The good, the bad and the ugly. Brentford beat Manchester United, as things get worse for QPR. And Clem. A week in football.

Fulham did to Brentford what we’d done to QPR the previous Friday (although at least our B-team garnered some respect against Manchester United) whilst Newcastle United and Brighton are now starting to stride clear in the automatic places. The gap now five points between second and third after Huddersfield Town were held at home by Birmingham City. Aston Villa won (that’s won rather than one-one, their usual scoreline) and now sit just one point behind our twelfth placed Bees. At the bottom its a case of deja vu – Wigan , Blackburn Rovers and Rotherham continue to make up the bottom three

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 of our regular, weekly feature we look back at those things you might have missed from the world of social media.

Normally at this juncture, we start with Brentford but there’s little left to say at this point. Lewis Macleod will be out for 9 months following the injury suffered last week at QPR whilst, on pitch, we capitulated against Fulham. Dean Smith was, at least, honest as to some of his and our shortcomings.

That said, at least the B-team had some success. In one of those headlines you never thought you’d see, Manchester United were beaten 3-2 at Griffin Park on Saturday as the U-23 sides clashed in front of a four figure crowd. Well done lads – next step the first team?

Elsewhere, QPR dominated the news. Currently the worst team in West London, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was relieved of his duties after another dismal result for the Loftus Road mob. Last week’s Friday night humping by Brentford being followed by a draw with Nottingham Forest.

Sadly, the ongoing plight at Loftus Road was an accident waiting to happen. Jimmy’s tactical naivety was plain for all to see last week as the Bees took full advantage and in retrospect, might be a tad disappointed in only winning 2-0.

Whilst probably not high on his list of priorities, he may wish to update his Twitter profile which, at the time of writing (Monday,6am) seemed as out of date as his former team’s top flight status.

As for his eventual replacement… Well, I can only hope this is true?

Elsewhere, Wigan continued to struggle. Proving that relieving a manager of his duties isn’t, necessarily, a good thing.

Brendan Rodgers continues to live in a strange fantasy land up at Celtic.

Whilst in the FA Cup, it is a return for fan favourite Clem. Regular readers may recall the season long Clem watch undertaken a few years ago (and if you’d like to read more….). The correlation between the team he was covering and their subsequent failure to win a game seeming clear.

Yet this time around it was in the FA Cup where he made his name. Of sorts. His attempt at a touchline interview being well documented and, rightly, treated with everything it deserves. One can only imagine the producer screaming “get an interview” in his ear as our favourite roving reporter was sent into battle

Alfreton Town v Newport County #FACup

The best interview you'll see all day 😳 pic.twitter.com/ojWez8GbOw

— @PayetForward (@PayetForward) November 6, 2016

Clem wasn’t the only one coming in for criticism in the FA Cup. The game between Sheffield United and Leyton Orient (which came close to a bracketing at 6-0) saw the return of an old favourite. Please note: your definition of favourite may vary.

It wouldn’t be the weekly round up without mention of Manchester United and their latest catastrophe. This time it came in Europe where more defeat followed on Thursday night. Take your pick as to which of these two sums up their plight best.

And finally, a story that saw the light of day on Twitter this week but the source of which is past the usual 7(seven) day threshold. However, when something is this good it needs to be shared. Moreso, given the ongoing frustration with footballers looking to ‘go again’ after their team loses.

Step up Victor Anichebe who took the advice of Sunderland’s media team a bit too literally…

Nick Bruzon

A tale of two Steves as Dean stays in charge where it counts

With Brentford making final preparations for Saturday’s trip to Newcastle United, we can at least be safe in the knowledge that any chance of Dean Smith going to Aston Villa has now officially been snuffed out. On a day of managerial change, not only was Steve Bruce named in charge at Villa Park but Steve McClaren has, seemingly out of nowhere, been reinstalled at Derby County. The same Derby County team that we visit on Tuesday evening.

First up, Aston Villa. Despite the early talk about our own Dean Smith being linked with that one it was never anything more than a story. At least, based on outward appearances. Personally, and I said at the time, there didn’t seem any chance of this happening for multiple reasons and this has now proven to be the case.

It’s great news for Brentford and, one would hope, for Aston Villa. Some fans will be relieved they haven’t inherited the manager of a ‘pub side’. Others might have some concern about a man who was in charge of local rivals Birmingham City from 2001-07.

That latter point, aside from getting stick from the opposition fans when the two sides meet, would seem to be largely irrelevant though. As long as a team is doing well then it is an awful lot easier to look at the past through rose tinted glasses.

Then again, he walks into a hotbed of expectation.

Tim Sherwood was in charge of Aston Villa back in October 2015 (hmm, that went well). A year later they’ve been through Sherwood, Kevin MacDonald, Remi Garde, Eric Black and of course Roberto di Matteo. Twelve months on and Bruce now has what was previously described as less a hot seat and more an electric chair.

And, of course, there is the additional pressure of a hashtag. The club announced his arrival with use of this cringeworthy social media device (see also: #Jakejoins). At this rate, surely we’re only a short step away from a meme to announce a new signing?

Nobody knows how this will turn out. It’ll be fun finding out though.

Steve joins at Villa; Dean stays with his pub side

But the really interesting news yesterday surrounded Derby County and Steve McClaren. Of course,  the one time umbrella wielding manager has been there before. He and Derby parted company in 2015 amidst much interest from a Newcastle United side he would eventually join (hmm, that went well) and hot off the back of that self-destruct as they threw away an almost nailed on place in the play-offs.

Brentford were just one of the beneficiaries as the Rams somehow lost 3-0, at home, to a very average Reading side who had literally nothing to play for. Indeed, our 2-0 win over them the weekend before had further knocked the stuffing out of the Royals in their final home game of that campaign. The Bees’ reward for that capitulation,  a two legged semi with Middlesbrough. Move along, nothing to see here.

But will it work again? McClaren’s time at Newcastle was an unmitigated disaster, I’m sorry to say. He has that emotional pressure of the way his England career panned out – a disaster on the pitch and widely ridiculed off it –  whilst he is as known for his infamous Dutch accent as his two stints in charge of Eredivise side Twente. That, a role he would also be obliged to resign from.

Frankly, he seems to have more lives than a cat yet still boards come back to him. I’m not sure what just what it is that he posesses but it’s going to be interesting finding out.

Can Steve the cat stay out of the rain this time?

Both Bruce and McClaren will have expectation from their own fans aswell as heckling from the visiting supporters to deal with. In the case of Aston Villa, one can only assume this will be limited to a few games here and there – the Birmingham s and Wolves of this world. But for McClaren, with terrace wags knowing just how many roles (and play offs) his teams have eventually choked, he could be in for a rough ride should things not get off to anything but a flier.

Forget the weight of expectation, that umbrella is the real baggage he carries around with him. Here’s hoping it is still weighing him down when Brentford visit on Tuesday.

Before that, though, is the small matter of our visit to Newcastle on Saturday. The Bees will be there in huge numbers, with chief executive Mark Devlin giving local journalists a free story with his latest ’tweet’ on ticket sales. For a club our size, the travelling fans have always gone in impressive numbers and this is no different.Close to 3,000 for the long trek up to the North-East isn’t to be sniffed at.

Great work, one and all. Let’s hope the team, and Dean Smith – our head coach – do them justice on the pitch.

See you there.

Ticket update: Newcastle 2750, Derby 510 ( 5 coaches so far), QPR 1600. QPR will go on general sale, 2 per person from Friday. #brentfordfc

— mark devlin (@markdevlin7) October 12, 2016

Nick Bruzon

The stuff of dreams or nightmares?

As Brentford prepare for the trip to Charlton Athletic, the future of manager Mark Warburton (whether short or long term) remains no clearer. The only thing we can say is that he won’t be going to QPR, at least this season. Loftus Road chairman Tony Fernandes has now followed up the announcement that he had got his ‘dream manager’ by revealing the appointment of caretaker Chris Ramsey until the end of the season. Truly, the stuff of dreams.

To read the rest of this article, season 2014/15 is now available to download onto Kindle (and other electronic reading device) in full. Containing additional material and even some (poor) editing, you can get it here for less than the cost of a Griffin Park matchday programme or Balti Pie.

Thanks for reading and all your comments over the course of the season. For now, I need to make more space on the site for any follow up. However, ‘close season’ will continue in full, further on.

The latest managerial updates provide stark roundup

A day spent rooting through the detritus of Brentford’s defeat to Watford on Tuesday night and all the fallout from the club’s statement regarding Mark Warburton ended with little satisfaction and even more mystery. Indeed, with Aston Villa sacking Paul Lambert and QPR failing to appoint Tim Sherwood (a man linked with more vacancies than The Bates Motel) the managerial merry go round seems set to gather pace.

To read the rest of this article, season 2014/15 is now available to download onto Kindle (and other electronic reading device) in full. Containing additional material and even some (poor) editing, you can get it here for less than the cost of a Griffin Park matchday programme or Balti Pie.

Thanks for reading and all your comments over the course of the season. For now, I need to make more space on the site for any follow up. However, ‘close season’ will continue in full, further on.

Slow news day? Surely this can’t be true?

I love an unusual headline – whether it be on the internet or the local press. But the one which appeared about QPR boss Harry Redknapp yesterday (or, should that be, former QPR boss Harry Redknapp) had me performing a double take. And moreso because of the immediate knock on this could have for Brentford and our own manager, Mark Warburton.

Harry Redknapp is no more (at QPR)

I can only wish Harry well although the whole thing does seem to smack of, what we could politely call, unfortunate timing. He waits until immediately after the transfer window has slammed shut, having failed to spend any money (a feat as rare as three points on the road for the Loftus Road mob), before deciding he has to walk away – although I apologise if that’s probably not the best choice of phrase in the circumstance.

And the Brentford spin off? Well, checking the shortlist for his successor, the bookmakers have Warbs at fourth favourite to be leaning out of a car window in the next transfer window.

However, before anybody gets overly concerned, Tim Sherwood is streets ahead at 1/10. ON. Indeed £18,269 of the first £18,763 was on the former Tottenham boss taking over at Loftus Road. Indeed, given the talk at the Brentford fans’ forum I think it safe to say that Warbs isn’t going anywhere for a while.

That said, it is always flattering to be associated with a top flight club and symptomatic of the success our manager (who you may not be aware is a former city trader) has had since taking over from Uwe.

So rather than worrying further about whether Warbs will be heading down the road, we’ll end this article here. Instead, here are a few comedy headlines. Whilst they may not have the same impact as the Redknapp knee, who doesn’t like a bit of ‘cow chaos’ ?

From our first away game of the season

Disturbing news from the world of theatre, via the BBC

The first of two entries from the Argus

Life imitating art

The Argus strikes again

But our winner is…