And so the inevitable has happened with Stuart Dallas joining Leeds United from Brentford. The undisclosed fee of £1.25m (allegedly) represents tremendous value for Leeds if all goes to plan for the Elland Road outfit. Then, of course, there’s Jonathan Douglas signing for Ipswich Town. The same Ipswich Town we open the Championship campaign against on Saturday.
First up, Stuart. All I can say is good luck (genuinely) and thanks for all the memories. Talking to the Vital Leeds blogsite earlier, I couldn’t help but be drawn back to that game at Fulham back in April. I’ve never seen a ball hit the way Stuart leathered it from 25+ yards out to the top corner. What a screamer, what a crucially important strike and what a place to do it.
To read the rest of this article, season 2015/16 is now available to download onto Kindle (and other electronic reading device) in full, as : Ready. Steady. Go Again. : Brentford FC season review 2015 – 2016
Thanks for reading and all your comments over the course of the season. For now, it’s the annual clean up to make more space on the site for the inevitable follow up. However, ‘close season’ will continue in full, further along.
But wait, like all the best infomercials, there’s more. The last three seasons of the Last Word : Celebrating like they’d won the FA Cup; Tales from the football village and Ready. Steady. Go Again are also available in one combined volume as:
Brentford Football Club – The Bees are going up. Season reviews: 2013/14, 2014/15 & 2015/16
We did. And we still are !
Its all about the kit, man. And the Bees.
Nick Bruzon
BrentfordFC 
I feel the manner in which Johnny D was forced out of Brentford is the most disappointing element…..sent to train with the U21s? Did he deserve that? Whether he would have been as effective as he had been in the past we will never know but he should have been given the chance to prove it in training at least or in the squad, he was given neither opportunity. Many disagree with your assessment of him, Nick. I am in the unfortunate situation of viewing the goings on from a distance as I live in another country and grab 2-3 matches a year when I visit the UK. All I can say is that it doesn’t seem like the Brentford I have loved and supported for 57 years…..I was 7 when I first went to Griffin Park. Whether we are successful in this campaign or not we seem to have lost something over the past few months. Treating people with respect is a basic tenet of decency and that seems to be missing in the manner in which people who have worked very hard for the club have been forced out. It is not the same Brentford, is it better? Success is not only measured by where you finish in the league indeed if you read the many column inches that have been written since Warbs departure the new regime are already claiming that a high league position is not a sign of success I wonder what is….oh yes ‘good’ statistics that’s the answer. Remember the saying ” Lies, damned lies, and statistics ” used to describe the persuasive power of numbers.
Sad to see both JD & SD depart, I can just about understand the reasons behind JD’s departure – but would really like to know what went on. His parting shot and media reports that he and MD didn’t speak are troubling – or maybe that’s just football. As for SD, well it again it depends on the detail, if he was offered and rejected a new deal, then we had no choice, if it went down any differently from this i’d be unhappy. The comments made by our new DoF were as clear as mud on this & once again the communication leaves a bit to be desired. Anyway JD and SD have both done great for us and it would be wrong for to do other than wish them well.
Not great prep for the game on Saturday is it.
I hope you aren’t writing too many more obituaries on the blog this week, and at what point does your understandable wish to get behind the team / club allow for some questions as to the goings on at BFC? Whilst pretty much all fans are behind Mathew there are some real concerns.
Brilliant posts from Kevin O and RebelBee ,
I have enjoyed watching the Bees for much longer than you have Nick and know that the days of Towers and Francis when most of the team were Londoners and you could bump into one of your heroes in Shepherds Bush Market or driving a Taxi in the summer are long gone .
Due to age and distance now living on the South Coast I only see the Bees a few times a year and when my local club Brighton ever play Brentford it always give me a good feeling when I read comments from the locals about how much they enjoy playing at Griffin Park with a warm friendly family atmosphere and not forgetting the pub on every corner .
Yes we are grateful for what Matthew has done and will always be behind the team but Nick , it is about time that you stopped following the party line and began to voice some of concerns that many of us now have about OUR team .
Morning all – thanks indeed for your comments. Currently ‘on the move’ so not able to give them the full respect they deserve in terms of response.
What i will say, for now, is that this is not a case of me ‘following the party line’. I have no affiliation to what goes on behind the scenes and have no qualms about saying if we are doing something badly (see the whole ‘football village’ gumph from last season).
Nobody, actually, knows what happened behind the scenes with Dougie. Ask yourself this, though – how do you go from team captain in a preseason friendly to banishment with the reserves and exit from the club in a space of just a few days?
This column is my opinion – not the clubs. I genuinely welcome all input. And, believe me, the time to review what has happened these last few weeks will come. But in a calm , measured way and not one to pour fuel onto an already insane fire.
I want this season to start with a positive.
When you look at the actual facts:
We’ve bought several international players.
We’ve released Tony Craig.
We’ve sold Stuart Dallas (a shame , i agree, but only one of many very strong players we have).
We’ve sold Will Grigg for a million pounds.Yes, a million pounds.
We’ve released Nick Proschwitz.
Moses has had a clause that we agreed to insert into his contract, activated. His choice of probable destination remains questionable but that’s his funeral. If he goes.
There have been rumours about Andre but MB has confirmed we have not given Hull permission to talk. Likewise Marinus is on record as saying we don’t want to sell.
This is hardly the demise of Griffin Park life as we know it and it certainly isn’t me towing any party line by simply distancing myself from the noise and stating facts. Football is an emotive game and i hate seeing good players leave. We have been hurt by that in the past, no question.
Equally though, the feral sniping in social media is driving me nuts.
Clubs do sell/release players
They also buy them – something many observers seem to be forgetting.
Anyway, I’m not wanting to rant at anybody. I just want to let this all play out before we see what needs to be said.
Here’s to Saturday.
Its called success dont knock it enjoy it we have had precious little in my fifty years supporting the bees. the players might change but us fans remain the same ONWARD AND UPWARDS BEES
NIck,please don’t be so defensive about the comments from Kevin,RebelBee and OldBee.
I expect that the average age of a Season Ticket holder to be nearer my age than yours and it is us older supporters that do worry that this is the demise of Griffin Park , at least as we love and know it .
Yes,we can do without all the social media whinging which is why we look to you to speak up for us.
UP THE BEES.
Nick mate, we know you’re not a journo, you are way more respected than most of those and the essence of both excellent bloggers is their independence. I too want to be upbeat as the season approaches, this week hasn’t been good and may get worse, whilst at the same time the club seem incapable of communicating with us in a grown up and clear way.
Dougie’s departure was justifiable maybe – but very messy, on the surface badly handled, captain in Portugal to training on his own a few days later. And allegedly him and Marinus never on speaking terms. From his parting comments we now look bad – like a club that doesn’t care how it looks or how it does its business.
I’m uncomfortable with a couple of aspects of SD’s transfer maybe you would want to dig into in the cold light of day.
-Why were we told that SD had a 1 year contract, when even BFC’s homepage shows that is was extended to summer 2017?
-What was the statement on SD’s move given by Phil Giles all about yesterday, a bumbling, confusing mess of a communication to the fans?
Seems to me a clear decision was made to sell SD, rather than us having to – if so just say it.
Sure it s not all bad, we have bought some quality players and MB’s investment is beyond question. But what kind of club are we becoming, that’s the key question for me and some others. Surely we can progress without being universally disliked?