Thank you Birmingham City. Urghh. Said it. Get the mouthwash. But needs must when the devil vomits into your kettle. There were more than a few smiles from the Brentford faithful last night as our old boys pulled off the mother of all shocks and comebacks in their 3-1 win at Bristol City. With it, the Robins miss out on overtaking us and The Bees stay fifth in the table going in to this afternoon’s crunch game with Middlesbrough. The prize for victory will be the well documented further closing of the ever narrowing gap to Leeds United and West Brom in the ‘automatic’ slots.
Ok – we all know that Leeds are coming to Griffin Park on Tuesday night. We’ve all joked about their falling apart (again) many, many times. And rightly so. They are and that’s brilliant. Chuck in the Pontus factor and it’s understandable we’ve all got more than half an eye on that one. It has been a date highlighted in my calendar for a long, long time. As much for family reasons (Hi, Julian – guess who I’ve got a spare ticket for…) as much as anything else.
Yet to overly look ahead of ourselves is a disaster waiting to happen. We’ve got Middlesbrough first and that’s huge. A hurdle of gargantuan proportions for the Bees to try and clear. To give anything but 100% focus to the here and now is a fall waiting to happen.
We all know past form has seen them somewhat of a bogey team. Nobody needs any reminder of that or further regurgitation of yesterday’s column. Forget previous results. Forget the trashing of Hull City last time out. It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day….And I’m feeling good. As somebody once sang.
But it’s true. The past – whether immediate or historic – counts for naff all when the teams are read out and run on to the pitch. Wins won’t get themselves based on what has gone before. Based on just turning up. It’s all about the here and now. About getting ourselves as loud as we can to turn Griffin Park into the cauldron of noise that lifts the players to the next level.
Cheesy? Cliched? Perhaps. But also true. Peter Gilham has gone on record many times to share the feedback, direct from the squad, as to what a lift it gives them when the stadium is rocking. If anybody knows, he does. If anyone embodies that explosion of supporter noise, it is him.
We have cited Peter on these pages a lot. Perhaps more than ever this season. But if anybody has seen us through good times and bad then he’s the one. He is Brentford through and through. We all know he’s been our man-with-the-mic for over 50 years and has as deep a love for the club now as he did way back then.
And whilst we may be going off tangent (it’s just how the words fall out when ad-libbing this column), we are now as close to the finish line of a half-century long marathon as ever before. The ribbon is in sight and should we crash through it into the Premier League, then he will no doubt celebrate more than anybody.
But there’ll be no crashing through ribbons without picking up the points. Without cashing in on favours such as the one performed by Birmingham City last night. We’ll no doubt look to give them some extra special thanks next weekend.
A marvellous opportunity awaits when Middlesbrough visit. Like Simon the Internet obsessed / cyber stalker (delete as applicable) from the BT flatmate adverts back in the day, we’re ‘reeling one in’. And another. And another. And another.
The BT flatmates – currently in the ‘where are they now?’ file. Or jail.
The play-off race sees us sitting in one of the hotspots whilst the ongoing ability of The Baggies and the Whites to press ‘self-destruct’ rather than emulate Liverpool in the top flight, means that the top positions are a prize very much in contention for whomever can now hit accelerate. Thankfully, we’re driving a BMW. Hopefully our rivals will stay stuck in reverse and we’ll soon be in automatic.
Whatever has happened to get us to this place has been and gone. We can only play the situation and that starts with Middlesbrough. Today. Griffin Park is a sellout. We can’t kick the balls but we can raise the roof. That could prove to be a priceless asset.
Ok – that’s me. Apologies. We’ve been a bit rambling and a bit nothing today. But sometimes, its just about trying to prep yourself for the big one. And that’s at 3pm. As Peter says, “Come onnnn. BRENNNTTTTTFORRRRDDDDDDDD !!!!“
I can’t wait for this. I can’t wait to hear that. See you there.
Here’s to some more of this
Nick Bruzon
BrentfordFC 
I’d concentrate on the Boro game first before getting ahead of yourself with your cup final against Leeds.
At some point both they and West Brom will get back to winning ways,they’ve both too many good players and managers not to.
Revel all you like in Leeds’ blip,most clubs fans do… that’s what makes them the club they are.
Brentford however?..does anybody care?
In fact if silverware was handed out for insignificance, the architect’s would be at Griffin park now,making plans to extend,the already minute trophy room as we speak!
Our ‘cup final’ Brilliant – thank you. So much 🙂
As a Birmingham fan I know how much that must’ve hurt you to say that. Yes another Brentford old boy in Scotty Hogan doing what we know he can. Best of all the villa fans are seething that he wasn’t given a proper chance by successive Villa managers. The first target is to get to 50 points and secure safety and then who knows just maybe we can do what Villa did last season and put together a good run and a late surge up the table. Talking of Villa I think they may also be trying to emulate us by winning the league cup and getting relegated. Anyway good luck to the Bees for the rest of the season apart from next Saturday where hopefully Harlee Dean and Scott Hogan get the goals and we do the double over you. Sadly Josh McEachran won’t be involved as he did his ACL versus Coventry.
Cheers. Great to see Scott Hogan back and firing
It seems to me that Brentford are a club that survives on selling players, yet you appear to hate the teams that buy your players thereby keeping you solvent. What is your problem? Up the Blues SOTV.
You have missed the point, in fact two points.
Nick Bruzon writes to amuse us Brentford fans. Sometimes, funny, sometimes in formative and often tongue in cheek. Many fans of opposing teams, such as you, take it all very seriously, misunderstand and try to gatecrash a Brentford supporters world – never with any success because it makes us laugh a bit more at one more fish wriggling at the end of Nick’s fishing line.
The second point is of course that Birmingham, thinking that they had done damage to Brentford in snaffling three players at the end of the window actually did Brentford two favours. Firstly they paid Brentford more than the players worth and secondly removed average to good players so that the outstanding Brentford recruiting program recruited better replacements at a lower cost Thanks a million (or three) for that.
Finally, we are on our way to the Premier League and we really look forward to you joining us once you get a decent team together.
I really men that because I was actually born near Brum – but am a nailed on Brentford supporter.
I don’t think any team buys players with the intention of damaging another team. When Redknapp bought Dean, Colin and Jota it was with the intention of strengthening our team. Jota didn’t work out but Dean and Colin have been good acquisitions.
No problem whatsoever with Blues buying our players. I don’t ‘hate’ any team. I love beating certain teams, such as Birmingham City and Leeds United, for a multitude of reasons. With Blues, it all goes back to the 90s as has been documented on these pages many, many times. Captain Slow didn’t help matters recently with that ‘ten times better’ quote but I think we all know who had the last laugh there. Ultimately, the players we have sold have all gone on to be replaced by bigger and better
Hopefully we’ll give you another reason to hate us when we meet you next Saturday. :-p
My friend just bought a giant Hulk Hogan inflatable which should be on display at the game versus Brentford.
3 in 3 games aiming for 4 in 4. A comment on the Birmingham Mail site made me chuckle.
Phonecall to Dean Smith. Hello Dean do you have any more rubbish players you want loaned out? If he replies Jota slam down the phone.
Massive, massively, massive win.
I have a slight distaste, for Leeds, Fulham, Forest Green, WBA, Arsenal, Southend, Chelsea, Gillingham, Liverpool and especially, Manchester City, probably Gillingham being in the sludge.