Bees take the points, again (but who takes a tumble dryer to the toilet?)

What a difference a few days make. From going into the weekend off the back of ‘that’ run, Brentford have come back from their midweek trip to Bristol City with another win (1-0) in the back pocket. 6 points from 6 and confidence surely surging for the trip to Leeds United on Saturday (a team who themselves made it 6 from 8  – wins, that is – as they tightened their position in the play off zone with a 2-0 defeat of third placed Reading).

Was I there? No. Did I listen? No. A Christmas party at work in which, of course, good behaviour was the order of the day (no unorthodox use of a photocopier here) meant that match oversight has been limited to a series of mid-game updates via WhatsApp – other messaging services are, apparently, available.

But what updates.

In order, these included:

A picture of something that looked like a slimmed down version of the infamous Brentford funky bee with a traffic cone in place of the customary proboscis.

Answers on a postcard, please

“Great work by Dean to keep a cool head and clear that”. (I’m presuming Harlee rather than Mr Smith.)

“Tomlin v Woods is the most hilarious short angry man battle”

“Gooooaaaallll”

“Hogan’s movement has been fantastic all night”

“FT. 0-1”

(Just) coming in from work later that night, internal monologue performing that world cup staple as scores were rechecked again to confirm exactly what had happened,  the next place to go was the video highlights. And, as ever, the BBC match report.

Both confirmed the win for Brentford, the chances created by Scott Hogan and caught the goal – a shot from distance via the boot of Romaine Sayers and (scarily)  the backside of Maxime Colin.

Scarily, you may ask? Ok – so nobody has asked but forgive me a brief indulgence. It was only yesterday that this column noted : “Create enough chances and, eventually, things will go in your favour. Something will go in off a defender’s backside.”

That’ll be the same column suggesting a return for Tom Field. Sometimes, even this numpty on the terrace can get lucky.  It was a goal described later by Dean (Smith), saying : ”I think the ball went in off Maxime Colin’s backside. Sometimes you need a bit of luck to record victories in the Championship and he will want the goal, even though it was a fantastic strike by Romaine.”

He likes his luck, does our head coach. Still, if it continues going in our favour then I’ll take that over ‘blips’ and ’skill sets’. Although, equally, perhaps a more conventional goal scoring Plan B than via  a defender’s derrière would probably come in handy, too.

Still, if that’s the worst we’ve got to worry about then one can only take the points and run. Special mention, too, for Tom Field. His third league appearance for the Bees saw his third win. That’s not a bad start to any footballing career.

Now the big question is one of whether he can he make it four in a row at Leeds United? On Saturday, those of us who have taken out a second mortgage (£37 – wow !), find out .

Nick Bruzon

Actually, there is one more big question. Whilst I may have missed the game, the aforementioned office party threw up a brain teaser of its own. Namely, who uses a tumble dryer in a toilet? My thoughts, too, yet this was the sign on the inside of the bathroom.

Anybody? Anybody…..?

Answers on a postcard, please

 

Benham? Devlin? Wickham? If Sam is away, who is driving?

Sometimes we really do need to ‘big up’ the team behind the team at Brentford. Tuesday sees the development squad host Barnsley at Griffin Park at 1.00pm  – assuming that Storm Katie, which is still battering TW8, has left the place in one piece.

Despite the frustrations that many supporters are feeling at present, there are plenty of positives to enjoy. Not least of which is the fact the our Bees are just a few wins away from guaranteeing a third, successive, season in the Championship. Honestly, if you’d been offered that four of five years ago, surely most of us would have bitten the hand off to grab that chance?

Yes – last season was stunning and the sales / managemement changes / pitch issues/ recent poor run have certainly been in contrast this time around. However, once the dust settles I’d hope we’ve all learned an awful lot more about the direction of the club and the strategy required for long term success.

Yet amongst all this have been plenty of unsung heroes. The ticket office team continue to blaze a trail as club ambassadors. I’ve mentioned them before but each dealing with them  – whether on the phone or in person – gives a renewed feeling of positivity about our club.

Buzz and Buzzette. Despite their ‘drivers’ remaining a closely guarded secret, these über-friendly faces never, ever pass up the offer of a ‘high five’ or turn down a cuddle with an adoring fan. But that’s enough about my own pre-match peccadillos.

Certainly, they are  one of the reasons my lad loves coming to Griffin Park. So much so that when I asked him on Friday, “What do you want to do next week. Anything?” his two answers were, “I want to go and watch Daddy Bees”, closely followed by “Can we play football in the park with Sam and Harlee?”

And so half-term break sees me being taken to Griffin Park by a 2 and 3/4 year old to watch the development squad take on Barnsley. “Will Buzz be there?” he asked me after I’d told him that we could, indeed, see the Bees (although unfortunately Sam was on holiday with Harlee).

Hmm. Whilst a great chance for the development squad to experience match day at Griffin Park, this was likely to be a scaled down experience with only Braemar Road open (albeit free admission). I’d imagine Buzz is lazing around the pool in his Thomas Royall’s with Sam but, you never know. Daddy will find out.

And here is where the power of social media, and Brentford brilliance, swung into action thanks to another of those ‘heroes’. Chief Executive Mark Devlin doing his Santa routine at Easter has put in a phone call to Buzz and he’s now coming back from holiday early. Just to be there on Tuesday.

Mark Devlin swings immediately into action

My own overactive imagination aside, huge thanks to Buzz for cancelling his holiday and sorting out a short notice ‘fly in’. Which, once HB had gone to sleep, did make me start to wonder how this could be arranged so quickly?

Is Buzz on 24 hour standby, like some mascot emergency service? Or could there be a new man or woman donning that famous costume just for this game?

Chris Wickham or Mark Chapman doubling up their media team duties, perhaps? Mr Benham taking inspiration from TV’s  ‘Undercover Boss’? Mark Devlin, unwilling to ‘leave a fan down’, seeing his duties through to an extreme level ? Or Kitman Bob seeing just how comfortably that XXXXXL shirt fits Buzz?

Either way, whoever is Buzz (tomorrow or any day), THANK YOU. And Mark, likewise.

Buzz does his thing against Blackburn

And just as one final thought, it was only yesterday that this column was talking about the potential catastrophe of using comedians or novelty presenters for major sporting events. Then the boat race happened and proved the point.

I’ll leave that thought with you. If you saw it, you know.

If you didn’t, then just Ask Jeeves. Or Bernard Quackenbush.

Nick Bruzon

Here come the Bees in the Championship as ‘keepers dominate.

Today’s the day! Finally, the Championship fixture list is released and Brentford find out when we’ll lock horns with the likes of Fulham, Watford, Charlton and Birmingham City (where, hopefully, we’ll see Clayton Donaldson playing for the team in red and white – ignore those rumours, folks!).

I absolutely love this time of year. It puts the next ten months into perspective as we find out if holidays clash with some vital away trip and when we can squeeze in a visit to see the mother-in-law.

The fever pitch feeling around TW8 is sure to step up a notch once we get the chance to map out 2014/15. This has already gone into overdrive with the news that 4,800 early bird season tickets have been sold. To put that into perspective, it’s almost half the capacity for Griffin Park’s home support and is a stunning effort.

In no small way is this down to the competitive level prices were kept at (to be honest, I was expecting a huge hike this season). Likewise, well done to all the staff in the ticket office who I cannot praise enough. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of dealing with them in person then you’ll know how hard the likes of Mads and Abdi work and how helpful they are.

A new season dawns over Griffin Park

Then, just to keep the excitement bubbling over, there’s the World Cup over in Brazil where day 6 action was dominated by goalkeepers. Primarily, Guillermo Ochoa who kept Brazil at bay with an immense performance as Mexico drew 0-0 with the hosts.

I can only put his exceptional display down to his shirt which seems to be the international variant of the striking design set to be worn by Richard Lee and David Button next season. As somebody who looks for omens in the smallest of things, for me this one was as subtle as being hit in the face with a wet fish by Adrian Chiles and can only bode well for The Bees.

Later that evening, Russia took on South Korea in a game that threatened to rival the previous day’s Iran – Nigeria as the most painful of the tournament. I gave up after half an hour of dreadful football which, to coin a phrase I’d heard earlier in the season, “Was like watching two pensioners trying to play X-box FIFA for the first time”.

At least the goals started to flow in the second half as the match finished one apiece. However, where Ochoa had been flawless earlier in the day, his Russian counterpart, Igor Akinfeev, had a performance he’ll want to forget about. The BBC, whose coverage of this effort is here, put it best by saying he, “has practically thrown the ball over his shoulder into the back of the net”.

The day’s other game saw Belgium perform more like seaside donkeys rather than their billing as (cliché alert), the tournament’s ‘dark horses’. A 2-1 victory over an Algeria outfit who led for most of the game was hardly the stuff to strike fear into their rivals.

Just typical I’ve got Fellaini and co in the office sweepstake.

BBC viewers saw Mexico’s Ochoa in the same design top as Brentford will be wearing next season