Well that couldn’t have worked out much worse for Brentford last night had we tried. With the Bees game at Hull City P-P due to the Tigers’ FA Cup commitments, all we could do was sit back and watch as Rotherham United beat Middlesbrough, Charlton and MK Dons picked up a point in their own relegation choke off and the gap to the bottom three closed to eight points . Over in West London rivals QPR beat play off bound Derby County to make further ground over the Bees and put them in good spirit for the weekend. Hey, at least Fulham lost at home to table topping Burnley.
Ah, table topping Burnley for whom Andre Gray did it again. The division’s leading scorer grabbed the winner for the Clarets, taking his own personal total to 22 for the season and showing the Bees just what we’ve missed out on. With James Tarkowski also on the bench last night, don’t under estimate just how strong we were last season and what the consequences of our chosen transfer policy have been on the pitch.
View from the terrace – Andre used to get goals for us
We didn’t punch above our weight then but deserved what we got. On merit. The same can be said for this season where a succession of head coaches and multiple high profile departures (who have largely, on the evidence so far, been poorly replaced) has seen us sliding down the table with a series of woeful performances over 2016.
This calendar year alone has seen us lose 8 out of the 11 ‘competitive’ games we’ve featured in, although there was nothing competitive about the performances at Sheffield Wednesday, Brighton or home to Walsall and Charlton. As for the Burnley game, had it been a boxing match then the referee would have stopped it by halftime for Brentford’s own safety.
With Rotherham winning three games in a row and Charlton making it 4 points out of 6, is safety still the guaranteed position that we’ve been taking for granted as our form has continued to fall apart ? 5 defeats out of the last 6 in the league could easily become 6 out of 7, and then a potential 5 points off relegation, if we don’t pull our fingers out. And fast.
Short of Alan McCormack (just back from fitness) and Scott Hogan (surely far too soon) Dean Smith has tried just about every combination of players available to him. So what does he do and, more importantly, how does he motivate? One would presume Macca will be brought in for QPR to add some steel and experience to our midfield but, other than that, the team has no choice but to pick itself. The only question being who fills the role of ineffectual striker – Hofmann, Djuricin or Vibe. And I’m sorry but with only 12 goals in 2016 and Alan Judge miles out in front as our leading scorer, it IS a serious concern .
Look, I don’t want to be over critical. I want to enjoy the derby on Saturday and a win at Loftus Road but this is now the time for Phil, Rasmus and Dean to properly ‘man up’. They’ve selected these players and pick this team. There must be something about them that we just aren’t seeing a on a regular basis.
Is it the motivational factor behind closed doors? Is it a case of too many cooks? Is it the formation ? Is it the lack of experienced heads out there? Aside from Jake, Harlee, the Judge and David Button this is a new squad.
Or is it simply that no squad could cope with losing the likes Jota, Grigg, Gray, Odubajo, Dallas, Tarkowski. Diagouraga and even, dare I say it, Douglas?
Either way, something needs to change and fast. Otherwise, the Bees will find themselves sucked towards the relegation battle whether we think we’re too good for it or not . Personally, I think we’ll dodge it but I’d be a much happier man if we can get the win at QPR and start to put all this behind us.
Three points and Dean Smith will be the best thing since sliced bread (Warburtons?). Lose and in the eyes of many he could be toast.Longer term, of course, there are huge questions to be answered about recruitment – in and out. For now though, could we just all focus on the job at hand?
The 1-0 victory at Griffin Park was one of the highlights of the season. Oh, to be able to do it again on Saturday…
October at Griffin Park – could we do it again ?
Nick Bruzon
BrentfordFC 
Not sure what to make of it really!
It seems like a rudderless ship heading for the rocks without a ships captain!
The crew of the ship are running around, shouting that disaster is looming, while the onlookers, most of whom are watching from the edge of a sheer cliff, get no response to the warnings and distress signals that they are sending as well.
Oh hang on though! Although the fog is very thick indeed, I can just make out the ships name.
It’s the Mary Celeste-Titanic. Can’t make out the Captain though!
For goodness sake someone! Send out an SOS signal.
While not wanting to say , “I told you so”, or gaining any satisfaction from that truth, this is what I have been talking about, for a lot of this season; the players ARE probably giving of their best, the problem being, that they are just not good enough for this Division, or are being expected to play in roles to which they are unsuited. The core of players left from last season, following the mass cull of the playing talent, functioned well last season, because it was a real team, everyone had a cohesion and balance, which the owner and his cabal, have wrecked; the team now is threadbare and less than very ordinary; certain people have laughed at the bottom teams, but now they are showing admirable guts and fighting spirit; the complacency that was almost universally expressed on these pages, is now rapidly turning to real fears of relegation; I think Carsley, press-ganged though he was, following the ridiculous farrago that was the Dutchman, may well be the only hero of this season, if his points prove enough to save BFC from the fate they , let us be honest, deserve; honourable mentions go to David Button and Alan Judge, but most of the rest are either just not up to snuff, or have been exposed as having been dependent on those talents that have been hived off for lucre..
QPR look in form again, so a victory on Saturday is wishful thinking and even a fortunate victory, will not detract from the horrible betrayal that has been inflicted on good old BFC, this season. I f Mark Warburton and his damned good colleagues had not been driven across the border, by the owner’s lack of loyalty and his Machiavellian vanity project, us as supporters would have had a real chance to be basking in the glow of a return to the Premiership, that all have us have earned , through years of loyalty supporting “the local” club and not some easy choice team like Arsenal, etc, that so many others do; that has been snatched from us by the owner’s disastrous actions and the awful management team he has foisted on the club
Macca’s interview today provided the words I wanted to hear for the QPR game. He said ‘we have to stand up, roll our sleeves up, take our tackles and give our tackles’. Thats why for me Macca has to start Saturday, nothing against Macca who has been brilliant for us, but relying on Macca so much shows how much we have taken a step back in the last year. Arguably this has been the weakest Brentford team since Uwe rolled into town. The call for explanations about recruitment policy & staffing is no longer coming from those who are considered, unfairly, to be the usual suspects, but from all angles. Mistake after mistake has been made since this time last year and we can no longer afford to keep making them.
Please , Mr Quackenbush, name the guilty party, Benham!
It is bitterly disappointing when Brentford FC have largely been the architects of their own downfall. Just as we’ve witnessed the best season in decades, its been systematically ripped apart and dismantled. Lets hope we can get the points necessary to see us over the line this season, and then have a ‘top to toe’ review of whats gone wrong. Beginning of the season fitness and training were questioned. Carsley comes in…2 games and 3 weeks (cos of internatio al break) we are starting to play with that energy and tempo that we came to expect (except the Bolton game!) then Dean comes in and things looked reasonably promising, then gradually things went down hill.Was it that debacle of a winter transfer? Toys thrown out of prams and eventualy sold with no suitable replacements? Or have the energy levels gone because our training hasn’t been intense enough again from a coach who hasn’t coached at this level before? I don’t know….like most people on here, I’m a little perplexed