All to play for in promotion race (as ‘Zola’ spotted at Reading)

Before we get on to the win for Brentford at Reading, it would be wrong to start with anything but offering congratulations to Watford for their promotion to the Premiership. One of the few teams to do the double over the Bees this season, their fine recent form has pushed them through the play offs and into automatic at a time when all around them have wobbled. As Middlesbrough fell apart in the last minute at Fulham, Watford’s promotion was assured. And whilst Ipswich Town and Derby County couldn’t, quite, hang on to a draw and defeat respectively (both sides going one better in the final few minutes), the table still looks a lot healthier for the Bees going into Saturday’s final round of games.

To read the rest of this article, season 2014/15 is now available to download onto Kindle (and other electronic reading device) in full. Containing additional material and even some (poor) editing, you can get it here for less than the cost of a Griffin Park matchday programme or Balti Pie.

Thanks for reading and all your comments over the course of the season. For now, I need to make more space on the site for any follow up. However, ‘close season’ will continue in full, further on.

Reading Zola – no pun too tenuous or crowbarred

Could a returning hero seal it today?

Brentford take on Preston North End on Friday, knowing that a win (combined with defeats for Rotherham United at Wolves and Leyton Orient at Crawley) will be enough to see promotion from League One confirmed.

It is a big ask, and moreso because I can’t see any slip ups coming from the O’s or Rotherham. Both those play off teams are still in with a theoretical chance of ‘automatic’ themselves and so will be desperately fighting, like hungry dogs over an empty bucket of KFC, for every point possible.

But whatever they do is irrelevant (our title aspirations aside, of course) as long as Brentford win.

“As long as Brentford win”. It sounds so simple on paper and, in theory it should it be.

To read the rest of this article, season 2013/14 is now available to download onto Kindle, in full. Containing previously unseen content, you can do so here for less than the cost of one matchday programme.

 Thanks for reading over the course of the campaign. For now I need to make space on this page for any follow up.  The ‘close season’ / World Cup columns continue in full, further on in this site.