Interceptor Jensen signs – with a proper pen. Tour diary continues to delight.

Raya – In. Nørgaard – In. Jansson – In. Pinnock – In. And yesterday Brentford continued with the summer shopping following the acquisition of midfielder Mathias Jensen from Celta Vigo . Hot on the heels of signing Pontus Jansson from Leeds United, Matthew Benham has flexed the Griffin Park chequebook once more with the addition of another player who very much fits our bill. With the likes of Josh McEachran and Lewis Macleod departing over the summer, the midfield has been more than boosted with the Danish contingent of Christian Nørgaard and now, of course, Mathias. It’s wonderful news and if for no other reason than unlike with the Pontus signing, we were even able to use a proper pen rather than a half-chewed biro found down the back of the sofa.

Mathias brings quality, and a proper pen, to the squad

Crack open the big book of Brentford summer bingo:  Matthew Benham. Statement of Intent. Going for it. New signing. Incoming. Welcome. Exciting times. Final season at Griffin Park.

These are all words we’ve become very familiar with over the last few weeks and they were trotted out once more by the bucketload as yesterday’s news was formally confirmed. The story had been doing the rounds a few days prior and had been hinted at with Matthews ‘duel’ (dual) cryptic video clue. At least, I’m assuming that’s what he meant. Even when you know the answer these things are harder to unravel than a pair of i-Pod headphones that have been left unattended in a draw for 24 hours. Oh, Apple. If only they played music as well as they knot themselves. Projecting the sound inwards, into the ears of the person intending to listen to Drake’s Greatest hit, rather than outwards – in the direction of fellow commuters.

Thomas Frank and Rasmus were, understandably, enthusing about our latest bit of business the newest signing. In the story which you can read in full on ‘official’, Thomas noted how “With Mathias’ arrival, we have a group of top-quality central midfielders with different skill sets which we can use in various combinations” whilst Rasmus went even stronger. “He is technically gifted and has a great football brain. In many ways we believe he is the perfect fit to Brentford, and we are really pleased that it was possible to sign him this window.”

Wow. No pressure! But high praise indeed.  The obvious question off the back of all this is whether the door might swing the other way? There’s not been a day go by over the summer without one of Ezri Konsa, Romaine Sawyers, Neal Maupay, Ollie Watkins or Said Benrahama being linked with a move somewhere. Usually Aston Villa, Wolves or Sheffield United.

We all know the club modus operandi when it comes to business but having already trimmed the wage bill when contracts expired (farewell, Yoann Barbet) and sold Daniel Bentley, might this be it? Or could the signing of two central midfielders and two centre backs be an indication as to what may happen next?

It goes without saying that I hope nobody leaves. It also goes without saying that if somebody does, then more than a huge dollop of faith in the squad needs to be put in place. The club have consistently shown how well we recruit, sell and replace. How players continue to be better than those who had come before. How we balance the books whilst building the team.  Something I learned the hard way after the Birmingham City business a few years back. How much egg on face?

Yet in this final season at Griffin Park, might Matthew Benham really be going for it? Has he laid down an early statement of intent with his latest new signings and now be in the process of applying a heavy-duty padlock to the out-door? Who knows? These are exciting times and I can’t wait for the season proper to start in less than a month. If only for the prospect of seeing Pontus and Neal on the same team – the photo published on ‘official’  Twitter this week was just magnificent.

I can’t wait for that first goal celebration….

Actually, that should read photos.

The one of Peter Gilham and Thomas Frank meeting Pontus just smacked of a burgeoning bromance. As did Peter’s tour diary, where the oblique reference to Drake (Charlie) had me chuckling more than it should have. Then again, so did his reference to The Pointer sisters. You can read that one, here. Keep up the great work, Peter.

Ahhhh..

I’m so excited, indeed. Birmingham City and August 3rd can’t come soon enough.This really has the potential to be the big one….

Until then, perhaps you may want to kindly please download the annual Last Word season review for e-book for your kindle, iPod telephone or other electronic reading device. You you can do so, here, with the important bit being that all proceeds received from the £1.99 sale price go to the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust.

It’s shonky, there are typos in it (still) but what better way to while away your time on the commute to work, the toilet, holiday or just simply relive some of the exciting moments from last campaign. And then prepare to see them blown out of the water in 2019/20

Nick Bruzon

We’re all thinking of you, Peter

By now all Brentford supporters will surely have heard the news about Peter Gilham. With the first team on their training camp in France, Peter used the medium of his traditional tour diary over the weekend to share some extremely personal news:

“However as is synonymous with men of my advanced years, PC has reared its ugly head (and I don`t mean political correctness or indeed the local constable) and to help me combat it, I have enlisted a lovely hardworking team of people who know how to go about it. So, daily visits to see them means that I can’t be in two places at once”. 

Anybody with even half an interest in Brentford football club knows Peter. They know how much he has done in the past and how much he continues to do now. How personable, friendly and helpful he is but most of all just how much he is Mr. Brentford. Football’s longest serving ‘man with the mic’, there isn’t a role he hasn’t performed or a supporter whose match day experience hasn’t been enriched by Peter.

Peter doing what he does best

Every game that goes by features a Peter moment. Whether the customary pre-match high-five with Buzz and Buzzette or those wonderful goal celebrations sponsored by Siracusa. Only a man of Peter’s talents is able to turn what could be cheese into pure gold. Who doesn’t love his proclamation that, “It’s a little Italian restaurant. At Brentford Lock”. The more goals we score, the more excited the announcement becomes.

From time to time he’ll burst into a snatch of ‘Hey, Jude’ before a particularly crunch match/second half. There’s the deadpan commentary to centre-circle challenge whilst, of course, nothing has quite the same ring as his exhorting Brrrennttttt-ffffoooorddd !!!.”

We all love him. And that’s just the fans. Players, staff and former Bees were lining up to wish him well yesterday. Everybody from Harlee to Jota; Sam Saunders to Mark Warburton and beyond. If any proof were needed (it isn’t) about how universally loved Peter is and how a much a part of the fabric of this football club that Peter is, then here it was.

Just some of those – past and present – thinking of Peter

With his announcement made on Saturday, Sunday gave the impression of being BAU with another wonderful entry from the tour blog. All the squad and staff updates were provided, along with the the images of both Manny Onariase, Luke Daniels, Henrik Dalsgaard and Kamo Mokotjo singing ‘Wannabe’ by the Spice Girls aswell as Kitman Bob Oteng being left open mouthed (Peter’s words) at Cycling’s Team Sky and their mobile laundry.

No doubt Peter will carry on doing what he does. We’ll love it and enjoy it. But that doesn’t mean we won’t stop thinking about him. Peter, get well soon. Please.

You are THE Man when it comes to Brentford FC and you have an entire club, an entire community and an entire footballing family behind you. There’s huge love and best wishes heading your way from yours truly, the supporters and all the players. If you were in any doubt, just sign yourself up to Twitter and take a look.

We’re all thinking of you. Get well soon. See you on August 12^th.

Peter does his pre-match thing. More of the same against Nottingham Forest, please

Nick Bruzon

The voting may have closed (for now) but you can still join in

What can you say? Brentford are on tour and normal service has resumed. Whilst the eyes of the world may have been focussed on Cristiano Ronaldo’s tears as Portugal upset France to win Euro2016, over in Germany it was tears of pain and laughter as the annual singing contest for new players and staff got underway. Peter Gilham has published his latest diary although I note that this season it has been rebranded as a blog (don’t sink this low, Peter 😉 ). And we have the latest entrants into the photo caption competition that’s not a competition but just a bit of fun.

The annual singing competition is back – judging sure to be tough

First up, singing. Actually, first up, hats off to Brentford ‘official’. Yes, you DID read that correctly. I make no secret of some previous observations but, likewise, full credit must be paid where it is due. And , I have to say, coverage of the training camp has been nothing short of excellent. The photographs, the updates, the videos, the use of social media and , of course, the ever popular tour diary/blog.

At a time when it might be trickier than normal to keep fans engaged, quite the opposite has been done. For me, the highlight has been the singing videos – goalkeeper Daniel Bentley pushing it up to 11 on the performance stakes.

Dan Bentley takes it to the next level

John Egan and Romaine Sawyers deserve full credit for effort, although its fair to say that Romaine is no Rachel Stevens. The again, who is? Results for the current round have just finished with Dan’s performance in the pool making him a runaway success  and exempt from any future performance.

Not such good news for Romaine and John who, alongside Jan Holldack,  get to ‘go again’.  Given fans have already been afforded the chance to participate in that first round of voting, can we expect more?

Certainly, the close out to the videos suggests so as it advises : “The four worst, as voted by the players, STAFF and YOU go through to the next round. The two with the most retweets and player votes are saved….! “

As ever, #GermanyBees looks like the place to stay in touch with the action.

And finally, I must thank all those who have taken the time to come up with entries to the Last Word photo competition that’s not an actual competition, just a bit of fun. If you fancy having a go then just post a comment. We’ll keep this running for one more day but a selection of the (printable) entries received so far are below….

More great work c/o ‘The official’ Brentford social media feed

 

Chris Whittart : Did you see the tweet from Sam Saunders ? Winner, end of, game over

Paul Deller: Not only did I have a tenner on Griezmann first goal, I done France half time full time

Terrace Wag: When someone asked about transfer policy……

David Carney: Apparently QPR and Fulham are almost certain favourites for relegation…

Danny Billy Baynham: So do you follow this stats lark lads ?

Dave Hall : My mate down the pub said “Fulham are going up’’.

Jim Myers : And you’re telling me Fulham could have signed Griezmann ?

Last Word: I even saw one guess that we’ll be playing in red and white stripes next season.

Nick Bruzon

Barcelona lose the plot as Sam wins Twitter for German Bees

Brentford are in Germany. FC Barcelona have totally lost the plot. Sam Saunders has come out with the all time best ever tweet. Those are pretty much the highlights from a day that saw The Bees travelling to their summer training camp.

As at the time of writing (Sunday 7am), we are still waiting on the first entry from Peter Gilham’s tour diary to bring us up to speed on the latest from the squad. Whilst it’s probably a bit early to expect him to be putting pen to paper, at least there was plenty out there yesterday to keep us updated on social media.

I believe ‘Snapchat’ may have pictures whilst both @BrentfordFC Twitter and the hashtag #GermanyBees are the place for further information and images. Likewise do check the club figures where, amongst others, Kitman Bob has been on his usual prolific form.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I have no idea who drives Brentford ‘official’. Is it an individual, a shared responsibility or ‘car keys in a bowl’ to see who gets the password? However, it definitely seems to have been on the up in recent months following some of those earlier dabbles with, what we’ll politely call, dubious hashtags (hopefully the likes of #trophyfriends and #bignewambitions will remain nothing but an odd memory).

Yesterday saw the ‘good’ side of official continue with, amongst other things, a series of photos that surely provide the basis for a caption competition in weeks to come.

This, being my particular favourite – both for the image and the curiosity as to what had elicited such a response.

If anybody has any suggestions/captions then please feel free to add as a comment and we’ll print them tomorrow.

“I even saw one guess that we’ll be playing in red and white stripes next season”

If Brentford are on good form with Twitter (and hold on Sam Saunders fans, we will get there) it would be fair to say that over in Spain things aren’t going quite so well. The famous terrace chant may once have declared us to be : The Barcelona of the lower leagues but the Catalan Giants seem hellbent on rebranding themselves the Brentford of La Liga. When it comes to hashtags, that is.

With the story of multi-millionaire Lionel Messi being found guilty of tax evasion this week, heavily fined and sentenced to 21 months in jail (a term he will not have to serve ??!) all over the media, Barca have looked to do something to counter the stories and subsequent rumours flying around. However, what they have come out with is something utterly disrespectful to anybody how has ever worked a day in their life (assuming they’ve paid their tax).

Rather than hold up his hands to say, “Sorry, it’s a far cop guv, you’ve got me bang to rights” they’ve gone the other way. Supporters have been asked to show their support by posting a message or photo with both hands open, accompanied by the hashtag : #WeAreAllLeoMessi

I’m not sure what support they expect people to be offering a convicted fraudster. Surely now is the time for a spot of contrition or just lying low? Even the choice of phrase had a rather distasteful similarity to the ‘Je Suis Charlie’ reference that helped people show unity after the January 2015 terrorist attacks in France. When Jimmy Carr suddenly has the moral high ground in the tax evasion stakes then you know things are bad.

Personally, I followed their request to the letter and came up with this.

Per @FCBarcelona : Use hashtag #WeAreAllLeoMessi and post a photo with both hands open. Ok, if you insist… pic.twitter.com/MOL9LmUvES

— Nick Bruzon (@NickBruzon) July 9, 2016

It wasn’t just me. The response to #We AreAllLeo Messi was almost universally scathing. If you are bored today then do take a look at the hashtag to see the latest. Failing that, here are but a smattering  :

https://twitter.com/johnthemascot/status/751876060053200897

 

If you're reluctant to pay tax on your half million pounds per week. This is the hashtag for you! #WeAreAllLeoMessi https://t.co/a2QjeMO3Pe

— Adam Devlin (@ad_I_am) July 9, 2016

#WeAreAllLeoMessi – Oh wait, we’re not, because we pay our taxes and he quite clearly doesn't. He’s not the victim. Shameful from Barcelona.

— Liam Canning (@LiamPaulCanning) July 9, 2016

https://twitter.com/JackGrimse/status/751806534301220865

If #WeAreAllLeoMessi, why am I eating 2-day-old pizza leftovers out of the fridge?

— Howler Magazine (@whatahowler) July 9, 2016

All good, but for a Bees related slant this one nails it for me:

It comes to something when #brentfordfc aren't responsible for a shit hashtag #WeAreAllLeoMessi

— D G Ray (@DeloreanGray) July 9, 2016

And relax.

“Oh Sammy Saunders you are the love of my life. Oh Sammy Saunders I’d let you (have relations with) my wife.”

Not my words but… Actually, they are my words along with those of close to 10,000 other Brentford supporters in honour of the perma-tanned wing-wizard, swim short magnate and terrace hero. Week in, week out the song is sung to our wonderful number 7 (seven). And rightly so.

So despite all the Barcelona related nonsense on twitter yesterday, it was none other than Sam who pretty much closed the social media network down as any form of contest.

This, when asked for some inspirational words ahead of a supporter’s impending nuptials…

@samsaunders7 best m8 gets wed 2day,massive bees fan,cld u send back a msge 4me 2read in me speech please?

— TomDavies (@Tom_P83) July 9, 2016

Now she's your wife remember "the song" now applies 😂👍🏻 https://t.co/qofhJ2CEXR

— . (@samsaunders7) July 9, 2016

I can’t beat that. Nobody can. We may aswell just give it up now. Peter Gilham has got a tough act following Sam when his tour diary comes out.

Nick Bruzon 

And finally…. :   The Last Word ‘season review’ : Ready. Steady. Go Again and the three year anthology : The Bees are going up remain available for download. For all the info, the highs, the lows, more highs then  you can do so now.

Its been a wonderful three years. Here’s to more of the same over 2016/17. Thanks, as ever, for reading.

Who’s on the move? Who’s in the bath? And is this kit news?

With domestic football having had somewhat of a quiet few months, things have suddenly exploded into life. There’s been more good news for Brentford fans with Scott Hogan looking good in ‘pre-season’ whilst, on the downside, Liverpool have accepted a bid from Norwich for Sergi Canos. Fan favourite Clayton Donaldson has been on tour, and in the bath, with Birmingham City where the St. Andrews club have taken no prisoners when it comes to updating social media. And, there’s been kit news out of Griffin Park……

First up, Scott Hogan. Whilst we all know that he came back from that horrendous injury with a glut of goals at the end of last season, how good to see him on the training ground yesterday. His own Twitter update of “Enjoying my first pre season for a couple of years” said it all, really.

This was accompanied by the picture below, showing the free scoring striker being put through his paces and not, as has been suggested, tripping over a twig. We’ve been there, done that, never again please. Seriously though, this is fantastic news for a player who more than rewarded the faith shown in him by Matthew Benham, Neil Greig and the Bees medical team over the 18 months of his recovery.

Scott’s instantgram update

And from one striker to another. Although this time a former one in Clayton Donaldson who is now, of course, plying his trade at Birmingham City. And, just as a side note, are there any professions other than football where one is deemed to “ply his trade”? Answers on postcard, marked ‘ply’.

Whilst the Bees may be at Jersey Road for now, The Blues are currently in Marbella preparing for the forthcoming season. Sadly they don’t have the equivalent of Peter Gilham’s wonderful tour diary (I can’t wait for this year’s edition) but there is the usual montage of pictures. And the unusual.

Specifically one of Clayton who, coincidentally, we were talking about in the warmest terms just a few days ago. Well, now its time to talk about him in the coldest terms (I’ll put the crowbar away). Not literally as, instead, I’ll  leave you with this image of him and Birmingham team mate Jacques Maghoma enjoying  – if that’s the word – three minutes in the ice bath.

Things I never thought I’d see

This was taken off their Twitter feed pretty sharpish although still exists, for now, on ‘the wall’ . No idea why. It’s just a bit of harmless fun and good to see ‘the other side’ of football. We have an antigravity treadmill and Cryo chamber. Birmingham have weight lifting and bath tubs (all can be found on our respective club ‘wall’ / Twitter accounts) .

Regardless, Clayton remains a legend in my eyes and its always great following what the big man has been up to.

Could Sergi Canos be back at Griffin Park next season? Playing against us? The BBC report that Liverpool have accepted a £2.5 million bid for the Spanish wunderkind. Not from the Bees but a Norwich City side who have just sold Nathan Redmond to Southampton.

Nobody needs me to spell out the threat and the potential that Sergi posesses. The impact he made at Griffin Park whilst on loan from Liverpool was an incredible one whilst I still get a buzz just thinking about ‘that goal’ at Reading. It was incredible to see it live; watching it on repeat does nothing to diminish the quality.

Mark Burridge has another ‘Jota moment’

If this move does play out then I can only wish Sergi well. He only ever showed the utmost enthusiasm on and off pitch when it came to Brentford. Sure, it would be great to see him back in the red and white but, equally, we’ve not done too badly when it comes to shopping ourselves.

And finally, regular readers will be aware of what could discreetly be called ‘a passing interest’ in all things kit related on these pages. Could we about to be given more news as to what the Bees will be wearing next season?

Much like Peter Gilham’s tour diary, Mark Devlin’s annual strip tease is fast becoming one of the most hotly anticipated moments of the summer. Whilst this year’s has taken a touch longer to begin (or is that just the anticipation), the eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted this on ‘official’ twitter yesterday.

I may have to go and borrow Clayton’s ice bath.

Not my words etc. etc. etc.

Nick Bruzon

And finally…. :   The Last Word ‘season review’ : Ready. Steady. Go Again and the three year anthology : The Bees are going up remain available for download. For all the info, the highs, the lows, more highs (especially about Sergi’s time at Griffin Park) then  you can do so now.

Its been a wonderful three years. Here’s to more of the same over 2016/17. Thanks, as ever, for reading

Good news for the Bees? Are Newcastle this season’s Leeds? And ‘Big Jim’ is at it again

Finally. Today’s the day. The Championship fixtures are announced at 9am. Us Brentford fans find out when we resume hostilities with the likes of the Loftus Road mob or Fulham aswell as undertaking journeys to league pastures new(ish) such as Aston Villa, Burton Albion and Newcastle United. And over in the Euros, those bemoaning the England team can, perhaps, take a little more comfort after seeing Spain come unstuck.

First up though, the fixtures. If these were commentated on (and knowing how Sky Sports News works, nothing would surprise me) I’d expect the line , “For those of you just getting in to work” to be trotted out as these are revealed.

Key dates, as ever, remain first home and away games, both local derbies, the season denouement and whether a Christmas visit from the in-laws will, at least, be tempered by knowing we can escape down the road on Boxing day.

I’ve seen a lot of talk on social media getting excited about the likes of the aforementioned Newcastle, Aston Villa and Burton. Not surprisingly, given league encounters against those three are rarer than a Nick Proschwitz goal. We did, at least, play the Magpies back in 92/93, although 1-2 and 5-1 defeats represented a poor haul against the eventual Division 1 (this was pre Championship) winners.

For me, though, Fulham will be the first name to look out for. Having taken 10 points and 11 goals from them in the four games since our return to the Championship, the chance to continue that run is one which only excites. Stuart Dallas, Jota in the last minute(s), Sam Saunders and an unexpected home debut for Tom Field are just a few of the memories that spring to mind. Here’s to creating a few more.

I can’t wait for the chance to do this again

Roll on 9am when we can start planning the next season and seeing if those dates we’ve already been obliged to mark in the calendar as busy (who gets married between August and May?) are going to see a bullet dodged or backfire massively.

At least, on the planning front, we’ll be offered a small helping hand. Sky have confirmed that aswell as the fixtures they “will confirm details of our first three televised matches alongside the main fixtures announcement”. The ongoing carve up of the fixture list in the name of TV coverage has been a source of frustration for many, albeit an understandable one given their contract to cover live games. Hopefully this does mean we can start to plan the first couple of away trips without fear of having to rebook train tickets.

Besides, the Bees shouldn’t have anything to worry about. Just as we are looking forward to visiting Villa Park, Carrow Road et al, I’m sure the Sky producers have similar, audience grabbing, aspirations. Don’t expect Brentford to feature ‘on the road’ for a while. I can see Newcastle United becoming last season’s Leeds United with a TV game every five minutes or so.

Over in France, meanwhile, the Euros continued with Croatia beating many people’s favourites, Spain. Thanks, largely, to goalkeeper Danijel Subasic rewriting the penalty law and being about three yards forward when he saved Sergi Ramos’ spot kick with the scores locked at 1-1 late on.

Northern Ireland, meanwhile, also reached the last 16 despite losing 1-0 to Germany and their talismanic striker yet to kick a ball in anger. Will Grigg’s on the bench, rather than on fire. And, just as after their 2-0 win over Ukraine where we treated to ‘that dance’, Charlie Lawson (TV’s Jim McDonald) was in celebratory mood, enjoying a large Black Bush and delivering a hushed soliloquy to camera from what appeared to be a farmhouse kitchen.

To see such passion and support is a beautiful thing. I love it. Who knows what Charlie will do should they reach the last 8? It’ll be fun finding out though, so it will.

How about you there, Northern Ireland

Nick Bruzon

And finally…. :  With Brentford almost set to ‘go again’  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, re-live a stunning few seasons  of Championship life once more and remind ourselves how things turned out after that penalty’ you can do so now.

Here’s to more of the same over 2016/17. Thanks, as ever, for reading.

I smell a giant rat. If it’s good enough for Lineker….

“Don’t click. Don’t click. Don’t click.” . Not a 21st Century equivalent of the mantra from ‘Candyman’ (kids, don’t even waste your time asking your dads) but a self-administered warning as the mouse hovered over one of the numerous : QPR moving for Brentford captain Jake Bidwell ‘stories’ doing the rounds yesterday. It was ignored.

I did it to myself, I did. And that’s what really hurt. As Radiohead almost sang way back.

This was always going to be flimsy but even by the desperate standards of ‘close season’ (where, as were’ve said before, news is so thin that a transfer in a cereal packet would get reported) it was bad. Yet another example of ‘journalism’ eating itself in an ongoing search for online hits.

Transfer news has always been popular

And despite normally avoiding such things – as much because of the ‘short survey’ required to access the rest of the article – this was too intriguing a lure. The captain of Brentford going to rivals QPR. Surely not?

Not, being the key word.

Our esteemed West London sources have been quoting a ‘report’ in the Mirror – a source whose usual line of stories seem to be about the ongoing invasion of the UK by giant rats .

And that ‘report’ was one buried amongst a whole host of other unsupported rumours,  claiming that the Loftus Road mob have apparently ‘made an enquiry’ . That was it.

Seriously, this won’t happen. I just can’t see any element of truth or any plausible way it would go through. Instead, it’s just 30 seconds I’ll never get back.

So confident am I that this is bull then if it does play out I’ll attend the first home game of next season in my pants. Hey, if its good enough for Gary Lineker.

If you really want to read some nonsense then, instead, could I suggest,  The Last Word’ review of the year which recently been released for download. Entitled “Ready.Steady. Go Again” it features the least bad of these columns from the appointment of Marinus in June 2015 up until 9th place in the Championship was confirmed earlier in the month.

‘And if you’d like to read more’….. there is also an anthology of the last three seasons  : “Brentford Football Club – The Bees are going up“. This runs from ‘that penalty’ and the subsequent fall out all the way through to the 5-1 humping of Huddersfield Town on Saturday. This, via all sorts of other Bees related trivia  including the answer to the oft asked question: Does Cameron Diaz support Brentford?

That said, there was genuine news from none other than Alan Judge yesterday. Twitter once again showing how much it has become legitimate font of up to the minute stories with the announcement: No Crutches

Accompanied by a self shot video that shows our player of the season walking, unaided, this is only a fantastic update.

The Brentford family were heartbroken when he suffered that season ending injury at Ipswich Town. With his chance of featuring in Euro 2016 also gone, The Judge has done nothing but keep the proverbial chin up in public.

As such, to see him at this level of recovery already is genuinely exciting. Here’s hoping Alan can push on from here and we see him in the red and white stripes come August.

The Judge has spoken

Nick Bruzon

As one door closes, another opens

Friday was a day of both sadness and celebration. On the down side, shocked fans and families were coming to terms with the announcement about the Brentford Academy ‘restructure’ .The positive of the day, certainly on a personal note, was the admission of Gibraltar (along with Kosovo) into FIFA. On pitch, Sergi Canos could make a shock Liverpool debut whilst it is advantage Sheffield Wednesday in their Championship play-off with Brighton.

First up, the Academy. Today’s column is not to criticise the club for this decision. Putting aside the huge emotional aspect for the individuals involved, one can only assume this isn’t one that they have taken lightly. Or at least, I hope not.

The Academy was much heralded as part of our future model upon opening. It was a set up that, rightly, all at Brentford FC  seemed proud of. The supporters and community, likewise.

And now, in what seems like the blink of an eye, it is all over.

Having read and re-read the somewhat wooly ‘official statement’ I’m still not 100% clear as to the full reasoning or, certainly, why it was made so quickly. Likewise, how the alternative will work in terms of finding players?

Cost, lack of end product, viability, competition and a belief that alternate methods will work better all seem to be contributory with the financials being the primary driver on that first part. Certainly if you are to read lines such as :

“We cannot outspend the vast majority of our competitors”

and

“Moreover, the development of young players must make sense from a business perspective. The review has highlighted that, in a football environment where the biggest Premier League clubs seek to sign the best young players before they can graduate through an Academy system, the challenge of developing value through that system is extremely difficult.”

So what has suddenly changed?

There wasn’t a hint of a mention when Rasmus gave his ‘state of the nation’ video address prior to the Huddersfield Town game. Likewise, as has been well identified on social media, the club even paraded some ‘future Bees’ on the pitch at half time in the 3-0 win over Fulham. That was just two weeks ago.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

I cannot for one second believe we would be so heartless as to do that to our youth. Whilst the parade of the Under 8-s has an unfortunate reminder of Marinus being put in front of the fans where we were told everything was going well, before being sacked just days later, this leak (along with the subsequent statement) has more than a whiff of Village-gate.

Equally, how do the press get hold of these internal stories? Why are our ‘official statements’ so poorly written? Is somebody purposely leaking this information to do our dirty work for us and, almost, prepare fans for the worst ?

Like it or not, this is a decision the club have made. I’m just desperately hoping that we have some form of follow up to further clarify matters. The press love a ‘bad news’ story whilst supporters are upset. As Bob Hoskins so famously said, “It’s good to talk“.

OK – Gibraltar. Exciting news !! UEFA’s Team 54 are now Team 211 in FIFA after football’s world governing body last night accepted their application to join by an overwhelming majority. Members at the annual congress in Mexico City (it’s never Blackpool or Grimsby) voted 172 – 12 to allow them in. Presumably 11 others going (again) with Spain in voting ‘against’.

Understandably , if not quite “dancing on the streets of Raith” , social media was awash with excitement, celebration and congratulations for FIFA’s newest member. Whilst there is now hope that Gibraltar can be parachuted into one of the World Cup qualifying groups for Russia 2018 before that kicks off, I’m just pleased to have a ‘feel good’ story coming out of FIFA.

Congratulations Gibraltar. Here’s to that first qualifying point. See you in ……?

Gibraltar have packed their boots to start life as FIFA team 211.

And on the subject of ‘feel good’, could Sergi Canos make his Anfied debut on Sunday as the Premier League season comes to an end? With Liverpool taking part in the Europa League final against Sevilla on Wednesday evening, I’d imagine that Jürgen Klopp may make ‘a couple’ of changes for the weekend’s game with West Brom.

I’m still desperately hoping that Sergi comes back to Griffin Park next season (one can only live in hope) but I’d love to see how he goes in the top flight. It was a privilege to watch Sergi’s career blossom at Griffin Park and he certainly ended the season on fire. The Premier League title and relegation have been decided but there may still be more intrigue to come.

Next up, Sheffield Wednesday. They lead Brighton 2-0 after the first leg of their play-off semi final. I only know that from reading the Internet. Having  turned on to watch after Coronation Street had finished (don’t ask) I turned promptly off.

Being greeted by ‘That band’ massacring ‘Oldham’s song’ will do that to you.

This summer’s  EURO 2016 finals could make painful viewing.

And finally, a HUGE thanks to all those who have so far downloaded both the Last Word ‘season review’ (Ready. Steady. Go Again) aswell as the three year anthology (The Bees are going up). These are both available now.

Goal of the season winner Sergi (and Gibraltar) both feature

Nick Bruzon

They think it’s all over…thankfully, it is now

The Championship season isn’t even cold and already the rumours are circulating about Brentford. Is the academy set to go? Is Dean Smith casting his eyes towards Walsall? Just for starters. Meanwhile over in East London, I’m pretty sure something happened last night – beyond West Ham beating Manchester United.

But first, it’s that time of the year where I’d ask if you can indulge me for a couple of paragraphs.

Namely, because ‘The Last Word’ review of the year has just been released for download. Entitled “Ready.Steady. Go Again” it features the least bad of these columns from the appointment of Marinus in June 2015 up until 9th place in the Championship was confirmed at the weekend.

‘And if you’d like to read more’….. there is also an anthology of the last three seasons  : “Brentford Football Club – The Bees are going up“. This runs from ‘that penalty’ and the subsequent fall out all the way through to the 5-1 humping of Huddersfield Town on Saturday. This, via all sorts of other nonsense – including the answer to the oft asked question: Does Cameron Diaz support Brentford?

So if you are looking for a way to kill a few hours on the beach this summer or ease the pain of the daily commute whilst reflecting on three season’s worth of Bees based (mostly) good times , then you can do it for less than the cost of a match day programme from the kindle store. Thank you.

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

Next up rumours. I don’t talk about them as a rule but they’ve started. Dean Smith was only ever going to be associated with Walsall and so the stories already linking him to Romaine Sawyers aren’t a surprise. Gillingham centre back John Egan moreso.

Tim street in Get West London has the story – if you’d like to read more.

Personally, I wait for Besotted to start talking until I get really interested. However, if the rumour mill is already running then we could have a very long summer.

As for the Academy story, this is a marked change of direction IF it transpires to be true. We’ll reserve comment on this until the club make any form of formal announcement but given how hard they fought to have it graded as ‘Category 2’ would be a huge surprise. Especially given we’ve had a very recent demonstration of it’s results – Tom Field making a wonderful debut when the Bees put Fulham to the sword less than two weeks ago.

Academy graduate Tom Field featured in the first team against Fulham

Ok – West Ham . You may not be aware but apparently they played their last game at Upton Park last night. I know, If only it had been mentioned at some point in the intervening weeks prior to kick off. In a hype circus that would make the release of the recent Star Wars film seem like an understated affair, the media have decided anybody outside of East London is sporting a ‘half and half scarf’ to embrace all things Hammers.

Good luck to West Ham. Seriously. Farewell to their Boleyn Ground. Understandably an emotional time for home supporters. I’m sure we’ll feel the same when our time comes. That’s it. After this though, I don’t get it.

Look, I know that West Ham single handledly won the World Cup back in 1966 whilst Trevor Brooking once scored a goal with his head, but clubs move home all the time. It is part and parcel of modern football life yet never before have we been force fed so much rose tinted nonsense about a ground which, if we’re being quite honest, was never a particularly pleasant place to visit. Certainly for the opposition fans. Just ask the Manchester United coach driver.

I’m just glad it’s all over now. We can move on. On the plus side, perhaps lessons learned for when the Bees eventually leave Griffin Park for Lionel Road. Whilst I have no doubt the occasion will be commemorated, and rightly so, sometimes perhaps less is more.

James Swift on Twitter nailed it yesterday. He gets the Last Word…

It’s a fact (Wimbledon aside….)

Nick Bruzon

Is this Matthew Benham’s toughest challenge yet?

With Brentford now settled in Portugal for their customary pre-season training camp, you could be forgiven for wondering if Matthew Benham’s attention was elsewhere on Tuesday night. His ‘other’ team, FC Midtjylland, discovered their Champion’s League second round opponents following the game between Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar and FC Santa Coloma of Andorra.

Whilst we’ll get to that intriguing battle shortly, we can only begin on the Iberian peninsula where there have been two notable updates in the last few days.

Firstly, news that is sure to excite Brentford fans – the return of Northern Ireland International Will Grigg following his prolific season on loan at promoted Milton Keynes Dons.

To read the rest of this article, season 2015/16 is now available to download onto Kindle (and other electronic reading device) in full, as :   Ready. Steady. Go Again. : Brentford FC season review 2015 – 2016

Thanks for reading and all your comments over the course of the season. For now, it’s the annual clean up to make more space on the site for the inevitable follow up. However, ‘close season’ will continue in full, further along.

But wait, like all the best infomercials, there’s more. The last three seasons of the Last Word : Celebrating like they’d won the FA Cup; Tales from the football village and Ready. Steady. Go Again are also available in one combined volume as: 

Brentford Football Club – The Bees are going up. Season reviews: 2013/14, 2014/15 & 2015/16 

We did. And we still are !