Picked your jaws back up off the floor yet, Brentford fans? The away kit has been revealed and it’s fair to see this one is going to split us right down the middle. A so called ‘marmite’ of shirts. One to rival the infamous Coventry City brown or Hull City tiger stripes. A shirt so different to any colour scheme we’ve had before that fans will either cite this as our best ever. Or hate it.
Let’s get this out there right now. I’m in the former camp. Love at first sight.

Mrs Brown and her boys model the new kit
A tweet from Mark Devlin on Tuesday night suggested things were afoot. Friday saw the teaser campaign begin. Then it was here. And wow. The Bees have gone for broke with a colour that apes the aforementioned Coventry City classic on a design that is going to be worn by some of the biggest names in Europe in the forthcoming season.
For somebody who treats the Brentford shirt with an almost religious fervour, I’m most definitely a convert.
In the beginning there was nothing. And Bob said, “Let there be shirt”. And there was shirt.
Now it’s fair to say that perhaps, in hindsight, yours truly got a tad more over excited over the ‘Chelsea blue’ than it deserved. I had a genuine love for the difference that was last season’s green whilst the yellow and black that greeted our first season in the Championship was a stylish classic. For me (Clive) the limited edition black and silver was probably top of the recent pile. But has it been usurped?
On the one hand, this gives a colour scheme that we’ve never had before. On the other, a simple yet stylish effort that is a modern day classic. If ever the club were to come out with something unusual then here it is. Brown and orange with white trim.
It’s different, no question. Controversial? Possibly. Could it set the GPG and twitter into meltdown? Well, my Geiger counter is currently clicking in anticipation. Yet at the same time, in my humble opinion the backroom team have produced something quite stunning.
Style wise, there’s more than a passing nod to the classic England ‘82 design . Here’s hoping the people at Adidas have had the necessary ‘ok’ from Admiral. Move along, nothing to see there. It is a template that brings the Bees bang up to date with some of the biggest names in European football. Olympique Lyon and Ajax are amongst those to also adopt the scheme for their 2018/19 home and away shirts respectively.

Lyon and Ajax. #shirtfriends ? I feel so dirty
Let’s cut to the elephant in the room though. The colours. We’ve never even come close to this. Whilst it’s been a while since we’ve had a regular away scheme, if you asked me to nominate what I thought were our traditional colours when on the road then blue (preferably two tone) would be the call. Perhaps with black as an alternate or some form of yellow.
If last season’s flirtation with green was different, this rips up the rule book and dials it up to 11. And I love it. Seeing this cold, the immediate reaction was the 😍 emoji. Having had ten minutes to get used to it, I’m still there. Even the sponsor’s logo seems a tad more subdued than it did on last year’s all green. For me (Clive) that can only be a good thing.
I loved that one, no question. Yet now we’ve reached new heights of sartorial bliss with a colour palette whose immediate connotation is jaffa cakes. Is this a good thing? Well, if it looks good – as it does – then bring them on. It is, perhaps, a shame the marketing team couldn’t get Mcvities to sponsor us rather than LeoVegas.

Mmm. Jaffa cakes
We’ve also changed tack in a direction that suggests Brentford having a set ‘away’ colour scheme is a concept very much residing on memory lane these days.
I’m a great believer in football tradition. Brackets at 7(seven), orange balls in the snow and FA cup semi-finals at a neutral venue. Away kit is different though. The chance to mix things up a bit is always a wonderful opportunity. Can we seize the initiative and make a name for ourselves in the annals of football fashion history?
The recent glut of interest in the Nigeria strip for World Cup 2018 shows just what a love there is for the diverse. Only last week, the BBC ran their own ‘World Cup of football kits’. Something that both showed us the love of the more outlandish creations whilst having the added bonus of denying Fulham fan Richard Osman his own self-appointed role as host of such social media events.
One thing we’ve learned about Brentford and Matthew Benham in recent years is that we do things differently. We do things well. We do things in style.
This is unusual but it is also iconic. Whilst my own takes is that it doesn’t quite overtake the black and silver, it runs it very close. And that can only be a good thing. Hopefully our supporters will think so too.
Now, with the clear word for the away shirt being’ different’, what clues can we take for the home effort?
Come on Bob, Mark and Matthew. Stop teasing us…
Nick Bruzon
What were they thinking? Norwich City defrocked
16 SepWe’ll crack on with the visit of Norwich City to Brentford shortly but, first, there are a few bits of unfinished business in regards to Monday’s article on the Manchester United – QPR game. Specifically comments around both teams that, quite simply, I ran out of space to include.
First up, Christian O’Connell. The Absolute Radio DJ brought United fans back to earth, aswell as highlighting the state of their opponents, with the astute observation on Sunday that, “Celebrating beating QPR is like jumping for joy when you beat Stevie Wonder at Pictionary”.
And secondly, to a holier place than even national radio – St. Margaret’s Church. It was there, I am told, that the 10.30 service saw a visiting Priest addressing his congregation thus: “Many thanks to the kind Parishioners who took me to watch Chelsea – Swansea. A great game although being from Uganda I am, of course, a Manchester United fan”.
So they’re not all from Surrey, then.
O’Connell takes out both Manchester United and QPR fans with one tweet
And from Uganda to Norwich City. If you want a proper Brentford match preview then (as ever) Beesotted , the BBC or the clubsite are your places.
For the Last Word reader, following the feature before the Brighton game, it’s time for the next in our semi-regular series – What were they thinking? The ‘best of the worst’ / quirkier (delete as applicable) of our visitors’ kits through the ages.
The best : 1988-89 Scoreline. I’ve got personal interest in this one, simply because it is the shirt worn by the Canaries when they reached that season’s FA Cup semi final. Brentford fans won’t need reminding that was the year of Gary Blissett, Manchester City and the quarter final at Anfield where Liverpool did well to eventually edge us out.
A classic, despite the apparent breach of ‘Trade descriptions act’ with the sponsor
The unfortunate design : 1989- 1992 Asics. The plus point is that this one sticks to traditional Norwich City colours of yellow and green. The downside is that the green is less ‘trim’ and more emblazoned over the upper body in a way that, especially on the away kit, puts one in mind of a Waitrose delivery van.
Were the Norwich City club shop expanding their home delivery service?
The worst : 1992- 1994 Ribero. Imagine if your club came up with a great kit design that, after the over indulgence of Asics, got the balance between yellow and green just right. Then, they fed a flock of pigeons nothing but sprouts before allowing them to nest above the final design specs for the team’s latest shirt. This is the result.
Pebble dashed by an incontinent pigeon??
The away shirt : I’ve already mentioned one of these so rather than go for the picnic blanket of the 1993-94 Asics, we’ll chuck in a bonus category:
Retro classic – the Admiral tracksuit. Seen here as sported by Norwich City legend John Bond. If, rather than being a Brentford fan, I’d grown up on the streets of Caistor St. Edmund or Diss in the 1970s I think it’s a fair bet I’d have worn one of these. Probably whilst riding a Raleigh Chopper. Stunning.
John Bond – the king of cool
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