For anyone just coming in from work, the key dates are….

Hold on to your hats, Brentford fans. Despite seeming like an eternity already since the Championship ended, football is about to go. Again. With the 2018 World Cup about to kick off (in an ‘on pitch’ sense, one hopes) over in Russia, it’s time to mark those all important dates in the diary. This time next week, we’ll be good to go.

Just some of the many treats we’ve got to look forward to include……

Thursday 14^th June. The World cup opening game. Russia v Saudi Arabia.

Monday 18^th June. The first England game. A 7pm start against Tunisia

Thursday 21^st June. The 2018/19 Championship fixture list is released

Sunday 1^st July. The draw takes place to find the winner of our limited edition Brentford FC 2018/18 ‘third’ shirt.

Yes. The wall chart is on the fridge. The beer is in the fridge. Andreas Bjelland (258) is finally in the sticker collection, even if he won’t now be at the tournament.  The excitement is building. The BBC may have poured scorn on the tournament’s opening fixture when the draw was made, saying that ITV could have that one, but for me it’s an absolutely crucial game. A key opportunity to lay down a gauntlet and, quite frankly, an opportunity missed.

Whilst the game may not be the most exciting on paper, a 4pm (GMT) kick off sees the first chance of the tournament for World Cup bingo players to cross off the phrase, “And for anybody just coming in from work, the score is…. “

This is an absolute tournament staple and for the BBC to have turned down the first chance to use it must surely rank as some sort of commentary related own goal. Despite the score being clearly available in the top corner for all to see, it still makes me smile to hear this phrase. A ritual as important as using the orange ball in the snow or brackets when the score turns to 7(seven) – 0.

Expect Mark Pougatch to have the honours this time around with the key line being delivered at approximately 5.13pm.

Next up, Brentford. The previous column was all about self-promotion. Albeit for a very good cause – trying to raise a few quid for the Community Sports Trust. As anybody who follows yours truly on Twitter may be aware (and apologies for the spamming!) the latest Last Word season reviews are now available for download.

If you’d like to buy one (at just £2/£4 respectively) all proceeds received are going to be donated to the Trust. I’ve also been given a very special shirt – one of last season’s ‘\third’ kits, with squad number 4 on the reverse in EFL font. As you may be aware, these weren’t available on general release and so this is a very rare item.

Anybody downloading a copy goes into the hat where one person will be pulled at random to win this short. Just send me a copy of your download confirmation mail (DM me or @NickBruzon on twitter) and I’ll add you to the draw. This is really important if you’d like to have a chance of winning as I can’t see the names otherwise!

Ten Times Better. Brentford FC Season review: 2017/18. Inspired by ‘that’ interview it contains the least bad of these columns in one, handy volume as it looks at our own campaign as well as wider divisional life and the promotion / relegation races.

As a bonus there’s a whole host of new material. New that is, for my pages. Specifically, all the programme articles submitted (both home and away where, if nothing else, you can get the original versions of both Birmingham City and Millwall).

In addition, There Is No Plan B. Brentford FC Season reviews: 2013/14 – 2017/18 takes us all the way back to the start of this latest leg in the journey. That penalty. League One. Harlee Dean was a hero. Jota was something we thought happened to the temperature for one week in July. Alan Judge had joined on loan whilst the Marinus Experiment was something nobody had contemplated. Bringing things bang up to date by the inclusion of this year’s volume alongside the four previously published campaign round ups, it has five seasons in one weighty tome. As weighty as a download can be, that is.

Relive the memories. Remind yourself about the likes of Betinho, Martin Fillo, Javi Venta and Marcos Tebar. See how often the same material gets regurgitated. Just do something for a great cause.

Next up, the fixture list. June 21st is when we can start to make our travel plans for the forthcoming campaign . When we can see if Christmas is ruined or saved.

I have a feeling these could almost slip through un-noticed if the World Cup gets as thrilling as it could / should. Yet I’ll still have an eye open for these. Aston Villa (should they still be in existence at that point) QPR and the Boxing Day fixture will be the big ones for me.

More to follow.

As a final thought, the one date we don’t have is that for our new shirt launch. If anybody from the club is reading (unlikely, but) please put us out of our misery. Having seen some of the Adidas designs already released – and that’s just for the World Cup – I have big hopes….

No pressure, Bob….

Nick Bruzon

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Win a rare Bees shirt in the Last Word season review competition.

Welcome back, Brentford fans. With the World Cup approaching its time to start slowly dipping the toes back into the murky water of these pages. Just ad-hoc, for now. But looking around the world of football yesterday it felt like things were starting to happen once more. I know, I know. It was only five minutes ago that the Bees secured a fourth top ten finish, Wolves were winning the title, Fulham took their clappers into the Premier League and Birmingham City dodged relegation by the skin of their teeth.  Yet, and it may just be me, this feels like an eternity already. The interminable wait to ‘go again’ with nothing but anticipation for Russia 2018 and completing the Panini sticker book / bankrupting myself (as symbiotic as relationships come, that one) to fill the Championship void. That, and of course the now annual exercise, of completing the season review.

Yes – it’s Kindle e-book time and this one’s a potential download double-header. I’ve got to be honest, I wasn’t going to bother this season. Indeed, this may well be the last. Yet equally, last year’s effort raised a nice sum for the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust and do we’ve decided to do the same again. Should anybody want to download a copy of either publication from the Amazon store (whilst one Bees fan will win a very rare shirt….) then once again all proceeds received will be going to the Trust.

Starting things off is Ten Times Better. Brentford FC Season review: 2017/18. Inspired by ‘that’ interview it contains the least bad of these columns in one, handy volume as it looks at our own campaign as well as wider divisional life and the promotion / relegation races. In addition there’s a whole host of new material. New that is, for my pages. Specifically, all the programme articles submitted (both home and away where, if nothing else, you can get the original versions of both Birmingham City and Millwall). You can get that one here for your kindle / app.

In addition, There Is No Plan B. Brentford FC Season reviews: 2013/14 – 2017/18 takes us all the way back to the start of this latest leg in the journey. That penalty. League One. Harlee Dean was a hero. Jota was something we thought happened to the temperature for one week in July. Alan Judge had joined on loan whilst the Marinus Experiment was something nobody had contemplated. Bringing things bang up to date by the inclusion of this year’s volume alongside the four previously published campaign round ups, it has five seasons in one weighty tome.As weighty as a download can be, that is.

Relive the memories. See how often the same material gets regurgitated. Remind yourself about the likes of Betinho, Martin Fillo, Javi Venta and Marcos Tebar. Certainly, if there’s no Marcos Tea Bar at Lionel Road it will be an opportunity missed.

And you can pick this one up here.

Available now to download for your kindle / e-reader

Most of all, this is all for charity. All proceeds from any sales will go to the Sports Trust. For less than the cost of a half / pint respectively, they may help while away some time on the commute. By the pool on holiday. In the bathroom. Who knows? It will certainly do some good for the Trust, whose work has been well documented at Griffin Park but you can read all about it on their site.

And if that wasn’t enough, I’ve been given something very special. A 2017/18 third team shirt with Lewis Macleod’s squad number on the reverse in the EFL typeface. Anyone with half an interest in Bees kits will know that these were never made available in the club shop.  Anyone who has read any of this before will know what a kit nerd yours truly is so when I say this is rare, take that in good faith!

To be in with a chance of owning it, download a copy of either before the end of June and you’ll go into a draw to win this. Just DM/tweet me (@NickBruzon) a copy of your purchase confirmation mail and I’ll add your name to the list before selecting a random Bees fan to win this on July 1st.

Download either volume, help the BFC CST and maybe win this

Thanks for your time. Now back to the football. Sunday was dominated by two tweets. At least, in Brentford circles. The selection of Denmark’s final 23 man squad for the upcoming World Cup and, of course, the quite wonderful news about Alan Judge, who bagged a 90th minute winner for Republic of Ireland.

First up, Denmark. The Danes have named their final World Cup squad and it’s a case of congratulations to Henrik Dalsgaard on his selection. This is wonderful news for the player and, perhaps also, another string in the bow of our recruitment team as Brentford will have representation in Russia. The flipside to this is heartbreak for Andreas Bjelland. Despite already appearing in the Panini sticker book for the tournament, he has missed out on the plane to Moscow. One has to feel for our man although I’ve no doubt he’ll be wishing his club mate and compatriots nothing but the best.

Denmark have announced the 23-man squad that will compete at the FIFA World Cup. pic.twitter.com/6X51AvVMeB

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 3, 2018

Yet there was one story that kept popping up time and again on my social media timeline. Just to be clear, we’re not talking about Sergi Canos and his missing luggage. Instead, the news about Alan Judge was everywhere. And rightly so!!

We all know what happened to Alan two years ago. We all know the long road to recovery which he has travelled down since that point. We all remember how wonderful it was to see him make a very welcome return for The Bees in that FA Cup match against Notts County back in January. So there aren’t really anymore words needed to sum up what was quite the fairy tale ending against the USA at the weekend…..

After two years out of action following a broken leg, this is what it means! Well done, Alan Judge! #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/uPS0BzKYO5

— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) June 2, 2018

See you all again as the World Cup prepares to kick off. Or Brentford launch their kit.

In the meantime, if you’d like to read more……..

Nick Bruzon

Kamo joins but will King Jota abdicate ? Reece Cole – what a goal !

Boom. That was a day and a half. Following weeks of tumbleweed, football has come back to Brentford with a bang. There’s been a new signing in Kamohelo Mokotjo.  We’ve had the first pre-season friendly with a 5-1 run out at Aldershot. Yet all the talk was of  the main man, Jota, missing that game following a deluge of transfer speculation involving the likes of West Ham, Newcastle, Brighton and just about any other name our local press could chuck at the story to generate click bait headlines and some form of substance.

And so, with the absolute greatest of respect to Kamo, we can only start with Jota. Everybody knows just what he did before going out on loan to Eibar for personal reasons and everybody knows just how incredibly he performed upon this return in January. His ability is staggering, his enthusiasm and love for the club is apparent and he is one of those rare players to unite all Brentford fans in a common opinion – namely just a wonderful player and, quite possibly, the most skillful we’ve had the privilege to watch in living memory.

‘Official’ love him, too

Well, whatever nonsense/guesswork was going around cyberspace (and boy, here was an example of how a rumour can spread like wildfire thanks to social media), it was down to none other than Billy Reeves as the right man in the right place. His post match interview with Dean cut to the nub of the matter, where our head coach confirmed:

“Jota came to see me yesterday and he said that his agent has told him there’s a bid imminent from a Premier League club. He knows that club will want a massive bid….If the bid doesn’t come in and its not big enough Jota’s happy enough to stay at Brentford as a Brentford player”

This seemed to immediately rule out West Ham as potential suitors. The words ‘bid’ and ‘massive’ being anything but their style, as evidenced during the faffing around with Scott Hogan at Christmas. That, something which eventually worked to our advantage as the player moved to Aston Villa for a figure documented in the media (although officially undisclosed) as £15million.

Dean went on to add that,“It would have to be a massive bid to tempt the football club” , so the question is now, what happens next? And apologies if that puts anybody off their cornflakes with images of Phil Tufnell or Ally McCoist faux-flirting with Sue Barker.

Let’s rule out West Ham. His flair and skill would perhaps be at odds with their more industrial style of football whilst they’re generally all talk and no trousers when it comes to significant transfer activity. My gut fells is one of those clubs we were on Championship terms with last season – namely a Brighton, Huddersfield or Newcastle United. Although don’t rule out the likes of Bournemouth or Watford. Hey, I realise that’s a quarter of the league in one sentence but I’m just trying to figure it out.

Talking to another source close to the club last night, the name Brighton also came up. On target or miles off? Who knows. Will they, or anyone else, put in what Dean confirms “would have to be a massive bid to tempt the football club” ?

Billy’s interview cuts to the chase, as ever

It’s interesting. We know the financial rewards for reaching the top flight. £170milllion is the figure touted for going up from the Championship. Weigh that up against £8m – the figure Billy suggested to Dean – for a player who will be out of contract when this campaign ends. Which way will the club jump? Indeed, will we even get a choice if Jota decides his heart and feet belong in the Premier League immediately?

We all know of his love for Griffin Park. That much is apparent . But agents and money both talk. We showed loyalty to him in supporting the loan move back to Eibar and that was paid back in bucketloads when the player returned at Christmas. Indeed, Dean spoke earlier in the week (in that SKY interview) about our aspiration being top six. By definition, that means promotion or a shot at it through the play-offs. With it comes that dumper truck fill of money and the top flight football that Jota is so clearly capable of.

Is he prepared to wait? Can we make him an offer he can’t refuse? Are we financially able to turn down that short term hit of cash which comes with his transfer fee ? Are we able to make it without a man who is most prolific talent? This one is going to take am massive leap of faith from all parties if Jota is to stay a Bee.

Brighton. West Ham. Other. This is going to be a very squeaky next couple of weeks on that front. I’d also note that the fact we are even having this conversation – top flight aspirations and another multi million pound transfer – shows yet again how far we’ve come as a club. This time though, I’m hoping it’ll play out in a fan friendly way and the King doesn’t abdicate just yet .

On the more positive front, Kamo Mokotjo has signed from FC Twente. Top marks Beesotted for calling that one. Dean Smith told Billy “He’s a ball winning midfielder. His passing stats were incredible last year in the Dutch league“ whilst his quote on official describes Kamo as “a defensive midfielder who can break play up, cover a lot of ground and use the ball intelligently”

The news was preceded by a short video in which the media team debated whether there was a gimmicky way to announce his signing before settling on the traditional signing photo. Reaction to the 40 second film has been mixed – both cringe and brilliant.

For me, we are in the latter camp – a clear attempt at taking the ‘p’ from the likes of Aston Villa (That. Whatsapp) and the seemingly modern trend for ‘hilarious’ announcements. Often involving hashtags.

Whilst the build up to the punchline was perhaps a tad laboured (Chris Wickham, Ciaran Brett et al are certainly no Matt Damon on the acting front) we got there in the end. Top marks all round and I hope supporters can see it for the obvious joke that this was !

And did anybody spot new programme editor Sam Marshall in there? He’s on twitter now as @SamMarshall94 .#WelcomeSam.

D’oh!

One other observation on this news but has Kamo been given the world’s longest signing scarf? Or, as one New Road observer would suggest to me last night, perhaps he’s only 5ft two ?

Kamo signs – he won’t be cold in the winter

As for on pitch action, we can only be happy with a 5-1 win at Aldershot. I wasn’t there so can’t add much more beyond what we’ve all seen on social media. That said, special mention to Reece Cole in setting an early bar for goal of the season. What a strike for the youngster and, with the finish/build up play, an effort somewhat reminiscent of Stuart Dallas at Fulham.

You can see that one Twitter now.

Thanks again for reading. I’m off to watch The Lions and pray for Jota.

📹 Pick that out! @reececole32 nets a beauty vs @OfficialShots pic.twitter.com/1XxJNGyz2V

— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) July 7, 2017

AUTHOR’S PLUG – (it’s all for charity).

And if you’d like to read more about Jota and last season then please don’t forget (how could you?) that the regular season review e-book remains available for download. This one is titled ‘Welcome home, King Jota’ and this time around it is for a great cause. All funds raised are being given to the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust. Likewise, any subsequent sales from the previous versions.

Containing the least bad of the blogs from May 2016 to May 2017 and a bit of new material too, you can pick it up, here. It’s just £1.99.

So why not do something great to help our club. What else will £1.99 get you? What better way to spend some time on the commute to work, the beach, by the pool or even hiding out in the toilet at the office?

For less than the cost of half a pint on match day, it’s the season review that has been designed to fit in your pocket (if you are using an i-phone).

Nick Bruzon

What’s worse than a hashtag? Two hashtags. And a fake Whatsapp

Roll on August. Please. As tumbleweed continues to blow through the Championship, something actually happened yesterday. Brentford haven’t signed/sold anybody although Aston Villa have – and it would be fair to say they are wetting themselves over picking up a past his prime John Terry from Chelsea. Elsewhere, we’ve dodged the TV cameras with the latest fixtures up until the end of September. And there’s shock news there for Leeds United fans.

Clanggggg. The sound of a name being dropped. This week I wrote the annual season preview for FourFourTwo magazine, looking at the good and bad of Brentford, along with a number of other Championship based questions. One of which being – Who will be the biggest pantomime villain in the Championship this season?

I did think about Aston Villa super fan Simon Hateley – still smarting from all his bravado last season coming back to royally bite him. What was Villa’s record against the Bees? Ah yes, P 2 W0 D1 L1 GD -3 and £15m handed over – thanks for that.

But then it really would be too niche and, besides, Hateley fits more in the category of unintentional comedian rather than poor man’s Christopher Biggins. That said, he’s still going strong on Twitter at the moment, declaring his own Scott Hogan a ‘bag of shite’ this week. And you can follow him etc at @simonchateley.

Sadly, magazine deadlines ahead of an August publication got in the way of choosing a player who would surely have won the poll hands down. Aston Villa new boy, John Terry.

In the most cringeworthy of press releases – a simulated WhatsApp conversation between Dr. Tony Xia (the man going neck and neck with Vincent Tan as the Championship’s poor man’s Bond villain) – the news was released yesterday. In it, (current) manager Steve Bruce was given the news that Villa had got their man from Chelsea.

Oh, you couldn’t make it up. Toes are curling just looking at this news now. I’m not sure what’s worse. The cheesy press release or the fact they’ve signed this most disruptive and washed up of players. No premier League club have touched him. No MLS side – surely the standard cash cow for any past their prime ‘name’ – have made an offer he can’t refuse . No side challenging for Championship promotion have gone near him. I can’t wait to see us run rings around the rusty old legs. September 9th can’t come soon enough.

There were multiple hashtags for this one. #WelcomeJT and #PartOfThe Pride. Still nowhere near #Bignewambitions or #Trophyfriends but at least we’ve dropped all that nonsense now. Good luck to Villa, seriously.

Whilst Hateley was unusually silent on the subject, comments on Twitter from other fans included: “Most high profile signing at Villa for years.” ,”Im over the moon with this, great signing, leading by example, UTV” and “Can not wait until I see the legend he is at villa park, what a sight that will be!” I fear this is a massive gamble that will only end in disappointment – whether for Terry’s new admirers or his team mates.

Give me Harlee Dean, any day.

JT is a Villan. Indeed

Elsewhere, the latest round of TV fixtures has been announced. Brentford have managed to swerve the cameras whilst perennial Sky favourites Leeds United only appear once. Not a typo. The club that have had more appearances than Steve Claridge has had clubs have only been picked for their trip to Sunderland. Infact, there seems to be a real mixture of teams being shown for the games prior to 9 September.

That said, we’re not out of the woods yet with 14 July being the final date for the last September games to be announced. Fulham and QPR are amongst those to also avoid rearrangement, so far. Surely West London won’t avoid selection come the next round.

This is all part and parcel of being in the Championship, of course. Griffin Park has been a popular place for the cameras over the last few seasons and it’s no doubt a matter of time before our number is up. At least we can do some train booking in relative confidence though and with Sky having opted for Sheffield Wednesday v Nottingham Forest on September 9th, at least our trip to see Scott Hogan, John Terry (assuming not dropped, suspended/injured by that stage) et al remains as is

The full list of TV fixtures to date on ‘official’ .

Brentford will return to Villa Park at 3pm on 9 Sep

AUTHOR’S PLUG – (it’s all for charity).

And if you’d like to read more about last season including those wins over Villa and Leeds, amongst others then please don’t forget (how could you?) that the regular season review e-book is now available for download. This one is titled ‘Welcome home, King Jota’ and this time around it is for a great cause. All funds raised are being given to the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust. Likewise, any subsequent sales from the previous versions.

Containing the least bad of the blogs from May 2016 to May 2017 and a bit of new material too, you can pick it up, here. It’s just £1.99.

So why not do something great to help our club. What else will £1.99 get you? What better way to spend some time on the commute to work, the beach, by the pool or even hiding out in the toilet at the office?

For less than the cost of half a pint on match day, it’s the season review that has been designed to fit in your pocket (if you are using an i-phone).

Nick Bruzon

KK bids farewell (for now). But is it the right decision?

“This is the moment for the Austrian. And what a moment it is.” Not my words but those enthused by Beesplayer commentator par excellence Mark Burridge to describe the goal scored by Konstantin Kerschbaumer as Brentford retook the lead deep into injury time against Brighton back in February. It was a strike worthy of the shortlist for goal of the season yet it was announced yesterday that the Austrian is off on loan to Germany where he will spend 2017/18 with DSC Arminia Bielefeld.

KK is in there, somewhere, celebrating a ‘winner ‘ against Brighton

The immediate question is why? Specifically, why has this happened and why wasn’t he ever given a decent run in the side? That Brighton goal was the obvious cherry on the cake of two years at Griffin Park and it’s been no secret on these pages that he’s been a player yours truly would have given much more game time. The interplay between himself and Scott Hogan at the end of Dean Smith’s first season suggested such huge potential yet despite plenty of patchy performances from his team mates, he’s never been given a proper crack of the whip.

Then again, Dean Smith is head coach for a reason and I’m just the numpty on the terrace. He was quoted on ‘official’ yesterday as saying, “With the quality we have in the squad, we cannot guarantee game time for anyone”. Presumably, unless your name is Nico? Or Ryan? Or Romaine? Or Josh (subject to injury)? That’s meant as no disrespect to any of these players but more to make the point that a settled and pretty much guaranteed midfield is something Dean has set out to build. As such, it seemed a somewhat contradictory statement.

KK rightly deserving of a place in this pantheon of net busting brilliance

 

Stats. Is there a scarier, more mis-construed word in the Griffin Park vocabulary? The journalistic zombie that Matthew Benham just can’t kill? Well, I’m going to play the stats game here with a few.

First up – this from our own Luis Melville back in April. If anybody can nail a killer stat it’s Luis. This one is very simple but very to the point.

Just to hammer home that Konstantin Kerschbaumer assist stat relative to his game time… #goalsupplier 👏👏👏#BrentfordFC#FFCBEES pic.twitter.com/pAUIEUHEXZ

— Luis Melville (@LuisMelville) April 30, 2017

It’s interesting to see Luis responding to Ted Knutson (who was of course hugely involved in Player Analytics at Smartodds). For our second piece of statistical reference, a piece written by Ted in May 2017 says more about the player then these pages could ever hope to do. For me, his key statistical point being:

“2320 minutes, 1 goal, 12 assists.

That’s an assist rate of about .47 per 90, which is in the top 3% of footballers. Kersch also doesn’t take set pieces, meaning nearly all of his assists come from open play. To give you an idea of how unusual this is, in the last four seasons in the Championship nine players have posted 12 assists or more, all with more minutes and nearly all of them taking set pieces.”

There’s so much more to Ted’s column than just that stat. For those doubting what Konstantin added, please do have a read. If nothing else, it gives a fascinating insight into the Brentford recruitment process. At the same time, take a positive from the fact that, officially, the player is going out to Germany to get game time under his belt. With a Jota style additional year added to his contract (see also: Jack Bonham and Carlisle), could he return even bigger and better than ever before? Here’s hoping.

Whether you would pick KK or not (and one thing I’d agree with Dean on is that the squad has midfield quality) the simple fact is that the head coach has never seen fit to give a player he inherited an extended run. Personally, I disagree but that’s football. Dean and his team must have known the statistical evidence so perhaps there is something more to it than that.

Who knows why and who knows where we’ll all be in 12 months time? I, for one, could quite honestly never ever see Jota coming back after heading out to Eibar on loan. Nobody needs any reminder of just how wonderfully that played out.

Could the same thing happen again? Just imagine….

And if you’d like to read more about KK, that goal and last season then please don’t forget (how could you?) that the regular season review e-book is now available for download. This one is titled ‘Welcome home, King Jota’  and this time around it is for a great cause. All funds raised are being given to the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust. Likewise, any subsequent sales from the previous versions.

Containing the least bad of the blogs from May 2016 to May 2017 and a bit of new material too, you can pick it up, here. It’s just £1.99.

So why not do something great to help our club. What else will £1.99 get you? What better way to spend some time on the commute to work, the beach, by the pool or even hiding out in the toilet at work? You might even enjoy it !

For less than the cost of half a pint on match day, it’s the season review that has been designed to fit in your pocket (if you are using an i-phone).

Nick Bruzon

This is the big one (for Wagner). And a special ‘thank you’ for Bees fans.

This is it. Today’s the day Brentford discover their final Championship opponent for next season. The play-off final sees Huddersfield Town and Reading doing battle in the, so-called, £100million match. Certainly, that’s the figure usually quoted in TV revenue for the team fortunate enough to come out on top in the choke off (there’s no other word for it) to reach the Premier League. That said, reading an article in The Independent last week, they are quoting it being as much as £170m rising to £290m. That’s just incredible.

For the winner . Riches and acclaim. Then the chance to see if they’ll emulate the likes of Watford, Bournemouth or Burnley in survival rather than Hull City and Middlesbrough with an immediate return. For the loser there’ll be tears, ‘if onlys’, the chance to come back Griffin Park (see – its not all bad) and inevitable comparisons to Derby County.

As a neutral, I love watching the play-offs. Moreso, this match. The FA Cup on Saturday was fantastic. Much as it loathes me to say it, Arsenal fully deserved their victory as Premier league Champions Chelsea were swept away. Victor Moses performing the worst dive since Greg Louganis cracked his head on the board during the 1988 Olympics pretty much summed up their effort.

Yet talking to a friend in The Griffin (other pubs are available) during the game, the conversation turned to the relevance of that tournament. It is the world’s oldest cup competition and, as a Brentford fan, I’d simply love us to do well. To embark on an epic cup run. To perhaps emulate that wonderful run of 88/89 or even go one better. To take a tinfoil cup to Wembley itself.

The Bees haven’t reached an FA Cup quarter final since Liverpool in 88/89

But for other teams, certainly at the business end of the top flight, it is treated largely as an afterthought throughout most of the campaign. Weakened teams are fielded in what has become more of a nice to win than a need to win. Qualification for the Champions league, and the riches/prestige that come with that, is very much viewed as the ‘must have’ prize by many.

Did Spurs have a better season by finishing second in the Premier league and reaching that European tournament? Or could Arsenal, who played like they really wanted it, be argued to have been the more successful through getting their name on a trophy but missing out on the big one in Europe? The romantic in me says it is the FA Cup. The realist in me knows just what the Champions league can bring in terms of revenue and reputation to those clubs whose financial model and being able to compete absolutely rely on repeat qualification.

As it stands, Brentford are yet to make an FA Cup final (I’m not counting the War cup) or reach the play-off for the Premier League. That said, we gave it quite a go in 2014/15 when Middlesbrough were all that stood between us and a trip to Wembley for a crack at the top flight. Move along. Nothing to see here beyond another notch in the bedpost marked ‘challenging record’ after 8 attempts made.

Yet I’ll absolutely be glued to the screen this afternoon when Huddersfield and Reading walk out. This is no ‘nice to have’ match. This is all about the pressure and the reward that comes with victory. Everybody knows what is at stake. It is a game that combines the prestige of winning the FA Cup with the finances that come with making the Champions’ league.  There’ll be a global audience tuned in to this in a battle of who can hold their nerve.

Let’s be honest, nobody could pick a definite winner out of these two. I’m still amazed Reading made it, certainly based on the way Brentford played against them this season. Huddersfield led the table early and did the double over the Bees, yet it was the Royals who came third and despatched a very, very good Fulham team along the way. Much as it pains me to admit.

Instead, we’ll just have to leave this one to the players on the day. Who wants it more? Personally, I’m backing David Wagner’s team. And for no more illogical reason than the oft made reference on these pages to him and that one time X-Factor singer, err, Wagner.

Well, it seems that now worlds have actually collided. And how!! I’m not sure if this is car crash or sheer brilliance. Enjoy…

It's a disgrace this guy didn't win the X Factor #htafc pic.twitter.com/xbTWLbMmD9

— Will Harris (@vvillharris) May 27, 2017

And finally.. a HUGE thank you to call those who have already downloaded this year’s e-book: Welcome Home, King Jota (Brentford FC season review 2016/17)

Priced at just £1.99, all funds from this one (and the previous titles) are being given to the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust.

Containing the least bad of the blogs from May 16 to May 17 you can pick it up, here. Along with all the usual Brentford stuff, we look at how the Championship season played out as teams came and went aswell as the ‘other stuff’ (fans of Mrs. Brown and her boys should probably look away now).

Hearing Yoann Barbet and Lasse Vibe speak at the player of the year dinner after sharing the Community player of the year award for the work they do with the Trust was truly inspirational. We all know how wonderful our club is and so, from a personal note, I’d love to make some gesture back – no matter how small.

Downloading any of the titles is now for a great cause. Hey, you may even enjoy reading. Funnier things have happened.

THANK YOU

The latest version now available – for a great cause
Nick Bruzon

King Jota is the star of this year’s e-book (and it’s for a great cause).

What was your highlight of the season?  The double over QPR ? The win at Brighton? Crushing Aston Villa, Preston, Derby County and Leeds United (amongst others) at home? The trip to Burton United? Or something else?

How about those outstanding on pitch displays from the likes of Ryan Woods, Harlee Dean, Lasse Vibe and Daniel Bentley, to name but a few? Villa fan Simon Hateley self-combusting on Twitter? The return of Mrs. Brown and her boys in the hilarious : “All round to Mrs. Brown’s” (please note: your definition of hilarious may very well vary).

Mrs Brown. It was worse than any of us could imagine

If everybody’s ‘favourite mammy’ (they’re the words of the BBC, definitely not me) struggled to provide laughs, at least they came thick and fast c/o eventual QPR boss Ian Holloway. His pre-season prediction as to how Brentford would end the campaign, made in an article for Sky Sports,  was one that came back to haunt him time and again. So much so that he would eventually deny even making it.

But for me the real pick of the bunch was not one moment but a feeling of momentum that built thanks to the return of those two wonderful Spaniards – Sergi Canos and, of course, King Jota. The sale of goal machine Scott Hogan to Aston Villa would barely cause a ripple on the Griffin Park seismograph as our new look team started scoring, and playing, for fun.

How wonderful to see Sergi and Jota play with such freedom of expression down the flanks. To see how much genuine pleasure they derived from every touch and from every goal. Moreso, as Lasse Vibe started to do his thing to incredible effect. And setting Peter Gilham off on more than one occasion. Never has a little Italian restaurant; at Brentford lock, been plugged with such gusto.

It was a pleasure shared by the fans and one which even inspired BBC Billy Reeves to form a supergroup (alongside Adam Devlin from the Bluetones and Rich Hard-Fi) to pen the gorgeous charity single, ‘Welcome home, King Jota’.

Musical genius: Archer, Devlin, Reeves (l-r) c/o The Jolly Baker, Ashford

Which brings us neatly/with all the subtly of a sledgehammer (delete as applicable) to this years e-book: Welcome Home, King Jota (Brentford FC season review 2016/17).

Before you glaze over, this time things are different. It is now available for download on kindle from the Amazon store but all sale proceeds from this latest version, priced at just £1.99, are being donated to the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust.

Likewise anything else raised by the previous titles – Celebrating like they’d won the FA Cup (2013/14), Tales from the football village (2014/15) and Ready. Steady. Go Again. (2015/16) – are also going to the BFCCST.

I think we all appreciate just how much our club does off-field and in the local community. Barely a day goes by without seeing one of the players at a local school, visiting sick children in hospital or making pizzas at the aforementioned restaurant (Lasse Vibe, I’m looking at you).

Indeed, to hear Yoann Barbet and Lasse speak at the player of the year dinner after sharing the Community player of the year award for the work they do with the Trust was truly inspirational.

I love this club. I love the feeling that everybody knows everybody and looks out for each other. From a personal perspective, I’m overawed everytime somebody reads my nonsense or says a nice word in the street about The Last Word column. At the end of the day (Clive) it is just a bit of fun although with an occasional venting of frustration. Short corners. That Band. Mrs. Brown. To name but a few.

So with that in mind, if people are somehow interested in one supporter’s view of what happened between the end of last campaign to the end of this one (essentially the least bad of the blogs with a bit of new stuff in there), then you’ll be doing it for the Sports Trust.

And you can get it here.

Enjoy. Thanks for reading over the years.

Nick Bruzon

It’s that time of year….

The season is as good as over. Brentford have played their last game what already seems an eternity ago whilst we’ve had the majority of next campaign’s opposition confirmed with trips to Sunderland and Fulham amongst those already on the cards. Once the weekend’s play-off final between Huddersfield Town and Reading has gone through the inevitable twists and turns, then that will be it. A long summer ahead of us until preseason and the return of Championship action in August.

We’re likely to go into a bit of down time on these pages over the next few weeks. Indeed, that’s something we’ve already seen. However, that’s as much down to everything that’s been going on a bit further afield where It is impossible to quantify or comprehend just what happened on Monday night. Frankly, I’ve just not had the stomach or ability to do anything on here. Adequate words won’t come out despite my own best efforts.

As such, there’s been no talk of our new signings, our new crest (badge) or our imminent new kit launch. Please note: your definition of imminent may vary. All that will come. As will the inevitable end of season e-book, which we’ll talk about properly on Saturday.

That said, to give a bit of notice, we’re doing something a bit different with this one. Cutting to the chase, all monies made from this version (and the previous campaigns, which are still on line) will be going to the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust.

And whilst I’d planned to launch it tomorrow, Amazon have been somewhat efficient and it is already available for download to kindle (I believe other electronic readers are available) ahead of schedule. Indeed, some of you have already stumbled across it and have begun to pick up copies.

A huge, huge thanks. It is so humbling that people do this and so I just wanted to make the BFCCST element clear, given it is already being picked up. Containing the least bad of the blogs from the end of last campaign to the end of this, with a smattering of new material chucked in, it is now available for download here at a price of £1.99. What better way to help while away the time on holiday, on the train or whilst hiding in the toilets at work? (Don’t answer that).

We’ll go ‘officially’ live tomorrow and I’ll apologise in advance for banging on about this one over the next few days but it is all for a great cause.

As for the title, it has the green light from Billy Reeves. Jota, if you are reading (you aren’t) here’s hoping for royal approval.

But all that’s for tomorrow when we’ll go again.

Thank you.

Nick Bruzon

Rams raided in demolition derby. The Great Dane and King of Spain inspire killer Bees.

Sometimes, there’s nothing you can do but stand back and gasp in awe. There’s Good Friday and then there’s this. Bloody Marvellous Friday. Brentford swept Derby County aside by 4-0. It was a scoreline which, if anything, underplays just how complete a team performance this was. Barnsley should be quaking in their boots if we can even half replicate this one on Monday.

Three hours after full time and I’m still staggered by just how beautiful that was. We’ve spoken all season about what would happen if the Bees could play a full 90 minutes at full tempo. Well, here was the answer. And boy, wasn’t it a joy to behold?

“A game of two halves. And Derby weren’t in either” . Not my words but those of one New Road observer. Top comment from a top cat. He really couldn’t have summarised it in a more poetic or appropriate fashion. Sentiments shared at the bar of The Griffin post game, where the first comment I heard was one of , “4-0? 4. 0. To Brentford? Just what’s that all about?”

Ah. The tale of the unfancied and underestimated underdog being played out yet again. Derby committing the fatal mistake of playing the reputation (a traditional mid tier three outfit) rather than the team in front of them (a free scoring XI with the tastiest wings this side of Colonel Sanders).

Oh, Jota. Could we love this man any more? Every time you think he’s reached his peak he then goes one better. Or, in this case, two. His opening goal, to double Lasse Vibe’s first half opener (one that the Spaniard himself had provided the assist for) was beautifully taken. But the second, to hammer home the four goal advantage, was up there with the best of them.

View from the Braemar. Jota points the way

The King of Spain let the ball slide one way past the hapless Richard Keogh, the player himself going the other, before reuniting with the ball. It was a moment to take the breath away and as close to Pele in 1970 or Maradona against England in 1986 as one could hope to see in West London.

But then, with supporters gasping for air, he completed the stranglehold. On Derby, that is . From a seemingly impossible angle he fired home from the corner of the six yard box, through three defenders, past the ‘keeper, across the goal and into the net at the back stick.

How the crowd roared. How the king, arms aloft, soared. Grown men gasped. The director’s box, to a man (and woman) stood as one. Acknowledging a moment that truly was the crown jewel in a consumate performance.

The Bees line up to celebrate with the man of the moment

Between Jota’s pair, Lasse Vibe had made it 3-0. His shot from outside the box already wrapping things up and leaving the Great Dane on the cusp of what would, possibly should, have been a well deserved hat-trick. Scott who? With the greatest of respect to the former Bee, Lasse has well and truly proven what he can do and what a great piece of business that Matthew and the team pulled off back in January.

But just as against Leeds United, to overly single out any one payer would be unfair. It was one of those performances where we saw just how good Dean Smith’s team is. The difference being that, whilst both games saw great Bees’ performances, this time we kept it going for the full 90. Indeed, if anything, we actually accelerated.

Marcus Gayle summed things up nicely at full time . His twitter analysis encapsulated it in succinct fashion. “That was the most complete 90 min team performance by @BrentfordFC this season – full of confidence,creativeness and goals at  Grifffin Park”

If you were there, you know what happened. If you weren’t, then my condolences. It really was THAT good. As ever, the BBC, Brentford ‘official’ or Beesotted are amongst the sources to get your full fat match report.

The next game can’t come soon enough. The trip to Barnsley may be a long one but if Brentford put in even half the shift they did today, then three points are the least we’ll come home with.

That’s for Monday, though. For now, it’s a chance to maybe play those goals once more. Sky sports have the video up now on their internet page, with Bees Player to follow tomorrow.

I can’t wait to hear what Mark Burridge made of this one.

Derby were yards behind us, in both halves

Nick Bruzon

Romaine and Sergi lead a full frontal assault as Bees do it to Leeds, again.

Another game, another 2-0 win for Brentford. This time Leeds United taking the place of Saturday’s Bristol City. It was a game that started in similar style to the visit from the Robins although one which, if anything, put one more in mind of the home encounter with fellow high flying visitors Brighton. As with the Seagulls, Brentford took a two goal first half lead but, this time, there was to be no reprieve for the promotion chasing side.

Poor Leeds United. Their form against Brentford hasn’t been great in recent years. The eight League games since the 2009/10 League One campaign have seen things go very much in our favour.

This one was no different and now sees us well ahead of our illustrious rivals with a record that reads : P8 W3 D4 L1 in favour of the Bees. Indeed, looking purely at the Championship, this was a third win from our six games. Not bad for a team considered ‘tin pot’ when paths first crossed. Even Marinus Dijkhuizen took a point from Elland Road last season (not a typo).

But Tuesday night felt additionally special. The table doesn’t lie and Leeds, spearheaded by the goalscoring prowess of Chris Wood, have been one of the Championship’s form sides as they’ve locked down that play-off place. So to see Brentford take them apart so clinically in that first half was a thing of beauty to watch unfold.

Sergio Canos was devastating down the left flank whilst Romaine Sawyers magnificent as Brentford came flying out of the traps in a full frontal assault on the Leeds back line. Despite the heroics of Rob Green, Brentford scored two deserved goals in the first half with Canos having a hand in both. The first seeing his shot parried out to Romaine Sawyers who had no right to shoot, let alone score, from that wide out across the face of goal. Sometimes, its all about the precision.

The second came from another Canos shot. This time falling kindly for Lasse Vibe who made no mistake after having seen an earlier chance drift agonisingly wide.

View for the Braemar: We’ve got that Vibe (I know, I know)

Yet at 2-0 up and having dominated, the big question was whether Dean’s team would cruise home, go for broke or give us one of those half and half performances we’ve seen from time to time. Then, of course, was the Garry Monk factor. Surely he’d have launched a half time rocket up the backsides of his own team? Brentford fans strapped themselves in and waited. But nothing happened.

Rather than launch a Blitzkrieg assault Leeds remained contained. There was to be no Brighton style comeback. Instead, it all felt a bit Bristol City. Sure, United probably dominated possession a bit more in the second period but, realistically, never threatened. Harlee was magnificent, as was Dan Bentley when called upon, whilst Sawyers produced one of those wonderful defence splitting passes that only he can to free Lasse. A third might have spoiled us but nobody would have complained had the Great Dane found the back of the net once more.

Instead, we had to be content with a cameo from Macca which included a booking within 7(seven) minutes, another clean sheet and another 3 points.

Jota and a floodlit Griffin Park – wonderful from any angle

That’s three wins in a row now for Dean Smith’s team as we climb 6 points clear of QPR and within 8 of Fulham. With games against both still to come, the title of Championship kings of West London still remains very much up for grabs.

Likewise, Dean Smith’s team are now just a win away from the 9th place we ended last season in and, whilst a run to the play offs is probably a dream too far (we’re ten points behind with 6 games left) emulating that previous finish has to be the very least of our aspirations. Certainly on this sort of form.

To overly single out anybody from what was a hugely impressive team performance would be unfair. Yet, by the same virtue, due credit to Romaine Sawyers. He’s had his critics over the season and, at times, can be the most incredibly frustrating player to watch. Equally though, when he does what he can do then there’s nobody you’d rather have in the side. Don’t forget also that this is a huge step up from League One.

Our players are only going to improve the more gameplay they get at this level. See also Rico Henry who,despite his slender build, has taken to this team like a duck to water. Oh to see what he can do when he hits the ground running at the start of next season.

That’s then, this is now. Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Next up is Cardiff City away on Saturday. Despite their own mid-season flirtation with the bottom sides, the Bluebirds now find themselves just two places and four points behind the Bees. Whilst a repeat of the miracle at Burton on our last road trip is probably too much to hope for, carry on playing like we have done and Fulham might be looking nervously over their shoulders.

For now though, let’s just savour the moment. Take a look at Sky where the goals are already up . Then, when the morning comes around, really enjoy the full fat Burridge version on YouTube.

Well played Brentford. You were wonderful tonight.

Buzzette was up for it from the off.

Nick Bruzon