“Most of the big moves expected on transfer deadline day didn’t happen”. Not my words but those of Matt Dyson on the Absolute Radio sportsdesk as he cited the failure of Manchester City to sign Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal and Ross Barkley walking off the treadmill and out of his medical at Chelsea after personal terms and a fee had been agreed. How we laughed. Although not at Brentford where a fire sale has seen Harry Redknapp feasting at the all you can buy buffet. Not one, not two but three of our best players have all been sold to Birmingham City before the transfer window closed last night.
Harlee Dean – sold. To Birmingham City.
Jota – sold. To Birmingham City.
Maxime Colin – sold. To Birmingham City.
And if you’d like to read more whilst helping the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust …. the rest of this article can now be found in the Kindle e-book Ten Times Better. Brentford FC Season review: 2017/18. Inspired by ‘that’ interview it contains the least bad of these columns in one, handy volume as it looks at our own campaign as well as wider divisional life and the promotion / relegation races.
As a bonus there’s a whole host of new material. New that is, for my pages. Specifically, all the programme articles submitted (both home and away where, if nothing else, you can get the original versions of both Birmingham City and Millwall).
In addition, There Is No Plan B. Brentford FC Season reviews: 2013/14 – 2017/18 takes us all the way back to the start of this latest leg in the journey. That penalty. League One. Harlee Dean was a hero. Jota was something we thought happened to the temperature for one week in July. Alan Judge had joined on loan whilst the Marinus Experiment was something nobody had contemplated. Bringing things bang up to date by the inclusion of this year’s volume alongside the four previously published campaign round ups, it has five seasons in one weighty tome. As weighty as a download can be, that is.
Relive the memories. See how often the same material gets regurgitated. Remind yourself about the likes of Betinho, Martin Fillo, Javi Venta and Marcos Tebar. Certainly, if there’s no Marcos Tea Bar at Lionel Road it will be an opportunity missed.
All proceeds from any sales will go to the Community Sports Trust. For less than the cost of a half / pint respectively, they may help while away some time on the commute. By the pool on holiday. In the bathroom. Who knows? It will certainly do some good for the Trust, whose work has been well documented at Griffin Park but you can read all about it on their site.
And if that wasn’t enough, I’ve been given something very special. A 2017/18 third team shirt with Lewis Macleod’s squad number on the reverse in the EFL typeface. Anyone with half an interest in Bees kits will know that these were never made available in the club shop. Anyone who has read any of this before will know what a kit nerd yours truly is so when I say this is rare, take that in good faith!
To be in with a chance of owning it, download a copy of either before the end of June 2018 and you’ll go into a draw to win this. Just DM/tweet me (@NickBruzon) a copy of your purchase confirmation mail and I’ll add your name to the list before selecting a random Bees fan to win this on July 1st.
Hola, Harry
Nooooo
Lukaku makes it 9 . 4 less than Harry signed
Nick Bruzon
BrentfordFC 
So Birmingham City are “hardly Premier League”but somehow Brentford being Premier League some resonates well with you because one of your leaders has it as an ambition?
I would argue that Brentford belong in League One. And you cannot really argue with that given the ambition youve shown in the last 24 hours.
There are only 4 teams in the Championship that have not played in the PL. You are one of them. Your company? Burton Albion, Bristol City and Millwall. Everybody else has achieved it at some point. Even Barnsley!!!!
Birmingham have featured well in the Premiership since the turn of the century with three spells there that’s three to your zero. We’ve won a major trophy in the League Cup just 6 years ago and we had a very successful Europa League campaign strangely missing out on the knockout stage after accumulating 10 points in the league stages.
These are all achievement Brentford would cream over. Just because your peak is competing with our trough doesn’t mean you’re anywhere near the club we are. You’re not.
These players have furthered their careers whether you like it or not. A few ambitious words do not define your status. What you do is what defines it. Birmingham will be back in the Premiership before Brentford ever make it. If indeed you do at all.
Brentford ? Haha
…..there is also Preston btw. So 5 but my point remains.
I don’t mind Brentford, but if you end up being one of those clubs that attack others because of your own shortfalls this will change and across football.
Spot on Nick, I feel exactly the same way this morning. Totally frustrated, I feel we have been conned by the actions of the senior management at GP. A bit more transparency would perhaps help us understand why we needed to engage in a fire sale
Very, very little to add to any of that.
Feel totally deflated as our Club becomes Birmingham City (West London) 2017 and – presumably – will eventually apply to become their ‘Under-21’ team playing for the EFL Trophy – rather than as Brentford in the Premier League.
I think the only quote from our management about Jota that hasn’t been mentioned was that he had ‘manners’ and would not allow himself to join a club which would pit him against his former colleagues at Griffin Park.
In reality, he became as much of a mercenary as the rest of them!
I get and feel some of your pain Nick. It is a big kick in the teeth, however when you do analyse it in the cold light of day its not the total washout it appears on paper. Jota hadn’t started the season well. He may well have been a magical player for us but he was performing below the standard set the previous season (IMHO). If he stayed would he somehow put the disappointment of not getting a PL move behind him and get back to where he was before or would he continue being off form and we carry him till Jan where he would go for less, or worse, lose him on a free in the summer? Who knows, but It’s worth the conjecture. Then take Maxime. He was already unsure about his position when Daalsgard was brought in and although he had been playing it was out of his favoured RB position. Therefore i can understand his wish to move on and perhaps the clubs decision to sell. For me Deano moving is the hardest one. He had matured into our strongest CB and so far Egan hasn’t demonstrated the same kind of composure on the ball that Dean acquired over time. There are always many different angles to view a situation…chin up!
Brilliant article as always Nick. I can only echo all you have said. As a supporter since 1974, like you, I felt so positive 1 month ago as we seemed to have a squad of 20 players that could be used without fear of weaknesses when rotating. I know we need to be realistic when players contracts are in final year but I just feel the club do not really want the premier league dream, or is it a nightmare anyway? Look at Brighton and probably Newcastle, what is the point of getting there and then just keeping same team and coming straight back down, so again what is the point. If we were to go up we would do exactly the same, lose 30 games and come back down. Like you I love Brentford and I travel from Reading to see as many games as I can and feel we bought some really good talent in the summer. Maybe we will be proved wrong and the team will now be galvanised and move up the table, let’s hope so, but if we go into the Reading game still on 2 points, I fear a long season ahead. Unfortunately the transfer window will always ruin our club and in 12 months Egan, Woods, Judge, Watkins, Bentley, Henry, will be the names in the frame, and you know what will happen. I think a Championship team is what we will be, hopefully, forever…which is not a bad thing….is it!?
Thank you Nick for an excellent analysis of the almost farcical events of the past months or so.You have kept us informed(and entertained) almost on a daily basis–filling a virtual communications vacuum from all other sources !My first reaction to yesterday was one of relief that all those “will he,wont he” days (and nights) are now over and life can return to some sort of normality. However,in my opinion,(for what it is worth) the whole “transfer window” process is flawed and needs urgent reform,ideally before January. It has de-stabilised the club I have supported for many years and could possibly lead to a lot of heartbreak for all Bees fans in a season that had promised so much just a few weeks ago!!
You forgot the brackets after the 9
Prime numbers only ? It was beyond brackets
Excellent article Nic
Like you I get the business model, and know we have to sell to survive, but am I anything but sad this morning? No way.
Its a big ask to expect the remaining squad to gel immediately….its desperately lacking in experience to go alongside the undoubted flair and potential the youngsters have.
We go again and always will, but it doesn’t sit comfortably with the idea that our new downsized stadium was being built with the demands of the PL in mind. How will we ever
get there if the family silver is sold off every transfer window?
Oh well, no one said being a Bees fan should be easy!
What happened re the Filip Novak bid?
Thanks Nick – you’ve put into words exactly how I feel. It’s the mismatch between the board’s words and deeds that really grates – we’re all in this together aren’t we don’t answer just now)?
Well, what do you make of that?
I wouldn’t mind so much if the players leaving had gone to a raft of different clubs, but to sell all three to one individual club, dents the pride a bit.
OK, practicalities are one thing and we need to ‘do things differently’ to survive, but emotionally we now need a quick dose of the ‘feel good factor’.
It’s probably true that our management skills are good, in that we have sought and obtained replacements prior to yesterday’s departures, but let’s talk it up somehow.
Get the PR machine in motion, and pretty dam quick please!
I know we still have a very talented squad, and at this moment our injured talent could still make a huge difference in helping us achieve our ambitions. I’m thinking of Judge, McLeod, McEachran, Canos, Henry.
Add to that the emerging talent coming from the ‘B’ team plus the January arrival of another Danish player and maybe there is still the possibility of reaching the promised land at the end of this season.
What we need is an angel to come down, and assure us that all is well.
With Clark a more than able deputy, the signing of Dalsgaard suggested that the club suspected Colin might want away. Whether that signing insulated us against his departure or precipitated it, is hard to tell.
We knew that Harley was likely to leave, and wonderful though Jota was last season, he hardly fits the athletic profile that the premiership prefers. I never expected him to move up this year, as he needs to add to his overall game.
That all three went to one club is a blow, but sneering at Birmingham City is a bit too Billy Bigboots for my taste.
I do not think a combination of Anders and A N Other is an upgrade, or that Henrik’s habit of over-committing is one either, so the better each window mantra seems optimistic.
The squad was bloated so some deflation was inevitable. The key is whether at any time we could have 11 better players on the pitch. I was not convinced that was the case before yesterday, let alone today.
But seriously, we are losing money hand over fist, our need to net money in the transfer trades is nailed on.
Despite how hacked off we’re (mostly) feeling this morning, that is actually a pretty fair assessment of the situation Martin. Of course, time will tell whether it’s accurate or not…
Jota has given us some great moments. However as mentioned by Rob he has not been playing to last years level . Dean Smith indicated that this could be of the transfer speculation. Look a bit further back and we got him back from Ibar when he wasn’t even getting on the park. To Steve-O I would only say that I would rather be selling a one footed player for 8 million than buying one
Well written piece. I feel your pain. I still haven’t got over selling Bob Latchford to Everton in 1974. Still pinching myself that we’ve got Jota, just wish we could have taken your 4 pubs too.
Down to three now Pete …but the good news is that we’re back to four at the new stadium!
Back up to 4, New Inn has re-opened recently.
Nick is a brilliant commentator on all things Brentford and it is understandable that on this occasion heart is ruling head.
My only real concern is losing Harlee Dean, a player who has improved with time and like several past central defenders was reaching his peak in his mid twenties. Evans, Bates and Millen come to mind.
Collin had already been replaced and here one has trust that the recruitment team has unearthed a better right back.
Jota. My favourite all time Brentford player, in my case going back to the late sixties.
Could we afford not to cash in? Credit the club for insisting on that additional one year option or he would be gone for nothing.
Brilliant on his return, was he playing to secure a second exit from the club?
Rightly substituted against Wolves when his main concern appeared to be avoidance of physical contact.
Less effective this season, had other clubs worked him out? Stop him cutting in from the wing and he has to move infield to get involved in the game.
No point in going outside the full back if you then have to work the ball onto the left foot.
Remember too he failed to hack it at a higher level with Eibar, losing confidence and being dropped after a handful of starts.
Maybe we have not seen the last of him at a club where he has prospered.
Let us celebrate the exciting young talent remaining at the club – Bentley, Henry, Woods, Sawyers, Watkins, Canos, Maupay….
A decade ago we would have been excited to have one of those players.
Excellent summation. Very well said.
I’m sick of all this moaning, Brentford did what they had to do, and the only surprise was that all three players went on the final day to the same club, good luck to them. If any of us were offered more than 100% pay rise who wouldn’t go.
None of these players going is a surprise, replacements were found early on in the transfer as it was plainly obvious that none of the three amigos were going to stay. I would argue that this has been a destabilising effect on the team and has put Dean Smith in a difficult position, having to play the stars! When in reality their heads where gone. Hence the results. The season now starts with a bunch of lads who want to play for the team! Adios amigos it was fun while it lasted good, luck in the future.
Let’s stop moping about and support the players who want to play for us! Come on you Bees!
If I were a Brentford supporter I would feel devastated this morning, Being a Birmingham supporter does not make me any less sympathetic. Having had a whole raft of self produced players sold off over the last few years, Jack Butland, Demari Grey, Nathan Redmond, Jordan Mutch, all for a combined fee of less than the value of one of them I understand what you must feel like today. Hopefully your new acquisitions will be as successful as the ones Harry has pinched from you.
I am and I’m not. The only unexpected thing that has happened this window is we’ve sold three players to the same club – I would probably have expected each to go to a different club but most knew they were off. I am very excited by some of the signings we made and it staggers me that some Brentford fans can’t read the current squad list, compare it against past squads and be satisfied.
Nice sentiments Roy… Thanks.
I agree with your comments and I feel the hurt too,but a footballer has a limited career but to treble your salary and to be able to give your family more must be move most people would make
What a load of old flouncy bollocks. Take of that big blouse and look at the talented squad we have. What must they think when they read how lowly rated they are by some? Anyone would think that Canos, Watkins and Maupay etc. aren’t capable of ripping any team in this division a new one.
Absolutely! This is what we’re all about – the owner of this blog better watch out or I’ll have his season ticket off him ;-(
I don’t see it as the end of the world at all. There was a big ‘for sale’ sign hanging over those players all summer long. It’s obvious that any player who won’t extend his contract will be sold before it enters its final year. Cold hard business sense (yes, the b word).
You talk about being back at square one. Well if that is yet another top half of the table finish at the end of the season I’m sure most fans will take that.
We moved swiftly at the start of the season to add those players everyone behind the scenes believe will help us secure that finish, If the DoFs, the scouts, the analysts and everyone connected with recruitment have done their jobs correctly we’ll be just fine.
As for the B team departures, it’s a couple of bit-part players the club don’t believe have the potential to make it. Look at how many we have added to the B team over recent months. Some (Archibald) have displayed enough talent to earn first team cameos already.
Our heroes have gone, Let’s get ready to support the next ones of the rank. It took Sawyers time to adjust but given his upward trajectory this season he’s contributed a lot more than Jota. I can’t wait to see what he accomplishes this season. And then we’ve got Canos to come back. The opportunities are endless…
First team as it stands, it’s all good!
Bentley
Egan Bjelland Barbet
Dalsgaard Henry
Woods Mokoto
Watkins Maupay Canos
Plus:
Sawyers Yennaris, Clark, Jozefzoon, Vibe, Shaibu, Daniels
Not to mention McEachran, MacLeod and Judge when they’re fit
We won’t miss the three that have left!
WOW so much to take in, needs a cool head to work it all out, but supporters of football clubs think with their hearts. we expect our players to think likewise and mostly I think they do, harlee gave many committed performances as did jota & maxime. moving on is in every footballers DNA, one club players are now very rare. we don’t begrudge them higher wages or ambitions. I think and hope we will be okay but this morning it doesn’t feel like it. COYB
Colin was the only real surprise.
Jota was not playing to the same level as last season.
I would say it says more about the players motivation than BFC i.e. chasing the money. A footballers career has always been short – they still earn fabulous wages compared to most of us. Do they retire and expect a right to just live off of what they made as a footballer? Outside planet football we just get on with it.
We have some great players.
Finally, how many players who we have sold really gone on to better things (apart from more money)?. On the same day as Jota and Colin, Donaldson was sold by Birmingham to Sheffield United.
Congratulations,Nick, on stimulating such a varied and healthy debate on the current state of “our club ” The number of responses reflect a wide range of opinions and emotions that I am sure will be of interest to the management team. I am confident that a vast majority of fellow supporters would agree that 1) the club retain a squad of talented players at First and B team levels 2) The players who have left GP had every right to enhance the financial prospects of themselves and their families. We wish them all the best in their new surroundings (provided,of course, they do not score too many goals against us) And thank them for all the enjoyment they have given us over the years.
Posted this earlier on the GPG but makes sense to put it here as well:
Harlee .. anyone who say him at Wimbledon away would have seen how unhappy he looked… was wanting away for a while now and has got his move
Jota. been going through the motions in the games so far… not really playing to his full potential.. got his move.. is on 40k a week now at Brum…
Colin.. agent been touting him to clubs all over the land.. his house was up for sale.. moved…
got £ 11 mil for 3 players plus add ons later on and maybe a sell- on for Jota.. add the sums from Gogia, Hoff sales and it comes to around £12.5 mil with £5.5. mil spent on quality arrivals…. great work by DoFs… Yesterday hurt as top players went to the same club in the same division.. yet Brum were willing to agree to our valuation and add ons and got the players they wanted.
Annoyed that the Novak deal didn’t go through as I think he is quality player for FCM.
DS was fully aware that these players have moved and will now move forward with the squad we do have.
Very sad to see grown up Bees fans ( some with kids) going OTT and being abusive on Twitter and possibly FB ( haven’t checked) at staff and MB when it was obvious that the 3 players were being sold… some embarrassing posts from people who should know better. Pretty sure that some people do this deliberately as it makes them look ” different” or “edgy” to other supporters… can’t explain otherwise tbh…
Regarding MB, saw some posts from fans questioning whether he thinks as a fan regarding these sales… i hope he doesn’t.. sentimentality and being too emotionally involved can ruin a club… look at Simon Jordan at Palace who lost both his club and fortune at the end…
Bottom line.. we sold players that didn’t want to play football for Brentford anymore.. made a profit that will be reinvested in future windows.. plenty of talent left in the squad and expect some B team players to make step up.. Phil Giles made an interesting comment about not doing another “Alfie Mawson”..
Plenty of football to play. Respect your opinion Nick and enjoy your blogs. Yesterday hurt but its been done to prevent us from ever being bust.
One day we’ll be able to financially compete.. new stadium will allow that to happen.. See everyone at Villa.
Wow. Fabulous response. Agree with everything you said!
Now we have all got that off our chests , let’s lighten the mood .
Nick , you said ‘ Jota is, sorry was, the most talented of all our players. Probably in the last 70 years’ so who agrees . Not me for one . Probably just a little before your time but for me Johnny Brooks was the most talented . Not with the Bees for that long but scored nearly a goal every 2 games and when he got within 25 yards of the goal you were just willing him to shot . Ok going back 90 years and from what my Dad used to tell me then that mantle surely goes to Jack Holiday ,he was with the Bees much longer and definitely scored more than a goal every two games .
Comments please.
I agree with you about Johnny Brooks… I think when he was paired with John Dick and Billy McAdam (20+goals apiece in our promotion season), was about the last time I was so enthusiastic about the possibilities for a Bees team before the last couple of seasons.
I hear everyone saying we’re all wrong to be upset about losing our latest ‘Big Three’… If, at the end of the season, we’re still ‘on-track for the Premier in three’, I’ll gladly admit I got it wrong…
Either way, c’mon you Bees…after 60 years of support this year, please do something before I turn my toes up!
I must be the only one who thinks the club played a blinder in the window, moving on for vast profit players who may leave for nothing soon, moving on those who can’t cut it at this level, bringing in exceptional young talent in Watkins and Maupay. Plus you look at how many of the B team are coming through and costs a fraction of those who left. MB will be in SmartOdds Towers very happy with how Phil Giles, Rasmus, Rowan, DS, KoC are running the football side of the club.
No you aren’t. I am gutted that Jota has left, most concerned about Colin as leaving the biggest hole, but I agree with you. What is left is a really good squad, an unbeaten B team knocking on the door and 10 – 12 million in the bank. They bought early hung on to get their valuations and sold late. 10/10.
With the usual benefit of hindsight…yours is less of a knee-jerk reaction than mine Leonard. Just that we haven’t seen many players of real quality at GP…but Jota was one of them and I really believed him when he said he could never play against his previous colleagues in the same league. Silly and naive I know!
Good post.
Leonard.
Indeed we have brought in quality players this summer but the message this week is loud & clear to the agents of Kamo, Neal & Ollie…if your man is doing good then there is a big pay day coming as Brentford are a soft touch and will not stand in any players way.
Agents must be queuing up to get their players with potential into Griffin Park
Nick, I never post comments, just read yours, for which I am thankful. But today I felt depressed about the events of yesterday coupled with the start of the season results.
After all the forward movement of the past few years and understanding and accepting the clubs selling policies this seemed more than a continuation of those policies. It seemed a poorly thought out and giant step backwards. Birmingham of all places.
I hope the break will help soften this and that September will be a much better month. Thank you.
Thank you James. And well said.
I really like your blog Nick, but this time I think we are all getting too emotional. I know that that is what football is all about, but take a step back and think about it. For example, you are on 10 grand a week say and someone offers you 20 or 30 or 40. You are within 6 to 8 years of the end of your career assuming you don’t get a bad injury. You’ve got a wife and kids. Do you choose the money or do you choose a divorce?
You are running a business (sorry but it is) and your competitors are offering crazy wages and you don’t have the financial resources to meet them. Do you up the wages, gamble and go bust or do you sell them before the end of their contract and use the money to find a replacement?
We still have a good squad and some exciting new players, we need to move on and get behind the team. The FA have designed this mess, we have to live in it. Life is what it is.
You can tell how much it hurts when Nick, a mild mannered fella and not one of the flaming torch & pitchfork brigade, just lets loose. Its kind of how i feel.
What the club has shown yet again is that if you get itchy feet you are welcome to go. We wont put up a fight or give you a reason for stay, just go!
The message loud & clear yesterday was that talk before the season of play offs or even promotion was just utter BS. We all fell for it. Realistically our target is 10th. How can we possibly compete with divisional rivals spending £10m on players by selling our best players.
Personally I was gutted as Maxime, Harlee & Jota were all in my all time Bees XI. Of the 3 I feel strongly its Maxime who has the most potential to succeed even further.
I will leave you with this thought. Is there any point in regaling and rejoicing the exploits in the coming months of Ryan, Sergi, Rico, Ollie & Neal? After all, none of them will be here by this time next year.
It’s not the fire sale so much as the message.
Please Mr Benham – do not sell Mokotjo in a years time when the rest of the league find out you bought a Premier League midfielder. Just for once I would love to hear – ‘not for sale at any price – you can go & create your own analytics department now you have stopped your cackling about us having had the balls to create one 1st.’
Brentford do the hard work of acclimatising foreign players only for chequebook managers to wave the slip & we swing around & drop our drawers. Set a limit 2 per window.
Ask yourself; how many other teams in this division sell 3 1st teamers per window & still expect to compete?
Like I say, it’s the message it sends to other clubs & more importantly the Brentford fans.
Message sent to players: we have shown we can develop players and further their careers. If the time comes when it is right for you to move on we will not stand in your way, as long as our valuation is met.
Message sent to clubs we buy from: our record of recruitment, development and selling shows that when we ask you to lower your price in return for a sell on clause we are not shafting you, we can both benefit.
Message sent to clubs that buy from us: the days of selling our players for peanuts are gone. We are not daft enough to pedal that old lie about not for sale at any price, but we have a price and you need to meet it.
A bit idealistic I know, a tad rose tinted glasses probably. But a darn site nearer the truth than some of what I have read in various guises around the net. Three messages that add up to something allowing us to recruit better players than an average home gate of 8 to 9,000 home fans would suggest.
Dear All
I’ll be brief here:
1.THREE players sold to a club without parachute payments. What kind of message does this send out?
2. We have not replaced Harlee Dean. Why?? This is the position we’re weakest in and all we’ve said is the boy Mepham can fill in. Please remind me how many Championship games he’s played.
I’m not impressed with point (1), but the lack of replacement on (2) is actually quite negligent.
I’ll also argue that’s we’re not in a false position. I’m now in siege mentality and hoping we can get to 21st.
Regards
Gordon
I have been a supporter/ fan since our last season in the 1st division. Have lived with the ups & downs. My father also told me about Jack Holiday, I remember seeing him riding around Northfields on his bike–40 goals !!. I agree about Brooks. I played golf with him once, all he talked about was winning the 4th div championship, great footballer with a powerful kick. Also what about Peter McKennon !!. Jota is a good player, but with only one foot—target that one foot and Jota is controlled. Brentford have a good squad and a good coach,hopefully the management will keep them. So lets be positive. As we used to say “come on you Bees “.
Regards James
Thank you James for some much needed sanity
Very upset to see all 3 leave, but realistic to know that we could not afford to keep them. All 3 at the age where their next contract was to be the biggest of their careers, they’ve probably trebled their wages, sorry but that’s life. 🐝🐝