Party poop.Barnsley beat Brentford in game 4,000

Move along. Nothing to see here. A day that promised so much ended with Brentford having the candles blown off their own celebration cake by a Barnsley team who took their chances in a gritty game. As the Bees celebrated their 4,000th league game with the commemorative flags handed out to supporters, it was the away side who ended the day celebrating a first league win in 7(seven) games.

“It’s just like watching Brazil” sang the visitors.

“It’s just like watching League One”, sang the home support

“I just can’t get no relief” sang the half time guest of honour, Annelies. That, of course, during her Queen number rather than being any form of match analysis.

Annelies serenades Buzzette. Or is that vice-versa?

Indeed, half time was about as good as it got.

Peter Gilham was on hand to introduce Ben Summers, whose winning competition entry had been selected to be the cover for the programme. However, if Ben was expecting the keys to Griffin Park he was to be sadly disappointed.

“We’d like to say you’ve won a thousand pounds but you haven’t. Just a signed copy of the programme” announced Peter in his usual, avuncular style.

That said, Ben did have the honour of posing for a photograph with the protagonists in that other fan favourite – the half time mascot race. This, an event not seen since Scummy Bunny and Sonic the hedgehog were amongst those to grace the Griffin Park playing surface back in our League One (or was it two?) days.

This time around it was a three way shoot out between Buzz, Buzzette and the Barnsley mascot. I’m not sure if this was Toby the Tyke or, as one New Road observer noted,  Macroencephablitisbrain the bear.

Peter Gilham introduces Ben and the mascots

As for the game itself? I can’t talk about it. The BBC, Beesotted or ‘Official’ are your best hopes if any sort of match report is required. Likewise, the video highlights are already up on Sky, if anybody can draw highlights from yesterday’s game.

That said, two points of note to take away. Firstly, cheering the substitution of Romaine Sayers for Philipp Hofmann. Seriously? One can only hope this was due to the German’s popularity although I suspect not given the criticism the former Walsall man has come in for from certain quarters. Without wanting to get overly preachy, that’s really poor form and hardly going to help a player who would still seem to be settling into Championship life.

Secondly, Dean Smith’s post match interview which contained the pearler. “If we’d taken our chances it might have been a different story.” Hmm. That is, generally, how football works.

Instead, the interviews are probably best confined to those conducted by Sean Ridley with the return of Terrace Talk.

Can we have you every week?

That aside, it simply remains to offer congratulations to  Barnsley for a job well done. As for Brentford, there’s the small matter of a trip to Loftus Road on Friday.

I’m going, again. See you there.

Nick Bruzon

Advertisements

The good, the bad and the ugly. Derby, Manchester United and Tim Burgess have the pick of a week that saw Bees stung.

As Brentford ended up on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline at Wolves, Norwich City usurped Huddersfield Town at the top of the Championship table following the Terriers’ second defeat in three games. This time to a Reading team who travel to Griffin Park on Tuesday. At the bottom end Derby County, Rotherham United and Wigan Athletic continue to press the self-destruct button. Northern Ireland International Will Grigg’s team not so much being on fire as given a good hosing by all-comers.

That’s the latest Championship action in nutshell. Yet there has been so much more going on in the division and beyond. In the latest edition of our regular, weekly feature we look back at those things you might have missed from the world of social media over the last 7(seven) days.

As ever, things start at Griffin Park although aside from Brentford seeing the unbeaten run come to an end we’ve been keeping a somewhat lower profile than normal this week. Perhaps it was the excitement of Middlesex winning the County Championship in not at all contrived circumstances or our absence from the third round of the League cup. However, there hasn’t been too much from ‘official’ or beyond…

That said, we couldn’t let this week pass without a nod to the legend that is birthday boy Terry Hurlock. Woe betide any manager who dared tell him it wasn’t ok to dress like a pirate for the annual team photo.

#TBT It's a very happy birthday today to the unmistakable Terry Hurlock who played more than 250 games for us! pic.twitter.com/enObEE94c8

— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) September 22, 2016

Beyond that, though, there was tumbleweed blowing through TW8 (that, or everybody has just blocked yours truly). Sullay Kaikai got off the mark as the Bees went down to Wolves.

The  one positive from that defeat being that the regular hand-wringing of old and calls for the manager’s head seem nothing but a distant memory at the moment. Nice work Dean Smith and the lads in silencing the likes of Gordon Vine, Sam Jones and other cyber warriors so keen to put the boot in at the slightest excuse

So, instead, we’ll look further afield. Regular readers will be aware of my admiration for Buzzette and Kingsley (at Partick Thistle). Very much the Queen and King of football mascots, this pair are guaranteed to get the crowd going at half time.

Indeed, if Matthew Benham is reading (unlikely, but…), how about getting them together for a pre-season friendly next season? If nothing else, imagine the children…

Buzzette and Kingsley – King and Queen of football mascots

However, it seems there is a new kid on the block. A potential pretender to the mascot throne. If, indeed, this is a mascot. To be quite honest, I’m not sure what was going on here but Tweet of the week has surely come from Derby County.

The Rams are in trouble on the pitch – and I’m not just talking about results. Certainly, if this is the sort of thing happening at Derby home games….

An incredible halftime show at Derby County v Blackburn Rovers in the Championship. 😂 pic.twitter.com/AlX6QCpuJY

— TheFootballCommunity (@Footy_Community) September 25, 2016

Incredible doesn’t even begin to do this justice. As Matt Dyson, news guru on the Christian O’Connell Absolute Radio breakfast show and Nottingham Forest supporter, noted…

The half time entertainment is better than the actual game in scum town these days… https://t.co/3rvpLT0qO2

— Matt Dyson (@RealDysonator) September 25, 2016

In the League (EFL) cup this week, Manchester United found themselves having to improvise ahead of the game with Northampton Town.

Nothing to see here, just the 'biggest club in the world' training in a hotel car park… pic.twitter.com/rUakndAyvN

— 888sport (@888sport) September 21, 2016

The Brentford club sponsors then going on to note (and who doesn’t love a bit of Accidental Partridge?) that…

Could well be the Linton Travel Tavern…… pic.twitter.com/l2znAXSVIg

— 888sport (@888sport) September 21, 2016

Sam Wallace, chief football writer for the Daily and Sunday telegraph, highlighted further problems for Jose Mourinho.

Not sure sweater under blazer works for José. Looks like a man forced to put on as many clothes as he can to avoid an excess baggage charge

— Sam Wallace (@SamWallaceTel) September 21, 2016

Still, at least they’ve gone through. Unlike our Bees. Joining Manchester United in the next round were Reading, for whom a familiar face starred. Again.

Oh My Word!!!! Swift, stunner. 2-0 #readingfc

— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) September 20, 2016

#BrentfordFC fans were ripping @JohnSwift8 to pieces saying he was lazy and inconsistent. He's been phenomenal all season so far! #readingfc

— Jamie (@Run_Run_Gilkesy) September 20, 2016

Tuesday night at Griffin Park could be very interesting indeed when Reading come to town. I’m sure John will have more than a few points to prove – both on and off the pitch. Is that the sound of Dean Smith calling Alan McCormack……?

Elsewhere, the tweet of the third round involves Arsene Wenger. The Arsenal manager involved in some sort of fast food related incident (and one which he would later claim not to have seen. Presumably).

Very odd incident in which Wenger appears to have been offered some food by a fan allowed to jump the hoardings and enter the dugout.

— James Olley (@JamesOlley) September 20, 2016

But this week we’ve got as much ‘other stuff’ to look at as footballing material. The World of Sport (idea for a show) has delivered more than just the beautiful game.

American Football (catch ball rather than ‘soc-cer’): Us Brentford fans know all about plans for dubious sounding monorails. But over in the States, they’ve gone one better.

Cam Newton is dressed like he is about to sell Springfield a shoddy monorail. pic.twitter.com/RrauOuAIqY

— Kazeem Famuyide (@RealLifeKaz) September 18, 2016

Volleyball : Really, there’s nothing more to add to this one…

Right? pic.twitter.com/3zNsDHK2bR

— Doug Strider (@DougStrider) September 21, 2016

But, for me, story of the week has nothing to do with sport whatsoever. It involves the ever stranger world of Noel Edmonds. With the axe now swinging on his ‘Deal or No Deal’ TV show, alternative employment is required.

That said, there’s alternative employment and then there’s alternative employment….

Noel Edmonds is offering to phone up your pet and cheer it up | Bristol Post https://t.co/eRVkF8csOs

— Bristol Post (@BristolPost) September 21, 2016

In a column that has already seen one ‘Accidental Partridge’ we’ll leave the Last Word to Tim Burgess of music’s The Charlatans.

Why write a blog when one tweet does the job so, so much better…

"Noel Edmonds' telephone cat therapy" – we have now officially gone beyond monkey tennis. Thanks @BBCR2 ; )

— Tim Burgess (@Tim_Burgess) September 22, 2016

Nick Bruzon

New look, new sounds and new hashtags as club get it right

Brentford play Preston North End on Saturday and it seems that, in the build up to the game at least, there are plenty of changes at Griffin Park. In what seems to be partly a response to the recent ‘match day experience survey’, the eagle eyed amongst you would have spotted all manner of new things in place for the weekend.

First up, the Braemar Road forecourt rebrand is now complete. The BRENTFORD FC Stingray font is gone and the new lettering is in place on the repainted main stand. Along, thankfully, with a club badge.

The club revealed their new look on Thursday

We’d had our suspicions as to how this was going to look during the week after chief executive Mark Devlin noted on twitter that, ”You won’t be surprised to learn that it will be in keeping with the new brand guidelines”. Whilst a phrase such as ‘new brand guidelines’ is normally one that strikes the same feeling of doom as “rail replacement bus service” or “Coming up next on BBC one, the Eastenders omnibus”, I have to say that this really bucks the trend.

Well done Brentford. The club has come up with a smart, new look. Certainly, much better than the somewhat dated, quasi-futuristic Stingray lettering that had aged as badly as Keith Richards. Whilst the stripes I had thought might also return are still absent from the paintwork, the all red look is still a great one.

Keith Richards – the musical equivalent of Stingray font

As for the Preston game itself, first up is your chance to play DJ. The club has started to ask fans what music they would like to hear on Big B Radio. (This is assuming people can hear it – I note, also, they are currently asking for feedback on the new PA system). However, it’s something I’ve written about many times before. There’s no excuse for Barry Manilow at football – unless it’s Bermuda triangle (I don’t mean the defence) and, whilst I fully appreciate you are never going to please everybody, this is still a great way to try.

And, read this next bit carefully…. We have a hashtag that actually seems fit for purpose.

‪#BeeTheDJ does what it says whilst adding a nice bit of punnery. After the debacles of #trophyfriends and #bignewambitions (which, thankfully, appears to have been quietly shuffled off) another sign that the club do listen.

Don’t take my word for it. Check out the Twitter hashtag

But wait. Like an advert for cheap kitchen knives, there’s more. Centre Circle Challenge is back. Kind of.

I loved this event in the past. A home and away supporter would demonstrate who had the least bad kicking skills as they attempted to hoof the football as close as possible to the spot in the middle of the meridian line. All, of course, accompanied by the wonderful commentary skills of Peter Gilham – woebetide anybody with two left feet.

After an absence of a few seasons, this has been rebranded and now returns as ‘Bees Bowls’. From reading the blurb on the clubsite (and you can also apply to participate) the end goal appears the same – closest to the centre spot wins.As somebody who has formerly taken part in CCC with mixed fortunes – both reaching the centre spot aswell as falling flat on my backside in the tipping rain – I can only recommend this as being a great fan activity and would encourage supporters to give it a go.

Apart from being tremendous fun, it’s not often the Brentford family get a chance to grace the Griffin Park surface.

What’s the worst that could happen?

Nick Bruzon

It IS great fun – get applying

Lots of pretty play. No end product

Brentford were held to a 0-0 draw by visiting Sheffield Wednesday – our second in three days – following the trip to Wigan Athletic. It was a game that, on the occasion of our 125^th anniversary, promised much but ultimately failed to deliver a goal or three points.

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.

“There must be a second goal, just had the pizza email”.

Not my words but those of Tim Griffiths, Woking FC’s ‘man with the mic’, who also happens to be a Brentford fan. It was a statement made just after George Saville had, indeed, put the Bees two up against Bradford City and, for the record, was made via text message rather than over the tannoy at Woking’s Kingfield ground.

I can only imagine that ‘Papa John’ is blissfully unaware of the spin-off benefits to displaced football fans resulting from his two-goal pizza deal. Whilst it may not have the finesse of the videprinter, that confirmation that you are now entitled to cheap pizza (should you so desire – I’m more a post match curry man) is a sure fire sign that your team are only five goals away from brackets (seven).

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.

Don’t do it Buzzette – when mascots lose their head.

It would be fair to say that Brentford mascots Buzz Bee and Buzzette are two of the better behaved in the football world . From Wolves to Wolfsburg and Dunfermline to Swansea, the age-old matter of mascots getting ‘carried away’ was brought to the fore again at the weekend.

You’ve probably seen the video clip sweeping the Internet from Sunday’s Bundesliga encounter between 1899 Hoffenheim and Vfl Wolfsburg. The game has since attracted the public interest  – less for the 8 goals and more for the ‘accident’ that befell the home team’s mascot, Hoffi the Moose, as they notched their fourth goal of a 6-2 win.

Rushing to celebrate with the players on the pitch, rather than leap the barriers Hoffi managed to trip over them and, quite literally, lost his head . For those who’ve had theirs buried in the footballing sand – which is almost where Hoffi ended up –  you can see the incident here.

Seeing this has put my in mind of some of the more infamous mascot moments. Whilst the downside of the next clip means you need to sit through a few seconds of Angus Deayton, stick with it. It’s the moment where Brentford’s League one rivals Wolves,  saw their ‘Wolfie’ take on all three of Bristol City’s ‘little pigs’ single-handed.

Sadly (for research purposes), I’ve been unable to unearth any footage of Swansea’s ‘Cyril the Swan’ who, amongst other misdemeanours, once performed a pitch invasion that culminated in his ripping the head off Millwall’s Zampa the Lion.

Cyril then proceeded to drop kick it into the crowd. That said, you can still read the original BBC report (check out the ‘old school’ internet) here.

Cyril – about to punt Zampa’s into the back of the Cyg-net

However, my particular ‘lowlight’ of mascot mayhem is, almost certainly, Dunfermline’s Sammy the Tammy. Back in April 2011, he took to the field in a derby game with local rivals Raith Rovers in a home made tank before marching to the half way line and appearing to take pot shots at the opposition fans.

All this accompanied by the subtle soundtrack of ‘Two Tribes’ (go to war)., by pop music’s Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

The moment has been recorded for posterity, with Tammy losing his head (metaphorically rather than literally) about three minutes in.

Whilst there is nothing positive to be said about football violence, there is something mildly amusing about a punch up between a six foot anthromphised Wolf and some equally weighted piglets.

However, even I would draw the line at Buzz Bee, in a home-made Sherman, taking aim at the Fulham fans next season.