Bees sting hornets as wonderful run continues.

You wait ages for a Premier League double and then two come along at once. Brentford leaving it late, so very late, to grab the winning goal and condemn Watford to another home defeat. A 2-1 scoreline one that the hosts may feel sees them hard done by but goals win games. Would that Ian Moose had been present – he might have, I neither know nor care – I’m sure the TalkSport narcissist would have been berating the Hornet’s frontline and strapping on his own shooting boots such was the proliferation of late chances they had. One, from Louza, will now have a permanent home in the ‘How did that not go in? files’ . It should have been buried. Instead, with just seconds of time added on left over, it was hoofed over from lads out rather than placed into the gaping goalmouth. The Bees got the ball to safety, went down the other end and Pontus Jansson did his thing to send the travelling fans nuts.  Last weekend’s WW over West Ham now followed by one over Watford. Five wins out of the last six and the top ten a very real prospect. On this kind of form, anything is possible when Tottenham visit on Saturday.

View form the terrace: Brentford go nuts – Watford suffering utter dejection

As regular readers will know, we don’t do full fat match reports on these pages. If you were there, you saw it. Otherwise there’s all manner of ways to catch up on what happened. The main talking points being Brenford once more showing that never say die indefatigability. As Pontus rose to head home the winner and charge toward the flailing limbs from the massed ranks of the way support in front of him, it brought memories of West Ham and Wissa back to the fore. That one, a game where the denouement had come just as late. Where once more things had been down our end. Where the eruption of delight was writ large on everyone’s faces.

Even this morning our Harry was still smiling: “Dad. Dad. There’s only 12 second left. 12 seconds” his joyous realisation as we celebrated em-masse. That glorious bond between fans and players again in evidence as those heroes in white (and blue, let’s not forget David) leapt towards the travelling Bees.

There was no saltiness from the Watford fans in out corner though. Instead, they’d already started melting away long before Louza had been presented the chance to record a home win. Brentford making all the noise. Taking the opportunity to win a game when, being honest, there would have been few complaints had we left Vicarage Road empty handed. Christian Norgaard giving Brentford an early lead following a long throw from Ethan but the game then turning into a dreary nothing rather than the much predicted avalanche of goals. 

Brentford with few chances. Watford even less as our backline mopped up anything and everything that came even vaguely close. When the hosts finally levelled up, ten minutes into the second half, there was a brief moment of salvation as the offside flag went up. Then, it was gone. VAR saving the Hornets and the scores were level. From 90 yards away it was hard to say if it was on or off, even prior to the flag. This morning ’s catch up on Match Of The Day does, once more, show the confusion around the decision making process.

How does this VAR thing work, exactly?

Regardless, there were 35 minutes to save the game. Watford had the upper hand, relatively speaking. They must have been wearing gloves though as finding their way to goal a task that seemed as futile as their survival hopes. Err, what super computer? Move along, nothing to see there….

For Brentford, 5 wins out of the last 6. A total 11 out of 33 played in the Premier League and now up to 11th in the table. The green jacket once again present to continue its 100% win ratio. Played 5. Won 5. Goals For: 13. Goals agasint: 3. Points: 15.

Despite the heat of a balmy spring afternoon, it remained firmly in situ from the off – much to Mrs. Bruzon’s disgust. As at Chelsea, she kindly gave her ticket to a friend and so could only follow from afar. Her generosity matched only by the Watford defence. The WhatsApp messages being exchanged both celebrating victory and lamenting the realisation that this luckiest of lucky omens, this (apparent) crime against fashion, lives to see another game. 

Smiling all the way up the league

That game is, of course, the visit of Tottenham. Something something something Christian Eriksen. I suspect it may be mentioned. That’s the media’s thing, of course. For Brentford nothing more to do than focus on the games left. Those last 15 points to play for. The chance to finish our first Premier League season in the top ten. If ever there was incentive to get behind the Bees then here it is. Those berating Phil Giles in January for his transfer strategy now, strangely silent. Those critics of Thomas Frank and keyboard warriors back under their rocks. Every season it’s the same. Every season the joy felt by Brentford confounding both the critics and even our most vocal of followers becomes even more enjoyable.

Tommy Mooney the latest to add his name to those left frustrated. We’ve already had the Burnley commentary crew and West Ham manager David Moyes in recent weeks. Now we can add the name of the one time Watford goal machine to that list. Sit back and enjoy.

Tommy Mooney get his answer. We simply destroyed…. which ford was it now? pic.twitter.com/UqcrKkOQWi

— Griffin Park Grapevine (Brentford FC) (@bfcgpg) April 16, 2022

For now, a few days to kick back before we get set for Spurs. Our next chance to continue the climb up the table. Another chance to add a notch to the Premier League bedpost. 

Tottenham. Tottenham. No once can stop them – as Chas & Dave once sung. On this sort of form, I wouldn’t bank on it…

Until then, here’s the player review…..

Brentford Player Ratings – Gameweek 33

Nick Bruzon

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Off-field matters for Brentford (and Liverpool) provide main talking points ahead of Derby County visit.

There’s not too much to say about on-pitch matters today. With Brentford set to welcome Frank Lampard’s Derby County ™, the hope is a simple one. Please, please, please , pleeeease just be better than the last week’s games at Wigan and Swansea. Even slightly. It’s not that much to ask, is it? Elsewhere, Liverpool got the weekend’s proceedings under way at Southampton last night where they duly returned to the top of the Premier league. Their battle with Manchester City proving as intriguing as the one at the top of the Championship – just who is going to blink first? And once more, Matthew Benham proved why he is the club owner like no other.

First up, matters at Griffin Park. Brentford have been like the Incredible Hulk this season. At home, a side that seem permanently set to ‘rampage’ mode. An irrepressible, destructive force beating back all comers as easily as a cat toying with a spider. Yet away from home, we’ve been that other side of his alter-ego, Doctor Bruce Banner. All the right ideas but none of the physical prowess.

Last week was the consummate demonstration of our split personality this campaign (I would also accept: Jekyll and Hyde team). I’m sure there may even be a few supporters wishing we were still bedecked in 2017/2018’s gamma ray green rather than the current brown & orange (best. away kit. ever).

We did ok in green….

Thankfully, we are back home today. This time around Frank Lampard’s etc etc are the visitors. Even allowing for the traditional Leeds United ‘choke’, automatic promotion is probably an aspiration too far. However, sitting 7th(seventh) in the Championship, Derby still have a quite magnificent chance of making the play-offs. It is no doubt a position they will look to strengthen this afternoon although, as ever, might the pressure of a ‘must win’ game play into our hands?

For Brentford, the season is all but mathematically over. The ten points to sixth place just too big a gap to reel n with just 7(seven) games to go. It’s a massive shame that we hit the skids after having hauled ourselves back into contention but that’s how football works. Consistency is rewarded with league position. The table doesn’t lie (obvious, but….) and unfortunately we’ve not been able to do it on the road this time around.

I saw a stat on the BBC which was a damming indictment of what happened on Tuesday evening at Swansea – namely that the Bees attempted just six shots as we went down 3-0. Our lowest in a league match since performing the same feat  having six against Middlesbrough. That’s one attempt every 15 minutes – not great. To put it mildly.

The plus point from that game is that a reaction must surely be imminent. Thomas Frank pulled no punches after the game and has since used his press-conference to note : “We need to bounce back, everyone can see that.”  . Add to that our own form at home combined with the aforementioned knowledge that Derby really have to win and I think we’re going to be going home very happy at 5pm. 

It has been a long, long season but a thrilling one. Mostly. If only we’d been able to pick up few more wins away from home then who knows what might have been? Yet with the nucleus of a wonderful squad at his disposal (for now), should Thomas be allowed / able to keep them together, our final season at Griffin Park could be a most incredible one. Here’s hoping that push starts today.

View from the Braemar – I’m expecting a happy Thomas at full time.

Moving on. I watched the Southampton – Liverpool game last night. Jürgen Klopp’s team showed a relentlessness that money can’t buy. Despite conceding an early goal from Shane Long (not a typo) they just kept going and going until the points were secured. It was a performance that showed them as Hulk like on their travels as they are at home. Anyway, I’m not here to specifically bang about Liverpool – beyond admiring their travelling form. Such chat usually leads into a rant about the media love in and we end up playing Anfield bingo – tick one of your cards for every reference to the Kop being like a twelfth man, “Glory, glory European nights”, the miracle of Istanbul, Shankley, Paisley, Klopp getting over-excited etc 

Instead, it was more just a chance to tear the hair out in regards Jamie Carragher. Back in the early 2000’s Sky TV had a brief flirtation with the red button option for ‘fan commentary’. Should you have been crazy enough to select this, the reward was a supporter from each club pouring forth on their team and the game in question. It was horrific although, to be fair, still better than Richard Keys and Andy Gray. This ‘service’ was quietly pensioned off but now seems to have returned – specifically in the guise of the former Liverpool defender. 

Oh. My. Word. Could he have been anymore biased? Could he have been any more fanboy? We all know he used to play for Liverpool but plenty of ex-players have made that transition from pitch to commentary box. None have quite matched his level of reminding us all how amazing his former are. How excited he is is that they are winning. Even full time saw him running on to the pitch to interrupt Kelly Cates and Gary Neville in the middle of their own post-match interviews as he attempted to take centre stage.

Contrast this to the erudite views, opinions and questioning of Neville (even when Manchester United are on). I’m sure Gary would like to remind us he used to play for a successful team and still follows them, but that’s not the job of being a commentator or a pundit. Likewise  quite wonderful Kelly, as the daughter of Kenny Dalglish, comes form a footballing pedigree that would more than entitle her to rave about Liverpool. Whilst you could understand her wanting to enjoy the moment, there was but nothing beyond consummate professionalism here. 

Look, I’m all for a bit of excitement and enthusiasm but have some class. Have some decorum. Know your audience. If nothing else, Jamie has played the game at the highest level and won some major honours. He’s been there and done it so knows what he is talking about.

Yet instead of this, it was almost like the early days of Beesplayer when from time to time they had to draft in the more excitable elements from the media team. Being able to write about a game isn’t the same as being able to talk about. Before Sky made the quite ridiculous decision to let Natalie Sawyer go, you could see her almost itching to reference the benefit to Brentford every time she was  involved in a game where one of our rivals was shooting themselves in the foot. Instead, she kept it classy. 

I’m sure Carragher has his fans. Good luck to them. And him. You can’t deny his passion but when it comes at the expense of proper analysis then doesn’t it kind of defeat the point? At least, for those of us who just want to enjoy a game of football. Perhaps it’s just me.

The king and queen of Griffin Park commentary. Jamie could learn a thing or two

And finally, Matthew Benham. We all know our owner has a quite special means of using social media. He doesn’t say too much on Twitter these days but when he does, it’s always worth a look. As happened yesterday evening.

I’m not sure what else I can say, beyond this is quite magnificent. Only at Brentford……

Nick Bruzon

The new Brentford kit is out. What do we think?

The new shirts are here. Finally. Brentford fans have now learned what we’ll be wearing for the forthcoming season and, in the eyes of the kit nerd, we’ve hit the jackpot. What a pair of stone cold stunners. There’s a new sponsor and a goalkeeper’s shirt that catapults Daniel Bentley straight into Fyfees territory.

The new shirts have been revealed

Whenever we launch a new kit, there’s always a personal decision to be made about which shirt to go for first. Home or away? This time around, my gut reaction to that question is a clear one. Both! They really do look that good.

The home version puts me in immediate mind of the Osca produced effort from 1984/85. And that’s a very good thing. Broad red and white stripes are accompanied by a black v-neck collar and matching sleeve ends.

A flashback to 84/85?

Even the new sponsor’s logo for LeoVegas (not one I’m familiar with, even from research purpose based investment), is sympathetically incorporated into the design in red and white, rather than mounted on a panel. We’ve the famous adidas stripes on the shoulder blades (in white) and, of course, the new crest.

Personally, I love it. Great work all round! But then we get to the away kit. What can you say? Oh, wow. That is just gorgeous. There’s no other word to describe this one. Kitman Bob has pulled a thing of absolute beauty from his locker in giving Brentford our first green away shirt since the ad-hoc effort worn in 80/81.

From the strip tease published on Friday it looked as though it might be good. Further tweakery through photoshop (and a fiddle with the ‘shadows’ setting) really had hopes building. But to see it for real is just stunning.

We really have kept this simple but consummately stylish. The adidas side stripes were a common feature in the Premier League last season and I’m really pleased we’ve gone there too. Nice to see the sponsor in home trim whilst the colour of the shirt itself makes me think of Germany ‘away’. I love it. Absolutely love it. Think Kevin Keegan ranting levels of love.

Then we get to the goalkeeper’s kit. In my eyes I’m always expecting this to be green although that’s as much a long expired byproduct of growing up watching football in the 70’s. Given the away kit design then this was unlikely to happen and instead it’s yellow. Very yellow. Shorts and socks to match that shirt.

Perhaps it was just being spoiled by last season’s incredible red ‘away’ version but this may take a bit of getting used to. Then again, I’ve rarely bought the gk top and so as long as the team are happy with it, then so am I.

Overall, we’ve really hit the sartorial heights this time around. The only slight disappointment being what I gather will be a lack of long sleeved option. Then again, that seems de rigueur for adidas these days. But that’s a small gripe and certainly won’t stop me picking up both home and away.

As for the ‘third’ shirt, I understand that should one be needed then we’ll revert to last season’s ‘away’ kit. It was something we also did in 2016/17 – Newcastle away, for example. It’s hard to imagine a scenario when that might be the case this time around, given our colours, but handy to know nonetheless.

Kitman Bob, Mr. Benham, Mark Devlin and the rest of the team responsible. If you are reading (you aren’t) then for what it’s worth, I’m a very happy man today.

Now, any chance of a word about 2018/19…..?

Along with kit talk, the other traditional thing at this time of year is the plugging of the season review e-book. Please. Stay with me – this time around it is for a great cause . All funds raised are being given to the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust. Likewise, any subsequent sales from the previous versions.

Containing the least bad of the blogs from May 2016 to May 2017 and a bit of new material too, you can pick it up, here. It’s all for a GREAT cause.

So why not do something great to help our club? What else will £1.99 get you? What better way to spend some time on the commute to work, the beach, by the pool or even hiding out in the toilet at work? You might even enjoy it !

For less than the cost of half a pint on match day, it’s the season review that has been designed to fit in your pocket (if you are using an i-phone).

HUGE thanks to everyone who has downloaded it so far.

Nick Bruzon

 

Here’s the tease. Monday’s final reveal has fans buzzing as we show our green credentials.

We’re getting close. Friday saw the now traditional ’strip tease’ taking place on Twitter as Brentford fans were given a partial glimpse of next season’s kits. Initial thoughts, such as can be gleaned from the photos, are suggesting nothing but a trio of stunners. The already revealed Sheffield United and Sunderland kits being possible guidelines for the home whilst there’s huge shock on the away from with what looks like a rare foray into green. Yes. Green.

First up, the home shirt. I loved last season’s kit. Said it at the time and will stand by that until my last breath. However, I also appreciate it was a touch too heavy on the white front for some supporters. But what we have here, at least from the shrouded photos – one from the tweet itself and one from the banner that now adorns the club’s Twitter account – suggest that red is very much back in vogue. Think the Sheffield United kit we featured earlier this week but without the, albeit lovely, extraneous back.

Instead, that trim is limited to the sleeve ends and, maybe, the collar too. Those being the only redeeming features from the awful, awful Sunderland effort also referenced with the United shirt in Tuesday’s article.  It is hard to read too much into these whilst, of course, we’ve no idea what the bottom or heart of the shirt look like. Could the club be going down the route of that amazing Osca shirt from 83/84 where the stripes stopped half way up ?

But, as ever, it is when playing away that the interest really kicks in. With the home shirt you know, largely, what we are going to get. At least, colour wise. But away, anything can happen. Blue, black, yellow, yellow and black, blue and blue. These are just some of the combos we’ve featured in recent seasons. 2017/18 sees us into new ground. Green.

The potential of going green is something we talked about on these pages over a year ago. It was something noted by Matthew Benham at the time and it is something the fans, largely, warmed to. Now it looks like it is happening.

Assuming the club haven’t pulled off the ultimate double bluff and Dan Bentley is actually modelling the away shirt rather than the goalie top, then I can only salivate in anticipation at what will happen when the club go the full monty and show us what’s lurking in the shadows.

Side stripes. Yes!! Green. Yes!! A white collar with possible trim on the shoulders. That, or our model is wearing a cape. From what we can see it all looks very much Germany ’86. Which, if so, is one of THE all time football kits.

Again, as with the home shirt, the lower half has the potential to change all of this. Could there be a second colour? Or a third? Could we have trim? Motifs? Who knows. Just roll on Monday when we can find out.

As for the goalkeeper shirt, Kitman Bob pulled a surprise rabbit from the hat last year with that wonderful red. It immediately made it into my top ten all time Brentford kits and, this time around, he may have done something similar.

Dan Bentley seems to be wearing a variant on the Brazil 1998 shirt. Yellow, with green collars and shoulder trim. Oh, for him to be turning out in blue shorts and white socks too.

Come Monday and the big reveal, all of this is quite likely to go out the window. For now, there is speculation. For now there is anticipation.

For now , especially on that green away shirt, there is huge hope amongst the Brentford faithful. Just look at some of the replies to the official tweet to get a feel for what fans think.

@RobRankin: Oooooooooh

@SirFestusBurke: Please please please be a green away top!

@aawharris77: ooooh looks very green to me 🙂

@alan_pepps84: Loving the idea of a green kit for a change

@sarangipani: I love them already.

@supersalvage2: Buzzing🔥🔥

But for me, the sense of excitement was summed up not just with those moments but by Kitman Bob. He nailed it, as ever, in just eight words: Adidas web is going to be in melt down.

Who am I to argue with that? Roll on the 19th.

Along with dreaming about kit , the other traditional thing at this time of year is the plugging of the season review e-book. Please. Stay with me – this time around it is for a great cause . All funds raised are being given to the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust. Likewise, any subsequent sales form the previous versions.

Containing the least bad of the blogs from May 2016 to May 2017 and a bit of new material too, you can pick it up, here. It’s all for a GREAT cause.

So why not do something great to help our club? What else will £1.99 get you? What better way to spend some time on the commute to work, the beach, by the pool or even hiding out in the toilet at work? You might even enjoy it !

For less than the cost of half a pint on match day, it’s the season review that has been designed to fit in your pocket (if you are using an i-phone).

HUGE thanks to everyone who has downloaded it so far.

Nick Bruzon

Out of tune and out of touch but who looks good in green?

We’ve got a bumper Last Word today. England took on Portugal last night in their final warm up game ahead of EURO 2016. Whilst I promised we’d drop the Brentford ‘green shirt’ stuff, there is an 11th hour addendum from one supporter which Bees fans may find of interest. And on the subject, we look at the top ten green shirts of all time. From Plymouth to Palmeiras and Carlisle to Panathinaikos, can anybody make this under used colour look good?

But first, England. Whereas I’d normally say they “entertained Portugal last night” rather than “took on”, anybody who saw the game will know there’d have been more entertainment in an episode of Hale and Pace (kids, ask your dads. Actually, don’t. Spare them the pain).

The 1-0 win at Wembley was an experience that many found uninspiring, out of touch with the occasion and somewhat flat. An indication of the pain that awaits supporters over the next few weeks unless something changes and fast. ITV nailed it, by accident, in the commentary with the observation that, “This is Dier”.

But enough about the England supporter’s band.

Look, it wasn’t the best game by any stretch of the imagination. The red card for Bruno Alves, channelling his inner Eric Cantona with a crazy challenge on Harry Kane, hardly helped proceedings as both teams had to adjust to playing 11 on 10 for most of the game. If you want a full match report then, as ever, other sources are the place to go. However, if you want a full match report in two tweets then we’ve got it here c/o DJ’s Andy Bush and Conor McNamara.

I’m still no closer to knowing who Roy will start with against Russia next Saturday but at least we can now look forward to the tournament with no other distractions. The one week countdown is underway, the wall chart is on the fridge and Will Grigg is, apparently, still on fire (if he manages to score, ‘that song’ is just going to become interminable).

After that, the rest just comes naturally. Sit back, grab a beer, prepare the ‘butt groove’ in the sofa and enjoy a month of bonus football that we wouldn’t get in a normal ‘closed season’. Hey, if nothing else it might distract from endless rumours and talk of “Bees boss set for double transfer swoop”. All being well, it might even extinguish Will Grigg. No offence to the former Bee but I’m half expecting ‘that band’ to add ‘that song’ to their repertoire.

Next up, Brentford. More specfically, the  last word on our wearing green (unless, of course, somebody actually manages to unearth a picture of that adidas shirt). Supporter   Geoff Buckingham has been in touch about when, and why, Brentford first wore this most unusual of colours :

It was due to a motor coach not turning up !

It happened in the grim days of January 1974, when the club were close to bottom of The Football League, the country was gripped by the Miner’s Strike and ‘The Three Day’ week, and funds at Griffin Park were very tight indeed. To make matters worse, on a freezing cold 12th Jan.the Brentford team coach did not show up at the meeting point for the trip to bottom of the table Doncaster Rovers.This meant a hurried change of plan, and the players had to quickly sort out cars and drive themselves up to Doncaster. 

If that was not bad enough, one of them, winger Barry Salvage, got nicked for speeding on the return journey. As for the kit we had to borrow them from Slough Town FC. The shirts were indeed green, but with pink numbers on the back!

Anyway, the green shirts brought Brentford a bit of luck as the Bees won the match 2-1 , with a brace from ex Bognor Regis deckchair attendant Andy Woon ( you could not make this up,could you?!)

That win, in front of 3009 perishingly cold spectators, was Brentford’s only victory in a 14 game spell. But it was enough to lift the Bees up to third from bottom, and was actually a crucial two points, as we finished the season just two points above the Division 4 bottom four re-election places! 

Thanks, Geoff. And no more so than because talk of pink and green allows me to get out the industrial sized crowbar as we segue into : ‘the top ten green shirts of all time’.

This, a research topic I’ve undertaken simply down to the fact that, whilst most Brentford fans seemed quite keen on the idea (if you believe social media), one New Road observer contacted me to say: “Glad we’re not getting the hideous green kit this season but seems nailed on for next time.”

Is green hideous?   Unusual, for sure. But hideous? It’s one view and who am I to judge? Instead, let the world of football fashion be your guide….

Carlisle away 1993

10) Carlise away 1993. Accused by many of resembling a deckchair, this cult classic even has a hint of red and white. If Matthew Benham and co are keen on the green, could this give inspiration for 2017? Bonus points always awarded for anything made by the much missed ‘Matchwinner’

 

 

Mexico 1996 – wow

9) Mexico 1996. It’s one thing having some discreet design added to your shirt but Mexico didn’t hold back on the subtly when it came to embracing their heritage back in 1996. It’s bold, I’ll give you that. I love it!

 

 

 

La Hoya – delicious design

8) La Hoya Lorca 2013/14. We’ve featured the Spanish lower division side’s kit on these pages many times over the years. And rightly so, given they’ve modelled it on the broccoli that signifies their agricultural heartland.

 

 

 

Green Arsenal?

7) Hibernian 1989/90. It’s made by Adidas and it just looks awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

St. Etienne add a certain, I don’t know what but it’s good

6) St. Etienne 1981/82. How can you honestly say this isn’t stylish? I’ll even forgive the non-matching collar and cuffs, such is the French chic on offer in this classic Le Coq Sportif template.

 

 

 

 

classic adidas

5) Palmeiras 1979/ 80.  The boys from Brazil kept it simple for this adidas effort. But then again, why mess around when simple equates to style?

 

 

 

 

 

Plymouth show that green can look good

4) Plymouth 1984/85. Much like the Palmeiras effort although with the addition of the discreet pinstripe that just screamed ’80’s football shirt’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Modern is good, too

3) Panathinaikos 2008/09. Another Adidas shirt. Another stunner. Even the sponsor and other branding is done sympathetically

 

 

 

 

It’s green. It’s pink. It’s brilliant

2) Real Betis 2015/16. We love women on these pages. Not in a mysogynistic style but more to celebrate how at Brentford we have such a diverse fanbase. So it’s nice to include a wonderful effort from Spain as Betis took things one step further than even the Bees, creating a special shirt in order to celebrate the week of the Andalusian Woman.

 

 

My favourite green shirt of all time

1) Cameroon 1990. Roger Milla. Upset after upset as the Indomitable Lions almost got to the semi finals ahead of England. That foul by Benjamin Massing on Claudio Cannigia. Oh, and one of the most iconic shirts in World football. Adidas have done it again.

 

 

 

Nick Bruzon

Plug time (regular readers know the score from here) : As ever, 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 and relive these moments once more then you can do so now.

It has been a stunning few years. Here’s to more of the same. We may have had a few lows (something about a penalty, the football village, the FA Cup, the pitch, the Marinus experiment) but there have been plenty more highs as the Bees made an unexpected challenge for the Premier League.

Thanks for reading.

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

 

How soon is now? Where next for football’s toughest challenge ?

Desperate times call for desperate measures. With the hunt for the mythical adidas ‘green’ Brentford shirt hitting the buffers, yesterday saw a most unlikely source called into play – Fulham. Or, specifically, the score master general of a certain TV show (must. avoid.that ‘joke’.) Richard Osman. And up at Leeds United, normal service was resumed as Massimo Cellino chose to bring to end the rolling contract of his latest head coach, Steve Evans.

First up, kit. Specifically the talk around green shirts. Regular readers will know that this has been a two pronged approach over the last few days. The possibility that Brentford might wear a green third shirt during the forthcoming season then leading into a hunt for an item that seems rarer than a Leeds manager lasting more than six months – the mystery green shirt worn at Fulham in season 80/81.

Photo-fit recreation of the item in question

The question of next season’s third was one brought about by yours truly,based on nothing more than a wild guess. It was a guess inspired by a tweet from Kitman Bob and then further fuelled by Matthew Benham’s acknowledgement of the idea.

It would be fair to say that this has somewhat spiralled on social media since that point with the idea largely gathering favour amongst the Brentford faithful. Then, last night, chief executive Mark Devlin has taken the step of opining on matters himself.

I lover Twitter. I’ve said it many times but with good reason. I won’t deny that Brentford, in my opinion, have struggled with ‘official’ comms at times over the last year or two. It’s been a theme on these pages. But the flip side is how we respond to / interact with fans on social media (hashtags and memes aside). If you want to know something, just ask.

And sure enough, Mark has now given a further kit update, telling us:

Chief Executive, Mark Devlin

“Gents – too late to change our choice of away kit next season. We will discuss the green option with adidas for the 2017/18 season.

We wouldn’t expect to retail a 3rd kit at present. Current plan is to retain the current blue away kit as a 3rd choice next season. We cant really justify retailing a 3rd kit”.

As for the question put to him by fellow kit enthusiast Luis Adriano for when the new home and away will be revealed, the answer is a simple, “Soon”.

So no green. For now. Chelsea-lite if a third kit is needed. But no further idea as to what we’ll be wearing home or away.

Instead, the question remains one of how soon is now? Much as I love the fact that Mark has taken the time to come out and share this news, I’m chomping at the bit even more.

As for the 80/81 effort, with the ongoing attempt to unearth further evidence of this one game wonder running cold, desperate times call for unusual measures. Feeling very much like ‘Christmas in the trenches’, I’ve invoked the help of Fulham official and ‘celebrity fan’ Richard Osman.

‘Official’ were (must. avoid. that ‘joke’) erm,  useless. Not even responding. Fair play to Richard though. He did cast the net further but, despite a couple of suggestions, the search remained..fruitless.

Indeed, further updates from Bees fans suggest such a task will prove to be football’s toughest challenge. Journalist Tim Street advising on Twitter that the chances of something coming out of the vaults are slim, given “Sadly, after various office closures and photographic department restructures, our archives don’t go back anywhere near that far.”

As for Brentford memorabilia guru Paul Briers, his own follow up confirms what was feared, “The Middlesex chronicles’s picture archive was destroyed from what I gather. Not sold to an independent company – like Getty, coloursport, or alamy – or even digitised before it went to the incinerator.

The same also happened to Wakefield’s collection of negatives and plates, of Brentford, Chiswick and Ealing, sadly.

If only someone had an inkling that photos of a bygone era would now be so important……

Even pictures of the other 80/81 pastel blue adidas away shirt isn’t that common, no colour pictures that I know of just black and white.”

Sadly, it seems like this will be one search that will end up..failing to produce the necessary results. With that, I’m retiring the ‘green’ and, in the interests of being a good sport, that Osman/Fulham ‘joke‘. At least for a season.

Must. Resist. That. Joke

And from retiring to sacking – Leeds United have done it again. Massimo Cellino has relieved Steve Evans of his head coach duties, stating that the ever popular manager has “completed the job he was brought in to carry out.”.

To be honest, Evans was on a hiding to nothing. Aside from Cellino’s reputation, his own quote about Leeds United, saying he’d never take the job as “I want to be the captain of a Cruiseliner, not The Titanic” has now come back to haunt him somewhat.

It means the Elland Road outfit will now be looking for head coach number 7(seven) in just over two years. That said, you have to ask just who would be crazy enough to step into a hot seat that makes the situations at Chelsea or Real Madrid look like the epitome of calmness and stability.

For all that certain sections of the Leeds faithful have knocked Brentford over the last couple of years for being ‘tinpot’ , I wouldn’t wish that scenario on anybody. It’s hard enough to enjoy football at the best of times, let alone when you are sitting on a powder keg.

Personally, I’m just gutted we’ll miss out on a legendary Steve Evans press conference next season. At least, in charge of a Leeds team still looking to finish above Brentford or even register a win since our return to the Championship. Beyond that I have no doubt Evans will be back in some form or another before too long.

Just where and when?

As for Leeds, expect Cellino to name himself as the next incumbent at this rate. Hey, if it worked* for Ron Noades…….

*(please note, your definition of worked mean vary)

Steve Evans  – his new Cruiseliner turned out to be anything but a love boat

Nick Bruzon

Plug time (regular readers know the score from here) : As ever, 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 and relive these moments once more then you can do so now.

It has been a stunning few years. Here’s to more of the same. We may have had a few lows (something about a penalty, the football village, the FA Cup, the pitch, the Marinus experiment) but there have been plenty more highs as the Bees made an unexpected challenge for the Premier League.

Thanks for reading.

Can Fulham provide the missing link? Help needed in kit quest

So this is what if feels like to be a modern day paleontologist. Whilst trawling the internet to unearth long buried clues may not be in the same league as a Jurassic Park style Velociraptor ‘dig’ , it is a close as I’ll get to emulating that wonderful film. But instead of T-Rex bones, it is the mythical ‘green’ adidas shirt, worn by Brentford at Fulham in season 1980/81 that we’re on the hunt for.

The inspiration for this quest? Kitman Bob’s suggestion that we’re going to need a ‘third’ shirt this season then being followed up by Matthew Benham’s public acknowledgement of the idea about having a ‘green’ variant. Certainly, it is an idea that seems to be getting some support in social media at present but one which also threw up the reminder that we had worn green before.

If the legendary Adidas 80/81 ‘home’ shirt has been lost forever, at least it still exists in pictorial form. But the green variant worn at Craven Cottage that season is one that I’ve never even seen a photo for. Surely it was out there, somewhere?

To misquote TV’s Peep Show, this was a job for Bruzon and Google, the maverick detectives who just won’t give up.

But after a weekend’s ceaseless searching, I’m now at the end of the line. The only solid evidence is a black and white picture from the subsequent Brentford match day magazine showing an action shot from the Fulham game. And even that is largely ’side on’.

It DID exist. Once…

I’ve trawled the Internet. I’ve looked through books. I’ve even attempted scouring the covers of Fulham programmes from the era (via the medium of eBay – there isn’t a stash of illicit reading material lurking Chez Bruzon) .

Likewise those of Brighton and Watford whom I gather we also wore this rarely seen colour against.

The digitised ‘mock up’

There have been mock ups made of this shirt (left) whilst your’s truly has attempted to recreate a version  (further below) although, being honest, this is somewhat tricky when you don’t know fully what you are looking for.

Even Brentford FC memorabilia guru Paul Briers has only been able t0 supply the above programme picture. And if he doesn’t have a copy then, surely, it doesn’t exist. Or does it….

So here’s the challenge. Does anybody have a picture of this? Are any Fulham fans reading who may have a copy of a ‘home’ programme lying around that contains further images? What about our friends in the local press?

I don’t even know who owns the Middlesex Chronicle these days but I’m sure they must have voluminous archives. Perhaps lurking in the vaults.

Until then, we can only speculate. I’ve no idea if we’ll wear a green third shirt next season but I’ve moved on from that now. Somebody somewhere must have a picture of this lost treasure, this missing link to put a kit obsessive out of his misery.

If you do, please get in touch. It would be wonderful to see first hand evidence of what sounds like a real ‘one of a kind.

I won’t even ask if the real thing exists…..

Did it look something like this ??

Nick Bruzon

Plug time (regular readers know the score from here) : As ever, 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 and relive these moments once more then you can do so now.

It has been a stunning few years. Here’s to more of the same. We may have had a few lows (something about a penalty, the football village, the FA Cup, the pitch, the Marinus experiment) but there have been plenty more highs as the Bees made an unexpected challenge for the Premier League.

Thanks for reading.

Lions, Tigers and Bees. Is this another clue for next season?

We’re almost there. Yesterday’s play-off final saw Hull City AFC make a swift return to the Premier League whilst Sheffield Wednesday prepare to line up alongside Brentford once more. With Barnsley and Millwall going toe-to-toe on Sunday afternoon, by the time Antiques Roadshow is on we’ll know the full extent of next season’s Championship. And was there a further hint about kit from none other than Bees supremo Matthew Benham?

First up, the play-off final. Promotion for Hull City was well deserved on the day, despite the incredible presence and noise from the Wednesday supporters. Sadly, their team didn’t get a look in against a well organised Tigers outfit who probably could have taken it by more than the 1-0 final scoreline.

But one was all they needed and, despite an injury time surge from their opponents, Hull stayed firm. With it, Moses Odubajo joins Andre Gray, James Tarkowski and Adam Forshaw as recent Bees who have earned promotion to the Premier League this season. Let’s just hope those sale contracts were well negotiated and included promotion clauses!

Millwall give it a shot at an equally rapid return and, all being well, providing another local game for the Bees next season. We’ve already got trips to Fulham, QPR, Reading and Brighton amongst the ’short hops’ . Then there’s the likes of Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Burton Albion which are sure to provide high demand and a new experience for many Brentford supporters.

Chuck the Lions into the mix and that’s a third of the season’s away games already booked in without even trying. Best get those green cards and rail tickets at the ready. Or, if Mrs Bruzon is reading, a new subscription to BeesPlayer.

There’s always a welcome at Millwall

Next up, asthma pumps. They help you breathe. Good things. Nothing much more to say on the subject really.

The 2016/17 kit article prompted a bit of intrigue yesterday. As was noted at the time, this was nothing more than harmless fun and tenuous guesswork. Yet, amidst the nonsense have we stumbled across the direction, or even influenced, next season’s offerings? Whilst I’d guess firm ‘no’ to each, who doesn’t love a bit of speculation?

And if an ultimately unfounded ‘Bees boss in double transfer swoop’ is good enough for our esteemed local press, then why not extend the same privilege to the playing kit – not that I’m either ‘local press’ or ‘esteemed’.

The possibility of having a green third kit is one that, judging by social media, seems to be a popular one. Supporters whose feedback I have seen have, mostly, given it a thumbs up whilst Richard Merritt and Geoff Buckingham also answered the question as to whether the Bees had even worn green before.

RM: I’ve seen us wear Green away to Watford in the 70’s. The shirt had a black ‘flap’ collar with a whole black ‘V’. I created my own shirt by having a Brentford badge sewn on to a Peter Bonneti goal keeping shirt

GB:Brentford did wear green as an away shirt during one season in the 1970’s. I cannot recall how often. It may even have been borrowed because their own kit got stuck in traffic!

Wonderful as the thought of Richard sporting his own home made kit was, things then stepped up a notch when even Matthew Benham joined in the Twitter conversation.

Are we reading too much into this…..?

We all know Matthew’s forays onto Twitter are rare but, normally, telling. Is this another transfer-style cryptic clue? Can we read anything into this exchange? Who knows?

I’m hoping that by, “What do you think Bob” Matthew was talking about the possibility of the Bees wearing green rather than emulating Ayr United. To be quite honest, I don’t have our top brass down as the misogynistic types. We’re a family club and long may it stay this way.

Besides, the thought of Buzzette bereft of her normal oversized shirt and, instead, covered antenna to toe in nothing more than chanel no. 5, green body paint and a Brentford badge is one I daren’t visualise.

Either way, whatever the final colours and whatever the design the only think I know for sure is that the suspense is killing me. With other clubs already releasing their new designs faster than the Bees change head coaches, I can’t wait another six weeks to find out.

Come on Brentford. Put us out of our misery.

Please.

The mocked up shirts that have (some) supporters talking

Nick Bruzon 

Plug time (regular readers know the score from here) : As ever, 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 and relive these moments once more then you can do so now.

It has been a stunning few years. Here’s to more of the same. We may have had a few lows (something about a penalty, the football village, the FA Cup, the pitch, the Marinus experiment) but there have been plenty more highs as the Bees made an unexpected challenge for the Premier League.

Thanks for reading.

ITV on the rise but will Sky scrape the barrel? And what of John Swift?

There was mixed news on the International front last night. Despite many enjoying the 3-2 win for England in Germany, it was the performance of the U-21 team that saw potential bad news for Brentford where Chelsea loanee John Swift limped off less than half an hour into the game with a bloody foot. Elsewhere (and I need to thank the statistical demigod that is Luis Melville for his Twitter tip-off) there was terrifying news from the Daily Mail.

But first, England. What a night – primarily because the alleged  Supporters’ band couldn’t be heard over the TV speakers. Were they even in Berlin? Who cares! The lack of jingoistic parping from their off-key trumpets was music to my ears. If I wanted to hear the theme tune to the Great Escape I’d simply watch TV on any Bank Holiday.

That was my on-field highlight. Yes, of course the goals were wonderfully taken although if you want any form of match report than, as ever, I’d suggest the BBC. The said, the win was hard fought with the ITV commentary team doing their best to jinx it at the death. Eric Dier’s injury time goal was met with declarations of “A winner in Germany” and “a winner on his debut”, despite there still being 90 seconds on the clock.

The other plus point was the performance of Lothar Matthäus  in the punditry position. Channelling the look of Paul Robinson – Neighbours, rather than Birmingham City or Burnley – he was that rare example of an ITV pundit who it was actually a pleasure to listen to. Dead pan humour, common sense and a great reading of the game. Let’s hope they snap him up for the Euros over the summer.

Kit wise, just about everybody has said their piece on this already. England opting for traditional red with burgundy sleeves and blue socks (very much Dagenham & Redbridge 1995, as one Twitter observer noted) whilst Germany elected to wear two tone black/dark green(?) with lighter green sleeves. And don’t forget the white stripes down the side from armpit to hem that looked like a somewhat unsightly deodorant stain.

As the regular reader will (should one exist still) be aware, I’m all for the unusual and a bit of variety in team kit. These, however, both looked like the product of a “What might go well with jeans?” marketing meeting. And those blue socks should never see the light of day again.

For me Clive, this has surpassed the 1994 effort (oversized flappy collars, all those subliminal badges and a shade heading towards burgundy) as the worst ever England away shirt.

As a final thought on the game, what was with all the adverts for ‘Hooch’ that kept flashing around the pitch? Surely that died out in the 90s with Global Hypercolour t-shirts, VHS cassettes and ‘Eat my shorts’ ? Or are Student Union bars (three of the most terrifying words in the English language, to rank alongside ‘Rail Replacement bus’) about to see a resurgence?

No longer the worst England away shirt

Next up, John Swift. With Josh McEachran still being reported out injured (and the club saying nothing to deny these stories, unless I’ve missed it) there would have been heart in mouth when he got injured last night. Despite my best searches of the internet – and it is frustrating how often a search for his name is thrown off track by: Taylor Swift, Dear John – the most we know so far is that he has a cut foot judging by the pictures circulating on Twitter.

How bad this is remains to be seen although I am sure we’ll learn more today. Whilst he has, for the most part , divided Brentford supporters during his loan spell from Chelsea, one thing we can all agree on is that another injury is the last thing we need at this pivotal point in the season. We all recall how Chris Long’s nasty gash impacted him at the tail end of the previous campaign and so let’s hope this isn’t a case of déjà vu.

I’m not a hypocrite. I don’t think Swift has had the best start to his career at Griffin Park. An over indulgence on the showboating and tendency to lose the ball has been a frustration yet, at the same time, he clearly has ability as we have seen in patches. The Wolves game in particular highlighted what he can do when we get his ‘A game’. Besides, you don’t get called up for the England U-21’s unless there is something there.

Equally, and as we are reminded time and again, he IS a young player who is still learning his game. These skills and judgement calls will come as his game develops. John has become an easy target in some circles but at a time we need everybody pulling together, let’s hope his substitution was a precautionary one and we have him back, on top form, this Saturday.

Ok. The Daily Mail. Or, rather, Mailsport online have run a disturbing story to suggest Sky will be revamping Friday night football next season to make it, what seems to be, a bit more ‘laddish’. Nuts magazine does football if you will, as guest presenters are suggested to include – brace yourself – the likes of James Corden and Holly Willoughby.

Before anybody mistakes this for any form of misogynistic rant, let’s be 100% clear. I’ve got no issues with women presenting football. Quite the opposite. I think Kelly Cates has been the shining star in the (initially at least) car crash that was Football League Tonight whilst Gabby Logan has been doing her thing, brilliantly, for almost twenty years.

And, of course, who could forget our own Natalie Sawyer who has had her feet under the presenter’s desk for so long that she probably knows more about the beautiful game than most of us put together. (Perhaps Sky should be looking ‘in house’ where, of course, Natalie has also shown her punditry skills on Football League coverage?)

Natalie at the Sky Sports desk – feet not pictured

My issue is with novelty presenters. Comedians great. Football great. Just please don’t combine the two. Nobody needs another ‘Russell Brand’ guesting on Match of the Day.

Football punditry is three men or women, who know about football, sitting on a sofa and talking about the game. You don’t need to jazz it up anymore. We’ll still watch.

Will anybody, honestly, say: “It’s Chelsea – Leicester City tonight. I was going to give it a miss but Gary Neville is busy with Valencia so Holly Willoughby is presenting. Get the Hooch in and make room on the sofa” ?

Aside from the fact that I’ve got more chance of managing Valencia than Gary Neville next season I can’t believe that situation is going to play out anywhere. Who needs Lothar Matthäus when we could have the host of Surprise Surprise, This Morning and Streetmate (don’t remember that one)? I’ve nothing against Holly per-se but when her sporting pedigree peaks at ‘Celebrity Wrestling’ and ‘Dancing on Ice’, perhaps one to give a miss.

Comedians, alleged or genuine, don’t mix well on football

Nick Bruzon

What were they thinking? Norwich City defrocked

We’ll crack on with the visit of Norwich City to Brentford shortly but, first, there are a few bits of unfinished business in regards to Monday’s article on the Manchester United – QPR game. Specifically comments around both teams that, quite simply, I ran out of space to include.

First up, Christian O’Connell. The Absolute Radio DJ brought United fans back to earth, aswell as highlighting the state of their opponents, with the astute observation on Sunday that, “Celebrating beating QPR is like jumping for joy when you beat Stevie Wonder at Pictionary”.

And secondly, to a holier place than even national radio – St. Margaret’s Church. It was there, I am told, that the 10.30 service saw a visiting Priest addressing his congregation thus: “Many thanks to the kind Parishioners who took me to watch Chelsea – Swansea. A great game although being from Uganda I am, of course, a Manchester United fan”.

So they’re not all from Surrey, then.

O’Connell takes out both Manchester United and QPR fans with one tweet

And from Uganda to Norwich City. If you want a proper Brentford match preview then (as ever) Beesotted , the BBC or the clubsite are your places.

For the Last Word reader, following the feature before the Brighton game, it’s time for the next in our semi-regular series – What were they thinking? The ‘best of the worst’ / quirkier (delete as applicable) of our visitors’ kits through the ages.

The best : 1988-89 Scoreline. I’ve got personal interest in this one, simply because it is the shirt worn by the Canaries when they reached that season’s FA Cup semi final. Brentford fans won’t need reminding that was the year of Gary Blissett, Manchester City and the quarter final at Anfield where Liverpool did well to eventually edge us out.

A classic, despite the apparent breach of ‘Trade descriptions act’ with the sponsor

The unfortunate design : 1989- 1992 Asics. The plus point is that this one sticks to traditional Norwich City colours of yellow and green. The downside is that the green is less ‘trim’ and more emblazoned over the upper body in a way that, especially on the away kit, puts one in mind of a Waitrose delivery van.

Were the Norwich City club shop expanding their home delivery service?

The worst : 1992- 1994 Ribero. Imagine if your club came up with a great kit design that, after the over indulgence of Asics, got the balance between yellow and green just right. Then, they fed a flock of pigeons nothing but sprouts before allowing them to nest above the final design specs for the team’s latest shirt. This is the result.

Pebble dashed by an incontinent pigeon??

The away shirt : I’ve already mentioned one of these so rather than go for the picnic blanket of the 1993-94 Asics, we’ll chuck in a bonus category:

Retro classic – the Admiral tracksuit. Seen here as sported by Norwich City legend John Bond. If, rather than being a Brentford fan, I’d grown up on the streets of Caistor St. Edmund or Diss in the 1970s I think it’s a fair bet I’d have worn one of these. Probably whilst riding a Raleigh Chopper. Stunning.

John Bond – the king of cool