All you need are two pints, the internet and a credit card. Can anyone swap Osca for Tracy?

Christmas Eve 2021. Mayhem and chaos run amok outside. Boris has just been on the radio telling people that the best gift you can give this year is the booster jab. F the f off you f’ing f and then f off some more with your patronising bullsh*t. Besides, we all know that the best gift would be the Brentford Adidas 80-81 home shirt, although the chances of finding one of those are about as slim as, well, no analogy needed. Please note: we would also accept the Osca 1983 shirt in any size beyond ‘spray on’. Or perhaps just Terry Hurlock’s phone number. Yet with football on pause until the festive pile up of Brighton, Manchester City and Aston Villa (we hope…..) let’s take stock.

They must be out there, somewhere? I’m too scared to approach Terry Hurlock though

The chance of being able to afford any football kit for the foreseeable has long gone. Primarily because the spare change has been spent on Christmas presents. And stupidity. Thankfully, Brentford have chosen to roll the current home shirt into next season and so that’s a few quid in the back pocket already. Although looking through the Umbro back catalogue for next week’s Manchester City programme, here’s hoping Kitman Bob has taken note of their previous templates when selecting our away / third kits for 2022. My word, they’re just stunning. Umbro rather than Manchester City. Although also Manchester City.  

The stupidity, I can only lay at my own doorstep. It’s long been said that the internet or, at least, mobile phones should come with a built in breathalyser. Some sort of sign to warn: You are too dumb to use this device safely.  Don’t send that text message. Don’t make that call. Don’t visit that online auction website. If you aren’t safe to drive you certainly aren’t safe to use anything that may commit you to flashing the plastic at a later, more sober, date. It all sounds so obvious, in hindsight. In the cold light of day.

Yet an early December evening spent in The Griffin, a very heavily Guinness infused evening, talking football, shirts and other such Brentford related nostalgia ended up with a wobble home and yours truly noodling around the darker recesses of the internet. Not like that.

Instead, it was the usual search around the various shirt sites in case one of the aforementioned holy grails had turned up. It hadn’t, of course. It never does. But, if nothing else, the more generic auction rooms sometimes have shirt related curios. And other things too.

Oh dear. Other things. The combination of a cyber-space wormhole and alcohol fuelled Christmas nostalgia meant that once the search for shirts proved fruitile (a combination of fruitless and futile) it would seem I just carried on looking. As you do. Until apparently bidding on a few other items. And I say apparently because this part was promptly forgotten about until an emailed invoice arrived at the end of last week, confirming that one of my bids had been successful. 

Crap. What bid? Where? When? Checks invoice. Ah, that bid. Yes, it all came flooding back. And there was no ebay style ‘just ignore it’ option available, given they already had my card detail hard coded in.

There was no choice. The contract had to be honoured. Payment was made. The only saving grace being that with the auction house just down the road from the in-laws, at least they were able to pick it all up rather than add crippling postage to the already brutal ‘hammer fees’. 

And so yesterday, it arrived. Or should I say, they arrived. Boxes of random toys. James Bond cars. Thunderbirds spacecraft and the year’s most in demand, must have Christmas gift. That is, if the year was 1993. Groan. Tracy Island, anyone? 

So if anybody fancies swapping Tracy for Osca, I’ll be in the Griffin for the Christmas Day pint tomorrow. Probably paid for from the pennies pot. And definitely not going online afterwards.

Have a great day, stay safe, enjoy Brighton and remember…..don’t drink and bid.

Nick Bruzon

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The good, the bad and the not so ugly. Is this the best ‘World Cup’ yet….?

Did somebody say a ’The World Cup of….’? No, not you Osman. We’ve got news of a very special Brentford related event that started to play out on Twitter last night as well as a follow up to the previous article, about ‘that’ shirt. Elsewhere the club have announced the latest guests for the now regular Saturday afternoon GPG live chat webcasts. Something which, if you’ve not got on board with as yet, are definitely well worth participating in. What else are you going to do when not watching Bees v Preston this Saturday? 

First up, the World Cup of….Brentford Shirts. Consisting of the very best of modern-era shirts, this tournament will be playing out on Twitter over the coming days. Hosted by Brentford In Colour  (@beesincolour ) it starts tonight, Thursday, at 8pm. However, pre-qualifying has already begun and if you want to include some bygone classics or even ensure that the much sought after Adidas efforts make the group stages then the vote is already live.

The new home shirt is already flying off the shelves at the Club Shop

Could any of these make the final?

I’m really looking forward to this a heck of a lot. If there was any justice, the brown/orange away shirt would win this hands down but life doesn’t work like that.  Having been given a sneak preview of the runners and riders, I’m honestly torn as to which way I’d ever vote if it came down to a one kit selection for the all time favourite. Chad? Hummel? Spall? The Funky Bee? Castle badge? Osca half and half? Pink pinstripes? The teabag back? 

This promises to be a fantastic event so please get involved.  As TV’s Our Graham (or is that Marco?) once said, “The choice is yours….”

World Cup of #BrentfordFC shirts Qualifying Group C (images of the shirts in the reply below ⬇️) #WorldCupBRE

— Brentford In Colour (@beesincolour) April 15, 2020

Pre-qualifying is now live – this, just one of the groups…

The other piece of kit related news comes c/o none other than Michael Dobson. You may recall the last piece which looked at the infamous ‘black spray paint prototype’ that was booed out of Griffin Park when it revealed to unsuspecting fans. Supporters came together to share their memories of the event and now the GPG have been in direct contact with Dobbo himself to get his take on what happened on that fateful day. And this is what he had to say:

“Yes, I remember it well. The kit didn’t go down well and we had objects thrown at us and even spat at. Not pleasant for two youth team players at the time”….

And on the question of whether there was one or two members of the youth team modelling this and if they went in different directions, he confirms it was definitely the later :

“Yes I think we did, then joined each other for part of the lap. It didn’t bother us too much, we laughed it off. It was crazy that some people wanted to show their disgust but didn’t think about the ones actually wearing the shirt when hurling coins at us”.

Absolute madness. Abuse and spitting had already been mentioned but now coins have been chucked into the mix. No pun intended. Not anybody’s finest hour in retrospect , from marketing to some fans, but at least Michael comes over as quite philosophical about it. Certainly more than I probably would have been !  Rest assured, this one has not made the final cut for The World Cup.

Finally, have you got any plans for Saturday afternoon? I know, I know. Given our game with Preston has been P-P for some reason, I had thought about going to the cinema or watching a band. But why do that when there’s another GPG webcast.

Hot on the heels of the chats with Phil Giles and Martin Allen, this weekend sees the chance to talk directly with Brentford Chief Executive Jon Varney.  Full details are on ‘official’ and include the link to the pre-registration.

You will need to do this in order to attend the session, something that takes about ten seconds, and is only in place to deter the idiots who attempted to gate crash the opening few minutes of Phil’s interview. Just make sure you have ‘Zoom’ installed on your device of choice.

Take Care. Stay safe. Get Zoom and get on to Twitter. Football may be on hiatus but there is plenty more out there to keep us involved. Stay healthy and don’t forget that you can always enjoy a variety of snacks – from chocolate to orange – as you contemplate your World Cup vote.

Mmmm. Chocolate and orange. Chocolate and orange….

 

Nick Bruzon

Umbro take Brentford Back To The Future with new shirt launch.

Dear Ryan Murrant. Could I be the first to say how much the new Brentford home shirt sucks. Except, of course, I can’t. Not even to try and get a freebie. The club officially revealed the 2019/20 Umbro kit today and, it has to be said, we’ve picked an absolute stunner for our final season at Griffin Park. The spirit of Osca 1984-85 very much reborn as Kitman Bob’s earlier promise of ‘New vibes and old skool’ has been borne out in some style.

I love it. Seriously love it. It would be no exaggeration to say this is probably our finest choice for a ‘home’ kit since the early nineties. It is about as retro as we could hope to get yet at the same time Umbro have given us something bang up to date with their first stab at a Brentford shirt. Clean lines, bold colours and instantly recognizable as ‘Brentford’.

#WeAreBrentford, indeed.

What a way to say goodbye to Adidas after a ‘partnership’ that promised much but, if we’re being honest, ultimately felt a bit flat – the yellow ‘away’ from our first Championship season and the magnificent brown and orange being obvious exceptions. The open goal of producing an ’80-’81 remake being one that the German giants very much missed. In contrast, Umbro have made no mistake when they’ve been given the opportunity to take a spin in the metaphorical Tardis with Doctor Bob.

Squint at this one and you may aswell stick on a Dire Straits LP, pop out to the cinema for Back To The Future or A View To A Kill and then lose at Wembley. It feels as close to 1985 as you can get beyond being there.

The pictures are all over the internet. And the club. And the club shop. Taking a stroll up Braemar Road on the school run this afternoon one couldn’t help but be drawn to the huge posters that are now in place showing this one off to the world.

The black v neck collar and sleeve trim. The thick red and white stripes. The new (non-gambling) sponsor. The famous Umbro double-diamond. Our club crest that is definitely a Bee. Definitely.  The detail on the back of the neck, proclaiming it to be our farewell to Griffin Park. Looking in the club shop, this is already iconography that seems sure to be repeated as the campaign reaches an emotional denouement.

Plenty of posters as well as screen shots

Downsides? Are there any? Well, we don’t have full stripes on the reverse. That’s a shame. Whilst the players will get past this with their names and numbers, for us mortals on the terrace it does present a brief flashback to the Puma teabag. Or, you could argue, the Osca 83/84 on the reverse…. Yeah. That’ll do. This is just too nice to have bad thoughts about.

Even more intriguing has been the reaction from Kitman Bob on Twitter, Can we read into this that there is even bigger and better to come with is proclamation “Sad to see 🍊 & 🍫 go 😁. But this is nice and can’t wait for the reveal of what’s to follow”

In the short term, get yourself down to Griffin Park if you are in the area. That walk this afternoon gave a further glimpse of the future. The posters all over the turnstiles and the club shop show more of how we are going to look in a few months’ time. And if you tweet a picture with the aforementioned hashtag, there’s a chance to win some Umbro ’merch’(andise).

Posters and old skool vibes are the order of the day at Griffin Park

For now, though, what are your thoughts? Good, bad, brilliant, boring? My colours are nailed to the mast. What about yours?

Nick Bruzon

 

Terry v Terry. Deano v Bliss. Who gets your vote as Bees and Bolton prepare to step back in time?

Brentford prepare to host Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, looking to put the faux pas in the FA Cup behind them and resume recent form. But for the 3-0 loss at runaway leaders Wolves, the Christmas period saw a quite wonderful return for Dean Smith’s boys. The draw at home to Barnsley was followed by that win on the road against Norwich City. This before quite comprehensively outplaying both Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday at Griffin Park. It was a run that saw Romaine Sawyers deservedly being nominated for Championship player of the month. Whilst Scott Carson of Derby County may have scooped that prize, let’s not forget Romaine also began December with a goal in the defeat of Fulham. Yet with the club preparing to use the Bolton game to go ‘back to the 80s’, can The Bees use it to get back to winning ways?

First up, Bolton Wanderers. Early season form has now dissipated. The Trotters’ former position in the basement has been taken by Birmingham City as a run of form not unlike ours has seen them start to break clear. Three wins out of the last four, including 3 pointers against high flying Cardiff City and Sheffield United, has seen them break clear of the triumvirate at the bottom. Victory tomorrow could take them to the giddy heights of 18th.

One would like to think Brentford, with key players rested last weekend, will have enough in the tank to make this another notch in the ‘W’ column. Moreso with Bolton’s top scorer Gary Madine coming under transfer scrutiny at present. Cardiff City have already had one bid turned down but with ‘the window’ open for almost three more weeks, could the club’s resolve weaken? Might this be a distraction for a player who may suddenly remember he has a sick relative in the Valleys or be suffering from a buttock spasm?

The transfer window is never a fun time. So far the Bees have, mercifully, remained free of transfer gossip or rumour. But for one desperate attempt at clickbait from Get West London (not Tom Moore), the Griffin Park in/out doors have remained firmly bolted. Then again, as was seen in the summer, we do leave it late. As things stand though, I can only take solace in the lack of any talk. At a time when the likes of Alex Pritchard are being linked with a £15M move from Norwich to Huddersfield (he was good, but £15m good? That’s a rate of inflation not seen since Lewis Grabban) then let the papers focus elsewhere.

All that angst is likely to come. There’ll be plenty of time left for us to sweat over any potential exits. Even if they do just turn out to be rumours. Instead, for now, let’s just focus on Brentford and Bolton as the club prepare to take a trip back in time. A trip back to the 80s.

Not so much the fighting, quagmire pitches, smoking in the stands, short shorts or the fanzines being sold in the street. We’ve all moved on since then. Instead it is more a chance to don your retro shirt, to vote for your player of the 80s and even welcome a few club legends back onto the Griffin Park pitch. No doubt there’ll even be an 80s inspired #BeeTheDJ (so no change to the normal soundtrack then with The Clash and Madness sure to be amongst the bands played just before kick off).

Bliss – a club legend and a classic shirt

On social media, the club have already run an article and a vote for shirt of the 80s (yours truly being given a rare run out on Brentford ‘official’ – that one’s here if you’s like to read more and check out that hall of fashion fame).

The latest survey is one to now decide our player of the decade. This is tough. So tough. Who do you go for from four top draw nominees? The colossus that is Terry Evans. The goalscoring record and iconic FA Cup strikes of Gary Blissett. The ferocity of Terry Hurlock. Or club legend, Dean Holdsworth.

At the time of writing, and half way through the 24 hour vote window, things are tight. Deano is ahead although, being quite honest, he’s not a player I’d necessarily associate with the 80s. An absolute hero in the eyes of many, myself included, but he is a player who only played a handul of games at the tail end of the decade before really making his name in that wonderful partnership with Bliss from 90-92.

Still, each to their own. I’m just pleased that the vote has seen a new picture of Bliss emerge from the archives. Rather than those two ‘stock footage’ pics of him in the 91/92 Chad kit or my crowbarred job, a snapshot of a book cover (1989’s ‘100 years of Brentford’), there’s a fetching image of him in that ‘Funky Bee’ kit. Moustache still resplendent (above).

Bliss – that iconic image (in my eyes) as Manchester City are put to the sword

If you’d like to vote then the twitter link is below. Enjoy. And good luck trying to pick a winner from these. My vote has now been cast.

So which of the four gets your vote as our Player of the 1980s 👆

— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 11, 2018

And that’s me. I’m off to see if I can pour myself into a size ‘medium’ Osca 83-84 home shirt ahead of Bolton’s visit. This could take a while. Let’s just say that time has not been kind in the battle of paunch versus 80’s fashion.

It might just have to be chinos and rolled up jacket sleeves. Unless anybody has a spare….?

Nick Bruzon

Are we taking our new shirt back to the 80’s?

The dust has settled on the new Brentford shirt and the results would seem to suggest these are nothing but hugely popular with the supporters. However, elsewhere things aren’t so cut and dried. We’ve my favourite tweet of the campaign from one Sunderland fan whilst Cardiff City appear to have done their new adidas creation on the cheap. At least when it comes to the sponsor.

First up though, one last thought on our new home and away kits. My views on this are clear and haven’t diminished any – basically fantastic. That said, I’ve seen some commentary talking about the sponsor’s logo. Not so much ‘Who are LeoVegas?’ ( as I’ve no doubt we’ll learn all about them over the coming two seasons) but more whether their branding had been airbrushed on a bit too high after the photos had been taken. Moreso, given the launch video shows the players in unbranded kit.

Brentford kit – 2017/18

Well, from what I understand the image in the photos is at the correct height and what we can expect to see next season. Personally (and, to be clear, no cash/kit has changed hands) I’m not bothered by this. In my opinion, for whatever it is worth, this makes the rest of the shirt look uncluttered and cleaner. Concentrate all the logos in one place.

Besides, it’s not as though we haven’t been here before. Not only does our new shirt bear a very familiar look to the 1984/85 kit but looking through the archives, a high sponsor was a trait common to many previous Brentford shirts. The 80’s especially saw the replica kits with the sponsor practically in line with the badge and maker’s logo. And whilst the nostalgic in me would yearn for a return of KLM (or, for that matter, how about any of our local firms along the golden mile – a Sega, GSK, JCDecaux for example?) the placement of the logo is not anything that is going to be causing me sleepless nights. The current weather does more than a good enough job of that.

High sponsors are not a new thing

Next up, Cardiff City. Whilst our logo may sit a little higher than some people are used to, in South Wales their new shirt has seen a different problem. Namely that of looking like it has been handprinted on the cheap by a bunch of bargain priced student designers.

As the Bluebirds have done since 2011, their shirt promotes Malaysia. No surprise given the connections of owner and poor man’s Bond villain Vincent Tan. But could they have chosen any more basic a font?

Wow. This really must have taken all of ten second for Cardiff to knock out. It’s unsubtle and to the point, I’ll give it that. Even if it did then put me in mind of the Viz t-shirts from the late 80s.

Cardiff City keep it basic

We’ve also looked at the new Sunderland shirt on these pages in the build up to our own launch. The high level verdict is – stinker. It would seem this is a view shared by many fans at the Stadium of Light. Yet this, for me, encapsulated it all in one tweet.

Great job, Kitman Bob!

AUTHOR’S PLUG: Along with kit talk, the other traditional thing at this time of year is the plugging of the season review e-book. Please. Stay with me – this time around it is for a great cause . All funds raised are being given to the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust. Likewise, any subsequent sales form the previous versions.

Containing the least bad of the blogs from May 2016 to May 2017 and a bit of new material too, you can pick it up, here. It’s all for a great cause and, hey, you may even enjoy it.

So why not do something great to help our club. What else will £1.99 get you? What better way to spend some time on the commute to work, the beach, by the pool or even hiding out in the toilet at work? You might even enjoy it !

For less than the cost of half a pint on match day, it’s the season review that has been designed to fit in your pocket (if you are using an i-phone).

HUGE thanks to everyone who has downloaded it so far.

Nick Bruzon

The new Brentford kit is out. What do we think?

The new shirts are here. Finally. Brentford fans have now learned what we’ll be wearing for the forthcoming season and, in the eyes of the kit nerd, we’ve hit the jackpot. What a pair of stone cold stunners. There’s a new sponsor and a goalkeeper’s shirt that catapults Daniel Bentley straight into Fyfees territory.

The new shirts have been revealed

Whenever we launch a new kit, there’s always a personal decision to be made about which shirt to go for first. Home or away? This time around, my gut reaction to that question is a clear one. Both! They really do look that good.

The home version puts me in immediate mind of the Osca produced effort from 1984/85. And that’s a very good thing. Broad red and white stripes are accompanied by a black v-neck collar and matching sleeve ends.

A flashback to 84/85?

Even the new sponsor’s logo for LeoVegas (not one I’m familiar with, even from research purpose based investment), is sympathetically incorporated into the design in red and white, rather than mounted on a panel. We’ve the famous adidas stripes on the shoulder blades (in white) and, of course, the new crest.

Personally, I love it. Great work all round! But then we get to the away kit. What can you say? Oh, wow. That is just gorgeous. There’s no other word to describe this one. Kitman Bob has pulled a thing of absolute beauty from his locker in giving Brentford our first green away shirt since the ad-hoc effort worn in 80/81.

From the strip tease published on Friday it looked as though it might be good. Further tweakery through photoshop (and a fiddle with the ‘shadows’ setting) really had hopes building. But to see it for real is just stunning.

We really have kept this simple but consummately stylish. The adidas side stripes were a common feature in the Premier League last season and I’m really pleased we’ve gone there too. Nice to see the sponsor in home trim whilst the colour of the shirt itself makes me think of Germany ‘away’. I love it. Absolutely love it. Think Kevin Keegan ranting levels of love.

Then we get to the goalkeeper’s kit. In my eyes I’m always expecting this to be green although that’s as much a long expired byproduct of growing up watching football in the 70’s. Given the away kit design then this was unlikely to happen and instead it’s yellow. Very yellow. Shorts and socks to match that shirt.

Perhaps it was just being spoiled by last season’s incredible red ‘away’ version but this may take a bit of getting used to. Then again, I’ve rarely bought the gk top and so as long as the team are happy with it, then so am I.

Overall, we’ve really hit the sartorial heights this time around. The only slight disappointment being what I gather will be a lack of long sleeved option. Then again, that seems de rigueur for adidas these days. But that’s a small gripe and certainly won’t stop me picking up both home and away.

As for the ‘third’ shirt, I understand that should one be needed then we’ll revert to last season’s ‘away’ kit. It was something we also did in 2016/17 – Newcastle away, for example. It’s hard to imagine a scenario when that might be the case this time around, given our colours, but handy to know nonetheless.

Kitman Bob, Mr. Benham, Mark Devlin and the rest of the team responsible. If you are reading (you aren’t) then for what it’s worth, I’m a very happy man today.

Now, any chance of a word about 2018/19…..?

Along with kit talk, the other traditional thing at this time of year is the plugging of the season review e-book. Please. Stay with me – this time around it is for a great cause . All funds raised are being given to the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust. Likewise, any subsequent sales from the previous versions.

Containing the least bad of the blogs from May 2016 to May 2017 and a bit of new material too, you can pick it up, here. It’s all for a GREAT cause.

So why not do something great to help our club? What else will £1.99 get you? What better way to spend some time on the commute to work, the beach, by the pool or even hiding out in the toilet at work? You might even enjoy it !

For less than the cost of half a pint on match day, it’s the season review that has been designed to fit in your pocket (if you are using an i-phone).

HUGE thanks to everyone who has downloaded it so far.

Nick Bruzon

 

Here’s the tease. Monday’s final reveal has fans buzzing as we show our green credentials.

We’re getting close. Friday saw the now traditional ’strip tease’ taking place on Twitter as Brentford fans were given a partial glimpse of next season’s kits. Initial thoughts, such as can be gleaned from the photos, are suggesting nothing but a trio of stunners. The already revealed Sheffield United and Sunderland kits being possible guidelines for the home whilst there’s huge shock on the away from with what looks like a rare foray into green. Yes. Green.

First up, the home shirt. I loved last season’s kit. Said it at the time and will stand by that until my last breath. However, I also appreciate it was a touch too heavy on the white front for some supporters. But what we have here, at least from the shrouded photos – one from the tweet itself and one from the banner that now adorns the club’s Twitter account – suggest that red is very much back in vogue. Think the Sheffield United kit we featured earlier this week but without the, albeit lovely, extraneous back.

Instead, that trim is limited to the sleeve ends and, maybe, the collar too. Those being the only redeeming features from the awful, awful Sunderland effort also referenced with the United shirt in Tuesday’s article.  It is hard to read too much into these whilst, of course, we’ve no idea what the bottom or heart of the shirt look like. Could the club be going down the route of that amazing Osca shirt from 83/84 where the stripes stopped half way up ?

But, as ever, it is when playing away that the interest really kicks in. With the home shirt you know, largely, what we are going to get. At least, colour wise. But away, anything can happen. Blue, black, yellow, yellow and black, blue and blue. These are just some of the combos we’ve featured in recent seasons. 2017/18 sees us into new ground. Green.

The potential of going green is something we talked about on these pages over a year ago. It was something noted by Matthew Benham at the time and it is something the fans, largely, warmed to. Now it looks like it is happening.

Assuming the club haven’t pulled off the ultimate double bluff and Dan Bentley is actually modelling the away shirt rather than the goalie top, then I can only salivate in anticipation at what will happen when the club go the full monty and show us what’s lurking in the shadows.

Side stripes. Yes!! Green. Yes!! A white collar with possible trim on the shoulders. That, or our model is wearing a cape. From what we can see it all looks very much Germany ’86. Which, if so, is one of THE all time football kits.

Again, as with the home shirt, the lower half has the potential to change all of this. Could there be a second colour? Or a third? Could we have trim? Motifs? Who knows. Just roll on Monday when we can find out.

As for the goalkeeper shirt, Kitman Bob pulled a surprise rabbit from the hat last year with that wonderful red. It immediately made it into my top ten all time Brentford kits and, this time around, he may have done something similar.

Dan Bentley seems to be wearing a variant on the Brazil 1998 shirt. Yellow, with green collars and shoulder trim. Oh, for him to be turning out in blue shorts and white socks too.

Come Monday and the big reveal, all of this is quite likely to go out the window. For now, there is speculation. For now there is anticipation.

For now , especially on that green away shirt, there is huge hope amongst the Brentford faithful. Just look at some of the replies to the official tweet to get a feel for what fans think.

@RobRankin: Oooooooooh

@SirFestusBurke: Please please please be a green away top!

@aawharris77: ooooh looks very green to me 🙂

@alan_pepps84: Loving the idea of a green kit for a change

@sarangipani: I love them already.

@supersalvage2: Buzzing🔥🔥

But for me, the sense of excitement was summed up not just with those moments but by Kitman Bob. He nailed it, as ever, in just eight words: Adidas web is going to be in melt down.

Who am I to argue with that? Roll on the 19th.

Along with dreaming about kit , the other traditional thing at this time of year is the plugging of the season review e-book. Please. Stay with me – this time around it is for a great cause . All funds raised are being given to the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust. Likewise, any subsequent sales form the previous versions.

Containing the least bad of the blogs from May 2016 to May 2017 and a bit of new material too, you can pick it up, here. It’s all for a GREAT cause.

So why not do something great to help our club? What else will £1.99 get you? What better way to spend some time on the commute to work, the beach, by the pool or even hiding out in the toilet at work? You might even enjoy it !

For less than the cost of half a pint on match day, it’s the season review that has been designed to fit in your pocket (if you are using an i-phone).

HUGE thanks to everyone who has downloaded it so far.

Nick Bruzon

Bees, Dragons, Saints and Imps. As one dream dies, another continues

What a night and what a result. Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar set up a Champions League qualifying tie with Celtic after sweeping aside FC Flora Tallinn 0f Estonia 2-0 ( 3-2 aggregate). In other news, Portugal edged past Wales to reach the final of EURO 2016 whilst, for Brentford fans, could the new Southampton shirt offer cause for optimism/fear?

We’ll start, briefly, in Gibraltar where the local champions set up that intriguing encounter for Brendan Rodgers in his first competitive game as the new Celtic manager. What’s this got to do with me, you may ask? Well, aside from personal pride you may recall that Brentford owner Matthew Benham’s other team, FC Midtjylland, locked horns with the Imps at this stage last season.

After a hard fought first leg the Danes eventually ran out 3-0 winners but, it would be fair to say, performances have stepped up even more since then. With a huge swathe of the national team (who of course scored their first competitive goal against Scotland) representing the Imps, anybody taking this one as a foregone conclusion would be urged to think again.

Next up , Brentford. With supporters awaiting the first news about our new kit (which, of course, has been hinted at coming out later this week), Southampton have released their latest incarnation.

Again, something which on the surface may not have much to do with us but I’m always intrigued by how manufacturers can provide a new twist on red and white stripes. And, it would be fair to say, The Saints have done that.

A shirt that may well divide fans

Along with the stripes, technical sponsor Under Armour appear to have incorporated some sort of bra motif into the shoulder panels. The closest thing I can compare it to is our own Osca 83-84  – the one with the all white top half.

Initial shock has slowly turned into begrudging admiration. I’m not sure I’d be overly pleased if Mark Devlin was to reveal this as our new design but you can’t deny it’s different. Besides, with nothing this outlandish in the Adidas catalogue, I can only imagine we’re at least a few seasons away from anything this unusual.

The other point of note around this is: manufacturers blurb. According to the website, “The stripes appear in blocks of five to represent Southampton’s five core brand values.”. Although it fails to note what these values are. Let’s hope that when our new design is revealed to the world, we avoid such nonsense.

And , finally, the Welsh dream is over. It was a stunning effort to get as far as they did and, for a while, looked as though the game was going to go all the way though extra time and beyond. In the end though, it was ‘that man’ who proved the difference.

Say what you want about Cristiano Ronaldo – and many have, myself included – but the power and technique in the header for the opening goal, which he connected with at a height of 7ft 10″,  could only be applauded.

The less said about his subsequent celebration (or that bizarre spearmint coloured kit), the better.

Nick Bruzon

Osca 83-84. Better than spearmint. No core values

 

 

Is this next season’s shirt? Plus an unexpected favour

Saturday. Brentford have another afternoon off. The price of FA Cup capitulation. With the scheduled game against Leeds United having been brought forward, we’re not even half-way towards out next outing – the televised clash with Brighton and Hove Albion on Friday evening.   Plus, Manchester United do us a favour whilst one correspondent asks if we’ve been given a possible ‘sneak peek’ of next seasons’ kit? First though, this weekend.

It always feels like we are missing out when most of our rivals are playing. One slight positive is, I guess, that the next time we all meet up the shape of our squad will be known. Will that include Alan Judge? James Tarkowski? Anybody new? With the window due to ‘slam shut’ on Monday, the time for deals is running out. That doesn’t make them any less likely, of course.

Traditionally, the final day has been anything from a sea of tumbleweed to a flurry of frenetic activity. And that’s just the onlookers although recent times have seen them absent after reporter Alan Irwin was assaulted with an ‘adult product’ . Let’s hope our ‘out door’ remains equally quiet over the next few days.

That said, yesterday saw the transfer klaxon going off at Griffin Park with the club announcing that 19 year old centre back Emmanuel Onariase has signed on a youth contract from West Ham. With Harlee Dean, Yoann Barbet, James Tarkowski and Jack O’Connell having already featured in that position this season, what does this mean for our first teamers? Could one or more be on the way out – either now or at season end ?

The situation around James Tarkowski, if not entirely clear following the respective statements, has certainly been made very public. Likewise, Harlee’s contract expires at the end of the season. One would hope that at least one of these players is in the long-term plans of our co-directors of football. We’ll see though.

Emmanuel signs and opts for scarf over shirt

The other slight plus from this weekend was Derby County being beaten by Manchester United in the FA Cup last night. As anybody who has been reading this week will be aware, I’m not particularly interested in the cup performances of Mr. van Gaal’s team.

However, the result does now mean that our game with Derby at Griffin Park will go ahead on February 20^th. Had the Rams beaten United then we wouldn’t have had a Saturday ‘home fixture’ until March 5^th against Charlton Athletic. Imagine what a long wait that would have been – over a month without a home weekend fixture.

We’d have had to do ‘that trip’ to Ikea, visit the in-laws, paint the spare room or fix the leaky tap. I can only imagine the panic over at The Griffin as takings nosedived. Thanks Man U. Please note: my interest in you is now over. Again .

And finally, fellow kit enthusiast Luis Adriano contacted me on Twitter last night with a great spot – could this be next season’s home shirt? Made by adidas, it is the away shirt for San Jose Earthquakes’ 2016 campaign.

Could we wear this next season?

As Luis noted, “not sure it would go down too well with the traditionalists” but , from a personal perspective, I have to say that I love it. Red and white stripes but certainly a little bit of a twist on the norm. Would Matthew Benham and Mark Devlin take this much of a leap into untraditional territory? Would supporters like a shirt that was this heavy on the white?

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Osca ’83-’84 home effort. The one with the all white upper half. So rare, I don’t even have one in my own collection that, otherwise, features most things from 1978 onwards (the ‘mythical’ Adidas ’80-’81 aside).

Indeed, it came second in my all time ‘top ten’ of the Bees home shirts. As was noted at the time, that one was “The Marmite of Brentford shirts. To some, an abhoration. To others (well, me) it’s brilliant”.

Would we have the guts to go this radical? Would fans warm to it? I may be shooting in the dark but it would be interesting to know.

Either way, it’s a lot better than speculating about who might be sneaking out of that window by Monday.

Osca 83-84. Loved the shirt – not so keen on the shorts.

Nick Bruzon

A week of silence provides a gem from the archives

It really has been the archetypal ‘slow news week’. Despite what seems like an eternity since Brentford went down at Derby County, there are still another five days until the chance to get back to action when Rotherham United visit. Instead, it’s been a case of relying on the Rugby World Cup, EURO qualifiers and writing programme articles for the QPR and Nottingham Forest games, amongst others, for entertainment.

Even the club website has been somewhat thin on the ground when it comes to updates of substance. There are more facts coming out of North Korea (where it is currently ‘military parade’ season) than Griffin Park at the moment. That’s no particular fault of the club – it’s just one of the prices we pay for Championship fixtures being cancelled due to an International weekend.

North Korea – a cruel regime run by a crazed despot

This morning’s front page present a meagre crop of news, with the Vibe, Judge and O’Shaughnessy in action story being the main headline to grab the attention. Quite rightly, having three players selected for various levels of International duty is something to be proud of and full congratulations are due, to all the players involved – even if the facts behind the story are somewhat shy of the truth proclaimed in the headline.

By which I mean that despite declaring that the players were “in action” the story goes on to say that, “Lasse Vibe was an unused substitute” whilst “Alan did not make the final line-up”. When I hear the word ‘action’ I automatically think about crunching tackles, screaming goals, blistering pace and resolute defending. Not unused substitutes.

It’s a pedantic point and one that shouldn’t disguise the fact that Brentford have players this close to the finals of a major international football tournament. That in itself is an incredible achievement of how far this team has come, even if we aren’t quite firing on all cylinders at present. Instead, the point is made more to illustrate just how quiet things are out there in the media at present.

Indeed, this column has been on hold for the vast majority of the time since the Derby game. Equally, that’s been as much to do with just wanting to catch my breath after the maelstrom of recent events that saw two dreadful performances following the surprise axing of former head coach Marinus Dijkhuizen. That, for reasons which are still not clear beyond unspecified differences in approach to matter on the training ground.

Instead, I’ve been preparing the ‘Kit obsessive’ articles for the next few home games. Despite the Last Word being axed from the matchday magazine a few seasons ago (hence the current ‘online’ version) I’m very much enjoying the opportunity to write the usual nonsense about the best and worst of our opponents’ kits over the years.

It is a subject very close to my heart, as the regular reader will know about the ongoing search for an Osca 83-84 or the mythical Adidas 80-81 shirt to add to my own collection. With this quest still proving fruitless, it’s been really enjoyable digging into the historical kitbag of our rivals and looking at some of the best and worst in football fashion over the years.

Osca 83-84. One of the best/worst (delete as applicable ) shirts we’ve ever worn

And not just the fashions but how they were advertised. Whilst it’s a well-known fact that footballers can’t act or sing, despite numerous attempts to prove otherwise, the converse is true. Non-footballers certainly shouldn’t try and turn their hand to the beautiful game.

Researching the Nottingham Forest article, I stumbled across this beauty from the Umbro back catalogue. Decent kits, the home especially, but could the models look any more awkward?

Roll on the weekend, please. Proper football can’t return soon enough. For all our sakes.

The early 90s were lacking the slick professionalism of the present day.Thankfully

Nick Bruzon