Judge and Djuri’ send QPR down as Bees pass trial by TV

Can Brentford take bragging rights, and 3 points, from QPR? That was the question posed in Friday morning’s column and the answer was very much a resounding, ‘YES’!!!

A 1-0 win, via the boot of Marco Djuricin, sent the Bees fans home ecstatic and the Rangers’ support skulking back to Loftus Road with their tails between their legs – all the pre-match bluster very much coming to nothing.

In front of a full house and the Sky TV cameras, Brentford were magnificent. As a game, it hadn’t promised to be much of a spectacle (we had only scored three goals and earned two points from our previous six league encounters) but when it really counted, in a Championship encounter, QPR just couldn’t match the Bees. And didn’t it feel great?

Sky TV capture the score and the moment for posterity

Lee Carsley’s fourth win in a row (for a man who doesn’t want a long term managerial role, he’s doing a very good job of putting himself in an untenable position) propelled Brentford up to 10^th in the table, overtaking both QPR and Fulham. The days of Marinus seem a long way away already and our interim head coach could even be talking himself into a position for the manager of the month ‘poison chalice’.

With our games completed for October, the Bees remain the form side with 12 points and four wins from the month. Only Brighton, Hull and Derby come close to catching that although, of course, the rest of the Championship have a game in hand. In terms of emulating what happened when Warbs took over from Uwe, he’s not doing too bad a job. Oh for a repeat of that (although preferably without any mention of football being a village).

Still, all of this is a long way off. Back to the game which, being honest, produced a somewhat staid first half. Very much a cautious affair, it was waiting to explode into life but didn’t quite fire. Massimo Luongo (an alleged one time target for the Bees – back in those pre-season days of Bees bosses being poised to make double swoops, so beloved of our local journalists) hit the stanchion and the inside of the post late on in the opening 45 for the visitors. That was about as worried as we got all game.

Frankly, Rangers were a shadow of their reputation and past Premier League status. They offered little and this was a game waiting for them to be opened up. Like breaking into a can of corned beef, a tricky task but the reward was one so worth the effort.

QPR – it was worth perservering

But if the first period had been quiet, the second was anything but. Clearly Lee could smell blood in the water because the Bees came out at 100 miles an hour. Marco Djuricin produced a great stop from one time England goalkeeper Rob Green before John Swift fired the resulting clearance just over. Alan Judge, set free by Toumani (GPG man of the match by a country mile), went down in the box when, perhaps, better opportunity awaited had he been able to stay on his feet. Referee Simon Hooper called “no foul” but it hardly mattered.

Seconds later came the moment. That man Judge, yet again, was the provider. Cutting down the left flank he played a fast, low cross into the box that Djuricin did wonderfully to fire past the helpless Green. It really was a goal about technique and positioning as the Austrian got himself in front of the defender to meet the perfect delivery. And didn’t Bees fans go crazy?!

Only Toumani getting on the end of it could have made the moment any sweeter. Even now, having slept on it, I’ve still got a goofy smile on my face at the thought of that hitting the back of the net. The noise, the excitement, the goal. Hey, even the flare (kids, don’t do them) added a certain ambience on this occasion.

It doesn’t get much better than this. If last season saw us become the much lambasted #Novemberkings, could we see a new hashtag appearing on Saturday? Not even I’d be so churlish as to deny us that – even just for one day.

The only down side was Alan Judge heading straight down the tunnel after being substituted. Hopefully this was nothing more than a precaution for a player fast becoming one of the Championship’s hottest properties.

Whilst it was great to be part of the action at Griffin Park, it did mean we were unable to follow ‘our friends at radio’. I have no doubt the Beesplayer team have produced another ‘Burridgegasm’ for Marco’s goal. Roll on the video highlights.

Likewise, we were denied a chance to hear Billy Reeves. The sometime Beesplayer host was doing his thing on BBC Radio London where I do wonder if his oft quoted ‘meridian line’ put in a real life appearance. Judging by the two-minute gap between the scoreboards at each end of Griffin Park, we were clearly playing in opposing time zones.

Still, this is all minutiae. 1-0 to the Bees is the only thing that counts this morning. We’re up to tenth in the table and, as it stands, just four points away from the promotion spots. That challenge is all to come though. For now, it’s just about enjoying the moment and the fact that we are the best team in this corner of West London.

Get in !!!

As it stands…..

Nick Bruzon

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Getting a good vibe about The Hoff

With Brentford due to entertain Stoke City in Saturday’s friendly, could we have a new look centre forward pairing? For those unfamiliar with such a concept in recent seasons that’s two strikers, playing up front, together – at the same time. TW8 was gripped with excitement at the news that German Under-21 Philipp Hofmann has signed from FC Kaiserslautern.

Finally, an option to help support Andre Gray up front and of international calibre to boot. A player who participated in this summer’s U-21 tournament in Serbia, Marinus has described him as “a target man, physically strong, and a good header of the ball”

The Hoff signs

For those of you with a statistical leaning, he comes in at 6 foot 4 and a half inches. Certainly the opposite to Andre Gray and very much in line with that description of his being a ‘target man’. And whilst, on paper, some aspects may put one in mind of a certain Nick Proschwitz, I’m fairly sure that’s where the analogies will end. You don’t represent your country all the way up from U-18 to U-21 without being ‘any good’.

The full story, for those who haven’t read it, is still on the club site where he is another addition to the lexicon of obvious descriptions. Chris Wickham’s article names him as, “The tall Germany Under-21 international “, (see also the oft used: long legged midfielder – Toumani).

The other piece of note from the article was his use of the baseball cap. Indoors. And backwards.

I’m certainly not down with da kidz but I’d always thought that, if one was to be worn, it had to be perched precariously on the head. Preferably at a jaunty angle. What a shame Richard Lee, of course of ‘Dr Cap’, fame is no longer with the club to put him right on such matters.

Personally, I think its just a shame that The Hoff didn’t pose in his club kitt.

Bad headlines await this season

In all seriousness though, Phillip looks like an excellent signing and I can’t wait to see if he makes his bow against Stoke tomorrow.

But wait. There’s more. Possibly. Rumours have been sweeping the Internet and Swedish media that the Bees are due to unveil another striker this morning (Friday). Is Danish international Lasse Vibe about to join us from IFK Göteborg?

I’m getting queasy just at the use of the word ‘international’ so many times in one page but, if this does unfold, will be another stunning statement of intent from Matthew Benham. The centre forward, who has 9 appearances under his belt for the national side, was a recent target for Reading and, supposedly, the Bees have fought off competition from Schalke for his signature.

He’s got that Vibe

Will this transpire or is it going to be another rumour that falls flat? Well, Beesotted think its true and they, for me, have been the one source (outside of official ones, of course) to get all the summer transfer activity spot on.

That’s good enough for me. I’m already looking forward to those “Don’t hassle the Hoff” and “Good Vibes” headlines that one can only hope will follow.

Come for the puns – stay for the goals.

Nick Bruzon

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And , as ever , to read more about what Brentford have done over the last two seasons (through the eyes of a supporter) then the amalgamated Last Word compendiums  are available for your kindle. Celebrating like they’d won the FA Cup (2013/14) and Tales from the football village (2014/15) tell the full stories of our promotion and subsequent life in the Championship.

Featuring the best of the not so bad columns and some additional, previously unseen material, they’re still available for less than the price of a match day pie if you want some summer reading before the big kick off (™) arrives.

I’d love to blame the ref – but I just can’t (entirely)

Well   – that sucked. A coarse, gross and base analogy perhaps but, to be honest, how I still feel hours after the ref blew. the final whistle.

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

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