Let’s smash them! Let’s do this!!

The 237 derby awaits. Brentford are all set to host the team from Shepherds Bush at Lionel Road this evening. The move to our new home meaning a mere 3.4 miles now separates the two clubs. I’ve not been this excited about a ‘behind closed doors’ game since Barnsley last season. Hmmm. Move along, nothing to see here. That was then. This is now. The Bees are on it at the moment (6 unbeaten and only two goals against) whilst Tuesday night’s performance ay Oakwell ensured the promotion pack remain well in our sights. Not to mention exacting a little payback from the aforementioned game. Elsewhere, it’s well possible that our reader could be watching the Blackburn Rovers game next Saturday in person. Not a typo.

Games with our neighbours have been wonderful in recent seasons

For all the negativity out on social media over recent weeks, the simple fact is that victory tonight takes Brentford up to fourth place. Chuck in the opposition factor (oh, to be a fly on the wall for Peter Gilham’s pre-match speech to the squad) combined with the nature of our performance at Barnsley and you can be sure the boys will be up for it. They’d better be. This, of all games, is the one we love each season. Victory in their pokey matchbox is always fun but to do it at home, in front of your own seats, is truly special.

Sadly, it comes just too soon for the return of 2,000 fans to a home game but at least Lionel Road will look full. Who’s laughing at those coloured seats now ? Of course, the place will be full in spirit. The game is on Sky sports and I-follow VIP.

Murdoch or Mark Burridge? Tonight, ambassador, you are really spoiling us. 

I have to be honest, one of the highlights of the season to date (the performances of Ivan, Ethan, Marcus, Sergi, Rico et al aside) has been the role carried out by our commentator par-excellence throughout all of the Corona based despondency. It can’t be easy commentating on what, to all intents and purposes, has all the passion of Mrs. Brown smooching with Donald Trump on Star Wars Day whilst sipping on an Expresso. The strains of the England supporters band wafting over them. No fans in the ground makes a distasteful experience for the viewers. Commentating on it must be truly tricky. Nowhere to hide. No crowd noise to fill the gaps or spur you on.

Yet Mark, Mick and Marcus (Gayle, not Forss – note so self : find excuse to work that pun in ) make it seem effortless. For that, I am genuinely thankful. A shitty time made slightly better thanks to our top, top football commentating team. 

Jacket sleeves rolled up? My Mammy Vice? The allure of crowd free football

Whichever way you watch (or listen) to it tonight, it’s sure to be an exciting one. Expect the same team as started up at Barnsley with cameos from the bench. That said, one does have to wonder how Thomas is keeping Marcus Forss happy – he must be chomping at the bit – but you can’t look past the imperious form of Ivan Toney.

My word, that man is on fire and more than filling the boots of Ollie Watkins. I’d still love that Ollie was here but we’ve done pretty, pretty good in replacing him. Ivan is definitely at the Maupay / Grey end of the striking scale rather than Proschwitz / Jones.

Of all that has happened this season, the goal scoring prowess of Ivan has been the absolute stand out for me. Yes, Rico has been immense. Ethan continues to flourish. The goalkeeping saga put to bed. Yet to find such a composed goal scorer and, probably more important, one who has adjusted to this team and this level of football so, so quickly has been pivotal. He is already ahead of Ollie and Neil on the goals scored at this stage in their respective Brentford careers with the promise of more to come. Aside from keeping the fans happy, doing it again tonight against that lot will see him return to the top of the Championship goal scorers chart. At present, he sits one behind Adam Armstrong of Blackburn Rovers (11 and 12 respectively after 13 games).

And on a side note to form, that of the overall squad has been as impressive. Sure, we’ve had a few stinkers (Stoke away and the second half debacle at home to Preston being the real low lights) yet point for point we’re still well clear of this time last year. Moan all you want about individuals but the table doesn’t lie. I saw this one last night to illustrate, in a nutshell, where we are. Frank out. Apparently. Groan. Insert Picard meme.

https://twitter.com/Lions_and_Bees/status/1332069973729144833?s=20

Anyway, we can big it up all we want. Form is out the window. Past results irrelevant. For one night only is it about the 90 minutes that lay ahead. The hope that special agent Barbet can do it again. Truly, I loved him at Griffin Park but there’s always the hope that he goes awol this evening. Perhaps adding to that tally of own goals or missed penalties.

Ultimately though, its about one thing only. Winning the game. Beating our neighbours. Showing Mark Warburton our Plan A ! Bring it on and see you there. Kind of.

We love you, Yoann.

Although… this time next week we’ll be saying that for real. At least, a maximum 2,000 of us will. With the latest announcements from Boris now out there, and London placed in Corona Virus Tier 2, we’re allowed some supporters into games. The first game up is Blackburn Rovers next Saturday. The Toney-Armstrong shootout (so another 0-0, then). Good luck to the club in sorting out how all this is going to work – genuinely – although at least the slightly ambiguous wording on Twitter yesterday – intimating that Premium would get first dibs – was quickly cleared up on social media aswell as in the main article where it is noted that,”Whatever number we are working to, we will ensure that each ticket group  will have a fair split of the overall allocation“. 

I’m still not clear what happens if those fans live in Tier 3 but at least we now have some, scant respite. A first step back to sporting normality. You can read the full article here and, if you haven’t done your survey yet, I’d be doing it fast. 2,000 desperate fans are going to make a hell of a lot of noise. Personally speaking, I can’t wait to be part of it. No matter how bizarre it may be.

That’s all to look forward to. For now I’m all about watching it on the sofa. Possibly for one last time before getting in to a game for a real. Let’s smash them. Let’s go out of this creepy ‘no fans’ atmosphere in style. Let’s do this. I can’t wait!

Nick Bruzon

Banging the drum for our Triple J.

Another game unbeaten. Another clean sheet. Another goal for Ivan Toney. Another three points for Thomas Frank’s squad. Brentford left Oakwell on the right end of a 1-0 win over Barnsley on Tuesday. The run now up to six games without defeat whilst conceding a mere two goals over that period. The Bees are sitting within touching distance of the play-off zone – up to eighth in the Championship table ahead of tonight’s fixtures. Then there’s the small matter of the game on Friday night. A televised visit from the Shepherds Bush outfit.

Ivan does it again

The obvious talking point ahead of kick-off was the team announcement. Ghoddos out. Canos out. Janelt and Fosu both starting whilst Ethan Pinnock also made a return. No arguments with any of that although Mads Bech can perhaps count himself unlucky after impressing to date. As noted last time out, the performances against Wycombe and Middlesbrough had been somewhat of a ‘challenge’ to sit through. Defensively sound but stifled creatively. Most of the midfield / attacking force failing to impress and, whilst I still can’t get my head around the vitriol directed towards one player, it was clear some changes were needed.

Change is what we got. The addition of Janelt to the centre of the park adding more solidity. Doing to Barnsley what had been done to us in recent weeks. Good luck Thomas Frank once Christian Norgaard is fit ! With it came the added confidence to push up. Tarique Fosu finally unleashed and having a blinder, too. An early shot from the edge of the box coming close but Jack Walton in nets managed to keep it out. Rico Henry could also count himself unlucky with a similar effort as Brentford went for it from the off before the game settled down.  One smart stop from Raya aside, there was little else to recall. Barnsley barely given a chance to threaten as the Bees waited for what seemed like the inevitable goal. 

It was only a matter of time, suggested Mick Cabble on the Iplayer comms team. Mind you, we’d felt the same against Middlesbrough and Wycombe, only to see them end in those insipid 0-0 draws. This one was different though. The second half began with Marcondes (2019/20’s Canos – we need one every season, it seems) on for Josh Dasilva. All being well that’s nothing more than precautionary. Like Rico, Ethan, David and Ivan he’s been up there in our best and most consistent performers so far. Long may that continue – especially with Friday’s big one approaching.

Brentford pushed up once more (the absence of that chant another reason to abhor the current situation of empty stadia).  Mbeumo came close before who else but Ivan Toney was there to remind us of the way to goal? With just over an hour gone, he rose like a salmon to guide home a Mathias Jensen corner. 1-0. Game on. Pressure off. It really was a precision effort. The technique and the steer all about what made this one. Placement over power as Walton was left with a mountain to climb trying to get even half-way close.

It could have been double almost straight after. Toney charging Walton to force a hurried clearance which fell to Mbeumo via Marcondes. The wideman broke forward, sofas at home already relived of the pressure as we all leapt to our feet in anticipation. Nooo. He fired just high and just wide. It could, probably should, have been two. I can imagine the Twitter meltdown had it been another player 😉 . Instead of cruising over the line we were left hanging on to the thought that one freak moment, one mishap and things would be level. But it wasn’t to be. 

Canos and Forss both made it on to the pitch late, with the former cueing up the later for a chance that – like Mbeumo – the player may well be frustrated about not burying. That’s football. We got the win and the record books will reflect three more points to Brentford. The table does’t lie and we wake up this morning to see the Bees just one win away from third placed Bristol City. Frank out !

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, that’s for sure. I’ve never professed to be an expert when it comes to football but at the same time, it was clear something hasn’t been working. Personally speaking,  I loved the combination of Janelt, Josh and Jensen in the middle and will certainly be banging the drum for our Triple J once again. Probably a little more niche than the BMW or FT Index but if you know you know.

Niche

Of what is probably broader discussion on social media, could Thomas Frank’s rolling of the dice marked Fosu prove to be a key moment in the season? Certainly Tarique took his chance in some style and must be a shoe in for Friday. Only time will tell on the anger term choices but with the games coming non-stop, it won’t be the last change we see. Sergi will be back. So will Saman. Sometimes those selections will be expected. Others, not so. That’s the one thing we have been calling all season – that squad use is going to be pivotal. If for no other reason than the increased substitution ruling has given more flexibility. Yesterday’s game already seeing us make four changes mid-match.

For now, I can’t see any change for Friday. Injury aside. We’ve continued to look solid at the back but despite ‘only’ scoring one goal, it never felt in doubt. There was confidence and attacking intent. A midweek trip to Yorkshire in the cold has all the appeal of sitting down to watch the Mrs Browns Boys Christmas special (warning – it IS coming back. Again. Like cockroaches, I can imagine Mrs. Brown and her cardigan would be the only thing to survive nuclear war). 

However, we rose to the challenge and held firm when it counted. There won’t be any amongst us who wouldn’t have taken a 1-0 had it, somehow, been able to be offered prior to kick off. With Quarter Pound off Rubbish next up, Brentford couldn’t have found a better time to return to winning ways. Now, over to you Peter Gilham. Something about a team talk….

You know it would happen

Nick Bruzon

Is our form all down to one player?

Well, we’re back in action. Whatever that means. Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Wycombe Wanderers was a masterclass in frustration for a Brentford team that had endured similar in the previous game – that 0-0 with Middlesbrough before International break took hold. We’ve back to back fixtures with Barnsley and then Quarter Pound of Rubbish before the weekend. With them, the opportunity to fine tune our game and get the goals flowing once more. Likewise, a chance to prove we are a team. That all our woes (if you can call being six points off second place ‘woes’) are not the fault of one man. Yes, the online hate mob were back and Sergi is once more the player in their sights.

Sergi gets stuck in on Saturday

It was a terrible game played out in a Craven Cottage atmosphere. Rattling around an empty stadium no longer working to our advantage as it did last season when it was a short term ‘novelty’ (and that word is used in the loosest sense). Brentford adjusted to it quickly. Everybody else has caught up. Football is now much more of an 11 v 11 thing with the lack of crowd and passion dragging everybody down. Fans frustrated on their sofas. I know I am.

Its awful. I want to be there. Cheering them on. Screaming. Giving the lino what for. Instead, we still have that sterile feeling of what, to all intents and purposes, has the feel of a reserve game. This should be the Championship. Instead it feels like The Football Combination.   

That’s not to lay all the blame for an awful afternoon at the feet of the Corona Virus crowd restrictions. Brentford still struggled to break down resolute opposition. As we did against Middlesbrough. Fair play to Wycombe. Despite us having the better chances – Bryan Mbeumo in particular and Josh Dasilva late on – they were few and far between. Our hosts locked us out and stifled all flair. Another vital point on the board for the Adams Park outfit. The Bees lacking the tactical nous to get through them – even with the much demanded pairing of Forss and Toney getting a run out for the final half hour.  

You know what? Had Sergi been at his very best then we might have won. But you could say that about anybody outside of the defence. All our frustrations are not the fault of one player. He’s not been at his creative best the last few games but who has? We’re not scoring and we’re not creating. That’s not because of one man. Cripes, some of the replies to this one….

We´ll keep fighting. We are @BrentfordFC pic.twitter.com/meaewzSIJv

— Sergi Canós Tenés (@sergicanos) November 22, 2020

Here are the simple facts. After 12 games we’re in eleventh and a mere six points off second place. We’ve not lost in five league games, conceding just two goals over that run. In Ivan Toney, Brentford have a player going neck and neck with Blackburn’s Adam Armstrong at the top of the Championship goal scoring charts. Let’s not forget, either, we’re in the quarter finals of the League Cup. A tie with Newcastle United , and the bizarre possibility of being one step closer to European football, awaits.

This time last season, played 12, we were in thirteenth place and 8 points behind second placed Leeds United. We’d limped out of the League Cup at the first attempt, to Cambridge United.

Nice work, Sergi et al. We’re doing better than last season, in much tougher circumstances ! Frank IN ! The table doesn’t lie.

Then and now

So yes, it has been tough going the last few games. We’ve not fully found our feet, that’s for sure. In part it’s down to the environment. In part we’re still acclimatising to those departures and new arrivals. Still finding what the best option is. Still recovering from injuries that continue to come thick and fast – Ethan Pinnock was the latest to miss out this time around.

Perhaps, even, still getting over the play-off campaign. Urhghh, watching the awfulness of FulhamL on Sunday lunchtime as they made it 7(seven) defeats out of 9 games was an absolute kick to the nuts. They truly are dreadful – but enough about their penalty taking. Surely we’d have held our own heads higher and put in a better performance than that? Built on our squad rather than readjust to new starters.

It hasn’t been fun in recent games but my own personal take on it is that nobody deserves the torrent of abuse being directed at individuals or the team. We’re hardly in the same position as Wayne Rooney’s Derby County. The Bees aren’t losing, we’re better placed than this time last season and we’ve got a trip to Barnsley on Tuesday night. It won’t be easy but the Championship never is. For years it has been described as the most competitive and exciting in Europe. Few could deny the former this time around, even if recent games have been somewhat lacking on thrills.

Now bring on Barnsley. Then the small matter of a visit from the Shepherds Bush team……

Nick Bruzon

7(seven) year old calls Championship play-off winners….

Here we go, again. The play-offs await. For Brentford, the Premier League is just three games away. Blocking our path, a Swansea City team that host the first leg this evening following their quite incredible overtaking of Nottingham Forest during the week. The other side of the draw sees Fulham and Cardiff City lock horns. That’s their problem, of course. All focus here has to be on the game at the Liberty Stadium.

Brentford lock, yesterday. Swansea 0….?

Let’s be honest. Spirits can’t have been more contrasting following the end of the regular Championship campaign. For Brentford, the chance of automatic came so close and we had to be content with third place. A quite remarkable achievement over the course of a season yet still a night which ended, for so many, washed away on a sea of ifs, buts and maybes.

That’s only natural in the immediacy of the moment. Totally understandable. This is football. A place where the glass is so often half-empty and the thought of what might have been, red-raw as the referee blew for full time. Most hurting but empathising with their heroes. The odd few choosing to..well, let’s just say that perhaps rather than wallowing in self-pity and the apparent divine right to slag off their heroes some need to take a look at themselves.   

Swansea, on the other hand, will have been absolutely buzzing. Again, only natural. To be three points and -5 GD behind Forest heading into that last round of fixtures yet to still make it in to the final four will be an emotional high like no other. Moreso, given how late that final swing happened. 

Like us, they’re here on merit based on the season’s performance as a whole. Of course game 46 is that final, final chance to alter the table. But the table has been forming since August. And now it is locked in. Emotional highs and lows have been and gone. Both teams have been back on the training ground. Neither side is now beholden on other results. Control is back with us once more. We don’t need the thought of favours at the back of our mind. 

That element bemoaning the results at Stoke City and Barnsley are playing the ultimate disrespect to both teams. Stoke were turgid, no question. The ref was horrific, true. Yet they still did for us then went out and put four goals past Forest in the next game. This was a side out to prove some points and wreck some parties. As for Barnsley, look how they played in the run in. Matching Leeds United where only an o.g. separated them. Taking Forest all the way until their late, late winner. Playing with confidence and a never say die spirit against us. 

Yes, one might have expected us to win one of these ( I did, and even predicted brackets against Barnsley  – being quite truthful) but that’s not how football works. The final game was one played out in the horrible knowledge of matters elsewhere being ultimately responsible for our fate. Whether we’d won 7(seven) – 0 or lost 1-2, had West Brom got their win then it would have been the play-offs regardless. None of us are professional footballers. It’s so easy for any numpty on the terrace to say “Just concentrate on your own game” but you wouldn’t be human not be aware of the broader situation. I can’t imagine what that must have felt like.

Anyway, that’s all been and gone. We are no longer reliant on West Brom. On Huddersfield Town. On Mark Warburton and QPR. This is now done to us. We’ve two games against Swansea to focus on. If league form teaches us anything it is that Brentford have the advantage so far. Our 3-0 win at the Liberty Stadium in October was followed by a 3-1 victory at Griffin Park on Boxing Day. Quite how that translates will only be seen at full time on Wednesday night once the second leg has concluded. One of these teams will be going to Wembley to face Fulham or Cardiff City.

Will it be a West London derby? An all Welsh affair? Or some combination of both. Well, for what it’s worth I’m taking comfort from the words of a seven year old. In the days leading up to the Barnsley game, all H would say to me was, “Daddy, QPR are going to draw 2-2 at West Brom”. He was utterly convinced it was going to play out like that. Now, he’s calling a Brentford – Cardiff City final. “Daddy, it’s going to be my team versus Iwan’s in the final. What a shame they can’t come up with us though.” 

H – knows his football.

Is he on to something? Or just trying to see the positive? To help out a dad who has been through every one of our previous play-off campaigns and explained them all in excruciating detail. From Tranmere to Middlesbrough via the horrors of Stoke, Huddersfield and Crewe. Martin Allen’s double stab against Sheffield Wednesday and, err, Swansea. The frustration of Yeovil Town. My word, Yeovil. How did that work out for everyone longer term? 

Ok. So our record is worse than than the The Very Best Of Simply Red . We all know how things have turned out since our 1991 trip to Prenton Park but history counts for nothing. Not when you have the season and the players that we’ve all had the privilege to enjoy over 2019/20. In a campaign which has been the most crazy on record, wouldn’t it be just like us to finally break the ultimate hoodoo. Hey, if we can win a game after a visit from Clem or receiving the Manager of the month award then anything is possible.

Bring it on !!!! 

Thomas and Clem prove that positivity can triumph.

Nick Bruzon

The morning after the night before.

Where to even start? What a soul destroying end to an incredible season. A punch to the stomach that even after sleeping on it, feels awfully numb. For sure it’s hurting now, Brentford fans, but we are still in this. We’ve now got a two-legged play-off semi-final with Swansea to look forward to. The dream of Premier League football is still on. We’ll just have to take the long way around. This, after our 91st minute defeat by Barnsley consigned the Bees to third place in the table. That’s still an amazing achievement but with West Bromwich Albion drawing at home to QPR, destiny would have been in our hands.

Alas, not. The chance was unable to be taken on an evening spent sitting in our friends’ back garden on Brook Road South, watching on TV but all ears on Griffin Park. Hoping against hope to hear the cheer from Peter Gilham that would have signified a goal before the tv footage caught up. It is a cheer that only came once – and we were so busy running around the garden in excitement, singing at the top of our voices, that I’ve still not seen Josh Da Silva’s 73rd minute equaliser. It is one that will now need to be repeated on Wednesday when Swansea visit for the second leg.

I’m already past caring about the facts of our 2-1 defeat. We don’t really do match reports at the best of times and it won’t change anything raking through the bones of this one. I’m sure the players are hurting as much as the fans. For a beautiful moment in the first half we were there. For a more incredible period we had the last quarter hour to get the one goal which would have seen us reach the top flight, assuming things stayed the same at The Hawthorns. QPR somehow levelling things up at 2-2 in their game with West Brom. 

Pressure built. Excitement mounted. The clock moved on way, way too fast. And then, on 91, the most almighty cheer from Griffin Park. Yesssss. What a time to get it. We’d done it. Odd that Peter hadn’t announced the scorer but perhaps he’d been overcome with the emotion of the moment. This one we weren’t going to miss and we ran back indoors, just in time to see Barnsley players celebrating their late, late winner. Oh. Ahh. Move along, nothing to see here. It was a winner which, combined with other results, means their Championship survival is assured. 

Heartbreaking. A son in tears the likes of which I’ve never seen before. A season and a week that promised so much, over. For now. But to remain upset (an understandable emotion) won’t help Thomas Frank and his team. It overlooks the fact of our highest league finish since the 1930s. It ignores the simple truth that we are still alive. We are still in this one. We’ve still got our second bite at the cherry. We’re still in the play-offs. 

That’s where we face Swansea, who hit the top six late into the evening. Their 4-1 win at Reading, combined with Nottingham Forest going down by the same scoreline at home to Stoke City, means it is the Swans who make it by virtue of a quite remarkable goal difference swing. One has to feel for the fans at The City Ground. If we’re feeling it today just imagine what they must be going through. 

It was news that put a smile back on HB’s face this morning. He’d been truly worried about the prospect of facing them. As much for footballing reasons as the fact that they broke Sergi earlier in the season.

It’s brief today. No need to pad it out with all that good stuff about picking ourself up and getting back out there. West Bromwich Albion have gone up so congratulations to them. Our turn is next. We know how good this team are. How stunning they have been this campaign. Now it’s down to Thomas Frank to recharge his players and remind them what they are good at – winning football matches.

See you on Sunday when it all starts again.

Nick Bruzon  

What will happen on Wednesday?

Tomorrow it all happens. Brentford face Barnsley. Mark Warburton takes his team to West Bromwich Albion. We all know the maths. We all know what almost happened, but didn’t quite, at Stoke City. That’s football. Our fans seem to have fallen in to two camps since then – the vast majority who appreciate what might have been, how far we have come, how incredibly well we have performed this season and who are gutted beyond belief that we were unable to make it 9 wins in a row at Stoke. Then there are the self-indulgent few. Still bleating about how they are justified in preaching negativity at, and about, their heroes. No doubt the same faces who were calling for Thomas Frank’s head earlier in the season. The same ‘fans’ who will be first in line to say how amazing it all is when we go up. Whether that be Wednesday night or a few weeks later at an empty Wembley.

Ah, you know what? I’m done with it. It’s a simple equation. We were all hurt to miss out on the all important win, but that’s different to bitching. If you felt that strongly then, let alone now,  say it to an individual’s face. And if you still feel that way then just leave the rest of us to support the team and you go wallow in a bottle of Strongbow Dark Fruits. There are more important things to focus on. For clarity, the game with Barnsley rather than a re-run of the infamous mascot race that saw Buzz robbed by Toby Tyke back in 2016. Sadly, Covid-19 means our furry friends are nothing but a beautiful memory for the moment.

But what happened next….?

Of course, the only matter of consequence at Griffin Park will be the three points (technically one) needed to for a final tilt at second place. Albeit acknowledging the ‘deal with the devil’ which that would involve – namely, wishing well on the team from Shepherds Bush. Aside for the small matter of our own beating Barnsley, the Loftus Road outfit avoiding defeat is key to us securing automatic on Wednesday night. 

For what it’s worth, my personal take is that we’ll complete our own side. With Barnsley still hanging in there, any chance they have of Championship survival is dependent on their also winning the game. On scoring at least one goal. Which means we’ll likely be afforded more freedom to attack as they drive forward themselves, looking for the the back of the Brentford net and, as a consequence, leaving gaps. It’s the sort of thing this team exploit for fun.

The visitors won’t make it easy, though. Their game with Nottingham Forest on Sunday saw the Tykes dominant, peppering the visitor’s goal before finally taking the lead late in to Jota time. They’ve done it once and will no doubt be full of belief that they can do it again.

Yet on the assumption we can do our job, what next? What happens at the Hawthorns? Ahh, it doesn’t bear thinking about. It can’t be fathomed or quantified. I’ve a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach – not so much at them stitching us up but more the fact that this is totally out of our hands. Just as it was on Friday night when the Baggies went to Huddersfield Town. 

One has to adopt the approach of trying to ignore it (purely on health grounds) and looking just at our own result which, of course, will be nigh on impossible. Any change in score will be brought to us immediately – Sky do love a final day in-flight ‘As it stands’ table. And with Griffin Park off limits it means that the TV, I-Follow or local radio will be the only way for all barring the directors to follow this one.

Should West Brom slip up then we’ll be waiting to pounce. Pressure does strange things and a game their fans are likely considering a foregone conclusion against mid-table opposition could still have a twist in the tail. Slaven Bilic is a huge character and he’ll no doubt have his players set for this one – dreaming of the top flight , just as we are. Crucially aware of how close they’ve already come to relinquishing control. Something they’ll obviously want to avoid as we enter the final round of games in the regular Championship campaign. Will all of this start affecting the psyche and the approach? Causing a few jitters and a lot of mind games. Or is this just what it appears to be on paper  – a home banker ?

The QPR factor will be just awful. What will Warbs do? Will he even give us a moment’s thought? Will he have a point to prove? Is it one of those where he tries out a few of the kids for next season?

Don’t go checking the bookmakers’ websites if you are looking for any comfort. Only one team is coming out of that smiling. And they don’t go shopping at Westfield. Then again, even Stoke City were 5-1 to win on Saturday and look how that ended. Strange things can happen. 

We’ve been incredible this season. Magnificent. A style of attacking football and rock solid defence that has thrilled us all. A team that have had the fortitude and determination to reel in all those above us after a shaky start to the season. A 0-1 home defeat despite battering one shot Birmingham City in the season opener now the stuff of distant memory.

It took us a while to find our feet but once we did , wow ! Guts. Courage. Never say die – oh, that Millwall game. Goals. The brackets earned in the 7(seven) – 0 destruction of Luton Town. Humping Sheffield Wednesday in our last game at Griffin Park (in front of fans). That relentless never-say-die run of 8 games in a row as we have come within sniffing distance of ‘automatic’.

This team can do it. Whether it takes one game or four we WILL be in the Premier League next season. 

What a finish to the game with Millwall

Nick Bruzon

Don’t @ me. This isn’t even close to 94-95.

Where do you even start? It could have been dreamland for Brentford but instead we have to fight on. The dream of promotion from the Championship still well alive but one which is now reliant on either West Bromwich Albion dropping more points on Wednesday or us going through the play-offs. In a high pressure game at Stoke City the combination of brutal opposition, terrible refereeing from Geoff Eltringham and hosts set up so intent on smothering us that penetration was nigh on impossible all saw us slip to 1-0 defeat. The usual attacking flair booted out of us by a team boasting more kickers than a French exchange student. If Friday’s win for Huddersfield Town had felt like some cathartic relief from the 25 year pain that has gnawed away since the 94-94 play-off semi-final ( a moment for me which was way worse than ‘that’ penalty) yesterday brought the heartache of the 2002 play-off in Cardiff flooding back.

You see, they’re also a brand of footwear popular with…

We’ve all seen it. There’s no point in going through even the briefest summary of the highlights beyond saying that our hosts had clearly done their homework. Brentford tried but had no way past. Eltringham and his team missing two blatant penalties (the second especially). Ethan Pinnock coming oh-so close at the death.

Much like the Doncaster game, going through the carcass of this one won’t change a thing. Pawing over the dead duck that was Crewe or Yeovil at Wembley doesn’t help. Nor does whining about the players, the team or their apparent ‘bottling’ it on social media. 

Sure, we’re all hurting. I am, and as much because I’ve followed this team through devastation and lowpoints since the back end of the 70s. My son, too. He only knows  Brentford set to ‘amazing’ mode and was in tears as this one reached a heart breaking conclusion.

Heart breaking as much because of the most incredible way this team have come together over the last few months. The team spirit and desire shown as they’ve caught up with our rivals through nothing more than guts, determination and win after win after win. Eight in a row, to be precise. The excitement and happiness they’ve engendered in a fanbase doing their best, and usually struggling, to get through the awfulness of lockdown. They’ve kept many of us going in a way more incredible than they  probably realise.

For half an hour, the dream was on…

There’s been some nonsense spouted on social media about their apparent bottling it yesterday. Justified in the guise of: Oh, I’m hurting – I can say what I want. Now shut up and f*ck off.

Yes. We’re ALL hurting. Aghast to have missed out. It was the most amazing opportunity and, you know what, this time it wasn’t able to be taken. Couldn’t be taken. But to even get into that position is an incredible achievement.

To still be well alive with two more bites at the cherry is not to be sneered at or overlooked. 

Of course people are gutted. They have every right to be – it’s the natural emotion at a time like this. Our entire fanbase should be. I am. Beyond belief. But as much because I know how close we’ve come and how hard we’ve worked to even get into that position.

It was always going to be fragile opportunity, given how far off the pack we’d been when this amazing run started. Moreso, when in a game of few chances and bus parking opposition, we needed the help and protection of the officials. Not their failing an eyetest. Now, destiny is out of our hands as quickly as it had got there.

You can’t blame Stoke for setting up as they needed to

This one feels different though. The season is still alive. We’ve not been relegated or lost a final. We’re still in with a huge chance to get promoted.

If not directly (and I’d hate to picture the scene in the Gilham household this morning, knowing that we are in the hands of West Bromwich Albion not winning when the Loftus Road mob visit on Wednesday) then via the play-offs. In all likelihood, needing to get past Cardiff City or Fulham in the final. Football. A cruel mistress.

For me, there has been no lower point than standing in the paddock, watching the celebrations amongst the Huddersfield Town players and staff back in ’95. I remember it still. Numb. Devastated. Shell-shocked. A glazed feeling washing over me. Not able to move but just stare out across Griffin Park and into space. Something made even worse by our actually coming second that season and the reason, in part, of my loathing Birmingham City so much.

94-95. The all time kick in the nuts

Yesterday wasn’t that. It wasn’t even ‘that penalty’ levels of awfulness. It was brutal. Devastating. But it’s not the time to be slagging off the players and the team for not winning a game. If that’s your thing and way of coping then fair enough – I can’t argue with that mindset but would also ask this…..

Would you have the balls to say it to their face? To tell Thomas Frank or any of the players that you thought they bottled it. Bottled it. Were a team of bottlers. To actually say those words ? In person?  Hmm. It’s not so easy being a keyboard warrior for real.

That’s me done. @ me all you want. I don’t really care. From this point on I’m only focussing on the game with Barnsley. The thought that, as it stands, we are a possible 90 minutes away from the Premier League. I just wish I could be there on Wednesday night to join in.

As the returning Sergi Canos ( itself, a cause for celebration) noted last night: “Disappointing result but there’s no time to think about it. We are an amazing club as a whole on and off the pitch and we are going to keep fighting until the end. 

THIS IS NOT OVER YET.“

Sergi and his fighting spirit are back

Nick Bruzon

  

99 problems but a pitch ain’t one.

The tumbleweed is starting to clear. The absence of Brentford from our lives will soon be coming to an end as the trip to Fulham next Saturday lunchtime (June 20th) sees Championship action recommence. Following this is a rapid fire conclusion to the campaign as our 9 remaining games take place in little over a month, culminating in the ‘last ever’ game at Griffin Park against Barnsley on Wednesday July 22nd. With all games available to season ticket holders on I-follow and TV coverage being given a huge boost, its a case of move over Sky Sports Leeds United. Whilst you won’t be able to be there in person, there’s every opportunity available to see the on-pitch action pan out with our next game  (West Brom at home) also selected for main channel coverage.

On pitch action will return

The good news is that season will at least come to an end on pitch, however artificial that may feel. Others haven’t been afforded that opportunity. With Leagues across Europe and at home already calling full time early, even League One clubs seem set to bring 2019-20 to a close today with the morning news reporting that they are going to vote to curtail the season and leave the final table based on a points-per-game ratio. Missing out on seeing Brentford in the flesh will be painful but at least we’ll be able to see the Bees in action.

My word, it hass felt like an eternity. With nothing but constant bad news for the last few months, football has probably been low down on most people’s agenda. That’s not to say it hasn’t been missed. The amazing feeling of coming together denied us by an invisible killer. That communal gathering and Saturday afternoon ritual, of which 90 minutes’s action is so often the meat in a social sandwich of pre and post match meet up, something we’ve not been able to enjoy for endless week after week.

Jonathan Burchill cut to the chase on Twitter yesterday, posting a picture of his Fulham ticket and  noting that when he bought it, could never have guessed this match would be postponed for 99 days. Now it is almost here. Brentford travelling just down the road to pick up where we left off. Injuries hopefully healed and the team chomping at the bit. We’ve already played at Griffin Park – judging by the social media video clips posted – as part of the road to recovery but now we get the chance to do it for real.

Whatever ‘real’ means these days. No fans and no atmosphere is gong to make for a very strange experience. Fulham aside. For the players and the supporters. Fulham aside. Probably the only people to come out if it as winners will be the officials, especially at Griffin Park where the touchline reminders of the rules so often delivered to the linos will be sadly missing. Who will rise to the occasion? Who will struggle, rattling around an empty stadium? Will the fans be given any chance to get back in and, if so, how many will that be or when could it even take place?

I guess the one thing we can be fairly certain of is that the 5-0 trashing of Sheffield Wednesday way back on 7th (seventh) March will be the last time we have the pleasure of attending a game at Griffin Park in person. The ‘last game’ will be one played out in front of nothing more than handful of press and officials. Barring a miracle, that ship has surely sailed. It’s a topic we’ve done to death already – both on social media and these pages. Banging on about it now, at a time when we actually have something to look forward too, won’t change that fact. Even if we will of course pick up on it once more as we head towards the visit of Barnsley 

For now, we’ve got action incoming. And that’s a real boost, even if it is going to be very odd. There’ll be surreal TV coverage whilst the club have announced that match day programmes will be produced. Each of the final five programmes will also include a limited-edition postcard, whilst that Barnsley game will see a 134-page, A4 printed programme to say Farewell Griffin Park. You can read about that in full here.

More to come over the coming days, no doubt, but until then we’ve got a trip to Fulham to prepare for. Even if us mere mortals aren’t allowed to travel.

The only other news of note, for these pages, was the conclusion of the ‘Griffin Park Favourites’ charity auction Top Trumps pack last week. I’m amazed to say that these went for a staggering £155, with funds already received and paid on to the Community Sports Trust.

Whilst keeping the names of the bidders secret, it would seem as though there was a furious bidding war between three figures who appeared in the pack. In the end , though, I haven’t a clue who it is that won them. Certainly not a name I recognise. Brentford fan or Top Trumps collector? Who knows. Either way, I can’t thank our supporters enough for taking part.

And if anybody wants to go again, then please do shout. The pack has already been redesigned for a more personal ‘friends and family’ version. If nothing else, to celebrate both the Fulham programme prank and some really crowbarred punning.

What’s to say further tweaks couldn’t be made and another order placed for anybody who may want in….

Wife of Brian – even Mrs. B liked that one 

Nick Bruzon    

Yes!!!! An incredible afternoon sees dreams come true (for a while).

What a quite fantastic end to the season. Brentford have only gone and done it. Promotion to the Premier League assured after tonking Barnsley in the last ever game at Griffin Park. A third bracketing of the season, after the 7(seven)-0 win at home to Luton and the same score in the obliteration of Fulham at the Cottage, saw us leave the Championship to take on the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa next season. With us come Leeds United who, despite falling apart (again), had enough in the tank to get over the line. There were tears at the Hawthorns where that unexpected favour from the Loftus Road mob denied them automatic promotion but you have to fancy their chances in the play offs.

Yes, that’s definitely what happened. Our season ending in style. Tears of joy at what we’ve achieved ; sadness at saying goodbye to our home for the last 116 years. Fans coming together as one to celebrate and commiserate. Looking forward to seeing little old Brentford in the top flight. Leeds United still unable to escape from our shadow. Fulham looking enviously towards our part of West London and hoping they may get lucky in the play-offs.

Some people are on the pitch.. etc etc

And then I stepped out of the shower. The Championship table is still stuck on: played 37. Nobody able to say they have definitely gone up to join Champions elect Liverpool. A team who have still not, mathematically, taken the crown from Manchester City despite the most blitzkrieg approach to a campaign in living memory. Brentford fans denied the chance to say goodbye to Griffin Park and now not knowing if we ever will.

Yesterday was brutal from so many respects. Our chance denied by these most cruel and devastating of global circumstances. People sitting tight on lockdown as we mostly (say in ; don’t be a dick) play our part in helping to try and stop the spread of this soul-destroying virus. I know what has to be done and of course we’ll obey Lockdown. Yet I’d be lying if I said yesterday was fun. It was awful being stuck inside when the only home I wanted to be in was Griffin Park.

Reality was soul destroying

I wrote the piece on how that felt yesterday morning. It was a column that, being honest, I had no idea if I wanted to start or even would. The feeling upon getting up was just so awful and only got worse as the morning progressed. In the end, it was a case of downing an espresso or two, sitting at the keyboard and seeing what words fell out. The results are here and were, in retrospect, quite cathartic. 

Sure, they didn’t help me feel any better but the response from our fans was life affirming. Not just the kind words on social media but the fact that it quickly became apparent how so many of us were going through the same thing. Of course, we were all going to be missing out on ‘that’ game but to hear and read people being so open about how they felt was great. 

And I use that word in the loosest sense. Of course, one wouldn’t want fellow supporters to be feeling anything like I did – all that emotion that had been experienced and accumulated since my first game back in 1979 unable to let out in one, final, scream of Brrreeeeeeennnnntttt-fffforrrrrdddd. 

I was flat. Low. All over the shop. The early morning run to the shops, with the selected route conveniently looping around the deserted stadium, making it even worse. It should have been a hive of activity at that point. Instead, Brentford was like ghost town. My mind playing all sorts of cruel tricks, trying to imagine what it would have been like.

I swear Jota winked at me as I limped past the main gates on Braemar Road.

Regulation exercise saw an early morning run to the shop. Oh, Jota 😦

Yet to read so many of us sharing the same experience and going through such similar emotions was, bizarrely, like some form of cyber-hug. Despite being ripped apart from each other, we’ve never felt closer together.

Griffin Park, Brentford and #FarewellGriffinPark were all trending on Twitter for most of the day as the fans united. Not just to shed a tear but also to share their special memories of a home that we’ll be doing well to see again. Instantgram a sea of glorious images.

It wasn’t easy. It was never going to be. Popular music’s Hard-Fi adding further salt to the wound later in the day by confirming they’d have played their first show together in six years as a means of saying goodbye to the ground. Frontman Richard Archer being a huge Brentford fan, of course. Here’s hoping Adam Bluetone and Rhino from The Quo were also lined up. Brentford-fest – just imagine….

I think if the club had come out and said they were wearing a special kit for that final game it would just about have finished me off. Thankfully they stayed silent on that subject. And most, to be fair.

In part I suspect this was to let the fans ‘grieve’ on their own. Equally, it would have been nice had they at least acknowledged the significance of the day. Perhaps that will come. Perhaps ignoring it was their way of saying we WILL be back.

You never know…..

What I love about this is that @HARD_FI waited until it absolutely wasn’t going to happen – as if JUST MAYBE – coronavirus might say “oh go on then, I’ll take the night off, get yourselves done to Griffin Park. Bring me back some chips”. #BrentfordFC #farewellgriffinpark https://t.co/ajmHkXr914

— Sarah Merker (@SarahAMerker) May 2, 2020

The other super positive of the day was Andy Scott, who was the latest guest on the regular GPG webcast. My word it was good. Unexpectedly so. Entertaining. Honest. Reflective. Insightful. Like Martin Allen, a man who connected with the fans – not just at the time but even in the answering of every question. It really felt personal.

He was candid about things he’d got wrong. Celebratory about what had gone well. Poignant about Rob Rowan, with lavish praise being poured on a man who the more we learn about the more we realise just what an incredible individual we have lost. What an amazing part of the Brentford family he was. 

Andy Scott was the latest guest

And he was funny. The story about Kevin Dearden, Ron Noades’ kitchen and a pogo stick one that had me laughing for what felt like the first time all day. As the GPG Twitter feed noted afterwards:

Riveting meetup with Andy Scott. Maybe the best one yet. You couldn’t ask for more from Andy than this. It’s all in there, incl answering @samsaunders7 ‘s questions from last week (at the very end Sam!).

Forget Netflix, this is well worth a 2h15m binge.

And they are right. It was fascinating stuff. Entertaining. You can find it below. Put your feet up, sit back and enjoy.    

Great work,GPG and Andy. Thank you.

Next weekend’s guest promises to be very special. With Trevor unable to name them on the yesterday’s session, given the announcement is going to be made alongside the club next week, draw whatever conclusions you must from the below tweet published this morning…..

For a day with no football, 'twas a busy day

Can't replace a matchday but we've had fantastic guests on the Lockdown series. I really think it gets better and better. Scotty was superb as were others

BUT can the next guest top Andy? Can he? Really?

No idea who it is BTW 😇 pic.twitter.com/F72aCQbloI

— Griffin Park Grapevine (Brentford FC) (@bfcgpg) May 3, 2020

Until then, dreams of football remain just that, dreams. Will we go up? Could it be Manchester City and Liverpool at Lionel Road? Whenever that may be.

Might we end up playing out this campaign behind closed doors in neutral stadia, as is being suggested more and more? 

I’d oppose that suggestion 100% if so – just think of the unfair advantage it would give Fulham.

Nick Bruzon

Thank you NHS. Thank you Sergi. Thank you Jan.

What can you say? Yesterday we should have been watching Brentford play Reading in an out of town car park. The most soul destroying of trips to somewhere that looks, as the crow flies, so close yet in reality is a trip that would test even Bear Grylls. The sort of thing we’d take an almost masochistic pleasure in moaning about yet, right now, I’d give my right arm to be in a position to be upset about having made the shlep to the Madjeski. The realisation of just how much we take for granted is hitting home with all the subtly of Ian Moose at a buffet. Should such a thing still exist. Buffets, I mean. Football is over for the foreseeable. Life is all about staying sane and staying healthy. Thoughts of Griffin Park and the last game with Barnsley nothing more than an optimistic light on the horizon. 

Yet optimism is what we need right now. With the news making for such hard going it would be easy to sink into despondency. I’m not going to pretend I haven’t had low points in the last week or so. I’m sure I can’t be alone and I am sure there will be more to come. With self-isolation becoming more and more prevalent – whether enforced or voluntary – even walking past Griffin Park yesterday morning on an almost clandestine trip to the shop felt like a guilty pleasure.

Moreso given how hard those people on the front line are working to keep things going. Food and drink should be available (as long as people don’t act like dicks in the supermarket) and our NHS staff are busting an absolute gut, despite being in the very forefront of what is impacting us all.

Griffin Park is understandably on lockdown

The trip back from the shop was punctuated by a call from Mrs. Bruzon. Where was I? Harry had suffered a horrific fall and smacked his head open!!! Blood everywhere and losing consciousness. My heart stopped. Panic set in – and as much because I had to start running to get the last mile back to them. It wasn’t a pretty sight on arrival (but enough about my knackered lungs). Blood everywhere, H looking grey and not even crying. Just slumped lethargically against mummy who was heading off to the hospital.

The short hop to West Mid was not a good one. I have to be honest I’ve not been so scared in a long, long time. Sat in the back with Harry, he was barely coherent. Barely awake. I did my best to keep him talking. Asking silly questions about Brentford. The answers made no sense. Dalsgaard isn’t a centre back. Ollie Watkins has scored more than 16 goals. This was not a good sign. At least he recognised that Sergi Canos is his favourite player.

All I could do was promise that if he kept talking to me and then did everything the doctors and nurses asked, I’d give him the one shirt from my collection he’s had his eye on to go in his bedroom – Jan Zamburek’s Ecoworld blue ‘Farewell Griffin Park’ shirt (don’t ask ; that’s a story for another day).

We reached the hospital in a hurry. Thankfully, people seem to finally be taking the advice to stay indoors seriously and traffic was at a minimum. Scooping him from the back seat, I ran in with H in my arms. Heart pumping – but , again, as much through lack of fitness as panic. Here we go…..

Wow! The NHS staff were amazing. Incredible. Moved so quickly. Got him in, cleaned up, assessed, treated and slowly the colour returned to his cheeks. The shock he had suffered worn off. The huge gouge above his eye now sealed up and sure to leave a proper ‘Action Man’ style scar. With all the carnage going on in the outside world and the incredible pressure / stress they must be under at present, to see how calm and caring they were was nothing short of life affirming. Huge love and huge thanks from me and Mrs B, that’s for sure! 

Harry is now fine. He is home. His composure returned and Zamburek’s shirt is hanging in his room, alongside what I think is Gary Blissett’s 92-93 ‘away’ (again, don’t ask). I’ll say one thing for H, he does have good taste. 

H now has a new favourite shirt

We’re all sitting around in self-isolation – wondering how to get through the coming weeks but knowing that we will. Knowing that thanks to those wonderful people in the NHS, a personal nightmare has been avoided. Things are likely going to get very tough for while. They’ll be the ones out there looking after us. You only need to look at the news to see how things have played out in other countries. To see how irresponsible some people have still been as recently as Friday night, having ‘one last hurrah for the road’ before pubs shut down.

I don’t want to go all holier than thou because I’m not. But having seen health workers in action first hand, the last thing we need to do is pile any more pressure on them. The last thing we want is them, or anyone, going hungry. Do think before you hit ‘stockpile’ mode or go walkabout. It might not be much fun compared to our usual freedoms (although the alternatives are 10 times worse, to coin a phrase).

If for no other reason that aside from going stir crazy, many of us need to double up as teachers. Cripes!!  If the NHS, supermarket workers and all those others whom we have, let’s be honest, probably taken for complete granted over the years deserve respect than I am sure this will be equally applicable to those who keep the schools running. Me and H have already had our first science class – making bouncy eyeballs (well, he was worried he may need a replacement). 

It is also a time that is bringing out the best in people. Neighbours are suddenly looking out for each other. Strangers doing good deeds. Streets and communities coming together to try and help each other through these unprecedented times. We have warmth. We have the internet. We have a lot of TV and board-game time coming up. Hopefully we all have food.

But I also know we will get through this. Stop. Think. Look out for your friends. Your neighbours. Each other. Pick up the phone. Send a text message to somebody who might not be expecting it. Let’s stay talking to each other. This is the chance for Social Media to be an amazing power for good rather than the hotbed of vitriol and nastiness it can so often be.

Just reading the words of Sergi Canos yesterday put a huge smile on my face.  There may be no football at present but it’s probably the least of our concerns in the immediate grand scheme. Let’s keep on remembering the good times and look forward to them returning at some point.

I still get goosebumps watching this. Can’t wait to touch another football pitch with my Brentford shirt on. We are in really hard times right now but we will get through this together.
I love you bees🐝🐝🐝🐝 https://t.co/HvDS1sDEtp

— Sergi Canós Tenés (@sergicanos) March 21, 2020

Nick Bruzon