Bustin’ makes me feel bad. Will Saturday be more Riley than Winkleman?

Brentford take on Charlton this Saturday, hoping for more of the same after cruising to a 3-0 victory at the Valley back in October. That result saw Addicks manager Guy Luzon, erm,  losing his job immediately afterwards and the Bees put in as one sided a performance as we’ve seen all season – even moreso than Wolves last Tuesday .

It was a game which had been completely at odds with Luzon’s first matchin charge of Charlton, their 3-0 win over Brentford that came at the height of last season’s Village-gate affair. That was a woeful performance from the Bees which, despite Warbs denial at the time, seemed to suggest a squad in disarray with just one thing – their manager’s future – as a point of focus. Thankfully, the Bees picked themselves up from that and confounded the expectations of most onlookers to make the play-offs. Where normal service resumed .

Last season, Village gate saw a real low at Charlton

And, of course, we couldn’t take this briefest of looks at recent encounters without a nod to Tommy Smith. It was he whose late equaliser secured a point in our first ever Championship game – the season opener at Griffin Park back in August 2014. How the place erupted and then gasped as Alan Judge almost stole a late winner, hitting the crossbar with a freekick taken deep in Saunders Territory.

So in 18 months our three games have turned out as D,L and W. What will it be on Saturday?

Dean Smith spoke yesterday in an article on the official site where they did their wonderful trick of warming us up for the quote by giving us the quote, noting: Dean said the only target for the team between now and the end of the season is to win as many matches as possible. If anybody was in any doubt, the next line proved this as readers were advised, “We don’t want to target this or that but our aim is just to finish as high as we can and to win as many games as we can,” said Dean.

Dean went on to add that he hoped to “get that winning mentality back” . It looked like that might happen after the Wolves game before normal service resumed at Rotherham United. 2 wins out of 11 in 2016 are a poor run for Dean and I would question that to get something back, does he not have to have had it in the first instance ?

Then again, if we play like we did against Wolves anything is possible whilst Charlton’s confidence must be as low as that of the team behind the forthcoming Ghostbusters movie. The trailer for this being universally panned upon release yesterday and the unfunniest thing I had the misfortune to sit through all week. At least, until I saw Claudia Winkleman standing in for everbody’s favourite mathematical model, Rachel Riley, on ‘8 out of 10 cats does Countdown’ last night.

How can it be THIS bad?

Still, it has been a week generally filled with more disappointment than a post match press conference for the development squad (whatever the score, the interviewee always seems ‘disappointed’). Ghostbusters and Winkleman aside,  Saturday saw that game at Rotherham United whilst Sunday saw the worst ever James Bond theme, Sam Smith’s title track from the otherwise excellent Spectre, pick up an Oscar. This, an effort so bad it had ousted Madonna’s ‘Die another day’ from the bottom of the ‘Best Bond’ list yet here it was being honoured in the most public of fashions.

Sometimes, life just isn’t fair. As Dean Smith would recognise, performances don’t always get what they are due. Let’s just hope that tomorrow we do what, honestly, we should. With a trip to Loftus Road the following weekend, we need everybody brim full of confidence.

Fingers crossed that Saturday is more Rachel Riley than Claudia Winkleman.

artists impression of a mathematical model etc etc

Nick Bruzon

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More important things afoot for Bees than the Chelsea result

Any mention of Chelsea yesterday would, understandably, have had most people focused on the so-called ‘special’ one and his sacking (please note: your definition of the word ‘special’ may differ from Mr. Mourinho). It takes a special kind of person to be sacked from the same job, by the same man, twice.

As Oscar (Wilde) didn’t, quite say : “To lose one job may be regarded as misfortune but to lose it again is just carelessness”.

Special? Garbage

But whilst this news may have been a shock for many, there was an even bigger one at Cobham than the post dinner discussions as Kevin O’Connor’s development team took on a Chelsea XI in a friendly and went down 3-2.

In this day and age a win for any Stamford Bridge outfit is, I suppose, deemed an upset but that wasn’t the talking point. At least not for Brentford fans. We had some very positive news on the injury front – Lewis Macleod is back.

Lasting a full hour before being subbed, Lewis began his latest comeback alongside the likes of Philipp Hofmann and Yoann Barbet under the watchful eye of Head Coach Dean Smith. Indeed, Dean later noted, “The fitter these boys are then the more options we have in the coming weeks.”

An obvious observation perhaps (and you can read the full piece on the official club site) but it is most telling in the case of Lewis.

It doesn’t need me to remind anybody of the fitness issues he has had since signing from Rangers almost 12 months ago. Comeback after comeback has been blighted by twinges, knocks and pulls whilst the case of his ‘tripping over a twig’ on the training ground has been well documented. But now, it seems, he is back in the right place.

And with that run of three games (Walsall, Middlesbrough and Burnley) coming up in early January, could the moment almost be upon us? Certainly it would fit with Dean’s own timescale as to when the option would be available to him.

Brentford fans are desperate to see this much-touted prospect in action having heard nothing but good things from Rangers when Mark Warburton signed him. Indeed, I struggle to recall a Brentford player who has so much felt the weight of expectation on his shoulders since signing for the club. Although given his bad luck, even that would probably cause a dislocation.

The other news of interest from the Brentford website is that, apparently, we now have a sister club in FC Midtjylland. Whilst Matthew Benham’s ownership of both teams is well documented, as is the additional role played by Rasmus Ankersen as our co-director of football/ their chairman, I was unaware we were now linked in that official a capacity.

Sister

Perhaps it passed me by but if so, can we now expect a shuffling of players between the two teams? Likewise, supporters? Certainly the latter option would seem to be on the cards being as we are being asked if anybody would be interested in a trip to the theatre. Of Dreams, that is, where the Danes are taking on Manchester United in the Europa League.

In what for me at least would be the ultimate in football tourism, its one I’ll certainly be passing on. If nothing else, we have a game against Wolves just two days prior. Being quite honest, watching Manchester United trying to save face after failing to escape the Champions League group stages (something even Chelsea accomplished) fills me with about as much excitement as being faced with the forthcoming surfeit of sprouts.

Good luck to anybody who wants to go. Its just not for me. If its all the same, I’d prefer to focus on Huddersfield Town tomorrow and the glut of games that are about to come our way.

Hey, by the time we get to that Wolves game Lewis Macleod might even be a first team fixture.

Nick Bruzon