Brentford supporters must be starting to think we couldn’t make it up, with the injury crisis taking a further grip. Defender Maxime Colin has now been ruled out of Saturday’s game against Sheffield Wednesday, and beyond, after using social media to announce he ‘ll be missing for 8 -12 weeks as a result of his training ground injury.
Maxime gives his own injury update
After using last week’s press day to reveal that, ““He just blocked a ball with his knee. It’s possible he could play but it’ll depend how he wakes up” it will be interesting to see how Marinus re-evaluates the player’s condition now.
Moreso, with questions sure to be asked at the fans’ forum on Thursday night. Running from 6.30pm until 8.00pm, along with Marinus the panel is due to consist of Chairman Cliff Crown and Chief Executive Mark Devlin, plus Phil Giles and Rasmus Ankerson (our Co-Directors of Football).
I’d love to get their take on just how we have suffered so many freak mishaps. Were it not so serious it would almost be funny. But I can’t see anybody else laughing (to coin a phrase). Is it just coincidence and bad luck? Or is there some other explanation?
Either way, I can’t help but feel desperately sorry for all involved at the club. Primarily the players, of course, but equally the new look management team who have a big enough challenge following the incredible few years under Mark Warburton without then having the squad decimated around them.
Warbs – in there, somewhere. A tough act to follow
That said, the players we do have are doing ok. Have we looked wobbly at times? Absolutely. I’m not so naïve as to pretend everything is perfect but, equally, we are only just into a new season with a new structure and are most definitely starting to gel.
After 7 (seven) games last season we had 11 points and were 10th.
This time around we are just off that with 8 points in 17th – albeit we’ve played a game less. Victory against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday will take us to an identical place as the previous campaign – 11 points from 8 games. And that was with a ‘slow’ start that saw us really hit the ground in late October before upsetting Twitter fans (and people with taste) as the club deemed us #Novemberkings.
Which also gets me thinking about the forum. Who drives ‘official’ Twitter and who comes up with the ridiculous hashtags? I’ve used these pages to ask before but can anybody take the likes of #trophyfriends and #bignewambitions with any level of seriousness and credibility?
As ever, hats off to the club for putting their people on the front line and under the direct scrutiny of the supporters. The forum is always an excellent event and this one promises to be no different.
See you there.
Nick Bruzon
BrentfordFC 
Hi Nick,
Yes incredible that a whole starting 11 could be out injured already so recently into the current campaign. I have to say i was waiting for this one to happen (Monsieur Colin), as he so proudly (and rightly so) commented only a few weeks ago how lucky he had been in his career to escape serious injury. That for me was the official kiss of death, and low and behold…. On a plus note however, I’m genuinely starting to like Marinus. I want him to succeed, not just because he’s a Brentford manager, but because like Warbs, he has an earthy honesty to him. He doesn’t criticise his team, is brutally honest in his appraisal of himself and admits he is learning with every game. He’s also not frightened to say when he doesn’t have a say in matters (he really didn’t want Gray to leave), but also supports the management team to bring in a suitable replacement. I also agree with him that all this lower division foreign league talent we have brought in might also add to the high level of casualties.
I can’t see us going on a big run like last year at least not until early next year, but we need to keep the points ticking over and to keep morale high. I think we have the strike force to keep the goals going in.
A few personal observations from me. Do you think Vibe is much more effective down the middle as opposed to out on the wing? And how vocal the man is….a potential captain? And why hasn’t O’Connell had a chance in defence? Any ideas? Cheers
Like Maxim Colin did by telling us as he joined that he’s never had a serious injury in his career, have i inadvertently loaded the proverbial bullet into the gun for Marinus by declaring my like of the man, faults and all? I was at the Wednesday game this weekend, and we were pretty abject in the first half, but in the second, down to 10 men, there was at least some fight, and as the half wore on, for me there was only going to be one winner, and that was us. How cruel the defeat was and how unfortunate for O’Connell, who I thought played really well up to that point. What is going on down at the Bees Nick? I’m starting to believe that actually, egos are taking over and a dictatorship is forming where to question anything the regime do will result in your immediate demise, this despite comments that dialogue and differences of opinion are welcomed in an open environment? There are a lot of questions that need answering, and answering well…..