I’m buzzing. I’m excited. I want more.

Fun though the game at Hull was (and it was) there seems to have been an interminable wait for Brentford to get back in action. Perhaps it is wanting more of the same after that stonking 5-1 win on the road at the weekend. Perhaps it is knowing that if we are able to beat Middlesbrough (certainly, no easy ask) we move to within two points of second placed Leeds United. At least, until they travel to Nottingham Forest in the evening. Perhaps we just want to welcome back Saïd Benrahma and give him that hug in person – metaphorically speaking. Or actually. Saïd, if you are reading (unlikely, let’s be honest) the family Bruzon will be on the Braemar Road touchline at full time.

Elsewhere, for the lovers of social media amongst you it’s not Twitter we look at today but facebook, where there’s a new group you may wish to get involved with (blood oaths to the leader not essential).

Thomas giving some big love. Here’s to more on Saturday

First, as ever, on pitch matters. Saturday was magnificent. We scored five. Being realistic, it could have been ten. That’s not arrogance but a fact. Saïd was on fire and grabbed the headlines but let’s not forget the unsung heroes in midfield – Christian Nørgaard and Mathias Jensen who, in particular was all kinds of the purest filth when carving open the opposition to push the Bees, erm, up. 

At the same time Hull helped us a lot, still reeling from the psychological blow of losing their two star players at the 11th hour (got to hate that transfer window – a pain we know too well). Twenty minutes in it looked as though the abacus and the brackets may need to come out but, in the end, we didn’t quite reach the magical 7(seven) marker. Yet to be anything but over the moon (Clive) about scoring five goals away from home and further boosting our already prolific goal difference would be nothing short of trite. So I’m not. I’m buzzing. I’m excited. I want more.

And it is Middlesbrough the team who offer that opportunity. Cripes, there was a time when even just mention of Boro would have had us quaking in fear. The Smoggies and defeat seemed to go hand in hand for Brentford as we began Championship life. The pain of the 2014-15 play-off semi finals being the rancid cherry on top of a very stale cake. That incredible first season almost coming to the fairytale ending of promotion to the Premier League. Instead, there were Middlesbrough to stop us in our tracks. Every time. An impenetrable fortress of iron clad solidity. A team of footballing Batfinks  – with Aitor Karanka making sure his team had added Karate. Kids ; ask an adult or just use the internet.

2014-15 saw Middlesbrough like a shield of steel

That was then. This is now. A run of 7(seven) defeats and 2 draws out of 9 games reached an abrupt end with our 2-1 win at the Riverside last season – got to love that lucky brown/orange. Replacement goalkeeper Patrik Gunnarsson coming off the bench for Dan Bentley to keep the hosts at bay on his league debut whilst an own goal and Benrahma did the business for the Bees late on. Paths crossed again at the start of this season where Ollie Watkins popped up to grab the winner. Like the 65, you wait ages and then two come along at once. I guess there are advantages to being a bus stop.

Now for the hat-trick chance. Probably the most crucial of the three recent encounters, given the congestion now occurring at the top of the table. Leeds United are falli etc etc etc but looking purely at ourselves, we have a wonderful opportunity to start breathing down their necks and getting close enough to whisper in their ear (preferably ‘choke choke choke’).

Brentford will, in all likelihood, remain unchanged. Thomas Frank has already confirmed that Pontus Jansson will be unavailable. Albeit recovering rapidly and hoped to be ready for some part of the action on Tuesday night against his former club.  That said, one would imagine that new boys Shandon Baptiste and Tariqe Fosu may make the bench after our own deadline day shopping. 

As for the visitors, they are clear of the relegation zone they occupied for a long part of the early season although reaching the play-offs would seem even beyond the most optimistic supporter’s aspirations. Moreso, given a recent run of DLDD in the Championship. Cliche and expectation suggests they’ll be parking the bus at the Griffin Park stop. Past form also dictating that they’ll be robust in the challenge. These, situations the Bees have struggled against with an open and attacking flow to the game being very much our medium in which to shine. Still, with home advantage up the sleeve and the biggest incentive of all ahead of Leeds on Tuesday,  it’s our place to dictate the play. Here’s to giving that lesson.

Off field, for those of you wanting to increase your interaction with fellow Bees then there’s a rapidly growing group on Facebook – Brentford FC Facebook chat. It does what it says. Articles, chat, fan interaction and even the odd bit of dodgy photoshop (although perhaps not the full fat deification of the Bees found on some of the more, erm, intense pages). 

Dodgy photoshop paying homage to our heroes? Why not?

As author Megan Whalen Turner so famously wrote in ‘The King of Attolia’ “It isn’t an easy thing to give your loyalty to someone you don’t know, especially when that person chooses to reveal nothing of himself.” 

So why not reveal yourselves (not literally ; that isn’t what the internet is for) to your fellow supporters and get to know a bit more about each other – and our club. You can join up here.

Until then, here’s to Saturday. I can’t wait for  this one. See you there.

Nick Bruzon 

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The craziest day in football history? Bees top the lot as Clem and Bournemouth set the record straight.

No. It wasn’t a dream. I’m awake. Brentford really did come good in the most incredible style to turn a 3-1 HT deficit into a 5-3 win at Burton Albion. Back on 3rd May 2015, the Last Word published a column entitled: Was this the craziest day in Championship history? as the Bees secured a play-off semi-final with Middlesbrough and Bournemouth pipped Watford to the league title in the most dramatic of denouements. But yesterday saw all that come crashing back to the forefront of the memory for many reasons. Nonemoreso than the return of Middlesbrough fan and Last Word cult hero Clem. Of Clemwatch fame.

But we can only start up where we left off last night and the result from Burton Albion. If not as significant as that afternoon back in 2015 where our own defeat of Wigan, matched with just about every possible result going our way, saw the Bees reach the play offs for the Premier League, this was one that is at the very top of the list of “I was there” games, Purely in terms of what was a ridiculous afternoon it was from a Brentford perspective.

If you’ve seen yesterday’s post-match column we’ve done that one. What a quite spectacular game of football to have witnessed. Following it from home was stressful enough, I can only imagine what it was like being there. An afternoon reminiscent of celebrating like we’d won the FA Cup at Leyton Orient? Winning the fifth round of the FA Cup at Blackburn in 1989? That game against Wigan in 2015?

Only those in Burton will truly know how good this one felt but if social media is anything to go by then it can only have been up there with the best of the best.  There’s been plenty for those missed who out on this one to look at via the world of Twitter and other sources although, perhaps, in retrospect it was always going to be a special afternoon when Burton gifted Brentford an omen such as this.

Billy (Grant) of Beesotted fame wasn’t just spotted on the side of a building. He was one of many loving the moment Sergi Canos popped up at the railway station on the way home. As you do.

Billy and Sergi. The afternoon’s excitement showed no sign of stopping.

Billy wasn’t alone. Just when you thought Sergi couldn’t be any more excited to be back at Brentford, his impromptu photocall proved us all wrong on that front. How Norwich City must be kicking themselves at acquiring, then falling too use, such incredible talent and incredible enthusiasm. Presumably the Spaniard has now got home or is he still obliging the supporters with more photos?

Bees photographer Mark Fuller caught the moment below as sweetly as one could hope. The next best thing to actually being behind the goal.

Whilst his partner in media crime (not literally) Sean Ridley proved that sometimes, three words are all you need.

But perhaps it was the EFL themselves who hit the nail on the head in regards to yesterday’s events.

Yet to truly call yesterday incredible we also need to look at Bournemouth. Specifically because  Eddie Howe’s team beat Swansea City 2-0 at Dean Court/The Vitality Stadium.

On paper, no great surprise given The Swans precarious position but dig a bit deeper and it might not have been such a ‘gimme’ as first imagined.

Back in that 2014/15 season, aswell as charting Brentford’s first Championship campaign the Last Word ran a side feature called Clemwatch. It was a feature borne out of the sudden realisation made, as most are, in The Griffin.

Namely, that whichever team ever popular BBC roving reporter Clem (Mark Clemmit)  featured on The Football League Show would subsequently fail to win that afternoon’s game.

Clem – never shy to mix it up in terms of reporting locations for The Football League Show

Was there any truth to this? Being the jinx conscious football fan (magic pants, lucky shirts, not shaving over a winning run are all par for the course) this needed study. And so over the course of that season Clem’s form was observed from the first week. Surely it wouldn’t be true. But it was.

Aside from some genuinely entertaining features, Clem finished up with a record of 7(seven) wins from 30 reports.

He started with short term Leeds United manager David Hockaday (who saw his new team lose 2-0 at Millwall) and finished with the consummate example of the Clem effect as Bournemouth scooped the Championship title at the expense of promotion rivals rival Watford.

Clem was at Vicarage Road to see if the Hornets, entertaining Sheffield Wednesday, could match Bournemouth’s result to be crowned champions. Both teams were winning with the BBC clock showing 90 minutes. Then, it happened.

Sheffield Wednesday proved themselves the ultimate party poopers as Atdhe Nuhiu levelled things up for the Owls in stoppage time. And there it finished at 1-1.

Whilst I’m sure that Watford fans will be more than pleased just to have gone up, I do hope Eddie Howe sent a big thank you to Clem. The effervescent reporter may have doomed Watford although, and it has to be said, he brought a lot of joy to viewers along the way.

Clem finished his season at Watford – who lost the title in the 90th minute

And that was it. With The Football League show disappearing from our screens the following season to be replaced by Football League Tonight (please, please, please never forget what was served up as replacement to Manish and Clem on that first episode) his work in that particular field was done. TV rights meant the BBC would focus on the Premier League and with Brentford failing to beat Middlesbrough in that play off semi final (or any game. Ever. It seems) we went our separate ways. Until yesterday.

With Clem finally on Twitter (@MarkClemmit) he’s been a recent ‘follow’ and, mid-morning, popped up with the announcement that Eddie Howe would be his interview subject on that morning’s Football Focus.

Cue good natured banter to a TW8 based Bournemouth supporter and Mike Grella fan about her team’s upcoming fate. The jinx would surely strike again? Yet the response was a surprising one. Not from Carey but from the man himself, defending his own recent record with the tongue in cheek note that times are changing.

That’s me told, then. Clem is on better form than ever .

And sure enough, they are. Bournemouth’s win sees Eddie Howe now joining the ranks of Sam Allardyce and Paul Lambert in being blessed by Clem. The jinx has reversed.

What can you say, but:

i) Sorry, Clem.

ii) Congratulations Clem.

iii) Thanks for being a great sport, and

iv) Should the worst happen to Middlesbrough then we can’t wait to see you at Griffin Park next season. Just make sure that if you have a mic with you, it’s pointing at Dean Smith.

And, of course, if you’d like to read more about our past three campaigns and the full Clemwatch story, then you can do so here.

Talking of Dean (puts crowbar back in pocket) we couldn’t finish without going all Ian Moose. Except without the pre-match catering obsession. It simply remains to say Happy Birthday to Dean Smith. Have a great day, my friend.

Happy Birthday Dean Smith. Have a great day my friend.

Nick Bruzon

With launch imminent, the Kit Obsessive returns for a look at our good, bad and ugly

Finally. The most protracted kit launch since the Knight Industries 2000 rolled off the production line comes to a head. ‘Official’ have announced that the new Brentford home and away shirts will be revealed on Friday and then worn on Saturday against FC Kaiserslautern. Initial thoughts on this subject have already been published but, before we look forward, perhaps time to look back.

It’s coming. Not my words etc. etc. etc…..

Last Season I was fortunate enough to be able to write the ‘kit obsessive’ articles in the match day programme in which we looked at the best, worst and plain unusual of the visitor’s kit. Whilst for obvious reasons the feature won’t return this season – barring those newcomers to the Championship such as Burton Albion , Newcastle, Aston Villa etc  – these pages will (amongst other new features) no doubt make the odd reference to footballing fashion.

Indeed, over the years we’ve talked about the best, and worst, of Brentford shirts but never given them the ‘kit obsessive’ style treatment . So with the launch imminent, it seemed a timely juncture to close this loophole.

As ever, the categories remains : The best; the worst; the away; the unfortunate design / the retro classic. Likewise, these are picked using no more scientific criteria than personal taste.

Are these right? Wrong? What are your thoughts?

For me, they are as follows….

The Best: Chad. Home 1990-92 KLM sponsored. Chad manufactured. Title winning. Simple but stunning and the most evocative of memories. No nonsense red and white with black collar and tasteful trim. I can’t look at this without thinking of Terry Evans, Kevin Godfrey, Keith Millen, Neil Smillie and, of course, Deano & Bliss. Didn’t something happen at Peterborough? My all time favourite, hands down.

 

The away: Adidas. Third 2015/16 Whilst I’ve always opted for the corresponding Chad away shirt, kitman Bob pulled something very special out of the bag last season when we played Blackburn Rovers. A Brentford third kit. In black. Oh, this is a thing of beauty – and not just the image of Sam Saunders wearing it in conjunction with short shorts (which, I gather, medical advice suggests is apparently something not thought about in this already hot weather !) . We’ve gone for black again this season – can it match up to this?

 

 

The worst: Puma. Away.  2008/09 .Puma’s offering was truly horrific. It shouldn’t have been. There was nothing too fussy / garish about it whilst it had two shades of blue. But what a shade – pastel ‘baby blue’. The sort of thing a newborn might wear – until he vomited on it (which would be an improvement). Worse, it was regurgitated as 2009/10’s third kit.

And from a home perspective, how about Puma 2011/12 Floppy black collars. They’re floppy!!? The only point of a collar on a football shirt is so as you can stand it up – preferably just at the point of entering ‘Saunder’s territory’. Sizing issues. Yet the ultimate crime is the red shoulder patches and double black trim.  A combo that makes us look like hotel doormen in knock off adidas shirts – the brand with two stripes

Marcel Eger chose to wear a spray on shirt rather than hold it

 

Retro classic / unfortunate design: Osca. Home, 1983/84 . It just had to be. A white upper half and, for the first half of the season, worn with white shorts….. The Marmite of Brentford shirts. To some, an abhoration. To others (well, me) it’s brilliant. One man’s retro classic is another’s unfortunate design. I’m definitely in the former camp

Here’s hoping tomorrow brings something equally spectacular.

Nick Bruzon

The Last Word season review

What a season that was. There were the highs of Brentford doing the double over Fulham and emulating our fellow ‘tinpot’ team Bournemouth in causing more than a few surprises. There was the satisfaction of outperforming the previous campaign’s rivals in Wolves and going all the way to the play offs where Middlesbrough would prove ferociously tough opponents.

My own ‘moment of the season’

Equally, we had the lows of Darren Bent’s last gasp equaliser at Derby County, the realisation we may have to leave Griffin Park early, some bizarre use of social media and, of course, the much telegraphed departure of Mark Warburton despite all he had achieved. The ‘football village’ is certainly something that will live long in the memory.

There were the underdog stories as The Bees (and from a personal level, international Gibraltar) took on teams that, before the competition had started, nobody gave us a chance against. How little do pundits know…?

Most of all, though, were just great times. As unfancied Brentford took on all before them and, rather than doing the same as Yeovil and Doncaster Rovers in going straight back down to League One, confounded all expectation.

As such, the events of the 2014/15 can now be downloaded onto your kindle (or electronic reading device) in the amalgamated Last Word season compendium: Tales from the football village (from Saunders territory to unchartered ground).

Running from July 2014 – May 2015 it contains some previously unpublished additional material and is available for less than the cost of a Griffin Park matchday programme. What better way to relive the events of the season just gone – whether on the train, the plane, the way to work, by the pool or even just the toilet? (and don’t answer that !)

Thanks for reading these last two seasons. The normal nonsense will continue on this site over the summer as we count down to the next campaign.

Available – now. If you fancy the season in one , pocket size, place

Here come the Bees in the Championship as ‘keepers dominate.

Today’s the day! Finally, the Championship fixture list is released and Brentford find out when we’ll lock horns with the likes of Fulham, Watford, Charlton and Birmingham City (where, hopefully, we’ll see Clayton Donaldson playing for the team in red and white – ignore those rumours, folks!).

I absolutely love this time of year. It puts the next ten months into perspective as we find out if holidays clash with some vital away trip and when we can squeeze in a visit to see the mother-in-law.

The fever pitch feeling around TW8 is sure to step up a notch once we get the chance to map out 2014/15. This has already gone into overdrive with the news that 4,800 early bird season tickets have been sold. To put that into perspective, it’s almost half the capacity for Griffin Park’s home support and is a stunning effort.

In no small way is this down to the competitive level prices were kept at (to be honest, I was expecting a huge hike this season). Likewise, well done to all the staff in the ticket office who I cannot praise enough. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of dealing with them in person then you’ll know how hard the likes of Mads and Abdi work and how helpful they are.

A new season dawns over Griffin Park

Then, just to keep the excitement bubbling over, there’s the World Cup over in Brazil where day 6 action was dominated by goalkeepers. Primarily, Guillermo Ochoa who kept Brazil at bay with an immense performance as Mexico drew 0-0 with the hosts.

I can only put his exceptional display down to his shirt which seems to be the international variant of the striking design set to be worn by Richard Lee and David Button next season. As somebody who looks for omens in the smallest of things, for me this one was as subtle as being hit in the face with a wet fish by Adrian Chiles and can only bode well for The Bees.

Later that evening, Russia took on South Korea in a game that threatened to rival the previous day’s Iran – Nigeria as the most painful of the tournament. I gave up after half an hour of dreadful football which, to coin a phrase I’d heard earlier in the season, “Was like watching two pensioners trying to play X-box FIFA for the first time”.

At least the goals started to flow in the second half as the match finished one apiece. However, where Ochoa had been flawless earlier in the day, his Russian counterpart, Igor Akinfeev, had a performance he’ll want to forget about. The BBC, whose coverage of this effort is here, put it best by saying he, “has practically thrown the ball over his shoulder into the back of the net”.

The day’s other game saw Belgium perform more like seaside donkeys rather than their billing as (cliché alert), the tournament’s ‘dark horses’. A 2-1 victory over an Algeria outfit who led for most of the game was hardly the stuff to strike fear into their rivals.

Just typical I’ve got Fellaini and co in the office sweepstake.

BBC viewers saw Mexico’s Ochoa in the same design top as Brentford will be wearing next season