Will we end up heroes or Villans? Either works for me.

Brentford host Norwich City tonight looking to bounce back from the Stoke enigma. Going over the bones of that one again won’t help any. We all saw it. We all know. We all, err, go again. Elsewhere, the hotly anticipated ‘third’ shirt was revealed to the world yesterday. If Ollie and Said had wanted to wear claret and blue, then perhaps there was an alternative to joining Aston Villa and West Ham. This kit is a cracking effort that is as clean and smart as had been hoped for from those initial ‘reveal’ photos. A well documented nod to our origins rather than those who have spent the transfer window shopping at Lionel Road.

We were given a proper look yesterday

First up though, the Norwich City game. I’ll be amazed if Brentford start with the same formation as we did on Saturday. Whether we start how we finished it is another question, of course. The switch to a pairing of Ivan Toney and Marcus Forss drew gasps of admiration from all quarters and is one we’d love to see again. Moreso with home advantage. Such as it is, these days. 

We know also that Emiliano Marcondes is available although Pontus remains out (albeit for weeks rather than months). Thomas using his press conference to confirm that,”We will still have Shandon, Mads, Pontus, and Christian out for this game”.   

Beyond that, draw your own conclusions. Whichever way Thomas goes, expect the same sort of reaction as we did when playing Coventry recently. Brentford came out of the blocks flying before eventually moving clear in the second half. Norwich City are currently placed fifth but a victory would see us overtake the Canaries on goal difference. I think Thomas will stick with the tried and tested. Two centre backs and Marcus kept on the bench. A chance to inject fresh blood as legs begin to tire on both sides. It’s the obvious choice with games continuing to come at us at break neck speed but with Brentford suddenly having a choice up top, it’s understandable we’re desperate to play both ! Good luck solving that one, Thomas.

As ever, the game is on I-follow. As ever, follow the golden rules. Make sure you avoid Safari when selecting a browser, you’ll need to add your credit card details when putting in your code to redeem the game for free and don’t forget to check your bank statement afterwards. Many are the stories coming in regarding those still charged for viewing despite free access. Whilst the reclaim process sounds relatively simple, that we are even having to go down this route is another farce that I’d love to hear the EFL and I-follow explanation of.

Presumably the Sky red button is also available, being a mid-week game. Don’t quote me on that though. With codes available, the soothing tones of Mark Burridge and Marcus Gayle are there preferable route, anyway.

Elsewhere, we’ve now seen the new kit. It looks a thing of beauty and will be worn with white shorts and socks. The club shop is reopening next week for all sales, including this one. You can read the full info on ‘official’ here, with the salient point being that the Superstore will reopen from Friday 30 October at 9am for seven days a week until Sunday 29 November (Monday to Saturday – 9am to 5pm / 10am – 4pm on Sundays). For three days only prior to general launch, our third shirts will be exclusively available in store. Supporters will receive goodie bags for every purchase over £50 (subject to availability)”. 

It’s a quite lovely shirt and with the ability to buy in person once more available, I’ll be popping down to Braemar Road soon. Whilst we me made a crack about Aston Villa at the top end, this really does put me in mind of their own Umbro away shirt from 1980-81 which is no bad thing. If for no other reason than the Villans ended that campaign as league champions. I’ll take a lucky omen wherever it can be found and for me, Clive, that’s about as good as they come.

Had Umbro gone one further and added that famous elasticated diamond piping to the sleeves, I may not have been responsible for my actions. In a good way. However, sometimes less is more and I think we’ve nailed it. Great work.

Until then, its Norwich City. Enjoy the game. Please….

That classic from Aston Villa and Umbro

Nick Bruzon

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The kit is out and the dust has settled. Is it a winner?

What a day for kit news. Brentford released their 2016/17 shirt designs to the world.  Championship rivals Norwich City have entered the realms of greatness by recreating an already iconic kit in some style. Whilst, for those not already aware, Sheffield Wednesday have gone for a controversial look…

First though, Griffin Park. The kit is out and I have to say I love it. The home especially which I think is our best shirt in years. If Norwich have rolled back the years then it’s fair to say that Brentford have more than matched them on the history front. Echoing the mythical Adidas 80/81 design (seriously, does anybody have one?) fused with the Core 95/96 shirt, it also features an early 70’s round neck collar. Think Peter Gelson or Big John O’Mara (kids, ask your dads. Now !!).

For sure it has a bit more white than red but that’s no bad thing in my eyes. We haven’t been afraid to mix it up in the past and, when offset with the black of the shoulder stripes, shorts and socks – looks simply stunning.

Besides, where does it actually say we need as much red as white? Well done to Matthew Benham, Mark Devlin and, of course, Kitman Bob Oteng for breaking the mould a little bit to come out with a wonderful effort.

Interestingly, looking on social media and the club wesbite last night, it seems that Bob is already starting to think about our next designs already. Do check his twitter feed (if for no other reason than the return of the legendary BBgiveaway this season) and interview on ‘official’ where he reveals:  “If we take the 2017/18 kit for example, I will start preparing for that in about six weeks’ time,”

Wow! 2017/18? I’ve not even bought this stunner yet and now there’s already another shirt to obsess about. Well Bob, if you are reading, I’ve got two words to say: Funky…Bee.  Failing that, who doesn’t love a castle…?

One final thought on the home shirt. Whilst (in my eyes) it is an instant classic, I do understand that a few people might take a bit of time adjusting to the red/white ratio. If so, spare a thought for Sheffield Wednesday supporters.

Just as Brentford traditionally wear red and white stripes, they do the same in blue and white. Not this season though, where the home kit has gone so far in one direction that we’ll probably get to wear our ‘home’ colours at Hillsborough for the first time in decades….

Next up, the away shirt. I’ve never been a fan of a black change kit for Brentford. In my eyes, and perhaps it is a generational thing, blue is our second colour. Especially those wonderful two-tone efforts from the 80’s and 90’s.

Then, last season, Bob produced that incredible ‘third’ shirt against Blackburn Rovers and everything changed. Swoon – like a teenager with a crush I was back in love with that beautiful black.

So it was with great joy that we learned Brentford were giving it another go this time around. Having seen it, I think it looks great.Simple black with a bit of detailing and those classic adidas stripes.

My preference out of the two is undoubtedly the home shirt. That said, this is still a cracking effort. My main ‘problem’ being that last season’s third was just held in such high regard that it almost feels like ‘cheating’ to lavish equal attention on a new rival after finding a ‘best ever’ just months earlier.

That’s just me. I need to get out more. Besides, opinions can change and, if I’m being honest, my gut reaction to last season’s blue was uber-positive before losing interest in that one very fast (then again, I blame the Blackburn, erm, black). The important thing is what supporters think and, almost universally, it seems to be going down a storm.

Personally speaking, I’ve had more time than most to get used to these having been afforded the opportunity to participate in the fans photo shoot a few weeks ago. I can only offer a huge thank you to the club for this chance, along with a huge apology to anybody of a sensitive disposition should panic about a possible new signing have set in when the pictures appeared.

Seriously though, along with Matthew’s letter yesterday it just showed, again, what we do for our fans. What a great idea to get some of them involved in the photo shoot alongside Harlee, Scott, Dan, Andreas, Nico and some local landmarks –  Betty from the Griffin looking good in particular . When Brentford get it right ‘off the pitch’ we are, hands down, the best club in the country.

Ok, Norwich City. I mentioned them at the top end of this article for the simple reason that, like us, they also released a new kit yesterday. This time, their latest ‘third’ shirt.

Sadly (for me), their Premier League status last season meant we were deprived of a ‘kit obsessive’ article although thankfully that will be remedied this campaign. However, had one been written you could be sure it would have featured the infamous 92-94 ‘bird poo’ shirt from Ribero.

Well, in exciting news (for kit nerds) it seems the Canaries have only gone and recreated it. In some style. This is just phenomenal.

Errea have made some stinkers over the years but I can do nothing but doff my hat to this effort. One can only presume there will be too much of a clash to see it in action at Griffin Park this season but we can live in hope.

It is vivd, glaring, still looks like a flock of rogue canaries with food poisoning have taken their best shot yet, at the same time, is absolutely wonderful. Moreso, the goalkeeper’s shirt which appears to be designed on hot lava.

I’m hoping that when our Adidas contract eventually expires we switch to New Balance (my only chance for a legitimate monogrammed tracksuit, being as the head coach role remains tantalisingly out of reach). That said, if Errea can keep up this level of shirt quality then maybe they could be one to keep an eye on in future…

My season ticket arrived yesterday and with it a booklet promising what I can presume was meant to say either ‘mouth watering’ or ‘eye catching’ fixtures. Instead, have we mixed our metaphors with a promise of what one terrace wag has pointed out is anticipated to be ‘eye watering’ football this season?

Perhaps though, in retrospect, they were bang on. Given those Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich efforts, this could be exactly what was meant.

Nick Bruzon