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.
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….
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…
In the League (EFL) cup this week, Manchester United found themselves having to improvise ahead of the game with Northampton Town.
The Brentford club sponsors then going on to note (and who doesn’t love a bit of Accidental Partridge?) that…
Sam Wallace, chief football writer for the Daily and Sunday telegraph, highlighted further problems for Jose Mourinho.
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.
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).
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.
Volleyball : Really, there’s nothing more to add to this one…
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….
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…
Nick Bruzon
BrentfordFC 
Is it time for a new badge? Or even an old one?
26 FebWith all the talk last night surrounding Madonna taking a dive at the Brit awards, football almost passed me by. However, Bournemouth’s defeat to Nottingham Forest, following their 3-1 reverse to Brentford on Saturday, makes for interesting reading at the top of the Championship table. Leaders Derby County and second placed Middlesbrough now have a bit of clear air on the chasing pack with respective gaps of five and three points (plus superior goal difference) to third placed Ipswich Town.
Watching Bournemouth falling faster than the Queen of pop suffering a cape malfunction isn’t particular cause for celebration. They are too strong a team to write off and, indeed, Brentford themselves have just emerged from our own mini blip that saw three defeats out of four . Likewise, for those of us harbouring title hopes , a five point gap can easily be reeled in as evidenced last season when that was the size of our own gap over Wolves at various times.
So I’m not going to get overly hung up on the table top today but, instead, look inward to Griffin Park and another of those post-match pub conversations following the win over Blackpool. Amidst all the nonsense being discussed was one genuine nugget of relevance – the realisation that the current Brentford badge is now in it’s twentieth season of use on our home shirt after first appearing on the red and white during the 1994/95 campaign.
Jamie Bates in the club programme – new shirt and new badge
The badge was designed by supporter Andrew Henning (supposedly in exchange for two season tickets) and it has been a part of our history ever since. Indeed, TV ‘astrologer’ Russell Grant even claimed to have created it himself, telling none other than Clem (of the Football League Show and Clemwatch fame) that, “I designed it, with Keith Loring”.
The current Brentford badge
This somewhat spurious claim (which you can see here, about two minutes in) was made on a Football Focus piece back in 2011. It later transpired that Grant had actually just given guidance on the inclusion of the Middlesex coat of arms found in the bottom left corner.
But this pub conversation did get me thinking all of yesterday. After twenty years, is it time for a change? This current incarnation has now been on our shirts longer than the popular ‘Castle’ badge which first appeared back in 1976. And with the end approaching at Griffin Park, could we reintroduce this as part of a ‘last hurrah’?
The Castle badge appeared (on and off) from 1976-1994)
The Castle was, of course, bumped before when it was replaced on our shirts by the centenary ‘funky bee’ before returning after a season. It was a simple design (certainly a lot less ‘cluttered’ than the current version) and one which has huge emotional significance for supporters of a certain age.
I’d love to see it back and, although it has reappeared on the current ‘retro’ shirt, that version is of a design so big it is rumoured to be the (much like the Great Wall of China) one of the few man made objects visible from space.
But if not the Castle then the other alternative under discussion was one which was first touted this time last year, when it seemed the club were looking to reinvent our first ever badge . Indeed, it got to the point where a garish 125 years graphic was designed although the club were talking about having a less cluttered variant on the shirts.
The new take on our first badge – a great centre piece, even if the surround was all a bit ‘Arsenal’
Much as I love the Castle, the thought of going all the way back to our origins was a wonderful one and it was a real shame this never put in an appearance.
Even if the exterior surround on the badge was proven to be generic rather than unique to the Bees, the interior was most definitely ours. Would it be possible to incorporate this into our kit next season?
The original badge (with a similar one from the time)
And so if anybody is reading, then I’d like to put the thought out there. Has the current badge run it’s course or is it still relevant? Should Brentford look to go for something different on our shirt next campaign? Perhaps celebrating part of our history as we prepare for the eventual departure from Griffin Park at some point in the next few seasons.
And apologies in advance but, much as I love it, should this thought be given any consideration then perhaps it is best if the Funky Bee doesn’t make any shortlist.
The Funky Bee. Destined never to appear on a shirt again
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