Tuesday is the day. The transfer window slams shut ( © Sky Sports) and, with it, the last chance to see who will leave or join the Brentford squad on a full time basis. Of course, the Bees have already stepped up their loan activity with the news that Sergi Canos has signed until January from Liverpool. But does this mean that all business has now been concluded? Or will Jim White and Natalie Sawyer be working themselves into a Griffin Park related frenzy on national “Harry Redknapp leaning out of a car window” day?
Canos is the latest to wield the Brentford FC signing shirt
Brentford have certainly been profligate in recent weeks with several big name players leaving TW8 for Championship rivals. Andre Gray to Burnley, Moses Odubajo to Hull City and Stuart Dallas to Leeds United have been the names to really stand out. Not to mention the release of Jonathan Douglas to Ipswich Town. Factor in the freak injuries to Jota and Josh McEachran (the latter before a ball had even been kicked in anger) and it’s no wonder our attacking options have, according to many, been stifled .
But could this change? Monday’s new saw a signing that followed hot on the heels of striker Marco Djuricin to give, on paper, an added dimension of flair to the Brentford squad. In the Red Bull Salzburg loanee we have, at the least, a plethora of puns. Moreso alongside A. Judge (that’s Alan, of course). He is an Austrian international who already has two full caps to his name,
As for Canos, it really is a huge case of potential. I’d offer a word of caution in putting too much pressure on this young man’s shoulders. In recent years we’ve learned that for every loan gem from that part of the world (see Adam Forshaw, Chris Long and Jake Bidwell) there’s a potential Joao Carlos Teixera. For every unheard of youth prodigy (see Marcello Trotta) there’s a Betinho lurking in the wings.
Betin-who ?
Whilst we’ve done very well in the past in our recruitment, the previous management haven’t been infallible. Those lamenting the departure of Warbs should bear in mind he took several bites at the cherry to get things right. The second coming of Liam Moore is another that springs to mind. And then out of it.
It takes time to build a team. There’s no denying we’ve taken an unconventional approach in allowing several well established players to leave (albeit for an incredible amount of money) before looking to rebuild from scratch. Likewise, that we’ve then had our cause hindered by injury – and one can only worry about the amount of twigs that may reach the training ground now that Autumn is almost upon us.
However, my guess is that any long term activity has come to a close and we’ll not be troubling Sky Sports News. This is the squad Marinus has to play with and, with quality players also on the mend, we could soon be in a much stronger place.
Certainly, that usual barometer of impending transfer news – Matthew Benham’s twitter account – hasn’t troubled the scorers since August 19th. And that was the wonderful coming together of fiction and fact that saw Alan Partridge’s ‘Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank’ become a reality.
So unless we’re planning on signing the former World Middleweight Champion, this is probably it for any ‘inward’ activity on Tuesday. Welcome Marco and Sergi. Griffin Park is certainly a place of change at present but, equally, we’re a club who are on the up.
BrentfordFC 
Lots of goals. Lots of points. Lots of tickets.
4 MarWhat a Wednesday! Brentford fans were able to take stock of a stunning 4-1 victory over Huddersfield Town last night before then receiving great news from Fulham with the announcement of ticket allocation for next month’s derby game. We’ll get to Craven Cottage shortly but for those still in need of a recap from last night, Huddersfield were the latest to try their luck at Griffin Park against the free scoring Bees.
7 (seven) in the previous 2 home games (3-1 v Bournemouth and then 4-0 v Blackpool) have now become 11 in 3. A 4-1 victory was the least we deserved as Chris Long took just four minutes to get off the mark on his full Brentford debut.
His second, following fine work from Jota (how often has that phrase been used this season?) restored Brentford’s lead after Harry Bunn had given the Terriers brief hope. But if that goal reinstated Brentford’s supremacy in terms of goals, what was more amazing was how things remained level in terms of players.
Bunn and James Vaughan were both incredibly fortunate to avoid bookings after preening in front of the home supporters like a pair of coked up peacocks. The reaction from the Ealing Road was hardly surprising but justice was soon delivered.
Alex Pritchard made it three before midfield man of the moment, Jon Toral, followed up his hat trick from a week before with a smart strike from distance. Bunn, meanwhile, eventually found his way into the notebook although referee Kavanagh must have been suffering xanthophobia when it came to Vaughan. A number of cynical challenges were shown nothing more than an inconsequential talking to for the Town number 9.
The video highlights are now on YouTube
But a victory of magnitude does, in the cold light of day, make such anomalies almost an irrelevance. The key points to remember are another +3 in the GD column, a refreshing alternative up front and, most importantly, three more points as Brentford hit the play off spots once again.
And then the ticket news from Fulham was announced. An initial allocation of 4000 (with the option for a further thousand) means we’ll take up a fifth of the ground for the Bank Holiday game on April 3rd. As ever, full information is available on the club website and you can read that here.
As we saw last season at Leyton Orient, huge travelling support to a local derby can make a monumental difference.
Here’s hoping for a very Good Friday.
Tags: 2013/14, Alan Judge, albatross, Alex Pritchard, Athletic, BBC, Bees, Beesotted, Betinho, Birmingham, Birmingham City, Birmingham International Holdings Limited, Blackburn, Blackpool, blog, book, Bournemouth, Brentford, Brentford FC, Brighton and Hove Albion, celebrated, Celebrating like they'd won the FA Cup, Championship, Charlton, Charlton Athletic, Chris Kavanagh, clayton donaldson, Clem, Clemwatch, comments, County, Coventry, Coventry City, Crewe, Crewe Alexandra, Dave Kitson, Dave Whelan, david button, Derby, Derby County, diary, Eddie Howe, FA Cup, fake, football, Fulham, Gresty Road, Griffin Park, Harlee Dean, Huddersfield Town, ITV, James Tarkowski, jinx, Jon Toral, Jonathan Douglas, José Ignacio Peleteiro Ramallo, Jota, just don’t mention that penalty, Keith Stroud, kindle, Leeds, Leeds United, Leicester City, Leroy Rosenior, Liam Moore, loan, Manish, Manish Bhasin, Marcello Trotta, Marcos Tébar Ramiro, Mark Clemmit, Mark Warburton, Matthew Benham, MK Dons, Moses Odubajo, Natalie Sawyer, Nick Bruzon, Nick Proschwitz, Norwich City, oil tanker, penalty, publicity stunt, receivers, referee, Ricoh, Rovers, Russell Slade, Sam Saunders, sex, Sky bet Championship, Steve Claridge, Stuart Dallas, survey, Swindon, Swindon Town, Telegraph, The Football League Show, The Valley, Toumani, Town, Trotta, Uwe, Uwe Rösler, video, Wanderers, Warbs, Watford, Wigan, Wigan Athletic, Wycombe, xanthophobia