Ronaldo an Ice, Ice Baby as Manchester United invoke the cringe factor. Again

What a wonderful night at the EUROs. As England and Wales fans combined to see off further Russian hooligans with nothing more than chanting, everybody’s favourite underdog Iceland achieved the double feat of earning their first ever point – against Portugal – whilst simultaneously forcing Cristiano Ronaldo to channel his inner Russell Slade. And whilst Brentford news remains practically nonexistent, back home at least we have Manchester United and Wayne Rooney to keep things ‘interesting’ as the Old Trafford club have launched their latest movie crossover.

First up, and briefly, England. With the game against Wales taking place tomorrow (Thursday) supporters have come under attack from Russian thugs again. This time, along with Welsh counterparts as fans of both nations were enjoying drinks together. Updates all over Twitter suggest that the trouble was broken up quickly with the home nations reacting no more than by singing “F**k off, Russia” at their attackers.

Like many, I’ve an anxious feeling about how this is going to play out. I understand from THE man on the spot, Brentford supporter Billy Grant (whose first video has now topped a million YouTube hits) that their next blog should be out imminently. It will be very interesting to hear what the Beesotted boys have to say about the latest. Keep ‘em peeled.

You’ve dropped something. This pic did the rounds last night

OK. Iceland. What a night . What a result. With many people tipping Portugal to go all the way, a spirited performance from a nation who had almost a tenth of their entire population in the stadium had people all over Europe cheering as the game ended 1-1.

Despite a horrendous volley of puns from the BBC, “An eruption of form”, “The main geezer” (that one was Lineker) and “Iceland are used to the Northern lights. Ronaldo is used to the limelight”, they managed to hold firm. Even a Ronaldo free kick from the heart of Saunders territory in the final moments was able to be kept out.

Best of all though, they managed to upset Cristiano Ronaldo. Massively. In a demonstration that,once again, stats don’t win football matches (apart from ‘balls in the back of the net’) he gave a post match press conference that was part  40% Steve Evans and 60 % Russell Slade.

“They celebrated like they’d won the FA Cup”. Words that every Brentford fan will recall after that win over Leyton Orient. Russell Slade’s outburst lives on in the memory and came flooding back last night as the Portuguese peacock told reporters, “I thought they’d won the Euros the way they celebrated at the end, it was unbelievable.”

He then turned ‘Steve Evans’ as he noted, “They scored a goal, they created two chances in the 90 minutes, and otherwise they got every player behind the ball. They put the bus in the net.”

Yes Cristiano. And still you couldn’t beat them. Fantastic work, Iceland. Here’s to seeing your journey continue.

Next up. Manchester United. We’ve already talked on these pages about their ‘media partnership’ that seen them now involved in film promotion. Hey, I suppose they’ve had to do something whilst not winning those trophies.

The X-men spin off, which also involved them body-painting their child mascots blue, was a start. An awful start. So bad it was kind of compelling.

Wayne Rooney. Compelling

As noted previously, Rooney’s wooden exclamation of “Bloody Hell” isn’t in the same ball park as Cantona’s “Au Revoir” or men like Figo who never give in to grey (“still got it”). But compared to the ‘proper’ actors around him, dreadfully trying to crowbar the names of his Manchester United team mates into a ‘scene’ from the new movie, Wayne came across with the gravitas of Morgan Freeman.

Now it’s my turn to say “Bloody Hell”. They’ve only gone and done it again. This time for Independence Day: Resurgence . The original film from 1996, an easy entrant into my top 10 of all time. So utterly bad it’s stunningly brilliant . I am as keen to see the sequel as I am to find out just what Kitman Bob has in store for next season’s Brentford shirt.

This time around, Wayne doesn’t get to hog the limelight. Chris Smalling, Daley Blind, “It’s pronounced Blind” (not sure that works so well here – perhaps watch the video) and others get to chew the scenery with Jeff Goldblum.

Oh, my. It’s awful. Just so, so bad. Beyond cringeworthy and into the territory of having to watch from behind the sofa. Truly, toecurling stuff. Yet at the same time, I might just have to watch it once more.

I can’t wait for the next one

I’m glad I’m not Blind

Nick Bruzon

Plug time :  With the Brentford tumbleweed continuing, the most I can do is guide you to where The Last Word ‘season review’ : Ready. Steady. Go Again and the three year anthology : The Bees are going up remain available for download. Should anybody want to go over this nonsense, relive these moments once more and remind ourselves of the pain induced by Stroud and the fallout from that penalty’ you can do so now.

It has been a stunning few years. Here’s to more of the same. We may have had a few lows (something about a penalty, the football village, the FA Cup, the pitch, the Marinus experiment) but there have been plenty more highs as the Bees made an unexpected challenge for the Premier League.

Thanks for reading.

Can we learn anything from the sharp Blades?

Mention the name Sheffield United and most Brentford fans will likely be taken back to ‘that’ game at Bramall Lane in 2013. Others might think of the great Bob Booker –  cult hero at both the Bees and the Blades over a career the stretched from 1978 to the 1993. And when it comes to on field matters, there’s also the fact that both teams play in red and white stripes.

Likewise, as the other Sheffield club they are automatically disassociated from the alleged supporters’ band who blight games at both Hillsborough and those involving the national side. We covered that off yesterday (thanks, Wednesday) – it’s here if you are feeling masochistic.

And they were the ones involved when Keith Stroud decided to ‘go rogue’ – even by his standards – as we reached the denouement of the 2012/13 season. Three red cards (two for the Bees), four penalties and more yellows than a Coldplay tour in a game which eventually ended 2-2.

We all know what happened after that. Bournemouth secured ‘automatic’ whilst Brentford had to get a win in the final game against promotion rivals Doncaster. I forget what happened next, exactly. If only somebody had mentioned it afterwards (Clem, I’m looking at you) or recorded the moment for posterity, but I’m pretty sure there was some sort of incident in the penalty box.

But the real reason for mentioning Sheffield united today is because they’ve just launched their new home shirt for the 2016/17 season. It is a return to the red and white stripes after the 125 year anniversary special worn last campaign. And like Brentford, the Blades use Adidas as a technical sponsor.

The launch, which took place in front of a select group of competition winning supporters , has now been published all over the Internet. And it has immediately forced yours truly into thinking if we could see some clues in the template to worn by the Bees next season ?

Can we read anything into the new Sheffield United shirt?

What do you think? A stone cold classic or somewhat of an abhorration? Would you be happy to see the Bees running out wearing this template?

Somewhat reminiscent of our own effort from 2004 with the black shoulder bars, might we wear similar? Or is this bespoke to United?

I have no clue. Like the rest of us, I’m going to have to wait until late July to find out. No amount of prodding kitman Bob on Twitter is making him blab. Although if Mark Devlin is reading ( you never know) here’s another club getting the fans involved in their launch….

Its going to be a long month. Thank goodness the Euros are now upon us.

The Bees have had black shoulders before

Nick Bruzon

Plug time (regular readers know the score from here) : As ever, The Last Word ‘season review’ : Ready. Steady. Go Again and the three year anthology : The Bees are going up remain available for download. Should anybody want to go over this nonsense, relive these moments once more and remind ourselves of the pain induced by Stroud and the fallout from that penalty’ you can do so now.

It has been a stunning few years. Here’s to more of the same. We may have had a few lows (something about a penalty, the football village, the FA Cup, the pitch, the Marinus experiment) but there have been plenty more highs as the Bees made an unexpected challenge for the Premier League.

Thanks for reading.

Russell, Slayed (by Welsh Dragon). Another one bites the dust

Controversial owner? Dugout equipped with an ejector seat to assist in jettisoning the manager ? Not Brentford – things are relatively stable at Griffin Park and Matthew Benham is a legend. But the same can’t be said elsewhere. Yesterday saw Cardiff City follow Leeds United in replacing a cult favourite as Russell Slade departed

Earlier this week we got the sad news that Elland Road head honcho Massimo Cellino had given Steve Evans the ‘thumb down’ and exercised his regular right to change head coach. Whatever Leeds United supporters think about the situation, it is a massive shame for Brentford fans who will be deprived of those wonderful press conferences that only Evans could give.

Packed with more sour grapes than a cocktail of ‘past its sell by date’ value brand lambrini and liebfraumilch (and often sounding like he had consumed too much of it, such was the nonsense spouted) you can’t deny these were colourful events. He was good for a quote, that’s for sure, and certainly wore his heart on his sleeve.

Our artist’s impression of Cellino doing the usual

Possibly the only manager in the Championship to match this intensity was Russell Slade at Cardiff City. Those of us with an eye on the news will know that owner Vincent Tan had already replaced him as the Welsh club’s manager last month, moving the former Leyton Orient boss into a ‘head of football’ role.

Now, just 28 days later, itis all over. Slade has left the club altogether and, with it, in all likelihood the Championship. Charlton Athletic are currently being touted as a possible destination although having just left the clutches of one alleged crackpot would he want to walk straight into the chilling embrace of another ?

That’s his decision, of course. I take no pleasure from seeing anybody lose their job. Genuinely, like Steve Evans, I’ll miss the chance to cross swords with Russell Slade this coming season. Nobody could deny they weren’t wonderful occasions.

“They celebrated like they’d won the FA Cup” he so famously said after Brentford had beaten Leyton Orient to move ahead in the race for promotion to the Championship  back in March 2014.

It is a line that has never been forgotten and inspired everything from my own first ‘season review’ to those famous Beesotted trophies. Indeed, I have good reason to believe one of these may have made it directly into the hands of Mr Slade himself…

The Championship is going to be a quieter place with out the likes of Slade and Evans in her press conferences and dugouts.

Let’s hope that both are back soon.

Nick Bruzon

For more ‘Last Word’ reading, today we’ve also got a special guest column from regular correspondent Bernard Quackenbush. Given his thoughts and views on the refereeing upheaval that awaits next season.

You can read that here

Slade in flames – the Welsh dragon has roared

 

 

Out of tune and out of touch but who looks good in green?

We’ve got a bumper Last Word today. England took on Portugal last night in their final warm up game ahead of EURO 2016. Whilst I promised we’d drop the Brentford ‘green shirt’ stuff, there is an 11th hour addendum from one supporter which Bees fans may find of interest. And on the subject, we look at the top ten green shirts of all time. From Plymouth to Palmeiras and Carlisle to Panathinaikos, can anybody make this under used colour look good?

But first, England. Whereas I’d normally say they “entertained Portugal last night” rather than “took on”, anybody who saw the game will know there’d have been more entertainment in an episode of Hale and Pace (kids, ask your dads. Actually, don’t. Spare them the pain).

The 1-0 win at Wembley was an experience that many found uninspiring, out of touch with the occasion and somewhat flat. An indication of the pain that awaits supporters over the next few weeks unless something changes and fast. ITV nailed it, by accident, in the commentary with the observation that, “This is Dier”.

But enough about the England supporter’s band.

Look, it wasn’t the best game by any stretch of the imagination. The red card for Bruno Alves, channelling his inner Eric Cantona with a crazy challenge on Harry Kane, hardly helped proceedings as both teams had to adjust to playing 11 on 10 for most of the game. If you want a full match report then, as ever, other sources are the place to go. However, if you want a full match report in two tweets then we’ve got it here c/o DJ’s Andy Bush and Conor McNamara.

I’m still no closer to knowing who Roy will start with against Russia next Saturday but at least we can now look forward to the tournament with no other distractions. The one week countdown is underway, the wall chart is on the fridge and Will Grigg is, apparently, still on fire (if he manages to score, ‘that song’ is just going to become interminable).

After that, the rest just comes naturally. Sit back, grab a beer, prepare the ‘butt groove’ in the sofa and enjoy a month of bonus football that we wouldn’t get in a normal ‘closed season’. Hey, if nothing else it might distract from endless rumours and talk of “Bees boss set for double transfer swoop”. All being well, it might even extinguish Will Grigg. No offence to the former Bee but I’m half expecting ‘that band’ to add ‘that song’ to their repertoire.

Next up, Brentford. More specfically, the  last word on our wearing green (unless, of course, somebody actually manages to unearth a picture of that adidas shirt). Supporter   Geoff Buckingham has been in touch about when, and why, Brentford first wore this most unusual of colours :

It was due to a motor coach not turning up !

It happened in the grim days of January 1974, when the club were close to bottom of The Football League, the country was gripped by the Miner’s Strike and ‘The Three Day’ week, and funds at Griffin Park were very tight indeed. To make matters worse, on a freezing cold 12th Jan.the Brentford team coach did not show up at the meeting point for the trip to bottom of the table Doncaster Rovers.This meant a hurried change of plan, and the players had to quickly sort out cars and drive themselves up to Doncaster. 

If that was not bad enough, one of them, winger Barry Salvage, got nicked for speeding on the return journey. As for the kit we had to borrow them from Slough Town FC. The shirts were indeed green, but with pink numbers on the back!

Anyway, the green shirts brought Brentford a bit of luck as the Bees won the match 2-1 , with a brace from ex Bognor Regis deckchair attendant Andy Woon ( you could not make this up,could you?!)

That win, in front of 3009 perishingly cold spectators, was Brentford’s only victory in a 14 game spell. But it was enough to lift the Bees up to third from bottom, and was actually a crucial two points, as we finished the season just two points above the Division 4 bottom four re-election places! 

Thanks, Geoff. And no more so than because talk of pink and green allows me to get out the industrial sized crowbar as we segue into : ‘the top ten green shirts of all time’.

This, a research topic I’ve undertaken simply down to the fact that, whilst most Brentford fans seemed quite keen on the idea (if you believe social media), one New Road observer contacted me to say: “Glad we’re not getting the hideous green kit this season but seems nailed on for next time.”

Is green hideous?   Unusual, for sure. But hideous? It’s one view and who am I to judge? Instead, let the world of football fashion be your guide….

Carlisle away 1993

10) Carlise away 1993. Accused by many of resembling a deckchair, this cult classic even has a hint of red and white. If Matthew Benham and co are keen on the green, could this give inspiration for 2017? Bonus points always awarded for anything made by the much missed ‘Matchwinner’

 

 

Mexico 1996 – wow

9) Mexico 1996. It’s one thing having some discreet design added to your shirt but Mexico didn’t hold back on the subtly when it came to embracing their heritage back in 1996. It’s bold, I’ll give you that. I love it!

 

 

 

La Hoya – delicious design

8) La Hoya Lorca 2013/14. We’ve featured the Spanish lower division side’s kit on these pages many times over the years. And rightly so, given they’ve modelled it on the broccoli that signifies their agricultural heartland.

 

 

 

Green Arsenal?

7) Hibernian 1989/90. It’s made by Adidas and it just looks awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

St. Etienne add a certain, I don’t know what but it’s good

6) St. Etienne 1981/82. How can you honestly say this isn’t stylish? I’ll even forgive the non-matching collar and cuffs, such is the French chic on offer in this classic Le Coq Sportif template.

 

 

 

 

classic adidas

5) Palmeiras 1979/ 80.  The boys from Brazil kept it simple for this adidas effort. But then again, why mess around when simple equates to style?

 

 

 

 

 

Plymouth show that green can look good

4) Plymouth 1984/85. Much like the Palmeiras effort although with the addition of the discreet pinstripe that just screamed ’80’s football shirt’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Modern is good, too

3) Panathinaikos 2008/09. Another Adidas shirt. Another stunner. Even the sponsor and other branding is done sympathetically

 

 

 

 

It’s green. It’s pink. It’s brilliant

2) Real Betis 2015/16. We love women on these pages. Not in a mysogynistic style but more to celebrate how at Brentford we have such a diverse fanbase. So it’s nice to include a wonderful effort from Spain as Betis took things one step further than even the Bees, creating a special shirt in order to celebrate the week of the Andalusian Woman.

 

 

My favourite green shirt of all time

1) Cameroon 1990. Roger Milla. Upset after upset as the Indomitable Lions almost got to the semi finals ahead of England. That foul by Benjamin Massing on Claudio Cannigia. Oh, and one of the most iconic shirts in World football. Adidas have done it again.

 

 

 

Nick Bruzon

Plug time (regular readers know the score from here) : As ever, The Last Word ‘season review’ : Ready. Steady. Go Again and the three year anthology : The Bees are going up remain available for download. Should anybody want to go over this nonsense and relive these moments once more then you can do so now.

It has been a stunning few years. Here’s to more of the same. We may have had a few lows (something about a penalty, the football village, the FA Cup, the pitch, the Marinus experiment) but there have been plenty more highs as the Bees made an unexpected challenge for the Premier League.

Thanks for reading.

Its all about the kit, man. And the Bees.

 

How soon is now? Where next for football’s toughest challenge ?

Desperate times call for desperate measures. With the hunt for the mythical adidas ‘green’ Brentford shirt hitting the buffers, yesterday saw a most unlikely source called into play – Fulham. Or, specifically, the score master general of a certain TV show (must. avoid.that ‘joke’.) Richard Osman. And up at Leeds United, normal service was resumed as Massimo Cellino chose to bring to end the rolling contract of his latest head coach, Steve Evans.

First up, kit. Specifically the talk around green shirts. Regular readers will know that this has been a two pronged approach over the last few days. The possibility that Brentford might wear a green third shirt during the forthcoming season then leading into a hunt for an item that seems rarer than a Leeds manager lasting more than six months – the mystery green shirt worn at Fulham in season 80/81.

Photo-fit recreation of the item in question

The question of next season’s third was one brought about by yours truly,based on nothing more than a wild guess. It was a guess inspired by a tweet from Kitman Bob and then further fuelled by Matthew Benham’s acknowledgement of the idea.

It would be fair to say that this has somewhat spiralled on social media since that point with the idea largely gathering favour amongst the Brentford faithful. Then, last night, chief executive Mark Devlin has taken the step of opining on matters himself.

I lover Twitter. I’ve said it many times but with good reason. I won’t deny that Brentford, in my opinion, have struggled with ‘official’ comms at times over the last year or two. It’s been a theme on these pages. But the flip side is how we respond to / interact with fans on social media (hashtags and memes aside). If you want to know something, just ask.

And sure enough, Mark has now given a further kit update, telling us:

Chief Executive, Mark Devlin

“Gents – too late to change our choice of away kit next season. We will discuss the green option with adidas for the 2017/18 season.

We wouldn’t expect to retail a 3rd kit at present. Current plan is to retain the current blue away kit as a 3rd choice next season. We cant really justify retailing a 3rd kit”.

As for the question put to him by fellow kit enthusiast Luis Adriano for when the new home and away will be revealed, the answer is a simple, “Soon”.

So no green. For now. Chelsea-lite if a third kit is needed. But no further idea as to what we’ll be wearing home or away.

Instead, the question remains one of how soon is now? Much as I love the fact that Mark has taken the time to come out and share this news, I’m chomping at the bit even more.

As for the 80/81 effort, with the ongoing attempt to unearth further evidence of this one game wonder running cold, desperate times call for unusual measures. Feeling very much like ‘Christmas in the trenches’, I’ve invoked the help of Fulham official and ‘celebrity fan’ Richard Osman.

‘Official’ were (must. avoid. that ‘joke’) erm,  useless. Not even responding. Fair play to Richard though. He did cast the net further but, despite a couple of suggestions, the search remained..fruitless.

Indeed, further updates from Bees fans suggest such a task will prove to be football’s toughest challenge. Journalist Tim Street advising on Twitter that the chances of something coming out of the vaults are slim, given “Sadly, after various office closures and photographic department restructures, our archives don’t go back anywhere near that far.”

As for Brentford memorabilia guru Paul Briers, his own follow up confirms what was feared, “The Middlesex chronicles’s picture archive was destroyed from what I gather. Not sold to an independent company – like Getty, coloursport, or alamy – or even digitised before it went to the incinerator.

The same also happened to Wakefield’s collection of negatives and plates, of Brentford, Chiswick and Ealing, sadly.

If only someone had an inkling that photos of a bygone era would now be so important……

Even pictures of the other 80/81 pastel blue adidas away shirt isn’t that common, no colour pictures that I know of just black and white.”

Sadly, it seems like this will be one search that will end up..failing to produce the necessary results. With that, I’m retiring the ‘green’ and, in the interests of being a good sport, that Osman/Fulham ‘joke‘. At least for a season.

Must. Resist. That. Joke

And from retiring to sacking – Leeds United have done it again. Massimo Cellino has relieved Steve Evans of his head coach duties, stating that the ever popular manager has “completed the job he was brought in to carry out.”.

To be honest, Evans was on a hiding to nothing. Aside from Cellino’s reputation, his own quote about Leeds United, saying he’d never take the job as “I want to be the captain of a Cruiseliner, not The Titanic” has now come back to haunt him somewhat.

It means the Elland Road outfit will now be looking for head coach number 7(seven) in just over two years. That said, you have to ask just who would be crazy enough to step into a hot seat that makes the situations at Chelsea or Real Madrid look like the epitome of calmness and stability.

For all that certain sections of the Leeds faithful have knocked Brentford over the last couple of years for being ‘tinpot’ , I wouldn’t wish that scenario on anybody. It’s hard enough to enjoy football at the best of times, let alone when you are sitting on a powder keg.

Personally, I’m just gutted we’ll miss out on a legendary Steve Evans press conference next season. At least, in charge of a Leeds team still looking to finish above Brentford or even register a win since our return to the Championship. Beyond that I have no doubt Evans will be back in some form or another before too long.

Just where and when?

As for Leeds, expect Cellino to name himself as the next incumbent at this rate. Hey, if it worked* for Ron Noades…….

*(please note, your definition of worked mean vary)

Steve Evans  – his new Cruiseliner turned out to be anything but a love boat

Nick Bruzon

Plug time (regular readers know the score from here) : As ever, The Last Word ‘season review’ : Ready. Steady. Go Again and the three year anthology : The Bees are going up remain available for download. Should anybody want to go over this nonsense and relive these moments once more then you can do so now.

It has been a stunning few years. Here’s to more of the same. We may have had a few lows (something about a penalty, the football village, the FA Cup, the pitch, the Marinus experiment) but there have been plenty more highs as the Bees made an unexpected challenge for the Premier League.

Thanks for reading.

Can Fulham provide the missing link? Help needed in kit quest

So this is what if feels like to be a modern day paleontologist. Whilst trawling the internet to unearth long buried clues may not be in the same league as a Jurassic Park style Velociraptor ‘dig’ , it is a close as I’ll get to emulating that wonderful film. But instead of T-Rex bones, it is the mythical ‘green’ adidas shirt, worn by Brentford at Fulham in season 1980/81 that we’re on the hunt for.

The inspiration for this quest? Kitman Bob’s suggestion that we’re going to need a ‘third’ shirt this season then being followed up by Matthew Benham’s public acknowledgement of the idea about having a ‘green’ variant. Certainly, it is an idea that seems to be getting some support in social media at present but one which also threw up the reminder that we had worn green before.

If the legendary Adidas 80/81 ‘home’ shirt has been lost forever, at least it still exists in pictorial form. But the green variant worn at Craven Cottage that season is one that I’ve never even seen a photo for. Surely it was out there, somewhere?

To misquote TV’s Peep Show, this was a job for Bruzon and Google, the maverick detectives who just won’t give up.

But after a weekend’s ceaseless searching, I’m now at the end of the line. The only solid evidence is a black and white picture from the subsequent Brentford match day magazine showing an action shot from the Fulham game. And even that is largely ’side on’.

It DID exist. Once…

I’ve trawled the Internet. I’ve looked through books. I’ve even attempted scouring the covers of Fulham programmes from the era (via the medium of eBay – there isn’t a stash of illicit reading material lurking Chez Bruzon) .

Likewise those of Brighton and Watford whom I gather we also wore this rarely seen colour against.

The digitised ‘mock up’

There have been mock ups made of this shirt (left) whilst your’s truly has attempted to recreate a version  (further below) although, being honest, this is somewhat tricky when you don’t know fully what you are looking for.

Even Brentford FC memorabilia guru Paul Briers has only been able t0 supply the above programme picture. And if he doesn’t have a copy then, surely, it doesn’t exist. Or does it….

So here’s the challenge. Does anybody have a picture of this? Are any Fulham fans reading who may have a copy of a ‘home’ programme lying around that contains further images? What about our friends in the local press?

I don’t even know who owns the Middlesex Chronicle these days but I’m sure they must have voluminous archives. Perhaps lurking in the vaults.

Until then, we can only speculate. I’ve no idea if we’ll wear a green third shirt next season but I’ve moved on from that now. Somebody somewhere must have a picture of this lost treasure, this missing link to put a kit obsessive out of his misery.

If you do, please get in touch. It would be wonderful to see first hand evidence of what sounds like a real ‘one of a kind.

I won’t even ask if the real thing exists…..

Did it look something like this ??

Nick Bruzon

Plug time (regular readers know the score from here) : As ever, The Last Word ‘season review’ : Ready. Steady. Go Again and the three year anthology : The Bees are going up remain available for download. Should anybody want to go over this nonsense and relive these moments once more then you can do so now.

It has been a stunning few years. Here’s to more of the same. We may have had a few lows (something about a penalty, the football village, the FA Cup, the pitch, the Marinus experiment) but there have been plenty more highs as the Bees made an unexpected challenge for the Premier League.

Thanks for reading.

Lions, Tigers and Bees. Is this another clue for next season?

We’re almost there. Yesterday’s play-off final saw Hull City AFC make a swift return to the Premier League whilst Sheffield Wednesday prepare to line up alongside Brentford once more. With Barnsley and Millwall going toe-to-toe on Sunday afternoon, by the time Antiques Roadshow is on we’ll know the full extent of next season’s Championship. And was there a further hint about kit from none other than Bees supremo Matthew Benham?

First up, the play-off final. Promotion for Hull City was well deserved on the day, despite the incredible presence and noise from the Wednesday supporters. Sadly, their team didn’t get a look in against a well organised Tigers outfit who probably could have taken it by more than the 1-0 final scoreline.

But one was all they needed and, despite an injury time surge from their opponents, Hull stayed firm. With it, Moses Odubajo joins Andre Gray, James Tarkowski and Adam Forshaw as recent Bees who have earned promotion to the Premier League this season. Let’s just hope those sale contracts were well negotiated and included promotion clauses!

Millwall give it a shot at an equally rapid return and, all being well, providing another local game for the Bees next season. We’ve already got trips to Fulham, QPR, Reading and Brighton amongst the ’short hops’ . Then there’s the likes of Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Burton Albion which are sure to provide high demand and a new experience for many Brentford supporters.

Chuck the Lions into the mix and that’s a third of the season’s away games already booked in without even trying. Best get those green cards and rail tickets at the ready. Or, if Mrs Bruzon is reading, a new subscription to BeesPlayer.

There’s always a welcome at Millwall

Next up, asthma pumps. They help you breathe. Good things. Nothing much more to say on the subject really.

The 2016/17 kit article prompted a bit of intrigue yesterday. As was noted at the time, this was nothing more than harmless fun and tenuous guesswork. Yet, amidst the nonsense have we stumbled across the direction, or even influenced, next season’s offerings? Whilst I’d guess firm ‘no’ to each, who doesn’t love a bit of speculation?

And if an ultimately unfounded ‘Bees boss in double transfer swoop’ is good enough for our esteemed local press, then why not extend the same privilege to the playing kit – not that I’m either ‘local press’ or ‘esteemed’.

The possibility of having a green third kit is one that, judging by social media, seems to be a popular one. Supporters whose feedback I have seen have, mostly, given it a thumbs up whilst Richard Merritt and Geoff Buckingham also answered the question as to whether the Bees had even worn green before.

RM: I’ve seen us wear Green away to Watford in the 70’s. The shirt had a black ‘flap’ collar with a whole black ‘V’. I created my own shirt by having a Brentford badge sewn on to a Peter Bonneti goal keeping shirt

GB:Brentford did wear green as an away shirt during one season in the 1970’s. I cannot recall how often. It may even have been borrowed because their own kit got stuck in traffic!

Wonderful as the thought of Richard sporting his own home made kit was, things then stepped up a notch when even Matthew Benham joined in the Twitter conversation.

Are we reading too much into this…..?

We all know Matthew’s forays onto Twitter are rare but, normally, telling. Is this another transfer-style cryptic clue? Can we read anything into this exchange? Who knows?

I’m hoping that by, “What do you think Bob” Matthew was talking about the possibility of the Bees wearing green rather than emulating Ayr United. To be quite honest, I don’t have our top brass down as the misogynistic types. We’re a family club and long may it stay this way.

Besides, the thought of Buzzette bereft of her normal oversized shirt and, instead, covered antenna to toe in nothing more than chanel no. 5, green body paint and a Brentford badge is one I daren’t visualise.

Either way, whatever the final colours and whatever the design the only think I know for sure is that the suspense is killing me. With other clubs already releasing their new designs faster than the Bees change head coaches, I can’t wait another six weeks to find out.

Come on Brentford. Put us out of our misery.

Please.

The mocked up shirts that have (some) supporters talking

Nick Bruzon 

Plug time (regular readers know the score from here) : As ever, The Last Word ‘season review’ : Ready. Steady. Go Again and the three year anthology : The Bees are going up remain available for download. Should anybody want to go over this nonsense and relive these moments once more then you can do so now.

It has been a stunning few years. Here’s to more of the same. We may have had a few lows (something about a penalty, the football village, the FA Cup, the pitch, the Marinus experiment) but there have been plenty more highs as the Bees made an unexpected challenge for the Premier League.

Thanks for reading.

Is this a huge kit clue for next season’s ‘away’ and ‘third’ ?

It’s play off final day. Hull City AFC and Sheffield Wednesday do battle this evening in football’s most high pressure game. I’ll be watching and hoping for a Hull victory – purely from a Brentford kit perspective though. With Kitman Bob dropping a huge clue on Twitter as to next season’s away shirt, is it a case of reading too much into things or is a cat starting to escape from the proverbial bag thanks to Newcastle United?

So what do we know so far? Firstly, that the kit is already in, going on Bob’s earlier tweet showing boxes of new gear. Likewise, per Mark Devlin, it is scheduled for release in the second half of July. And now we’ve discovered that the Brentford 2016/17 away shirt is going to be black. Possibly.

Waking up this morning my social media timeline was full of comments about Rashford – England’s new cuddly toy, following last night’s 2-1 over Australia. However, buried amongst this was the following announcement from Bob:

Interesting……

Putting two and two together, although likely making five, I can only deduce that this means we have an away kit clash next season. One that hadn’t previously been considered and therefore caused by a new entrant to the Championship.

Our red and white will be fine at Burton Albion, Norwich City and Wigan Athletic. Possibly even Aston Villa.

But Newcastle United present a problem with their recently announced thick black and white stripes presenting an obvious similarity. Oh well, we just switch to our away kit except Bob’s tweet makes me think that might also cause an issue. And so, by definition, that is going to black. Or maybe white.

Given the popularity of this season’s black third shirt I can only imagine / hope we are going for a repeat of that colour scheme. Whilst I’m sure the design will be different, will it be a case of #BeeThe DJ (or the away ground equivalent) cranking our ‘Here Come the Men in Black’?

Looking at the templates already on offer for next season, here’s just one guess at what this might look like. It is a design already adopted by Middlesbrough for their forthcoming Premier League campaign and so does have precedent.

And, whilst we’re at it, why not go for a random guess at our home equivalent too?

This is pure speculation, but….

Remember, this is just pure speculation and there’s more chance of Jake Bidwell playing for QPR next season than any of these being even close to the mark.

Which then leads us to the next question. If we are to have a third shirt (and Sheffield Wednesday staying in our division could only help this along), then what colour will it be?

Again, looking around the Adidas templates I’ve found a stunner. Moreso given that the third shirt is one which, traditionally, gives a little bit more artistic licence rather than sticking to traditional colour schemes.

Have Brentford ever worn green? Could we? Should we? What do you think?

Again, let’s be clear that this is nothing more than a bit of fun and some lazy photoshop work. I have no inside knowledge (indeed, most would argue I have no knowledge full stop).

Matthew Benham, Mark Devlin, Kitman Bob  – if any of you are reading then what do you think?

Could the Adidas Tabela 14 template be used?

Nick Bruzon

Plug time (regular readers know the score from here) : As ever, The Last Word ‘season review’ : Ready. Steady. Go Again and the three year anthology : The Bees are going up remain available for download. Should anybody want to go over this nonsense and relive these moments once more then you can do so now.

It has been a stunning few years. Here’s to more of the same. We may have had a few lows (something about a penalty, the football village, the FA Cup, the pitch, the Marinus experiment) but there have been plenty more highs as the Bees made an unexpected challenge for the Premier League.

Thanks for reading.

They celebrated like they’d won the FA Cup (quarter final)

That’s controversial. The Football Association have announced that FA Cup quarter final replays are to be scrapped. Brentford haven’t reached that stage since playing Liverpool in the 1988/89 campaign but this could still have significant impact. And following on from yesterday’s article about the most recent Terrace Talk double bill, we take a quick look at what the next logical step for next season could be.

But first, those changes to the FA Cup. Chief Executive Martin Glenn has been quoted as saying that as part of an ongoing review, this move “adds excitement”.   Whilst the replays will stay in place up to and including round 5, this move is also intended to help ease fixture congestion.

The Bees haven’t played an FA Cup quarter final since Livepool in 88/89

Of course, we’ve already seen replays in the semis and the final itself disappear in recent years but those are played at a neutral ground. Or Wembley as it has been known since the national stadium was reopened.

And this is what strikes me as odd. You are changing the rules mid-tournament and handing a massive advantage to the home team in this quarter final stage.

The traditionalist in me would love replays to run all the way through to the final but that’s just not going to happen given the already overcrowded calendar.  At least, though, those games take place at a stadium that, travel aside, favours neither team. This is different.

The chance to hold on for the draw and bring them back to your place is gone. And does this mean that in the bid for further fixture review we’ll follow suit in the earlier rounds? Surely it should be all or nothing?

Instead of the ongoing devaluation of our oldest cup competition, if you want to ease fixture congestion then just scrap the Worthless aka League Cup. Most teams use this as an excuse to play the kids anyway – even Brentford who ended up on the wrong end of last season’s 4-0 humbling at home to Oxford United. Three goals down before 8pm (it had been a 7.45 kick off) we got everything we deserved after joining the ranks of those paying lip service to this tournament.

And while we’re at it, semi-finals at Wembley. Just no. No. The final should be a showpiece event. A trip to Wembley should be that rarest of treats and due reward for making the last round. Not a dress rehearsal to maximise revenue for the FA and cause supporters all manner of travel headaches. Villa Park, Hillsborough ,The Emirates and Old Trafford are amongst those which would be more than able to handle an event of this nature and restore some much needed tradition to the tournament.

Ah yes, but apparently Wembley allows the maximum amount of people to see the semis. That’ll be the sound of the woodwork being vacated. And by that logic, play the quarters there too. Hey, what about some plum fourth round ties?

As I say, this will all make little difference to Brentford, anyway. We’ve struggled to get past the 3rd round since that epic, Gary Blissett inspired run took us all the way to Anfield and the 4-0 loss at the hands of all conquering Liverpool (kids, ask your dads). The odd dalliance with the middle stages aside, from which I’d imagine Gary Breen is still having DJ Campbell inspired nightmares, we’re normally done by the end of January. But you can still live in hope.

Bliss makes it 3-1 v his beloved Manchester City in the FA cup 4th round

Back to Griffin Park and yesterday’s article focussed on the brilliance of Terrace Talk. Which then got the mind wandering over the course of the day (outside of working hours, if you’re reading boss)  – how do we top it next time out?

First thought was a couple of ‘one-off specials’ . We’ve already talked about a kit launch special but how about a day in the life of Griffin Park? Jo and Sean taking us through the match day routine – from the Griffin Park gates being unlocked int he morning to the floodlights being turned off at the end of the day. All, of course, delivered via their own enthusiastic spin.

How about ‘Terrace Talk on the road’ ? Brentford travel well and it would give those who couldn’t make the game a chance to see things they would, ordinarily, get an insight on.

Or rather than Terrace Talk, could Jo or Sean take things to the next level with Dressing Room Talk ?  Cameras in the changing rooms aren’t a new thing but how good would it be to get the player’s take on Jo’s ‘big question’ before the game and, perhaps, their views on performance at full time.

Could it happen? Who knows? Just as long as those Terrace Talks cameras are back in one form or another then I’ll be a happy man.

Will Jo do the ‘walk and talk’ next season?

Nick Bruzon

Plug time (regular readers know the score from here) : As ever, The Last Word ‘season review’ : Ready. Steady. Go Again and the three year anthology : The Bees are going up remain available for download. Should anybody want to go over this nonsense and relive these moments once more then you can do so now.

It has been a stunning few years. Here’s to more of the same. We may have had a few lows (something about a penalty, the football village, the FA Cup, the pitch, the Marinus experiment) but there have been plenty more highs as the Bees made an unexpected challenge for the Premier League.

Thanks for reading.

 

The waiting game sucks. Let’s play Hungry, Hungry Hippos

This Saturday evening sees the denouement of a wonderful Championship season as Hull City AFC take on Sheffield Wednesday in the play off final. To the victor the spoils of Premier League glory and wealth. To the loser, a chance to visit Griffin Park once more as Brentford discover their penultimate opponent for 2016/17.

I can’t call this one. The head says a Hull City team that I’ve been tipping for promotion all season (that, a bet to rank alongside Red Rum for the National) will do it. Yet Wednesday, backed by the awesome/awful (delete as applicable) power of ‘that band’ swept aside Brighton in the semis to book their place at the W place in style. In the most high pressure, high stakes match imaginable we all know that league placing counts for nothing and it so often comes down to who can hold their nerve.

Don’t expect any more in depth analysis on these pages. As ever, the BBC or official sites are infinitely better places to go. Instead, the final is mentioned almost with a pang of regret.

Nobody needs another run down on Brentford and the play offs at the moment. We’ve a worse record than One Direction covering ‘Will Grigg’s on Fire’ (imagine. Actually, don’t ) yet at the same time, there’s a pang of regret that we aren’t involved.

Given the topsy-turvey season we had, with head coach Dean Smith admitting as recently as March that Brentford were involved in a relegation scrap, that may be an odd thing to say. But don’t forget that likewise at the turn of the year we were within touching distance of the play off zone after the 2-1 victory at Reading in late December. That, the game where Ryan Woods and Sergi Canos rewrote the rulebook for ‘goal of the season’ competitions.

We all know what happened after that though. Being polite, form headed South. That said, a wonderful run-in saw the Bees mid-season endeavours bolstered by a series of high scoring victories that lifted us to a final position of 9th in the table. And having ended on such a high, just shy of those normally dreaded play off spots, I’m desperate for it all to start once more.

The new signings were looking a much more cohesive unit and we proved we could win without Alan Judge (although in what desperate circumstances and how good to see him back on his feet). Academy graduate Tom Field gave a wonderfully assured debut at left back whilst the return of Scott Hogan is a story with a happier ending than Cinderella.

Academy graduate Tom Field featured in the first team against Fulham

Did we deserve the play offs? No. Not over the course of an entire season. Did we tantalise and torture the fans in equal measure? Absolutely .

Hey, looking back that’s no bad thing, no matter how frustrating it might have felt at times. To finish 5th and 9th in our first two Championship seasons, operating on a parachute-less budget, is a stunning achievement.

And I’m desperate to go again already. Saturday’s final will be one last taste of Championship action before the summer months start to kick in. And then we play the waiting game.

It’s not one I particularly enjoy although, at the least, do have a couple of ‘new look’ features currently under development for the coming campaign (Opposition view – The last word on….. in particular). Yet at the end of the day (Clive), it’s not the same. To quote Homer Simpson, “The waiting game sucks. Let’s play Hungry, Hungry Hippos.”

Who am I to disagree?

Plug time: And finally, as ever, The Last Word ‘season review’ : Ready. Steady. Go Again and the three year anthology : The Bees are going up remain available for download. Should anybody want to go over this nonsense and relive these moments once more then you can do so now.

It has been a stunning few years. Here’s to more of the same. We may have had a few lows (something about a penalty, the football village, the FA Cup, the pitch, the Marinus experiment) but there have been plenty more highs as the Bees made an unexpected challenge for the Premier League.

Thank you for reading.

Nick Bruzon