Imagine no more. Could we be one decision away from the greatest thing ever?

Brentford host Wolverhampton Wanderers this Saturday afternoon. The fallout from the Manchester United game has been done, dusted and (along with the player / team performance summary) written about here. We’ve, likewise, looked forward to the visit from Wolves in yesterday’s column. To be quite honest, the plan had been for a lie in this morning before freezing my bits off in Gunnersbury Park whilst H spends 90 minutes at the weekly Community Sports Trust football training for years 3-6. That was the plan. But something has been niggling. Something kit related. Something utter, utter genius. Something to better even the brown and orange. Yeah. I hear you. Me too. “How is that even possible?” being the universal reaction to such a crazy statement.  

Choc & Orange – much missed

We’ve written about the good people behind @BeesShirts on Twitter before. Their ongoing homage to the history of red and white stripes along with just about anything else we’ve ever worn before. For a shirt nerd like yours truly – who, to be honest, is only a whisker away from Kitman Bob issuing the restraining order once Luis Adriano is finished with it – this is a mandatory inclusion in the social media ‘Follow 400’ max. Honestly, you don’t need any more. It’s just noise and clutter. A therapeutic clear out every now and again to avoid tipping over the magic mark is truly refreshing.

You can thank Twitter guru Richie Firth for that one. Although, I note with dismay he has let his own standards slip and is now up to a terrifying 469. Albeit, the visit to his own page to see that current tally revealed a spot on analysis of Jamie Carragher’s sartorial stylings from last night’s coverage of Watford – Norwich.

Look at the size of Jamie Carragher’s pockets 🧐 pic.twitter.com/CUvn914Qvv

— RICHIE FIRTH (@RichieFirth) January 21, 2022

As ever, we digress. In short – don’t follow more than 400. Do follow @Beesshirts. And if you took the later advice chances are you’d have seen the greatest concept design for Brentford shirt ever. Imagine running out against Manchester United in what they’ve come up with? Well you don’t even need to imagine, if you can make it to the end of this page.

What a concept. What a look. A design based upon that classic London Transport seat material. Bringing the ‘Bus Stop in Hounslow ‘ to life. Reinventing the much loved choc /orange for an unexpected comeback. If nothing else, imagine the global shirt sales form Trainspotters. From travel enthusiasts. As a revenue generator alone, a tie up with LT could see the coffers swelling.

If THIS were to happen…….

Anything Arsenal can do… Inspired by the back seat of the 237 bus, Brentford 'Routemaster' concept 2 #BrentfordFC #Brentford #BeesShirts pic.twitter.com/giVgqjxJLN

— BrentfordShirts.com (@BeesShirts) January 21, 2022

But this is not really about money. This is about looking cool. Looking stylish. Being the trailblazers we so often are. About making Brentford stand out. About being different. About embracing what we have become so intrinsically associated with.

The aforementioned restraining order moved a step closer last night when Kitman Bob was asked for his thoughts on this. Clearly, we’ve stumbled across Matthew Benham’s latest masterplan. What other reason can you give for a reaction of “Hell no !!!!!”. Something I can only think is a coded message to keep quiet and not let the cat out of the bag.

Well, some things do need to be shouted about from the roof tops. Just imagine running out in this. Imagine the envious looks on Cristiano Ronaldo’s eyes if the Manchester United stropmonger had sulked off past players wearing this. Imagine owning something truly unique.

Imagine no more….

Bob, over to you.

What a concept

Nick Bruzon

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We’ve won the social media turf war. What next?

Brentford 4000 have beaten the Tranmere stripper and will now face the awesome stylings of Bristol City defender Donnie Gillies in the World Cup of Programme Covers third round. Elsewhere, some Leeds United fans went to Old Trafford to watch their U-18s play Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup. Well done there. Well done everyone. 

First up, as ever, Brentford. In the most heavily fought tie of the round a Bees resurgence saw Tranmere Rovers slowly reeled in over the course of the day before we eventually overcame our match-day magazine rivals 52%-48%. Who said you win nothing with stats? 

Through to the next round

The tie, described by compere Miles McClagan (@TheSkyStrikers) as “a social media turf war” was the most heavily voted for in the round as many peoples’ favourite suffered what could be described as a shock exit. With Brentford also featuring in the first round match with the highest turnout, could our name be on the cup? Or are we just good at using Twitter?

Whatever the reason, there’s no doubting things are going to be even tougher in the following round(s). Bristol City are next and it’s one of those where, frankly, words fail to do a cover justice. One just has to sit back and drink it all in.

Bristol City will provide formidable opposition

The winner of that one will then face Ipswich Town or Morton in the quarters. Honestly, the thought of Donnie lining up against B.A. Robertson, John Wark (in full warm-up kit, of course) and a briefcase full of cash is one that has me salivating. It’s like an early 80s ‘Cold War Steve’, right down to the sponsorship. Just think Danepak rather than Fray Bentos. 

When worlds collide…..

I don’t for one second think either the Bees or Morton will just roll over to allow this Titanic sartorial match up to take place. Certainly, we’ll give it our all. The only thing you can be sure of is that as the tournament progresses, we’re going to have a lot of fun in finding out whose name is on the cup. 

Elsewhere, Leeds United official were getting very excited because 1400 fans went to Manchester United to watch an FA Youth Cup match. 

🤣 Are you sure this is an away game? 1,400 #LUFC fans have taken over! What a support for our U18s! pic.twitter.com/l2kI0bGqGF

— Leeds United (@LUFC) February 5, 2020

And? What am I missing here? Genuine question, given the fuss being made on social media. Under achieving club and huge fan base with long memories about once being ‘any good’ take short trip down the road for a night out to famous club. Fans go to a game and cheer on their team. That seems to be the gist of it.

They’ve not played their rivals since 2011 so it must have been exciting for them. An ad-hoc chance to go back to the Mancunian library and try to upset their young hosts. Sing a song about Ed Woodward. Lovely stuff. 

I guess what this does do though is prove what incredible support they have. What a huge club Leeds United are. A side that has a divine right to play top flight football rather than being one who have sat in the Championship, or further beyond, since 2007. Administration will do that to you though.

Frankly, if there was any justice the EFL would stop subjecting Leeds to the annual torture of their falling apart (again) and just promote them automatically to the deserved home in the Premier League. Who needs tinpot pub teams and bus stops like Brentford trying to play their way up when we could, no should, have a top flight dominated by those grand old names of the past?

Oh, what’s the point. It was their cup final so I’m glad they enjoyed themselves. There are infinitely more important things to focus on in the coming days. We face Boro’ and Leeds go to play-off rivals Nottingham Forest. Then there’s the small matter of their trip to Griffin Park.

See you on Tuesday, Leeds United. I can’t wait for this one !!

No room for bus stops in the Premier League? BS.

Nick Bruzon  

Green light given for final Lionel Road Stadium amendments.

You may not have been aware in advance but there was a meeting of the Hounslow Council Planning Committee last night. Most Brentford supporters have understandably been focussing on the weekend’s game at Hull City whilst the club have playing things relatively low key (at least in public; behind the scenes I know all concerned have not relented and the hard work has been continuing) since August’s announcement about the redesign to our original plans.

There was the very public fans’ forum shortly after and then the attention has been on continuing the work of levelling the site. No doubt we’ve all seen the footage in regards to the demolition of Capital Court.

Then, last night, this appeared. Sometimes one tweet is all you need.

At tonight's London Borough of Hounslow (LBH) Planning Committee meeting, Councillors resolved to approve the final planning amendments submitted for Brentford Community Stadium.

— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) December 7, 2017

That’s it. No fanfare. No local news stories. Nothing on Brentford ‘official’. But it IS fantastic. Scroll up, read it again and absorb.

In a project that has seen the club having to clear more hurdles than Ed Moses, this is another landmark moment. True, it was one of our own making in looking to refine the plans after the Council (and other bodies) had already granted their initial support but there was always that worry that things might not go our way this time. Changing opinions and changing faces might alter what should, in theory, have been a decision we were all hoping for.

But no! Agreement is in place and with next season likely to be our last full campaign at Griffin Park (subject to the usual league dispensations regarding the terracing etc) expect progress to continue apace. Matthew Benham, Mark Devlin and the rest of those involved will be adding ‘hard hat and shovel’ to their Christmas present list ahead of that ceremonial ‘breaking ground photo’. That said, perhaps ‘monorail conductors costume’ is a step to far at this stage, even for Santa Claus.

I’ve no doubt official will give us all the news and next steps today. Presumably the wi-fi in the council chambers meant we couldn’t upload any celebratory GIFs etc last night. Likewise, expect online coverage to include stories along the lines of : This Brentford player remains of keen interest for Chelsea, Watford and Barcelona (as stadium progress agreed).

Good luck to them. It’s great news to wake up to . Likewise, to read last night for those of us just coming in from work.

Now, Mr. Benham. If your reading and need some shovel work, my hat size is….

Diggers have already been at work clearing the site at Lionel Road

All of which means we’ve little time / space to talk about Saturday’s opponents, Hull City. Having sacked Leonid Slutsky during the week, they have moved to immediately appoint Nigel Adkins as their new manager. There’s been no time for a caretaker to fill the void and the BBC report that Adkins will be in charge for Saturday’s game.

Can he reverse their fortunes? Can he arrest the Tigers’ slump? Or will Dean Smith’s team continue their strong run of form?

Roll on Saturday at 3pm when we find out.

Nick Bruzon

Will we be in the strangest draw yet after QPR game? Will you be there on Saturday for stadium news?

Brentford travel to QPR in the second round of the Carabao cup tonight with the tournament now sparking as much interest in the latest instalment of their guide to cocking up a draw as in the ties that precede it. And there’s some positive news on the stadium front c/o Beesotted, BU, The GPG, BIAS and the club with a forum taking place this Saturday prior to the Wolves game where the new plans will be discussed further

First up, the Carabao Cup (league cup).

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.

Donald Trump pulls Norwich City to play Tottenham. BAD. FAKE DRAW

 

Beesotted amongst those to organise this event

Nick Bruzon

Big new ambitions? Or downsizing? What do you make of stadium news?

Thursday morning. We’ve all had time to digest the news out of Griffin Park. Namely that in a week’s time Brentford FC will be presenting plans to Hounslow council for an amendment to our design for Lionel Road  – the key points of which include : a location move (3 metres south),Premier League quality ‘outside broadcast facilities within the stadium itself, the relocation of BFC Community Sports Trust outside the ground and the capacity reduction from 20,000 to 17,250. The target date for all of this is now late 2019 / early 2020.

The statements on the club site and in the programme from Cliff Crown & Mark Devlin have gone on to further elaborate on the reasoning about this in what, I have to be honest (and I’d say this to their face) reads an awful lot like a game of buzzword bingo in places. Especially with regards to the housing element of the project which is so key to making it a success.

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.

 

Lionel Road. A new look – sans monorail – is coming

 

Griffin Park. Wonderful but not a long term future

 

Nick Bruzon

From Brentford to Al-Wakrah; Wolves to the Wankdorf

New stadia seem all the rage these days.

Hardly a season goes past without a team leaving its traditional home to move to a new ground. Indeed, as Brentford prepare for Saturday’s League One clash against Wolves, there is probably as much interest in matters ‘off field’ as those on the pitch. Hounslow Council Planning Committee is, of course, due to discuss our proposed new stadium on December 5^th.

I may be biased but I think the Lionel Road plans are great. Primarily because they feature a design that actually seems to have, and say this in hushed tones…. some character. Contrast the exciting schematics to the usual five seconds thought that most modern architects put in, the net result of which is an identikit bowl (see: Derby, Leicester and Middlesborough for starters).

Moreso, it won’t – as things currently stand – have a sponsored name. These are very much in vogue and range from airlines to food-processors as is the case, respectively, with Arsenal’s Emirates or Wolves and their Moulinex ground.

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.