Time for lucky number 7(seven) ? And QPR now have LLLLLLLLLLL.

Stats, eh? With Brentford travelling to Middlesbrough today the Bees need no reminding of recent form against Boro’ since our ascension to the Championship. Over two seasons sharing a division (prior to this campaign) we’ve played 6 Lost 6, including the two-legged play-off semi final in May 2015. Indeed, our only victory against Boro’ away from Griffin Park takes us all the way back to March 1938. And as a warm up to the weekend’s Championship action, we had that footballing Scylla and Charybdis as QPR hosted Fulham in a Friday night fixture where the not so super hoops’ already unenviable statistical record took another turn for the worse.

First up, Brentford and Middlesbrough. With our first victory of the league season coming last weekend at Bolton, there were high hopes for a midweek repeat at home to Derby County. Instead, we had to be content with a point as a persistent Bees team kept going and going until Ollie Watkins finally levelled things up against turgid opponents with just minutes to go. It really was the archetypal demonstration of anti-football and double lane bus parking from Gary Rowett’s Rams who almost performed the ultimate ‘smash and grab’ until Ollie struck on 87. Aided and abetted by hapless referee Andy Davies, his call of full time as Watkins bore down on goal saw the game end in a chorus of boos for the man in black’s performance rather than any recognition of how Brentford had fared.

Ollie – head and shoulders above Derby County (and the ref)

I’m still in two minds about this one. A well , well earned point agasint an outfit who seemed content with strangling the game and reducing it to a tactical stalemate? Or perhaps an element of naivety as we were unable to adapt and, despite a staggering 76 % possession, couldn’t get past a cynical but well drilled side. Perhaps a bit of both, if we’re being honest.

Teams know how to play us but, at the same time, will struggle to get through us. It’s just one defeat in six for the Bees as the pre-weekend mailshot would so proudly announce . Although there are just as many other ways to spin our early season form if you really wanted to scratch beneath the surface.

Me? I’m going for the positive today. The goals against Bolton Wanderers were a masterclass in distance shooting. The levels to which Derby sunk to protect a slender lead show the lengths teams have to take against our battling Bees. Whilst I’d expect Middlesbrough to be far more positive than Derby could this be our time to make it lucky number 7 (seven) after LLLLLL?

Previous games with Boro’ haven’t been the best

They lost against Norwich at The Riverside during the week after a late, late equaliser spared their blushes at Fulham last Saturday. That same never say die spirit as the Bees? Or a team struggling to hit the fantastic heights they attained when our Championship paths have crossed before and now there for the taking? As much as anyone can take anything from Middlesbrough?

For Brentford, Andreas Bjelland looks doubtful following his midweek hamstring injury. That said, Chris Mepham was one of the real positives to emerge form the game against Derby as he replaced the Danish international for his league debut. He looked comfortable and assured alongside Yoann Barbet. Does Dean give him another start or return John Egan to the starting XI ? Sergio Canos is still a big no, sadly, whilst a question mark remains over Lasse Vibe. His experience will be an undoubted boost for a long Bees squad whenever he is fit to return.

Who is available? Who starts? Can Brentford finally take something from Middlesbrough? Nobody gives us a hope with the BBC reporting super Computer SAM as giving us just a 20% hope of victory. Club sponsor LeoVegas are slightly more generous, although its still all relative, offering us at 3-1. In a two horse race. Chuck in that historical record and we’ve nothing to lose. Instead, there’s everything to gain. With no pressure and no expectation on Dean Smith, can he inspire his team to greatness? Roll on 3pm when we find out.

We couldn’t leave without discussing yesterday’s distatesful news. Not UKIP appropriating the Premier League logo with their new graphic. Personally, I think they’ve missed trick if they are going to rip off a lion logo.

UKIP – morons

Yet even worse than that came last night with the game between Fulham and QPR. The aforementioned Scylla and Charybdis. Anything that puts you in mind of Police frontman Sting is never good and this was one of those instances where you could only pray that, somehow, it would be possible for both teams to lose.

Yet if there was a slight preference to sway opinion on this one it was in the statistical. Discussing the weekend football with a Crystal Palce fan (imagine our form against Boro’ condensed into a current season, only with less goals scored) and a Chelsea supporter, the latter mentioned QPR form. Or lack of. It would seem that the Loftus Road mob had lost their last ten games played on a Friday night. A run that would include the games on 28 October 2016 (2-0 to the Bees at Loftus Road) and 30 October 2015 (1-0 to Brentford at Griffin Park).

Well, much as it is distasteful to celebrate a Fulham win, we can at least take solace in the fact that their 2-1 victory in front of the TV cameras saw QPR extend their Friday night record to: LLLLLLLLLLL .

Form so bad I’ve now run out of fingers to count that losing streak.

Friday nights are never good for QPR. Please. Stop sniggering….

Nick Bruzon

Advertisement

Here we go again…..

No sooner has the weekend gone than Brentford hit the road for a second away game in three days. Following the 0-0 with Aston Villa on Saturday, next up is tonight’s trip to Sheffield Wednesday. Can Dean Smith’s team make it 7th(seventh) time lucky and record a first league victory that, whilst our play has more than suggested should have come by now, currently remains tantalisingly out of reach?

And if you’d like to read more whilst helping the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust …. the rest of this article can now be found in the Kindle e-book Ten Times Better. Brentford FC Season review: 2017/18. Inspired by ‘that’ interview it contains the least bad of these columns in one, handy volume as it looks at our own campaign as well as wider divisional life and the promotion / relegation races.

As a bonus there’s a whole host of new material. New that is, for my pages. Specifically, all the programme articles submitted (both home and away where, if nothing else, you can get the original versions of both Birmingham City and Millwall).

In addition, There Is No Plan B. Brentford FC Season reviews: 2013/14 – 2017/18 takes us all the way back to the start of this latest leg in the journey. That penalty. League One. Harlee Dean was a hero. Jota was something we thought happened to the temperature for one week in July. Alan Judge had joined on loan whilst the Marinus Experiment was something nobody had contemplated. Bringing things bang up to date by the inclusion of this year’s volume alongside the four previously published campaign round ups, it has five seasons in one weighty tome. As weighty as a download can be, that is.

Relive the memories. See how often the same material gets regurgitated. Remind yourself about the likes of Betinho, Martin Fillo, Javi Venta and Marcos Tebar. Certainly, if there’s no Marcos Tea Bar at Lionel Road it will be an opportunity missed.

All proceeds from any sales will go to the Community Sports Trust. For less than the cost of a half / pint respectively, they may help while away some time on the commute. By the pool on holiday. In the bathroom. Who knows? It will certainly do some good for the Trust, whose work has been well documented at Griffin Park but you can read all about it on their site.

And if that wasn’t enough, I’ve been given something very special. A 2017/18 third team shirt with Lewis Macleod’s squad number on the reverse in the EFL typeface. Anyone with half an interest in Bees kits will know that these were never made available in the club shop.  Anyone who has read any of this before will know what a kit nerd yours truly is so when I say this is rare, take that in good faith!

To be in with a chance of owning it, download a copy of either before the end of June 2018 and you’ll go into a draw to win this. Just DM/tweet me (@NickBruzon) a copy of your purchase confirmation mail and I’ll add your name to the list before selecting a random Bees fan to win this on July 1st.

 

Arrogance and over confidence. How many times will we see it?

 

Nick Bruzon

 

Can Dean match the heights of some illustrious company?

Brentford host Cardiff City this evening with head coach Dean Smith aiming to continue April’s unbeaten run after seeing the Bees pick up three wins and a draw since March came to an end. It is an identical record to Chris Hughton’s Brighton whilst only Aitor Karanka and Middlesbrough have better form after winning all five of their games this month. With the Bees now aiming to finish as high as possible, what’s left for us ?

Dean has made no secret of his desire to finish in the top ten. There’s currently a 4 point gap to Preston in 10th and 5 to Birmingham in ninth. With a game in hand it’s more than possible, statistically speaking, although translating that into actual points will be a big ask.

Russell Slade – has gone down in Brentford legend

And its not going to be easy tonight. For Cardiff City, a win is an absolute must. Five points outside the play-off places , anything but an away win will surely see our teams tied together for another season. Of course, Russell Slade will be celebrating like he’s won the FA Cup if he can secure the points and make some ground on Sheffield Wednesday.

The irony of his doing that two years and a day after those incredible scenes as the Bees went up would be lost on nobody.Despite his team going on a recent mini slump that has seen two draws and a loss,  you can bet he’ll have the Bluebirds fired up.

Then again, so will Dean. Since the injuries that have robbed his midfield of John Swift and Josh McEachran, the team have looked a different prospect. Whilst no side could say they were the same without the quality of Alan Judge, even Saturday against Bristol City saw us go so close to making it four in a row as the Bees continued with their attacking intent.

For all Dean talks about 10th, closer to home another win could make the battle for April’s ‘Manager of the month’ an interesting one. Of course, Aitor Karanka remains a shoe in for that as it stands with those 15 points out of 15. Yet with his Middlesbrough outfit facing fellow title chasers Burnley tonight (that’ll be some game) should Andre Gray and co do the business then it opens that one right up.

For me, the target still remains the Bees ending up as the top side in West London. We’re 6 clear of Fulham and only 3 behind the Loftus Road mob (with a game in hand).

Whilst Dean scooping an award in April will be a sign that we’re on track for that one, its a short term aspiration. If the Bees can finish top of this mini-pile after 46 games then I think that after all the ups and downs, the season will have been considered to have  ended on a high.

That’s a big ‘IF’ and, as I say, it won’t be easy tonight. Should anybody be in any doubt I’ll just put two words out there…

Stuart. Attwell.

8 people liked the official announcement. Wow !

And finally, an apology. Yesterday’s column looked, in part, at the tour-de-force that was Sean Ridley hosting Terrace Talk. As part of this, it was noted that he ended his feature chasing after a duck.

I realise, now, this was wrong. In fact I am reliably informed it was an Egyptian Goose. So caught up was I in the excitement of his quite wonderful performance (and if you haven’t seen it yet, please do) that I’ve made a basic ornithological mix up.

I’m sorry.

That said, Sean has left a tough act to follow. No pressure, Jo 🙂

Nick Bruzon

If another player is going to be missing, can we find our voice?

Is Josh McEachran out for the rest of the season? With the loan window not so much being slammed as quietly easing shut yesterday, it was being reported on both West London Sport and Sky Sports (although both Lyall Thomas) that the former Chelsea man has suffered a training ground injury similar to the one that kept him out for such a long time at the Marinus end of the season. And with nobody else joining Leandro Rodríguez from Everton, despite suggestions after the Blackburn game that Head Coach Dean Smith was looking to make two more short-term acquisitions what does this mean for the Bees?

Firstly, and as has been said many times, our local press love talk of a double transfer swoop. An event that is actually rarer than a Nick Proschwitz goal, when it comes to inbound activity this is one area where I take nothing as fact until Matthew Benham has fired up his cryptic clue generator, Besotted have run an ‘exclusive’ or Brentford official have published the ‘signing shirt’ photo. I’ll also accept: ‘player holding scarf aloft’ or ‘new man sitting in portacabin holding pen over contract’.

Josh signs for Brentford – classic ‘contract’ pose

Still, aside from goalkeepers (where Dean can still delve into the market to cover a ‘7 day emergency’), we now know the make up of the players available to see us, hopefully, over the line and start preparations for a third successive season in the Championship. Or do we?

The McEachran question is very much out there with nothing, as at the time of writing (Friday morning), from Brentford official. It would be a huge shame for the Bees and the player if this is the case. Josh did, if we’re being honest, struggle at the early part of his Griffin Park career but had been showing steady improvement over his 15 games. Now, it could be back to square one.

The injuries have piled up this season

Moreso, it would be yet another injury in a season which has been overshadowed (amongst other things) by the vast amount of players sidelined for medical reasons. We were told at the fans forum earlier in the season it was nothing but coincidence yet this horrendous run of bad luck has hardly helped our cause.

Still, we are where we are and there is enough quality in this squad to more than see us home. Should they play to their potential and ability – as a team. None of this ‘one man show’ stuff that we saw against a Blackburn side who were there for the taking.

Presumably Alan McCormack will slot straight into Josh’s position whilst we can also expect that other Chelsea wunderkind, John Swift, to return after the strange affair of the ‘hipster’ meme. Here’s hoping this period of enforced absence will have him reinvigorated and firing on all guns, back to the player who helped tear Wolves apart back in February. That result, a rare moment of solace in a 2016 that has seen Brentford lose 11 out of our 14 fixtures. Only the win at Preston and draw with Leeds in late January breaking the run of L’s blotting Dean’s copy book this calendar year.

We can moan and bitch about results all we want. Most of us have at various points, myself included. And rightly so at times.Yet without a bit of solidarity now, we could conceivably be facing a desperate start to 2016/17. In League 1.

The Bees still have to play 4 of the teams below us and with the gap a mere 6 points between us and the relegation spots, let’s not take anything for granted. Let’s not leave it too late to find our voice and our unity. Let’s not leave it too late to stop sniping at each other.

Absolutely, the players and the management team have to play their part. They are the only ones who can secure the points. But as supporters, we also have a our own role. Assuming we want to stay up, of course.

I saw a quite terrifying graphic on Twitter last night, c/o Jonathan Burchill. It highlighted this season and our previous Championship relegation campaign, back in 1992/93.

No words needed…..

#BrentfordFC league positions 1992-3 (Tier 2 relegation) and now. Really hope it stops mirroring soon. pic.twitter.com/pPb8iBVbyn

— Jonathan Burchill (@Jonathan77777) March 24, 2016

The choice is simple. Stay up and we could be taking on the likes of Aston Villa and Newcastle United (I’m counting Chelsea as safe now, despite their mid-season hilarity). Throw it away, and it’ll be trips to Bristol Rovers, Oxford and Accrington Stanley.

Accrington Stanley, you may ask. Who are they?

Exactly.

Nick Bruzon

Can Brentford keep the Wolves from the door?

Another day, another game. With Brentford’s form going downhill faster than Eddie the Eagle, we face a Wolves team who find themselves in a similar position to the Bees. Both locked on 40 points in the middle of the Championship table, current performances are a mile away from what supporters of both clubs have been used to in recent seasons. Can The Bees turn it around tonight? Or will Kenny Jackett inspire his team to inflict more pain on the Griffin Park faithful?

The current stats don’t make great reading for Brentford. Whilst I did something similar in the build up to the Derby game, looking at the BBC match preview (who give us the first detail below) it highlighted a huge part of the current challenge we are facing.

No Championship side has faced more shots on target this season than Brentford (168).

The Bees have conceded 10 goals in their last 3 league games.

Only Fulham and the three teams in the dropzone have conceded more goals than us.

2016 has seen us lose 7(seven) out of our 9 games.

Only David Button, Harlee Dean, Jake Bidwell and Alan Judge remain from those who featured in the 4-0 thrashing of Wolves at Griffn Park last season. Moses Odubajo, Tony Craig, Jonathan Douglas, Jon Toral, Toumani Diagouraga, Alex Pritchard, Andre Gray, Stuart Dallas and Jota are no longer with the club for a variety of well documented reasons.

This was only last season

“That makes the afternoon complete, revenge for last year” opined Mark Burridge when Andre Gray’s wonderful strike made it 3-0. Yet still, there was more. Who else but Jota , doing what only he could do late on. It was a wonderful performance against a Wolves team who, the season previous, had run out 3-0 winners at Griffin Park en-route to deservedly steamrollering all comers for the League One title

Watching the highlights, the difference in confidence and playing style from then to now is just world’s apart. Yes, we’ve had to change the make-up of our team but seeing the class of 2014-15 in action just emphasises what a tough job their replacements have faced . Gone is the excitement, gone is the open attacking play, gone is the feeling that when we put our minds to it we could carve teams open for fun.

View from the terrace – Dallas does Wolves for 4-0 last season

Yet if we are currently struggling to recover from a dip in form, then the same could be said of Wolves. Talking to supporter Steve Darby (whose help in tonight’s ‘kit obsessive’ programme article is much appreciated ), he tells me : “This has been a frustrating season for us too. Injuries haven’t helped, neither has the owner putting the club up for sale. We are in limbo with no real investment”.

Morale seems low whilst formwise they haven’t won in 6 (3L 3D). Indeed, it all sounds a bit like the build up to the Derby County game where the visitors were on an equally poor run. There, David Button kept us in it before Alan Judge gave Bees fans hope. Sadly, it wasn’t to be as the Bees turned 1-0 on 80minutes into a 1-3 defeat.

I can’t call it this evening. A clean sheet would be a start. But for David Button, Saturday could well have seen a 7(seven) goal bracketing. He was just that good.

Genuinely, I expected a reaction against Derby. It just wasn’t to be. I’m not sure how Dean Smith can pick the lads up from here but I hope he does . I hate to sound negative about our performances and I’ll be giving it as loud as anybody in support when I’m out there tonight. But, also, I’m realistic.

Quite simply, we haven’t matched the standards from last year or earlier in the season when Lee Carsley had the Bees’ engines purring like a contented kitten .

We have to get out of first gear soon. Let’s hope it begins tonight !

Bees fans make their feelings known on Twitter

Nick Bruzon

Will form go out the window in today’s ‘Game of Throws’?

Saturday and game on. Brentford await the arrival of Derby County in a Championship game that sees two teams who, it would be fair to say, are currently going through a dip in form. We’ve talked enough about the results against Brighton and Sheffield Wednesday to warrant any further regurgitation of those facts. Suffice to say that Bees fans will, surely, be looking for something a bit more positive now we are back at Griffin Park after a nightmare road trip.

Derby are faring even worse than us at present and this was a point really hammered home by the arrival of yesterday’s match preview email. The description of ‘current form’ is one which, whilst technically accurate, highlights the sticky patch both clubs have currently hit. The question is, who will be the first to pull themselves out of it?

The club’s ‘current form’ graphic

Well, my online bookmaker (used purely for research purposes) has the Bees at a very generous 21/10, Derby 13/10 and the draw 23/10. All of which makes the Rams slight favourites but, really, suggests that nobody has a clue. I can’t call it.

Then again I can’t even call which options Dean Smith will start with today. The main thing we can say for sure is that central defence will feature Jack O’Connell and Harlee, following last week’s red card for Yoann Barbet.

Whilst, of course, the likes of Alan Judge, David Button and Jake Bidwell also name themselves, the rest still remains somewhat up for grabs in terms of a guaranteed start. And the return to fitness of Alan McCormack adds a further option in centre mid.Regardless of whether he is picked, if nothing else surely this makes ‘Return of the Mack’ an absolute shoe-in for #BeeTheDJ today?

Get the crowbar out

I have it on good authority that the other thing returning for this game will be Terrace Talk. I have no idea where or when Jo and her camera crew will appear but do keep your eyes open for a chance to shine in our latest, and greatest, social media feature. Terrace Talk was conspicuous by its absence for the Leeds game so here’s hoping its back with a bang today.

Talking of social media this brings us (with all the subtly of a McCormack challenge) to Snapchat. Anybody like myself, confused as to why we’d changed our twitter profile picture to something resembling a white tadpole in a dress, soon found the answer on the club site.

Of course (?!), this was just our own take on the logo for the popular photo sharing app which ‘BrentfordFC’ have now joined . Personally, I’ve never used this before but, having signed up, it’ll be interesting to see what our media team send through over the course of a match day.

As for our Twitter account, this morning the ever direct annette c has since noted “What the f*@ is Brentfords new display picture thing?! Ew. Get the crest back please!!”

BrentfordFC are now on Snapchat

It really is all happening today at Griffin Park. Along with the ever popular ‘free chilli’ in the Hive (get in early) we’ve also got our ‘new shirts for old’ promotion running in the club shop.

But for me (Clive) Kitman Bob Oteng has beaten Jo, chilli, the club shop and BeeTheDJ in one fell swoop when it comes to pre-game excitement .

Yes, its the return of his cryptic quiz. Bob is to giveaways what Matthew Benham was to transfer clues. And today’s competition sees supporters given, quite literally, the chance to win the shirt off Toumani’s back. Likewise, a pair of boots. Promising us a debut qualifying question, those up early saw the unveiling of his latest attempt to bamboozle Brentford fans.

Game day & BBGIVEAWAY. Guess how many throw ins in total to win. ⚽️⚽️🐝. pic.twitter.com/7CpsgnoiT1

— Bob Oteng (@ganodecafe10) February 20, 2016

What a prize. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the black ‘third’ shirt is stunning. Here’s hoping for a chance to finally guess one right.

Nick Bruzon

Killer Owls slaughter Bees in a Valentine’s massacre

Brentford fell to a second straight defeat as Sheffield Wednesday inflicted a 4-0 thrashing on the 10 man Bees. Following last week’s reverse at Brighton, this made it 7(seven) goals against without reply as we were left dead in the water after referee Scott Duncan showed straight red shown to Yoann Barbet in just the fifth minute.

In a repeat of the corresponding home game earlier in the season, Lucas João grabbed a last minute winner. This time, though, there was no question as to who deserved the points. The encounter at Griffin Park may have seen things end with a hard fought 2-1 in favour of the visitors but yesterday’s result was one which, if we are being honest, they’ll probably be disappointed not to have ended with a bracketing.

If we’re being equally honest, their cause was massively helped by the sending off. Barbet was adjudged to have brought down Gary Hooper with the Wednesday player clean through on goal after running onto a long ball over the top (sound familiar?). It may have been Valentine’s weekend but this was one card that Yoann won’t have wanted to receive. I’ve watched it and rewatched it yet my own opinion remains wooly.

Undoubtedly, the Brentford man has raised a hand to Hooper’s shoulder, to which the striker needed no further invitation to go straight down. Was it a professional foul? Was the reaction exaggerated? Who knows. Certainly not the ref and one can sympathise with Dean Smith’s assertion that, “I don’t believe the referee can make the decision. I think he guessed. He’s directly behind it, 40 yards away. I thought it was a poor decision.”

Yoann Barbet – his sending off left Dean Smith seeing red

Put it this way. Had the same thing happened at Griffin Park, we’d have been baying for blood and a red card. There’d have been uproar had it not been given. That said, the ref had enough time to think about it – such was the length he had to run in order to flourish his card – so could at least have consulted his linesman and used any available help to make a potentially game changing decision.

Guess or not, Hooper had been in a great position and with the Bees forced into a rejig (Jack O’Connell coming on for the recalled Konstantin Kerschbaumer) parity lasted until just the 12^th minute. Fernando Forestieri’s header giving the hosts an early lead.

Hooper doubled it with a great strike after a long ball over the top (sound familiar?). Goalkeeper Keiren Westwood claiming the assist for that one as Hooper ignored the presence of Jack O’Connell to fire home with a sweet first touch. It was a cracking strike and deserving of all plaudits – such was the technique and precision employed.

It was game over just before half time. A long ball over the top (sound familiar?) reached Kieran Lee in the box. The Wednesday midfielder bamboozled Harlee Dean whose non-challenge was, at best, an attempt to jump into his opponent after Jack O’Connell had been beaten for the cross in.

Yet despite a marginally better second-half showing from the Bees , it was Sheffield Wednesday who would eventually extend the lead further. A long ball threaded through the midfield (hey, at least it wasn’t over the top) found Lucas João. With Jack and Harlee ambling (now there’s an idea for a Partridge TV show – “Ambling with Jack and Harlee”), David Button could only help push it into his own net and will, perhaps, be disappointed with that one.

4-0. Game over. Ouch.

Not even Mark Burridge can salvage this one

There is one school of thought that would suggest the referee ruined this one. The Bees had been the stronger team in the opening spell before it became 10 against 11 and were left with no hope from that point. True enough, but to be cut open so easily and so consistently was nothing but shambolic. Blame the ref, absolutely, but we need to look inwards too. Certainly, we gave our opponents a huge helping hand with what could politely be called ‘schoolboy defending’.

Likewise, take nothing away from Wednesday. They are where they are on merit and will present a major threat to anybody with play-off aspirations. Certainly those are aspirations that Brentford can no longer harbour – even Ciaran Brett from the club media team admitted during the game that those pre-match claims had been “optimistic” .

So what of the Bees? Our current form is starting to worry and the current statistical trend doesn’t make great reading. We’ve only scored 6 goals in our last 8 games – and 3 of those came up at Preston, our only win all year. Indeed, yesterday’s result means we’ve lost 6 out of our last 8 matches whilst the ‘winning run’ stretches to 5 out of 18.

With the top of the table out of reach, and Brentford now occupying 13^th, should we be worried about the other end? It sounds ludicrous to even mention such an option and a 14 point gap (combined with ’less bad’ goal difference) should be too much with 15 games to go.

The BBC table shows us firmly ensconced mid-table. For now

More, its just disappointing to see the great work put in by Lee Carsley and the squad, where we were within spitting distance of the top 6 after the disaster of ‘The Marinus Experiment’, now falling away amidst further departures and a poor run of results.

Nobody has a divine right to be any good. Nobody has a divine right to promotion. Nobody stays up by default. You need to work at these things and earn them. We did so much of that last season and absolutely deserved what we got, despite a team that many suggested were ‘punching above their weight’. Personally, I thought such a suggestion to be disrespectful. We were a team that thrived on spirit and skill who could, arguably should, even have gone one better.

Now we have made the decision to dismantle and rebuild. On-field, the transfer policy that is being driven by our co-directors of football is certainly open to debate. I get that money talks and we can’t force players who don’t want to stay to remain here. Likewise, many talk about this being a longer term strategy to keep us financially viable until the Lionel Road stadium is able to be built.

All true. Yet few could deny that the change in morale, motivation and performance make this seem a world away from where we were 12 months ago. For those football fans whose week is based around the last result and looking forward to the following game (surely the point of going?), it’s a tough place to be at present.

The next few weeks, let alone the next few months, are going to be very interesting indeed.

Nick Bruzon

Does historical form count for anything (even on Soccer AM)?

Brentford travel to Wolves today looking to get back to winning ways after the Boxing Day blip against Ipswich Town. It will be our fourth encounter with Wolves in less than thirteen months and our third this year against the team who, of course, we went neck and neck with last season.

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 along.

Congratulations Manchester City – now up to Brentford standards

As a Brentford supporter, I always have particular interest in Manchester City and their 5-1 demolition of Tottenham, at Tottenham, last night was no exception.

In recent years the Uwe Rösler connection has been the obvious one whilst, of course, this Tuesday was the 25^th anniversary of the day that the Bees dumped City out of the FA Cup. I still get goose-bumps thinking of Gary Blissett performing heroics against the team he has supported since childhood. The memories of a quagmire pitch, a ground that was heaving two hours before kick-off, a lone pitch invader wielding an inflatable banana and distraught visiting defenders still come to the fore whenever I hear City’s name mentioned.

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.

Re-create the Peterborough spirit

To Brentford fans of a certain age, the mere mention of Peterborough is synonymous with one thing  – Gary Blissett grabbing the winner at London Road as the 91/92 season came to a close.

With that goal, of course, Brentford whipped the title from under the nose of Birmingham City whilst Peterborough also went on to join us in the second tier of English football the following season.

Whilst that subsequent campaign was one which included Murray Jones as the ‘new’ Dean Holdsworth (move along please – nothing to see here) and the gut wrenching injury to Terry Evans as the Bees were relegated (if only he’d been fit), there were plenty of highlights along the way too:

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.