.^[2][6]

Aldershot

Monk transferred to Third Division South club Aldershot during the 1954 off-season and made 49 league appearances before retiring in 1956.^[1]

International career

Monk was an England Schoolboy international.^[2]

Coaching career

After his retirement from football, Monk returned to Brentford and worked as the first team's trainer between 1957 and 1962.^[7]

Career statistics

Player

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Guildford City	1946–47[3]	Southern League	32	29	0	0	32	29
Brentford	1947–48[4]	Second Division	4	2	—		4	2
	1948–49[4]	Second Division	37	11	4	2	41	13
	1949–50[4]	Second Division	25	1	1	0	26	1
	1950–51[4]	Second Division	37	13	1	0	38	13
	1951–52[4]	Second Division	40	12	2	0	42	12
	1952–53[4]	Second Division	40	7	3	0	43	7
	1953–54[4]	Second Division	23	1	2	0	25	1
	Total		206	47	13	2	219	49
Career total			238	76	13	2	251	78

Manager

Team	From	To	Record					Ref
			G	W	D	L	Win %
Brentford	September 1953	October 1953	2	0	1	1	000.00	[4]
Total			2	0	1	1	000.00	—

Honours

• Brentford Hall of Fame^[6]

References

1. "Fred Monk". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
2. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. p. 110. ISBN 978-0955294914.
3. "Guildford City 1921/1976". Guildford City FC. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
4. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 379–383. ISBN 0951526200.
5. White 1989, p. 212.
6. Wickham, Chris. "Kevin O'Connor and Marcus Gayle join others in being added to Brentford FC Hall of Fame". brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
7. White 1989, p. 246.