Six of the best and who knows what could happen…

Match day. Saturday. Apparently. With the games coming thick and fast for Brentford after a hectic Easter weekend it’s hard to tell where we are at times. Yet following that four day flurry which saw the draw with Sheffield United followed by our wonderful win on the road at Bristol City, today Ipswich Town are the visitors to Griffin Park. Could we take inspiration from Liverpool to make the seemingly impossible, possible?

Ipswich Town. A club who have a deserved place in the footballing record books. A club with whom even just for Brentford, there seems to have been more than a crossing of paths in recent seasons. Of course, ‘official’ have picked the 2-2 that welcomed in the mercifully brief Marinus era for their ‘moment in time’ on the club website today.

Bru celebrated (too soon) as Ipswich opened the Marinus era.

That one being a game which featured the return of a club legend in the eyes of many supporters, Jonathan Douglas. His only meaningful contribution being to break Jota as late goals from Andre Gray and number 26 salvaged a situation that seemed well beyond redemption with the score line reading 2-0 to the visitors and just moments on the clock. The post match handbags between the players masking the true extent of the Spaniard’s injury.

Bees Player viewers saw Dougie appear to give Jota a ‘flamboyant slap’ at FT

You could also cite the game at Portman Road the previous season. Not so much the 1-1 score line, in which Dougie proved hero rather than villain this time around, but more for Daryl Murphy missing an open goal that even Ian Moose would have fancied himself to score. BBC Radio Suffolk matchday pundit Mick Mills would later describe it as: “Breathtaking. It will go into the top ten all time misses. If you can find ten worse ones I’d like to see them.”

Hey. Everybody’s a critic. We’re all master tacticians and 40 goal a season strikers when watching from the comfort of the terrace, tv or gantry. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a commentator got something wrong and you can’t knock Murphy’s fine, fine record at Ipswich. That said, I’m still amazed at how he failed to find the back of the net.

And Murphy must score. Erm….

Yet for me (Clive), the quintessential coming together took place on Boxing Day of 2014. With Mark Warburton’s Brentford team riding the crest of the #NovemberKings wave (it doesn’t get any easier typing those words), Ipswich visited Griffin Park for a battle between the teams placed 2nd and 3rd in the Championship. With our game kicking off at lunchtime, whoever won would be guaranteed to top the table, even if just for a few hours.

The prospect of Brentford reaching these dizzy heights was one which was not lost on us. The December 26th game is always a special one anyway. The chance to shake off any excesses of the day before, escape the in-laws for a few hours whilst catching up with your friends and football family. The thought of what three points might bring made this one even more tantalising.

Nineteen seconds after kick off, that man Murphy took the wind out of our sails with an opening goal that was made all the more incredible by Brentford having actually had the ball to start the game. Not only was it under our control but we conspired to give it away and gift our visitors a belated Christmas present that was gratefully accepted.

Things got worse. With less than half an hour on the clock we’d had our fourth attempt to perfect that kick-off routine as the score leapt to 0-3. Despite a late brace from Sam Saunders we were never in this one and his pair only served to dress up a 4-2 scoreline in what was as one sided a game as I’ve seen in a while.

That was then. This is now. Brentford have six games to go to reel in a five point gap on the play off places. It’s a huge ask, for sure, but with the finish line in sight then what better time to line ourselves up for one final push. I’ll be honest, for huge parts of this season it is a push that I wouldn’t have bet on us being in a position to make. Yet, somehow, Dean Smith and his boys have kept at it. The results have kept coming and some have even worked in our favour.

Monday’s defeat of Bristol City was as dominant as they come, with Neal Maupay’s goal sealing the points that our domination had warranted. It was a performance that brings us bang up to date and in with a shout if the Bees can hold their nerve. Moreso, it was a game that marked Alan Judge’s first start for The Bees since the horrific leg break he suffered as a result of the assault by Luke Hyam at Portman Road back in April 2016. To go from the verge of the Euros to that long recovery must have been incredibly hard to take.

Full kudos to Alan and the Brentford back room team. Whether he starts this one remains to be seen but a Brentford team with Alan Judge in the side are a stronger outfit than one without him.

I really can’t wait to see how it plays out. Anybody watching the Liverpool – Manchester City game in the Champions League during the week will have seen what a difference it makes playing in a passionate arena. What an impact it can have on opposition who are streets ahead in terms of financial clout and league position. That’s not so much to compare Ipswich to Manchester City but more to show the impact a united crowd can have. It was something truly special to witness. For all the awfulness of having to play ‘Liverpool Glory, Glory Anfield European nights’ bingo, the Kop really were like a 12th man (house!).

The Ealing Road stand may not have the same depth as that most iconic seat of football Valhalla. However, size isn’t everything and what we lack in stature we can more than make up for in noise. Here’s hoping that come 3pm, our fans come together to raise the roof. With ‘other results’ going our way and the players doing their thing, imagine what it will be like should that five point gap shrink any further?

Bring it on…..

Last time, at Griffin Park

Nick Bruzon

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Mark Burridge wins Twitter for the day as Brentford prepare for trip to Ipswich Town

Roll on Saturday. Brentford travel to Ipswich Town looking to make it three wins in a row whilst, at the same time, building on a ‘goals scored’ record that has seen us find the net 16 times in the last 6 games. The last of which saw that smile inducing hat trick from Jota (just think of it and tell me you aren’t still grinning). And those of you up early may have spotted something on Twitter from the midweek win for Newcastle United at Brighton, c/o of our commentator par excellence Mark Burridge.

View from the Braemer – unadulterated joy from Jota and the team on Saturday

But we can only start with Brentford and Ipswich Town. Last season saw a 3-1 win for Brentford at Ipswich, in a game that was marred by Luke Hyam’s horrific lunge through Alan Judge. It was a foul subsequently defended by Tractorboy’s boss Mick McCarthy who, even given time to reflect , made no attempt to reconsider his opinion.

Hyam was shown a yellow for the assault on Judge which broke his leg, ruled him out of EURO 2016 and 11 months later still sees him nowhere close to a first team return. The Ipswich man was eventually shown a second yellow for going at Ryan Woods just before half time.

Dean Smith’s suggestion that he had been  “a bit naughty” and deserved straight red prompted a somewhat bizarre reply in which McCarthy noted, “I’m disappointed if he’s said that. I don’t think it is. I think he’s won the ball. I’ve actually complained to the referee as to why it’s a booking if he’s won the ball. I don’t think it’s naughty at all. That surprised me and disappoints me if he’s said that, but we all have opinions”.

Hyam hasn’t featured this time around but don’t expect anything different from Mick and his team. If not career threatening injuries, certainly a side who are robust in the challenge and have lost the form that has seen them threatening the play offs in previous campaigns. Instead, a squad that contains Jonathan Douglas and Toumani Diagouraga have seen their stock fall and sit below Brentford in the league table.

As for Brentford, there’s been more than a touch of Keegan-era Newcastle United about us in recent weeks. Dean’s return to picking a four man defence has seen goals aplenty, at both ends. Is kamikaze football better than the turgid possession game? Absolutely. Is it just a matter of time before the team re-adjust to both their ‘new’(traditional) system and new faces  such as Flo Jo and Sergi ? I have no doubt. Which of those two Dean starts with on Saturday will be tough choice but, like Justin Shaibu, the impact made from the bench by the Spaniard was clear for all to see.

Harlee Dean has flourished in recent months. He really has been indispensable, both at the back and going forward. He’ll be missed in his second game out following his tenth yellow, but it gives Andreas Bjelland  and John Egan a chance to really give Dean another selection headache. Along with Yoann Barbet, we really have been blessed with centre backs – the trick for Dean being which combination to pick and which players to sit alongside them.

Suspension saw Harlee spending Saturday very much put of position

And there’s another thing. Rico Henry. He’s barely featured on these pages since, finally, making his debut in the 2-1 win up at Sheffield Wednesday. Rico, if you are reading (you aren’t) I can only apologise.  Commentators and supporters alike were left enthusing about his performance. Those who saw him in the flesh against Rotherham could only agree. Pace, skill, tricks and tackles. In abundance.

Tom Field has been magnificent at left back but Rico really has thrown down a gauntlet. In doing so, he has shown just why the statistical model has identified a second Dean Smith ex-player as one we should move for.

As for Romaine Sawyers, his killer ball through for the goal to complete Jota’s hat-trick showed just why our head coach must have been smiling when ‘the model’ threw up his name over the summer. Like Brentford, consistency has been the main problem here in a tricky first season but we’ve nobody who can split a defence like Romaine when he is on his A game.

Rotherham, like Sheffield Wednesday, saw him very much a fish out of water. The ‘false 9’ formation is not one that we’ve been overly comfortable with and Saturday was the archetypal example. A set up that looked good on paper pre kick off clearly wasn’t working and Dean Smith really should have rescued his man earlier.

As for the experts, the bookies see Brentford as 39/20 to win this one whilst ‘over 2.5 goals’ is evens. And for those of you with a penchant for curse of the ex-player (as so ably demonstrated by John Swift at Reading) Toumani is 15/2 to score at any time. Whilst the big man was only the bench last time out, football being football then surely that’s where the smart money is?

Calling the shots will be Mark Burridge, as ever. With travel chaos expected thanks to the rail service, could Beesplayer be the best place to catch up on the action? Whilst there is no substitute for being there, the thought of spending the afternoon with Mark and his team is a tempting one. If for no other reason than we can expect quick off the mark observations from our man at the mic.

Does he ever sleep? Is his attention permanently tuned in to all things Brentford and Greyhounds ? We alluded to an early morning social media spot at the start of the article and sure enough, Mark / Newcastle United delivered.

Nice one Mark . Here’s to more zingers on Saturday. And goals.

Nick Bruzon

Can Nico do it again or will Dougie turn destroyer?

Can Brentford make it 3 in a row when we take on (technically) play-off chasing Ipswich Town today? For all that our hosts are flying high in the table in a very respectable eight place, the wheels have come off the Tractor in recent weeks with Town only recording one win in the last six games.

Did you listen to the Besotted podcast yesterday? If not, then do so. Please. Whilst I mentioned this in the previous article and don’t want to overly labour the point, the views of home fan Harry Wainwright really are worth a listen. As he notes himself, Ipswich now need snookers and some serious favours to make the play-offs.

But it is his verdict on former Bee Jonathan Douglas that gives particular food for thought. The eagle eyed amongst us may have seen that Dougie has just triggered a contract extension for another year at Portman Road. But whilst he was a hero to many at Griffin Park, this may not be such a popular announcement in Suffolk.

Dougie will be a Tractor for another season

Harry’s take on the player was fascinating. He quoted one recent criticism (from their 0-0 against Charlton) where the player was described thus, “ At times he looked like he was in a daydream . He had no idea what was going on.He was slow, error prone and often anonymous. 

The only thing he wanted to do was drop between the centre backs, pick up the ball from one and play it to another defender.”

Sound familiar? Reminiscent of the man who earned our most bookings last campaign (10). Or somewhat harsh for a player who scored 8 goals for Brentford in 2014/15 and was an inspiration to many with those surging runs up field?

Without revealing all Harry’s opinions (do listen to that podcast. And no, i’m not on commission – it’s just a really good one) he goes on to note that, “I think he IS error prone…within the fanbase he is the most under the spot light. In the last five games he has been the lowest ranked player , culminating in a 2.9 out of 10 against Charlton”.

Is this just the opposition trying to give us false confidence or are Ipswich and Dougie here for the taking? This, of course, assuming he is even selected and given these opinions of his recent performance that may not be a given. As ever, at 3pm we find out.

Two other brief points. Firstly, season tickets. Don’t forget that these are now on sale and for the first time in living memory I’ll be sitting for the next campaign. Not that anybody particularly cares but the demands of a young son who loves Buzzette and ‘Fireman’ Sam Saunders in equal measure have meant a seat on the touchline is the way forward for yours truly.

No, this is highlighted more to big up our wonderful ticket office team. I know this has been noted several times before but, like Kitman Bob, they really do present our club in a great light . Very much the unsung heroes of Griffin Park. Well, I’m singing.

Great value Season Tickets now on sale (and no, I’m not on commission)

And finally, betting. I mention this purely for statistical interest but Nico Yennaris is currently 12/1 to score at any time in the game. I’ve only checked this for research purposes of course, but could our latest goal hero make it three in a row? At that price, he must be worth a sniff?

Can he do it? Here’s hoping. Billy Reeves is the man to describe the action today for those not fortunate enough to be able to make the trip.

Fingers crossed for another three points at the denouement of this one.

Nick Bruzon

The Juggernaut v the Oil Tanker awaits as Bees take on Ipswich

It only seems like five minutes ago that Brentford couldn’t buy a win yet now we have the chance to make it three on the spin with the trip to Ipswich Town imminent. Victories at Nottingham Forest (3-0) and then home to Bolton (3-1) have surely crushed those lingering relegation doubts as morale has soared.

In his press conference on Thursday Dean Smith made all the right noises about the huge boost these results had been whilst giving an update on the current injury situation. With our Head Coach confirming that John Swift and Leandro Rodriguez (amongst others) will both miss out again through injury, I really can’t see any changes to the team that started so brightly against Bolton on Tuesday night.

Given that  the Bees did, if we’re being honest, allow Wanderers back into a game where a stronger team would have punished us in the second half, there can be no room for any let up this time around. Ipswich are still pushing for the play-off spot that they also made last season and you can be sure Mick McCarthy will be expecting three points from his team.

Last season’s encounter at Portman Road finished in a 1-1 draw, notable for Daryl Murphy somehow missing an unmissable goal for the home side when all he had to do was tap it into the gaping net. It was an effort described afterwards by Mick Mills and his local radio commentary team as: “Breathtaking. It will go into the top ten all time misses. If you can find ten worse ones I’d like to see them.”

BBC FLS viewers saw Murphy set to pounce. And fail (for once)

Murphy remains leading scorer for Ipswich this season although will miss out this time round as he his still suffering with a knock picked up on international duty.  Despite ‘that miss’ this should really be seen as a boost for the Bees although, of course, we still have the prospect of lining up against Jonathan Douglas once more.

The thought of seeing him facing off to Alan McCormack in midfield is a delicious one. Goliath v Goliath. The Juggernaut v the Oil Tanker. No prisoners will be taken whilst, of course,  there was the incident at the end of our clash at Griffin Park this season.

Back in August, we opened proceedings at home to Ipswich as the Marinus era kicked off with such optimism. Then it all went South as the game started with Andre Gray on the bench, the pitch turned into that infamous minefield and Ipswich cruised into a two goal lead either side of half time. We didn’t even see Macca take on Dougie as our man went off 6 minutes before the former Bee came on.

From that point though, things went a bit bonkers. Andre pulled one back in Jota time before James Tarkowski sent the crowd wild with a 96th minute equaliser. Dougie still had time to accidentally (I’m sure) stand on Jota’s foot and spanner him for the next few months. Indeed, there was an exchange at full time where eagle-eyed Bees Player viewers caught sight of Douglas swinging an arm at the Spanish hero.

Bees Player viewers saw Dougie appear to give Jota a ‘girly slap’.

Will that be water under the bridge now or will the memory linger? I’m sure the former, if for no other reason than Jota has (sadly) moved back to Spain ‘on loan’ whilst Dean Smith will no doubt have drilled the importance for discipline into his team. Regardless, the fans are likely to remind Dougie of this incident whilst the battle with Macca, regardless of anything that had gone before, will alway be a fascinating one.

That said, what do I know? Listening to the latest Beesotted podcast on the way to work this morning it was very interesting to hear the views of Town supporter Harry ‘from Bath’. Of course, come for the views of Billy (Grant), Sav, Matt, Dave and terrace wag Gemma Teale but stay for Harry’s insight. You’ll find that part just after the hour…

Another point of note from Dean’s press conference was his observation that, “Historically the pitch at Portman Road has always been fantastic so hopefully it will be the same and we can play some of our football.” Nobody needs any reminding about the state of the Griffin Park pitch at the start of this season and the huge holes that began to appear where it seems that somebody had forgotten that all important point of letting the turf bed in.

With the Bees confidence returning and the side being encouraged to run at their opponents, it will be fascinating to see what we can now do on a level playing field.

Whether in the stands at Portman Road or alongside Billy Reeves on Bees Player, on Saturday afternoon we find out.

Bru celebrated (too early) as Ipswich opened the scoring last time

Nick Bruzon

Opinion very much divided as rumours persist and Boro’ await

Brentford take on Middlesbrough tonight, hoping to put the cup defeat to Walsall behind them and get back to winning ways in the league. An obvious statement, perhaps, but anybody who bore witness to just how below par Saturday was, where we were outplayed for huge swathes of the game, will be fully aware that a reaction is needed. Moreso, with a game against play off rivals Burnley just three days after this one.

I mentioned in yesterday’s article that Boro’ have beaten us five times in the last 16 months. What I didn’t realise was that they’ve actually done us the last 8 times out of 8. Whilst, understandably, some people are calling Middlesbrough a bogey a team, I’m not having a bar of that. The only bogeys I care about are the ones up my nose, with a heavy cold putting attendance tonight in the balance.

View from the terrace – Middlesbrough proved tough opponents last season

Besides, it may be horribly clichéd but you are only as good as your last result. Ahhhh. Yes. Walsall. But that was the cup, where we played with a black hole in the centre of the park, sucking all life and creation into a morass of nothingness.   In the league, the Bees have recorded 5 wins and a draw out of our last 7 (seven) games at Griffin Park.

Yet, tonight provides a real problem for Head Coach Dean Smith in one respect. Who does, or can, he pick to start for Brentford? With the flurry of transfer rumours doing the rounds might his hands be tied? Tarks keen to go to Burnley and Toums asking for a transfer request being the pick of the pops yesterday.

Could wandering minds impact performance?

Both players were sorely missed at the weekend. Toumani in particular. It is a tremendous insult to either player to suggest they’d give any less than 100% yet, at the same time, if (and it is a huge IF) somebody would rather be elsewhere then will the absolute focus be there? Will they stick their foot into that 50/50 challenge?

I’m not a professional footballer and I don’t have the answer to that question. I’d hope that once you pull on the red and white shirt, all else goes out of the window. Regardless, I’d be starting with Toums, Tarks and Alan Judge unless injury or orders from a higher power than Dean Smith said otherwise.

Given Alan’s appearance from the bench on Saturday, I’m sure we’ll see him from the off. As for the other two, let’s just hope ‘the injuries’ that caused them to miss the cup game have cleared up.

The middle of the park was a mess on Saturday. If Swift or McEachran start I’ll be really quite frustrated tonight. P*ss poor performance should not be rewarded with another chance. Josh, for all his potential, was off the pace whilst Swift is fast becoming the new Jonathan Douglas. Don’t let the odd goal and surging run disguise the lack of impact when things are against and defensive frailty when the ball is going the other way. Even Dougie would stick his foot in from time to time.

And the reason I mention our former man was an article by West London’s Premier Journalist, Tom Moore, looking to analyse the reasons for our cup exit. Fair play to Get West London for running an opinion piece – always much more interesting than a ‘double transfer swoop’ scoop that turns to nothing.

As I said myself on Saturday night, it was the sort of game crying out for Sam Saunders. That’s a point also picked up on by Tom, with him actually going one further to suggest this could be the beginning of the end for the mercurial wing wizard. I hope not but fear he could be right.

Where I don’t agree is in his comments regarding Dougie. “While it is clear that Douglas was difficult to handle off the pitch, what he brought on the pitch is still being missed.

He would mop up attacks and charge forward, turning Brentford’s 4-2-3-1 formation into one more akin to a 4-1-3-2 and Douglas scored eight goals last season”

Sorry Tom. I respect your opinion but on this one I feel you’re wrong. It’s an emotive subject, for sure. Dougie was a hero to many and nobody could deny the amount of goals he scored.

But it was this charging and chasing forward, especially last season, that saw us cruelly exposed time and again. You didn’t need to be a genius to know we’d be done by the long ball over the top of the midfield or see the hole that he kept leaving. That’s without any of the ‘off field’ issues that are alluded to. Even when he came back with Ipswich Town, Jota was the man in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A great player at his peak, Dougie’s time had definitely come and, for me, it’s less a case of missing him as more needing the new breed to step up and do what they are supposedly able to.

Dougie – last seen on Beesplayer giving Jota a ‘girly slap’

For me, and I may be in a minority, one of the few good things that happened under Marinus was to end ‘the cult of Douglas’. Despite his longevity and past heroics, at the end it felt as though he was keeping his place on reputation rather than ability. I do wonder what might have happened had Warbs given things a bit of a shake up towards the end of last season.

Still, that’s all conjecture and why we love football so much. Wallowing in the memories of past legends with the beauty of rose tinted glasses isn’t going to change what our current, youthful, team do. Or don’t. One person’s hero is another’s villain. Poor Harlee Dean certainly seems to be the fall guy in that position, amongst some supporters, this season.

We could talk about this for hours. That’s what podcasts are for.  Perhaps instead  a topic for Beesotted over the coming days? For now, I’m only interested in the current team and tonight’s performance against Middlesbrough.

If Dean looks to crowd the midfield again, let’s just hope they don’t trip over each other’s feet and, likewise, look to get the ball forward. We’ve got as tough opponents as you could expect in the league and it’s going to be hard. Very hard.

On the flipside, if ever a reaction from the previous game was needed then it is now. And what a team it would be to give it against.

See you there. Hopefully.

Nick Bruzon

Matthew Benham swings the axe as Marinus waves goodbye

On Saturday he finally gave us a wave. Little did Bees fans realise it would turn out to be a wave goodbye. Just a day before we entertain Birmingham City, and hot off the heels of that agonising last minute defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, Brentford have parted company with head coach Marinus Dijkhuizen (along with his assistant Roy Hendriksen).

‘Parted company’ – presumably the diplomatic term for ‘sacked’ – is something which has taken pretty much everybody (Marinus included) by as much surprise as his original signing. But was it the right move?

Marinus – all over after less than four months

A record of four defeats in the opening eight league games, along with the League cup humiliation at home to Oxford United, was hardly the stuff of a solid start. Moreso, given the high on which we finished the last campaign – almost pulling off a shock promotion to the Premiership.

But there were so many factors outside of his control. The atrocious pitch, which eventually saw the Birmingham City game postponed, hardly augured well. Then there were the injuries – how could one person be so unlucky? Josh McEachran was broken before he even played a game. Jota was crocked by Dougie in the season opener. Andreas Bjelland lasted 45 minutes before being written off for the season whilst Maxime Colin, who offered so much in such a short space of time, was yet another to fall foul of the training ground ‘jinx’.

Combine this with the loss, through transfer, of Stuart Dallas, Moses Odubajo and the free scoring Andre Gray to really see just how hard we’ve been hit from a personnel perspective.

Equally, Marinus just wasn’t Mark Warburton. Whoever followed the (now) Rangers manager was on a hiding to nothing. Warbs reeked of popularity with the vast majority of Brentford supporters. His success after taking over from Uwe was there for all to see whilst the dignified manner in which he carried himself after February’s ‘Village-gate’ affair only strengthened that bond further.

Warbs – had huge success, even if no Plan B, at Griffin Park

But if Warbs had the supporters in the palm of his hand, the apparent lack of touchline body language from Marinus was the polar opposite and made it hard for some fans to bond with him.

Ultimately, it is results that count. Not only had we lost 5 out of 9 competitive fixtures but to fall behind in all but one of them tells it’s own story. The negative brand of possession-based football was frustrating to watch – moreso when that possession was largely in our final third at the expense of genuine attacking intent.

When Marinus pushed the team up we looked a threat – the problem was it took so long to get there. Yet there must have been enough to persuade Matthew Benham to bring him to Griffin Park in the first place. And having spotted this, why end the arrangement so quickly? Surely he would have known what he was going to get?

Was it the results? The very open arrangement he had with the press where the refreshingly honest answering of questions was everything we’d come NOT to expect from a football manager? Or were words exchanged behind the scenes?

I doubt we’ll know for a while, if at all. The club’s opening statement revealed little whilst the subsequent follow up from Chairman Cliff Crown focused more on his successor until the end of the season, Lee Carsley, rather than any real explanation.

The one positive to take from all of this is that we didn’t have a repeat of last season where rumours of a parting of the ways with Mark Warburton were at first ignored, then rebuffed in the bizarre ‘village’ statement before eventually being confirmed a few days later. Although the news has been handled with all the subtlety of a breezeblock, at least this has been dealt with quickly. Moreso given the simultaneous availability of Steve Evans.

Steve Evans – also all the subtlety of a breezeblock

I feel desperately sorry for Marinus. He came across as a genuinely likeable bloke and has seen the pitch, and squad, fall apart around him. His press conferences and post match interviews were compelling stuff but, in the end, that wasn’t enough.

Instead, Lee Carsley takes charge and in that wonderful symmetry that football so often throws up, his first game will be against former club Birmingham City.

Life is never dull at Griffin Park, that’s for sure. Now, what price a second home win of the season on Tuesday night? (6/5, for the record).

Nick Bruzon

Billy’s gentle probing confirms Douglas departure as Bees go down.

After the high of victory against Stoke City at the weekend, Brentford came back down to earth with a bump, of sorts, following Tuesday night’s 2-1 defeat at Luton Town. And elsewhere, there was a surprise turnout for the development squad at Dundee United.

First though, the Luton game. I wasn’t there – and fairplay to the 242 Brentford fans who did make it across – so it’s hard to say much in regards to the performance directly. I, like many, was reliant on Beesplayer where we learned as much after the game as during it.

Billy Reeves, who had used half time to give us a potted run through of his pre-Bees career (including a lexicon of fascinating facts about former band mate Sophie Ellis-Bextor) then flipped the tables. Having been gently probed by Mark Burridge at half time he adopted his own, more typical, role of interviewer to quiz Marinus.

theaudience – Billy has many strings to his bow

I like Billy. A lot. We all know what we are going to get when he is in the hot seat and, as he had earlier told Mark, its because he is a fan. He asks those questions we want to know.

Sure enough – the big one on everybody’s lips at present is about Jonathan Douglas. We’ve all read the stories to suggest that he’s on his way out of Griffin Park but was it true?

So Billy put the question and Marinus was able to confirm in a very direct answer. I have to be honest I was surprised by the openness of his reply (but that’s no bad thing) as he told listeners, “He’s not part of the squad. He’s training separately…it’s better to move on, for his future, and for Brentford.”

This is a rapid fall from grace for the previously untouchable midfielder and one does wonder if anything else has happened behind the scenes to trigger such a course of action. Whilst the legs were clearly catching up on him in the second half of last season, don’t forget he was captain as recently as the Boreham Wood friendly.

Some will cry – Dougie was very popular with many supporters. Personally, I was of the opinion that his time had come. The goals were great but we were left exposed time and again last season by those meandering sorties up field that then left a gap you could park an oil tanker in.

With the midfield already providing problems of the best sort – and Dave Morley, alongside Mark B, really struggled to name his own starting XI for the season opener against Ipswich – perhaps Dougie has paid the price. I’d still expect more to follow him out of the door, though.

Dougie – in happier times under Mark Warburton

Up front, Philipp Hofmann got the goal for Brentford – his second in as many games – which prompted more questions about that position. Specifically, Andre Gray. And only because, like Dougie before him, the other nagging rumour that won’t go away is in regards to potential bids for him. Hull City AFC are the latest team being inked to a bid.

Sadly Billy missed his cue on this one. You could almost hear the self-administered ‘slap to forehead’ as he realised, with our head coach having departed, that this was the other thing he really should have asked about. The official line from the club is that Marinus wants all his players to stay. I’d hope so.

Still, like the first team, this is all about getting back up to full speed. Billy’s gentle probing is always a great reason to stick around after full time for anybody unfortunate enough not to be at the game. Like the Bees, perhaps it was only natural that we might make the odd mistake as we get back into the swing of things after the summer break.

Besides, Billy did learn another key nugget of information. That the team to line up at Norwich City on Saturday will be 90% of the one Marinus expects to start against Ipswich Town, in the league, the following weekend.

Dave Morley – you’d better get your notepad ready.

And finally, Kevin O’Connor. Firstly, a reminder that 100% of any sales of my season reviews 2013/14 and 2014/15 are currently going towards his charity cycle ride this weekend. I had promised to donate anything raised and challenged my fellow author (although that is the loosest term when it comes to yours truly) Greville Waterman to do the same. Fairplay to Greville who has already weighed in with a very generous donation.

Certainly, that’s something I’ll match in the likely event it doesn’t get surpassed ahead of the designated time – next Saturday. Alternatively, if you’d like to contribute to the casue directly then you can do so at www.givey.com/ride100bfccst aswell as learning more about this event.

So perhaps it was with this cycle in mind that the development squad had a somewhat familiar face in the line up at Dundee United yesterday (and thanks to Andrew Gardner, @bodge1876, on twitter). Was it merely an attempt to keep fitness levels up or is Kev contemplating what Sid Waddell so famously once described as “The biggest comeback since Lazarus “?

Still got it, Kev..

Golden balls but where were the Bees?

My social media time line was nothing but Ballon d’Or, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the results of the FIFA player of the year, goal of the year and World XI (amongst others) were announced on Monday. Whilst undoubtedly prestigious awards, the accompanying hot air and time taken to string it out was as painful as listening to a Steve Evans post match interview. But nowhere near as funny. Besides, the whole thing was rendered largely meaningless to me by the lack of any Brentford players in contention for selection.

Where was Jonathan Douglas jostling with Ronaldo for the main prize or David Button forcing Manuel Neuer out of the team? Much as Brentford have come on leaps and bounds, we are still some way off being forced to don the dinner jackets and meet Sepp Blatter. Which, given the hype and tedium of all that surrounded this, is probably no bad thing.

Instead , I gave up on it to read about the Creme egg scandal gripping the nation and wonder what will happen, should the club perform their annual ‘programme and confectionery’ promotion for season ticket holders later this season.

Creme eggs – all change at Cadbury

But catching up this morning on the fall out from the ceremony, I noticed one honour that had got little or no mention at the time, certainly relative to the shootout between Messi, Neuer and Ronaldo – Sepp Blatter’s Presidential award. Rather than being the right to host the World Cup for whoever handed over the biggest bag of cash (because, of course, that would never happen) this rank is, and I quote, “bestowed upon a person or institution that has made a superlative contribution to football without seeking to monopolise the limelight”.

And whilst long serving Peter Gilham was not up for nomination (yet) it went to a 90 year old former Japanese player and current journalist, Hiroshi Kagawa who covered his tenth World Cup finals last year. So modest is Kagawa that, talking about the event, he said “I was sceptical about coming to this ceremony today. But my friends in Japan said I must come – even if only to meet Manuel Neuer, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and bring back some autographs”

Does FIFA have a decent heart amidst all the rumours of corruption and self-serving? One can only hope.

 Long serving Kagawa receives his award (no autograph book for Sepp, though) 

Embed from Getty Images

Jack Whitehall challenges Cliff Crown as Bees win again

Brentford ran out 1-0 winners over Rotherham United in a game that was just one small part of a busy day for all things Bees related. With comedy legends coming out of our ears (not literally), Northern Ireland international Will Grigg and Matt Harrold involved in an unusual encounter when Crawley faced MK Dons and Clem doing his thing at Oldham Athletic, it’s been hectic.

To read the rest of this article, season 2014/15 is now available to download onto Kindle (and other electronic reading device) in full. Containing additional material and even some (poor) editing, you can get it here for less than the cost of a Griffin Park matchday programme or Balti Pie.

Thanks for reading and all your comments over the course of the season. For now, I need to make more space on the site for any follow up. However, ‘close season’ will continue in full, further on.

Comedians confirm their attendance, or not, via twitter

Producer: Do you now the way to Oldham? Clem: One in each hand

Could Windy Millers stop the Bees from chuckling today?

Finally. Much as I love the FA Cup, the visit of Rotherham United sees Championship action return to Griffin Park after what seems an interminable wait . With our last two league games seeing Brentford’s great run of form ended by losses to Ipswich Town (a wake up call) and Wolves (unlucky) today sees a great chance to get back to winning ways.

Brentford are, of course, unbeaten in League action in 2015 (a stat too far?) and Rotherham sees us with the opportunity to pick up our first Championship points of the year. But will we do it?

To read the rest of this article, season 2014/15 is now available to download onto Kindle (and other electronic reading device) in full. Containing additional material and even some (poor) editing, you can get it here for less than the cost of a Griffin Park matchday programme or Balti Pie.

Thanks for reading and all your comments over the course of the season. For now, I need to make more space on the site for any follow up. However, ‘close season’ will continue in full, further on.