Another game against Manchester City. Another win for Brentford. Can we play you every week ringing around the GTech as last week’s B-team game and the earlier season triumph at the Ethiad were followed with three more points for The Bees. The only side to do the double over them this campaign and a season where we have ended it as the best team in West London. Fulham trailing in our wake. Chelsea closer to the relegation spots than Brentford. Don’t @me – the table doesn’t lie.
Ethan’s goal is celebrated in the stands (with apologies for self-indulgence.)
As ever, and for the last time this season, we look back at who shone for Brentford. Who made up the top five against City and who is our overall star player of the season. The person who has ranked up the most ‘top five’ points over the 38 games just gone.
And as ever, you can find the answers here, in the post match debrief and player ratings article. One with as much ‘other stuff’ in it this time around, reflecting on what has played out this time around, as those final standings. Enjoy…..
Brentford 2 West Ham 0. It was as routine a win and emphatic a display as one could ever hope to see. The visitors with their minds on other things although seeming to have forgotten they are still in a relegation battle – don’t @me, the table doesn’t lie. Brentford missing Ivan Toney but still at their brutal best and now looking ahead to the game at Tottenham on Saturday.
Who wears short shorts?
As ever at this point we look back to the game just gone. Who was the star player? Who made up the top five? Did anyone do sufficient from the bench to warrant a starting berth at Spurs? Did Ivan’s absence make a dent in the season long effort to find our overall top performer?
Liverpool 1 Brentford 0. A game that was as close as the scoreline suggests and, on another day, might have seen the Bees securing at least one – if not all three – of the points. That’s not how football works though and, despite Dean Smith levels of ‘deserving to win‘, we go in to Sunday’s visit from West Ham with praise ringing in the ears, confidence high but nothing further towards our final points tally following the game at Anfield.
Did Ivan make the top five? Well… d’uh!
As ever at this juncture, time to reflect. Time to consider who the star player was for Brentford? Who made up the top five? Who leads the season long quest to find our overall top performer? Did anyone do sufficient against Liverpool from the bench to make the starting XI against West Ham or will it be more of the same?
Brentford 2 Nottingham Forest 1. The Bees moving five points clear of Fulham (and about three divisions ahead of Chelsea) as the Premier League edges towards conclusion. With the trip to Liverpool next up, the European dream remains alive in the hands of Thomas Frank and his magnificent Bees.
Bees Buzzing. Tricky Trees, felled. That late, late winner celebrated in style.
As ever at this point in the weekend, we look back at the game just gone. Who shone for Brentford. Who created the headaches for Forest? Who was the star player, who made the top five and who leads the season long race to be crowned our top performer of the campaign? Could anyone break in to the starting XI for the trip to Liverpool and what were the main talking points?
Chelsea 0 Brentford 2. What a scoreline and what a game. What a triumph for Thomas Frank and what a disaster (another one) for Frank Lampard. With just five games to go – and the visit from Nottingham Forest next up on Saturday – could the Bees retain their position as the best placed club in West London? Might Europe be on the cards still?
The Premier League Twitter feed captures it perfectly
Saturday’s game with Nottingham Forest will go a long way to helping answer those but, for now, we need to look back at the game with Chelsea. Who shone for Brentford? Who was our star player? Who makes the top five and who leads the race to become our season long top performer?
A rare home defeat for Brentford. Newcastle United 2-1 winners in a game dominated by VAR and dark arts. Lucky mascot ‘Grandad’ (see last column) unable to inspire The Bees.
As ever at this juncture, we look to see who shone for Brentford. Who was star player and who made up the rest of our top five. Has there ben any change in the season long race to find our top performer etc etc.
Brentford host Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon with the sole aim of getting back to winning ways after the midweek reverse at Manchester United. A cautious opening at Old Trafford saw The Bees on the back foot and, despite our cranking things somewhat with a procession of second-half substitutes, there way no way through. Anybody wanting the deeper dive on that one (and, if nothing else, the race to find our season long ’top five’ is becoming tighter than ever) can do so here.
Supporters at Old Trafford, midweek
So, to today’s business. The game at Manchester United has been and gone. There’s no further dwelling on it. Instead, Newcastle United present the next barrier to Brentford and possible European qualification. The Champions’ League is now 10 points away and whilst I’m very much the glass half-full type, short term focus rather than longer term dreaming is probably the way to go. Focus on the task immediately at hand and let the points do their own thing.
It’s going to be a fascinating battle, that’s for sure. Newcastle are even higher up the table than Brentford and after four wins on the bounce will be looking to nail down a top three place. The’ve only conceded 20 goals all campaign whilst at the other end who could forget how they stuck five past us in the earlier season reverse at St. James’ Park?
£63m striker Aleksander Isak is on fire. Leading the line in a team Thomas Frank described in the build up as “Energetic, pressing, physical and dynamic.” Who said money can’t buy you happiness? Regular readers can, at least, take comfort in the fact that yours truly – the Jonah of Fantasy Football – has picked him in my online team.
Ivan and Bryan leading the charge against the divisions’ stingiest defence. Their challenge to find a way though what Thomas called. “A very well drilled and well picked back five,“ adding that “It looks like they’ve played together forever; they are always in the right positions and they are very good in the duels”.
All true, of course. A record that speaks for itself. Yet, at the same time, what a line up to prove yourself against. What a personal challenge for Ivan Toney who, if nothing else, once got five minutes of Premier League action for Newcastle United back in 2015 after coming on for Aleksander Mitrovic against Chelsea. What price would he worth to them now? Toney, not Mitrovic. The Serbian, of course, currently serving an 8 match ban.
Still, Ivan’s not for sale. Nor is David Raya (although picking up the signing pen wouldn’t go amiss, one can dream…..). If Newcastle’s defence is stingy then ours isn’t too shabby. Only 7(seven) clubs have conceded less this season and if it hadn’t been for the aforementioned reverse fixture, that record would be even better. Wednesday night’s reverse was only our second in 17 games. Ethan Pinnock and Ben Mee have been as colossal a centre back pairing as we have ever had the luxury of enjoying. Captain Pontus Jansson now fit again and returning alongside them to a 3 man defence accompanied by the flying wing backs.
Will there be changes in midfield? Vitaly Janelt is reportedly in contention although whether he will have to make do with a place on the bench remains to be seen. The only thing we can say for sure is that this game is about as big is it comes for both sides at this point in the season. With places in Europe up for grabs and a Premier League table that is as fluid as any I can recall in living memory, every point counts. Every win something to be appreciated for all its worth.
Looking a bit further afield, in the Championship it was a very Good Friday from some respects. The Loftus Road mob lost, again, and are falling apart in a style that makes Leeds United look like amateurs. From looking like they were on track for the Premier League back in October, now they are one place and one point above the relegation trapdoor. The prospect of all four West London clubs playing top flight football seems as far apart as ever.
Whilst we wouldn’t normally look at the Championship in these pages, there was other significant news on Friday. Namely, Burnley making an immediate return to the Premier League. Congratulations, of course, are the first order of the day. If to nobody else, then their own commentary team after that quite wonderful meltdown in our first top flight campaign. Here’s to more of the same next season.
Finally, if anybody is in The Griffin prior to kick off then please come along and say hello to Grandad, who will be coming to his first Premier league football match. He’s recovering from major surgery after takin a recent fall but the glue is holding well.
Grandad, for those who listen to Absolute Radio, not being a flesh and blood relative but, rather, the official mascot of Bush and Richie on their Hometime Show. For reasons too convoluted to share in one paragraph, he’s now in our care for the Bank Holiday weekend and being photographed in all the best places, and with the best people, that West London has to offer.
Until then, here’s to kick off. This game’s going to be huge and I can’t wait. See you there.
Manchester United 1 Brentford 0. The Bees head home from Old Trafford after experiencing what was only a 2nd defeat in 17 Premier League games. Wednesday night’s battle for a Champions League going the way of the home side. With Newcastle United smashing West Ham 5-1, Saturday’s showdown between The Bees and Magpies at the Gtech promises to be epic.
Bees fans before kick off. Does Rico make our top five?
Whilst the weekend promises much, for now time to reflect on how Brentford fared on the road. As ever at this juncture, we look back at who shone for the Bees. Who created problems for Manchester United and who is leading the top five in our season long quest find an overall star player (aswell, of course, as the game by game marks)? Will any of the subs have played themselves into contention for a starting berth when we kick off against Newcastle at the weekend?
We’ve had a solid decade of huge game following huge game yet for Brentford this really is about as big as it gets. Wednesday night sees the Premier League trip to Old Trafford where Manchester United will be a very different prospect from the side that were 4-0 down at half time when we met at the Gtech earlier in the campaign. Then there’s the visit from Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon. Like The Red Devils, a team looking for a place in next season’s Champions League. Or, should that be, like The Red Devils, Brighton and even, perhaps, The Bees? Don’t @me – the table doesn’t lie.
Put simply, with ten games to go we’re just 7(seven) points behind third placed Newcastle. Manchester United in fourth, the same. Victory in both / either fixture and it really would be dreamland for Brentford (as Tony Gubba once said). But for the last minute penalty equaliser scored by Brighton on Saturday that gap would have been even smaller (and you can catch the post match debrief and top five player ratings from that game, here).
It’s a nothing to lose and everything to gain opportunity for Brentford. We’re already safe from relegation (every club’s primary objective when the season begins). Beating last season’s 13th place would seem odds on (we’re 15 points clear of Wolves in that berth). Closer to home, Chelsea and Fulham both trail us in the battle to become West London’s best placed club. As do the Loftus Road outfit but with League One currently beckoning for (checks for this week’s manager) Gareth Ainsworth’s team, their participation in this is a theoretical one rather than anything more viable.
As it stands
For all the time I’ve been writing these columns, people have laughed. At, rather than with me. Backing the manager. Backing Mathias Jensen. Backing Sergi Canos. Backing Brentford when we sat in front of Swansea City in the Championship table even though they had three games in hand and there was only a hair’s breadth between us. Hey, we were second everyone. And they didn’t overtake us .
That’s all fine, too. Football is a game of opinion. Of personal choice. Of how much faith you are prepared to invest in your team. Without any of this it would certainly be a much duller place. So feel free to laugh it up once more but, genuinely, I’m backing us for that top four placing. It’ll be a huge ask, no question, but there’s literally no pressure on us.
On Wednesday evening we’ve got the chance to do a Premier League double over Manchester United . Not a typo. That game back in August was simply incredible. Cristiano Ronaldo’s latest hissy fit (at 2-0 down) saw a powerhouse performance from Brentford tear the visitors apart. Erik ten Hag given the rudest of rude awakenings for the challenge that lay ahead.
Brentford were amazing that afternoon with the Jensen-Toney-Mbeumo goal one of the greatest moves we’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing unfold. Christian Eriksen left in no uncertain terms by feelings of the home fans about his choice of club over the summer.
That was then and this is now. I’m not so naive enough to think we’ll get anywhere near to the same margin of scoreline. If anything, a resurgent Manchester United will be the ones looking for a 4-0 victory. They are a different beast now – as much since shedding the Portuguese show pony – and have even won a trophy (not a typo).
Not doubt Sunday’s reverse in Newcastle will be one they are looking to put behind them, fast. Whilst the 22 point gap to league leaders Arsenal will be too much to overcome, their own priority will absolutely be on securing that all important top four finish. Consecutive defeats will be the last thing on the agenda and so the pressure is all theirs ; not ours.
Yet underestimate Brentford at your peril. For all we’re still the bus stop, even Micah Richards popped up on the weekend’s Match of the Day to admit he’d got it wrong about us. This, following the Brighton highlights.
This season we’ve already beaten United, Liverpool and won up at The Ethiad in that 19/1 defeat of Manchester City. The bet placed on that one (purely for research purposes) coming in very handy. We drew at Arsenal in a game where, but for the vagaries of officaldom, Bryan Mbeumo’s early goal would have stood and then who knows what would have played out. Then, of course, its just a year ago since we blew Chelsea away 4-1 at Stamford Bridge.
The point being that with Brentford, anything is possible. Manchester United will undoubtedly be favourites on Wednesday evening. We rarely are when it comes to the big four or Liverpool. Yet time and again we’ve upset the odds. Beaten the bookies. Taken the most unexpected of points. Unexpected that is, outside of TW8.
Draw from that what you will
Whatever happens tonight when Brighton play one of their million games in hand at Bournemouth, this is all about what we can do at Old Trafford. It is , of course, a sell out and Brentford fans will be hoping we can go one better than last season. Then, for all the occasion we very much under performed. A bright start saw us eventually ground down and blown away. Fair play to the hosts. They did what they had to and got the result.
This time around we’re a different beast. The novelty factor of Old Trafford has long gone and now it is very much another BAU date in the calendar rather than a ‘new ground’ experience. The bookmakers, understandably, have United as odds on to win but in a season that has seen all manner of unexpected results, could this be another on the list?
Roll on Wednesday evening when we find out. I can’t wait for this one – see you there.
Brentford 1 Leicester City 1. The Bees head into the break level on points with sixth placed Liverpool following Saturday’s draw at the Gtech. A well earned rest now awaits those not on international duty before the trip to Brighton. For us fans, a chance to reflect once more on the pantomime theatrics of James Maddison.
Everyone’s favourite pants villain was up to his usual theatrics
As ever at this juncture, we look back at who shone for Brentford. Who created problems for Leicester City and who is leading the top five in our season long quest find an overall star player (aswell, of course, as the game by game marks)? Will any of the subs have played themselves into contention for a starting berth when the season picks up again at Brighton?
BrentfordFC 