Even off pitch, is this our most stylish squad ever?

Brentford unwound from the 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers (goals below for those that haven’t seen them yet) with a squad trip to Dublin. Whilst I’m sure that the majority of what goes on tour stays on tour, its good to see that some Christmas traditions are still being honoured.

 

Despite being (theoretically) a grown man, in my forties, there are certain aspects of the festive season that still bring an extra smile to the face. I won’t even contemplate shopping until the first play of “Merry Christmas, Everyone” by Shakin’ Stevens hits the airwaves. Only then, once the greatest Christmas song ever recorded has been played, are we ‘officially’ into the heart of the season.

Likewise, chocolate coins and a satsuma are still an essential part of December 25^th. Forget the PS4 (if Mrs. Bruzon is reading, please don’t) these are still the king of traditional gifts.

From a sporting perspective, the Boxing Day fixture is one of the first I look out for, purely because there’s nothing finer than catching up with your friends for the game after the big day,

And then, of course, there’s the Christmas jumper. Indeed, our reader may have noted the column last month on this very subject and the efforts of the Premiership teams to make their own ‘bespoke’ version. Whilst the Brentford clubshop may not have risen to the challenge just yet, it’s fair to say the players haven’t let the side down.

Alan Judge has shared this instantgram picture of the squad on their Dublin trip, rocking the Christmas look.

Is there anything Sam can’t make look good?

What more can you say? In the words of Noddy Holder, “Ittttsssssss, Chrrrriissstmassss”

Now, who’s for a bit of Shaky?

 

Stuck between The Rock and a hard place. Will Grigg, I need you

QPR or Scunthorpe; Fulham or Fleetwood. Looking at the current tables, they are the likely opponents next season for whomever gets promoted from League One or who stays behind. All being well, Brentford are still up there in the box seat, despite Saturday’s loss (our first defeat since October of 2013) to Wolves.

Much as I am desperate for Brentford to go up – and I firmly believe we will –  Sunday’s draw for the EURO 2016 qualifying groups means that football in the Championship would present an additional headache.

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.