From an ageing lothario to ‘what might have been’

“Wagner raps worst display…” Not my words but those of Monday’s Yorkshire Post to describe the fallout from Brentford beating Huddersfield Town 4-2 at the weekend. Not much you can say to disagree with that although, equally, it does detract somewhat from the quality of the Bees finishing in the first half.

Moreso, it put me in mind of the one time X-Factor contestant Wagner Carrilho (whose eventual departure from the show killed it stone dead for the rest of time). At times the singer struggled to sing, let alone rap. The bemused looks from the judges, which included his own mentor, made you wonder just how he’d slipped through the net and made it all the way to the final stages.

Wagner – he really happened

If you will, a musical equivalent of Ali Dia at Southampton. Back in 1996 he famously convinced Graeme Souness that he was the cousin of George Weah. Dia was signed for a month based on no further check than a phonecall that Souness received from ‘Weah’ .

After the elements had conspired to interfere with a planned reserve game, he was chucked straight into Premier League action in a game against Leeds United.This despite nobody at the club actually having seen him play. And it turned out that he couldn’t.

Less than an hour into his debut the player, who had come on as a sub, was subbed.

Ali Dia – he really happened

Infact, it later transpired that Dia was anything but who he purported to be and promptly had his contract torn up, although what this says about Leeds United I have no idea. Which, aside from the wonderful image conjured up in my own mind’s eye of an ageing lothario (Wagner) patrolling the touchline on Saturday gone, brings me up to date enough to pull out my industrial sized crowbar.

Just as Southampton ended the contract of Dia, it was announced yesterday that Brentford have done the same with Marcos Tébar after 18 months of Griffin Park life. Featuring only six times last season and once this time around, as an unused sub, his departure brings to a close a strange chapter in our history.

Marcos was no Dia, far from it. You don’t get to play at Real Madrid unless you are any good. Indeed, the flashes of opportunity we were afforded suggested he would fit well into Mark Warburton’s team.

Marcos Tebar – it didn’t quite happen. Sadly

Instead, perhaps at a time in last season when we were crying out for a bit of a change, Warbs showed unswerving loyalty to the players who had served him so well. Would, or could, he have made a difference? We’ll never know and it would be pure conjecture to suggest otherwise.

That said, I thought that with our extensive injury list under Marinus and a remodelled midfield, including the exit of Jonathan Douglas, 2015/16 might be Marcos’s time. But, alas, it wasn’t to be.

And with Dean Smith picking up the reigns, and a fit squad, from Lee Carsley it would seem there is now no room at the Inn. Much as with Javi Venta, things just haven’t worked. Moreso, with just Jota and Sergi Canos as the only Spaniards at Griffin Park, it puts to an end the possibility of any more ‘Three Amigos’ headlines.

It’s a real shame things didn’t play out differently. That’s football – players come and go. Some fit in and others don’t. I’m just truly disappointed that we never got the chance so see his full potential either way.

Perhaps, instead, his legacy will be a Marcos Tea-bar at Lionel Road.

Until then, here’s Wagner.

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Stand by for action. The Championship is finally here !!

This is it, Brentford. Today’s visit of Charlton Athletic finally offers the chance of some catharsis as all those years of ‘coming so close’ since 92/93 (not to mention a couple of relegations) can finally be put to one side.

After falling foul of League restructuring and missing out to Birmingham City in 94/95 – followed by our now standard play-off capitulation.

After the dire play off final of 96/97 agasint Crewe Alexandra at Wembley.

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.

Moses gets a chance to ‘celebrate like’ etc etc as Bees play numbers game

The flurry of transfer activity at Brentford this week as we prepare for life in the Championship has got me thinking. What is the protocol when recruiting a new player? That is, once the niceties of negotiating terms, signing contracts and posing for a photograph with the shirt are done away with?

Specifically, how does he choose his squad number? Indeed, does that even form part of the contract talks or is it simply handed down by the manager from the pool of available ‘spares’?

And would the current squad get first crack at any new opening? With Clayton Donaldson heading to Birmingham City (although, like Marcello Trotta, his profile still remains in the ‘team’ section on the Bees website) that coveted number 9 shirt is now available.

New boy Moses Odubajo, who was announced on Friday as having joined from Leyton Orient has already bagged number 10. Rumoured to be for a fee over GBP1million, per the East London press, this is great news. Who knows if the sight, and Russell Slade’s subsequent talk, of those ‘FA Cup like celebrations’ helped sway his decision?

One would presume that yesterday’s other new signing (announced along with contract extensions for David Button and Stuart Dallas), the free scoring Andre Grey from Luton Town, has his sights on that vacant ‘9’.

Was it a wasted opportunity for the likes of Alan Judge (18)? Could James Tarkowski (26) and Adam Forshaw (4) have negotiated between them to give the central defender that position’s traditional 4? Indeed, does it even matter to players or are they the superstitious sort that, once allocated a number, keep it until they leave a club (or beyond)?

Does a squad number make a difference?

Obviously, it makes no real difference to what happens on pitch but, whilst I’m all for progress in the game, I’m ‘old school’ at heart. Seeing a team line up numbered 1-11 gives me a certain reassurance that it ‘looks right’. An additional little ‘good luck’ omen (to sit alongside the lucky shirt, magic pants and pre-match pint). Or perhaps I just have OCD?

Watching the (so far) all-conquering Netherlands in the World Cup they have achieved this feat despite the permutations possible in a 23-man squad. Has their manager Louis van Gaal (real name: Aloysius Paulus Maria van Gaal) just ‘got lucky’? Or has he had the balls to name his first choice starting XI well in advance and then allocate 12-23 amongst the rest?

The all conquering Netherlands team , numbered 1-11 on the BBC website

I can only hope it is the latter and if so, whilst I don’t care a jot about the tribulations at Manchester United, then self-confidence of that nature is sure to work wonders after the debacle of the David Moyes era when he arrives at Old Trafford.

Still, for Brentford fans, they are opponents’ for 2015/16. This season, let’s concentrate on getting out of the Championship.

Forget ‘survival’ – I’m aiming high. And with Matthew Benham’s cryptic clues now being unravelled (they were obvious, really…), we are certainly putting together a young, exciting and attacking squad to start that charge.

‘Celebrating like they’d won the FA Cup…..’ (The story of Brentford’s season 2013/14) – amongst other things – is now available as a digital book. Featuring the best of the not so bad columns from the last ten months, and some new content, you can download it here for your kindle / digital device.

MO, JR or another MT? And two anchors in budgie smugglers.

When Brentford’s Championship campaign kicks off in just over six weeks with the visit of Charlton Athletic, the first XI could have a different look. Of course, this week has already seen Clayton Donaldson head for pastures new at Birmingham City whilst Marcos Tébar has swapped Spain for Griffin Park.

However, lovers of social media would have seen hints from both club owner Matthew Benham and chief executive Mark Devlin last night in regards to further activity.

Mark set minds racing with his late evening announcement that it had been, “Very busy in TW8 today. Hopefully some incoming transfer news in next 48 hours.” No further clues were forthcoming as to who these would be although the popular choice on twitter seemed to be Moses Odubajo of Leyton Orient.

I have no idea where that has come from or how accurate it is but, with Barry Hearn currently in talks to sell up his interests in the club and memories of that play-off final defeat still raw, is now the time the O’s will see their prize assets depart?

Matthew, on the other hand, has swapped the initials for the return of his ‘cryptic video clue’. He posted this YouTube link on his Facebook page last night, along with a similar announcement to Mark’s , as a hint about who could be coming in.

 

Matthew is clearly a very intelligent man. You don’t get to where he has without brains. Sadly, I’m just the numpty on the terrace and struggle with anything beyond a join-the-dots puzzle.

So how Billy Bob Thornton, masquerading as Lorne Malvo in ‘Some Roads’ links to a new signing, I have literally no idea. It could be anyone from Sean Thornton of Bala Town to a return for Jordan Rhodes….. (we can dream!)

To be honest, he could have printed a picture like this as a clue and I still wouldn’t get it. Either way, it sounds very positive news and I can’t wait to see who is next to feature in ‘obligatory photo in jeans and new shirt’ corner.

Billy Bob Thornton?

And finally, Adrian Chiles put a smile on my face last night. Not in a good way but, at least, one that showed he has a sense of humour. Readers of a sensitive disposition should look away now.

However, the build up to the evening’s World Cup games on ITV, featured his terrifying look behind the scenes at how the light channel and the BBC carve up the televised games between them, as Chiles told us:

“If you’re wondering which second-round games will be shown on the BBC and which on ITV, Gary Lineker and I will strip down to our budgie smugglers, wrestle on the beach and the winner will get first pick.”

I still reckon last season’s Pugil sticks are the way to go.

‘Celebrating like they’d won the FA Cup…..’ (The story of Brentford’s season 2013/14 ) – amongst other things – is now available as a digital book. Featuring the best of the not so bad columns from the last ten months, and some new content, you can download it here for your kindle / digital device.

Tell me this isn’t, really, how it happens?

 

This ‘MT news’ is not good. And the real reason England are out of the World Cup

Brentford completed two bits of largely predicted transfer activity yesterday as Clayton Donaldson agreed to join Championship rivals Birmingham City whilst the Bees midfield was bolstered by the acquisition of Marcos Tébar.

Rumours of Birmingham’s interest, and Clayton’s alleged medical had been circulating for the last few days in the local press (getting one right, for once – Rob Kiernan, anyone?) whilst Matthew Benham had set tongues wagging with Tuesday’s twitter announcement in regards to signing ‘MT’.

I’d like to start by wishing Clayton ‘good luck’ and offering my huge thanks. His goal record and effort at Griffin Park speaks for itself whilst the performance at Leyton Orient last season, with the Bees down to ten men, was one of the hardest shifts I have ever seen a player put in. The simple fact is that he was an integral part to our promotion and I can’t wait to see him back at Griffin Park – albeit that it’s going to be somewhat odd in a City shirt.

Clayton meets his youngest fan pre-season. And his fattest

This does, of course, make things interesting up front where Northern Ireland International Will Grigg is in pole position, as it stands. With Farid El-Alagui released and Clayton off, he doesn’t have too much experienced competition for that coveted centre forward slot.

With Mathew Benham tweeting about MT, the other name on most people’s lips was Marcello Trotta. From ‘that penalty’ (sorry, mentioned it) to last season’s heroics, it’s fair to say he’s made a name for himself at Griffin Park. I’d love to see him back but, as it stands, evidence from ‘down the road’ suggests the only place we’ll currently see him in the Championship is at Craven Cottage.

“The boys were back in town”, proclaimed their website on Wednesday. A rather odd declaration, considering that the much derided Michael Jackson statue had been ‘in town’ more recently than this ‘boy’.

This distasteful image is now on the FFC website

I’m not privy to the club’s transfer plans and, like other supporters, am only in a position where I can speculate. However, the sight of Marcello in the middle of a Fulham training montage makes me desperate that his name is at the top of Mark Warburton’s shopping list.

To see him in their white colours would really be a kick in the knackers. And you’d just know a penalty would be awarded.

And finally, I’d like to thank Richie Firth on Christian O’Connell’s Absolute Radio breakfast show for a World Cup ‘stat of the day’. My disdain for ITV football has been well documented in the past, but he has now helped send it to an all time low with an intriguing fact.

By all accounts, England have only won 21% of their World Cup games since 1982 when they have been shown on the light channel. If ever an excuse was needed to boot Chiles and the boys into touch, then here it is.

Don’t blame Roy. It’s all Adrian’s fault.

‘Celebrating like they’d won the FA Cup…..’  ( The story of Brentford’s season 2013/14 ) – amongst other things – is now available as a digital book. Featuring the best of the not so bad columns from the last ten months, and some new content, you can download it here for your kindle  / digital device.

Are Brentford about to unveil MT today?

With the evening’s football being overshadowed by Luis Suarez and his latest bite, you could be forgiven for missing the other news. I won’t repeat the column on Suarez, suffice to say that the graphic I’d put together left me having nightmares – with the miniaturised head of Russell Slade protruding from the Uruguayan’s mouth, much akin to the eponymous creature from the Alien movie.

However, what I will repeat is Matthew Benham’s proclamation that Brentford should be announcing a new signing today – initials MT.

Mr Benham loves a cryptic clue (see also: Mark Warburton replacing Uwe Rösler – one I still can’t work out, even knowing the answer). Of course, whichever name I suggest is sure to be wild speculation and miles off.

Moreso, as Matthew has not started following any ‘MT’ on twitter (much as he did with Alan Judge or Chuba Akpom). Chelsea and Ghana’s Christian Atsu being his latest ‘follow’, although that would be a CA.

Could one of these be pictured at Griffin Park today, holding a new Adidas shirt?

 

 

View from the terrace – Marcello Trotta scores from the penalty spot against Gillingham

And if BBC Manish is reading (he isn’t) I very much enjoyed your coverage of the Japan – Colombia game on BBC 3 last night. However, was there really a need to make a point that it was women aged 18-24, more than any other gender group, who watched the Croatia game?

Come on Manish, this is the 21^st century – who cares? Women play and watch football, too. Besides, the men were probably all busy doing the washing up and ironing.

‘Celebrating like they’d won the FA Cup…..’  – The story of Brentford’s season 2013/14 (amongst other things) is now available as a digital book. Featuring the best of the not so bad columns from the last ten months, and some new content, you can download it here for your kindle  / digital device.