Brentford travel to The Valley on Saturday to take on a Charlton Athletic team currently stuck in the bottom three and with a record that anybody worried about the Bees recent form should take a long, hard look at.
The Addicks have picked up just one point out of the last six league games. Indeed, they’ve only managed two shots on target in 180 minutes of football (the first in the 1-0 loss at Reading and the other last time out, when they went down 3-0 at home to Preston). Brentford, meanwhile, followed last weekend’s home win against Rotherham with the midweek triumph at Molineux as Wolves were dispatched 2-0.
That’s the positive (for the Bees – sorry Charlton fans). Before we get too carried away, just think back to last season in what was, and moreso given our league position at the time, a calamitous performance.
Last time, out. Terrible manners but what a critic
Then again, it was at the height of ‘Village-gate’. We were stuck in the no-man’s land between ‘that statement’ being issued on the Tuesday, followed by a week of tumbleweed drifting through the Griffin Park media centre.
As a rule, I don’t particularly want to draw too many parallels to that period. It has been and gone. Like it or not, Warbs is at Rangers and the Bees have a new management team and a new approach. Even better, we’ve started winning again. Yet the Charlton game, of all, illustrated how important team spirit is. And when it is missing, the consequences can be catastrophic.
Even now, looking back, I’ve had to remind myself just how shambolic we were that day. With apologies to any terrace wags / observers who may be reading, the post mortem of this ‘performance’ (and that’s almost a breach of ‘trade descriptions’) from the Last Word review of season 2014/15 still seems generous:
How about Harlee’s non header for the opening goal? Look at Jonathan Douglas, whose meandering and sorties up the pitch then left a midfield hole big enough to park an oil tanker in. This was a game crying out for his experienced head to get a grip in the middle rather than go fannying around like Matt Le Tissier looking for a packet of fags.
The normally brilliant Alex Pritchard decided to show all the delivery skills of a drunken postman whilst Andre Gray just looked plain knackered. But then, with only the ineffectual Nick Proschwitz or the inexperienced Chris Long as alternatives, it’s no surprise. Moses seemed lethargic whilst Jota barely got a look in.
I could go on but what’s the point? A 3-0 defeat was the least we deserved. Only David Button came out of it with any kudos.
The game was so bad, some fans just caught up on their i-player viewing
I take no particular pleasure in dragging this up again. Instead, it is done more to say that, if there is one game where I’d love to see the players prove a point, it is Saturday’s. Charlton cruised to the win that ended a 13 game winless streak and, to coin that most famous of phrases, we were lucky to get nil.
Interestingly, of those players named and shamed, only Harlee remains. With him and Tarks looking rock solid at the back, and Lee Carsley getting excited about the reinvigorated spirit in the camp, are we already in a better place than last time out?
Hopefully Harlee will crack out the Coldplay once more and, with it, another winning performance. There is as much about personal pride as anything else riding on this one.
And with Stuart Atwell as the man in the middle, we’d better make sure that volume is set to 11…..
Still, if Chris Martin isn’t enough to inspire us again, perhaps this is.
“Football is sometimes called a village, and in any village, gossip and rumours can spread like wildfire, whether or not such rumours are true.”
We’ve got a lot to put right on Saturday. I can’t wait to see us try.
Could it be paradise for Bees fans this time ?
Nick Bruzon
BrentfordFC 
Never seen us win there – and trust me have been plenty of times. Whereas they are in very poor form & can’t buy a result, so something has to give.
Got to comment on how ordinary the division is at present, possibly a hang over from the squad wrecker of a transfer window and 2 international breaks. No really outstanding side has emerged yet, this may change soon, but has actually helped us to pull out of our nosedive. 2 London derbies await, win both and dare to dream, i’d take a point tomorrow in return for a win next Friday against them.
Ahh, yes. ‘Them’…,.
Can’t bear to say the name, or type those 3 capital letters.
i expect Charlton to raise their game as they seem to have a few returnees from the injury list in line for inclusion…hope i am wrong , though of course the bees have raised their game and confidence as well…roll on saturday