For anyone just coming in from work, the key dates are….

Hold on to your hats, Brentford fans. Despite seeming like an eternity already since the Championship ended, football is about to go. Again. With the 2018 World Cup about to kick off (in an ‘on pitch’ sense, one hopes) over in Russia, it’s time to mark those all important dates in the diary. This time next week, we’ll be good to go.

Just some of the many treats we’ve got to look forward to include……

Thursday 14^th June. The World cup opening game. Russia v Saudi Arabia.

Monday 18^th June. The first England game. A 7pm start against Tunisia

Thursday 21^st June. The 2018/19 Championship fixture list is released

Sunday 1^st July. The draw takes place to find the winner of our limited edition Brentford FC 2018/18 ‘third’ shirt.

Yes. The wall chart is on the fridge. The beer is in the fridge. Andreas Bjelland (258) is finally in the sticker collection, even if he won’t now be at the tournament.  The excitement is building. The BBC may have poured scorn on the tournament’s opening fixture when the draw was made, saying that ITV could have that one, but for me it’s an absolutely crucial game. A key opportunity to lay down a gauntlet and, quite frankly, an opportunity missed.

Whilst the game may not be the most exciting on paper, a 4pm (GMT) kick off sees the first chance of the tournament for World Cup bingo players to cross off the phrase, “And for anybody just coming in from work, the score is…. “

This is an absolute tournament staple and for the BBC to have turned down the first chance to use it must surely rank as some sort of commentary related own goal. Despite the score being clearly available in the top corner for all to see, it still makes me smile to hear this phrase. A ritual as important as using the orange ball in the snow or brackets when the score turns to 7(seven) – 0.

Expect Mark Pougatch to have the honours this time around with the key line being delivered at approximately 5.13pm.

Next up, Brentford. The previous column was all about self-promotion. Albeit for a very good cause – trying to raise a few quid for the Community Sports Trust. As anybody who follows yours truly on Twitter may be aware (and apologies for the spamming!) the latest Last Word season reviews are now available for download.

If you’d like to buy one (at just £2/£4 respectively) all proceeds received are going to be donated to the Trust. I’ve also been given a very special shirt – one of last season’s ‘\third’ kits, with squad number 4 on the reverse in EFL font. As you may be aware, these weren’t available on general release and so this is a very rare item.

Anybody downloading a copy goes into the hat where one person will be pulled at random to win this short. Just send me a copy of your download confirmation mail (DM me or @NickBruzon on twitter) and I’ll add you to the draw. This is really important if you’d like to have a chance of winning as I can’t see the names otherwise!

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. Remind yourself about the likes of Betinho, Martin Fillo, Javi Venta and Marcos Tebar. See how often the same material gets regurgitated. Just do something for a great cause.

Next up, the fixture list. June 21st is when we can start to make our travel plans for the forthcoming campaign . When we can see if Christmas is ruined or saved.

I have a feeling these could almost slip through un-noticed if the World Cup gets as thrilling as it could / should. Yet I’ll still have an eye open for these. Aston Villa (should they still be in existence at that point) QPR and the Boxing Day fixture will be the big ones for me.

More to follow.

As a final thought, the one date we don’t have is that for our new shirt launch. If anybody from the club is reading (unlikely, but) please put us out of our misery. Having seen some of the Adidas designs already released – and that’s just for the World Cup – I have big hopes….

No pressure, Bob….

Nick Bruzon

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Very Good Friday – the promotion pictures you won’t have seen.

So Brentford did it with victory over Preston and are now, with Wolves, Championship bound. The earlier post match article has a few pictures (and a couple of hungover words) but here, armed with nothing more than a mobile phone, are the alternative shots that made up my day…..

It is a little known fact that almost 25 years ago I applied to be manager of Preston North End football club – we’ll chalk it down to the impetuousness of youth. However, whilst rummaging through the attic on the morning of the game I came across not only a stash of old programmes and fanzines, but a stark reminder of this fact.

Preston – never replied. Their loss is Brentford’s gain

I’m still waiting for that reply. Who knows how our promotion chances were effected by the butterfly effect of Keith Leeming’s failure to follow up?

Still, nestling alongside this was an early copy of Beesotted. How’s this for an omen? It was only issue 15, which was published after Gary Blissett’s goal at Peterborough in 1992 took Brentford up to the second tier of English football.

An unexpected omen from the attic

The final piece of attic related ‘treasure’ was a 1996 programme from a game v Burnley. Perhaps we are just a bit more astute (or I have a filthy mind) but did their fans get one over Graham Haynes and Ian Westbrook in ‘Around the Hive’?

Burnley 1 Brentford 0 ??

Many of the Last Word articles this season have featured ‘View from the terrace’ . Put simply, this is matchday ‘action’ captured with all the technological power of an iPod telephone.

Well here are two from yesterday – Clayton looking to pick out an unmarked Will Grigg (more noticeable for the swathe of (unrequired) stewards at the Preston end) and then one more of those immense celebrations.

View from the terrace. Preston fans were the epitomy of good sportsmanship, too

 

View from the terrace – Bees fans unleash all that pent up excitement

And after this, well – we all know what happened. There was dancing in the street (thankfully NOT a mullet clad, trench coat sporting Mick Jagger / David Bowie video), speeches from Matthew Benham, impromptu Q&A with Warbs , and the Brentford team signing anything (and I mean , anything..)

Chairman Cliff Crown – I bet he replies to letters

Is this Saunders territory? One lucky fan gets an autograph

Fans celebrated inside and out . There was just a great vibe around The Griffin (which, I understand, continued long into the night at The Lord Nelson, too). Even 1992 hero Bliss got in on the action.

The legend that is Gary Blissett, outside the ground

Partying in the shadow of Griffin Park

And with the sun setting, it simply remained for us to go inside for one last look at the League One table.

I’m so happy, I won’t even berate Sky for upper case bracketery

A challenge for Manish

Brentford’s unbeaten run continued today, as they extended the streak to 18 games with a 1-1 draw at Shrewsbury.

Despite Wolves climbing to second after a home win against Bradford City, the Bees remain top of League One – boosted also by Leyton Orient slipping up on their travels, at play off contenders Rotherham.

As such, I should be over the moon but I’m sick as a parrot.

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.