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31 Oct 2015

Brentford 1 QPR 0. A view from the cheap seats

The last time Brentford beat QPR was in 1965 and not so many of the capacity crowd last night were even born then. This game was thus a time for celebration. A capacity crowd of over 12,000, some useful money from Sky for live coverage, and the fourth consecutive victory in a season when 2 weeks ago some wondered if we would win 4 games all season. All achieved with eseentially the same players. There is no need to give a match report and all Bees fans were there or watching on TV. A high tempo game, maybe too scrappy in parts. If I were a betting man i would place good money, and lots of it, on QPR not only failing to gain promotion this season but also failing to get in the play offs and sacking their manager certainly this side of xmas.

Some of the peripheral things around a capacity crowd caught my eye last night. How good does Griffin Park look under lights, how scary burger sellers can look ( a lovely man actually and a nice burger too) and the strange things one finds on top of cars parked in the Watermans car park .

The firework or whatever incendiary device it was certainly lit up Griffin Park after the goal. A great night. What price a second victory at Loftus road later on in the season?

Posted in brentford, football and tagged ADHD, airport, art, aviation, BA, barcelona, beach, beer, bees, benalmadena costa, birds, birds of prey, breakfast, brentford, brentford fc, brentford v qpr, british airways, burger, cars, carshalton, carshalton fc, cayman islands, championship, charity, chelsea, cobham, cricket, death, dinner, FA, FA Cup, farne islands, firework griffin park, food, football, gaming, garden, grand cayman, griffin park, Heathrow, hedgehog, hedgepig, holiday, hotel, iceland, imber court, indianapolis, italy, kingston, league 1, live football, london, london city airport, marriott, marriott hotels, Met Police, met police fc, motspur park, murder, music, nature, new malden, nonleague football, northumberland, painshill, painshill park, paintings, photo brentford v qpr, photo firework griffin park, photography, photos, police, premier league, rain, ryman, ryman league, ryman league crowds, ryman premier, ryman south, scary burger seller, school, scotland, sky, sky brentford, sky tv, slovenia, snow, soccer, spain, sports, Sri Lanka, stockholm, sun, surrey, sweden, terminal 5, tooting, transportation, travel, UK, USA, uwe rosler, vacation, vincent van B, walton, walton and hersham, walton and hersham football club, walton casuals, watermans, watermans brentford, watermans car park, weather, winter | Leave a comment

18 Oct 2015

What else is there in Brentford apart from the football club?

Brentford is a town in middlesex not really known for anything but over the last year became fairly well known in the media for their football related antics. The Warburton issue reached the media followed by the discussion over Matthew Benham and his vision of football being matched with mathematical modelling to replicate the success of his own company SmartOdds.

However what else is there in Brentford? Brentford might be regarded as the gateway to the M4 motorway, or local even to Kew Gardens. However not so many are aware that Brentford sits on the River Thames. Fewer will be aware that the Watermans Centre provides a venue for cinema and drama. Even fewer are aware that the graffiti that covers the walls of the car park in the Watermans Car Park must rate as some of the best in London.

Graffiti Brentford in the Watermans Car Park Brentford. Copyright Chris Bushe 2015

Posted in football, graffiti, london and tagged art, aviation, benham, best graffiti, best graffiti london, brentford, brentford fc, car park, car park brentford, car park graffiti, cobham, graffiti, graffiti brentford, graffiti london, graffiti photos, kew, kew gardens, london, london graffiti, M4, matthew benham, middlesex, motorway london, paintmypanda, photo river thames, photos graffiti, river thames, river thames photo, smartodds, thames, watermans car park, watermans centre, www.paintmypanda.com | Leave a comment

18 Oct 2015

Was Brentford 2-1 Rotherham one of our most important games ever? A few thoughts and photos

This might sound ridiculous to the casual football observer and critic but this game rates up there with play off finals in order of its importance. The increasing turbulence and mutterings of discontent against the owner, manager,players and no doubt the programme sellers has been assuming absurd proportions. Last season was a one off. A group of committed players, playing well beyond their potential at times, a few good slices of luck and importantly a relatively injury free season allowed the stars to align and Brentford to achieve an outcome almost undreamt of.

This season has been a disaster so far this is true. Some of the more worrying elements come in almost forgotten metrics such as a significantly reduced number of travelling fans, less vocal support from the home crowds and most worryingly for me, the reduced tempo and work rate that has been the norm this season. Of course the results are important but the manner of the performances are what dictates the pleasure or displeasure levels of the Brentford faithful.

What we saw yesterday was a spirited performance that maybe deserved the 3 points despite being at times the weaker side. The work rate was high and the effort cannot be faulted. The performance of Jake Bidwell was one of his best in a Brentford shirt.

There can be no doubt we were lucky to win and the neutral observer would have scored this as a draw. An exciting game played by two teams who found it difficult to defend well.

The three points are like gold dust. They give us some breathing space, introduce a winning mentality confidence and importantly consign Rotherham to at least another week below us in the relegation zone. That we are beating the weaker sides is actually very important. All the three sides we have beaten represent sides that will be in bottom 8 places come the end of the season. Relegation for Brentford would herald another difficult mountain to climb to escape League 1 and we can see how difficult that is for large clubs such as Sheffield United. However this season ends we need to end it in the Championship and one can argue that the re-building process can now resume. I personally think some of the new signings will be successful at Brentford and some will not. I also think based on yesterday that Lee Carsley is moulding a unit in his style of play, more rugged and physical than maybe we have been used to. Let us see how that works out.

Posted in football and tagged ADHD, airport, art, aviation, BA, barcelona, beach, beer, bees, benalmadena costa, birds, birds of prey, breakfast, brentford, brentford captain, brentford fc, brentford photos, brentford support, brentford v rotherham, brentford v rotherham 2015, british airways, burger, cars, carshalton, carshalton fc, cayman islands, championship, charity, chelsea, cobham, cricket, david button, death, dinner, FA, FA Cup, farne islands, food, football, football photos, gaming, garden, grand cayman, griffin park, Heathrow, hedgehog, hedgepig, holiday, hotel, iceland, imber court, indianapolis, italy, jake bidwell, john swift, kingston, league 1, lee carsley, lionel road, london, london city airport, marriott, marriott hotels, matthew benham, Met Police, met police fc, motspur park, murder, music, nature, new malden, nonleague football, northumberland, painshill, painshill park, paintings, photography, photos, police, premier league, rain, relegation championship, rotherham, rotherham fc, ryman, ryman league, ryman league crowds, ryman premier, ryman south, school, scotland, sergi canos, sheffield united, slovenia, snow, spain, sports, Sri Lanka, steve evans, stockholm, sun, surrey, sweden, terminal 5, the size of steve evans, tooting, transportation, travel, UK, USA, uwe rosler, vacation, vincent van B, walton, walton and hersham, walton and hersham football club, walton casuals, weather, winter | Leave a comment

14 Oct 2015

Molesey 2 Carshalton 1

A few photos from an entertaining game that really might have been a draw. The floodlights were the poorest I have personally ever photographed under and their variability of light meant the pitch was in essence a huge chessboard where only some areas could realistically be used to get photos from. A crowd of 96 souls braved the chilly evening to watch the game.

Luke Colquhoun

Craig Lewington

Posted in football and tagged aaron moody, adam thompson, ADHD, airport, art, ashby charles, aviation, BA, barcelona, beach, beer, bees, benalmadena costa, birds, birds of prey, bobby price, breakfast, brentford, brentford fc, british airways, burger, cars, carshalton, Carshalton Athletic, carshalton fc, cayman islands, charity, chelsea, cobham, craig lewington, cricket, dan summers, death, dinner, FA, FA Cup, farne islands, food, football, gaming, garden, grand cayman, griffin park, Heathrow, hedgehog, hedgepig, holiday, hotel, iceland, imber court, indianapolis, italy, jake downs, kingston, league 1, lee hall, liam allen, london, london city airport, luke colquhoun, luke pigden, marriott, marriott hotels, matt willard, Met Police, met police fc, molesey, molesey fc, molesey v carshalton photos, motspur park, murder, music, nature, new malden, nonleague football, nonleague photos, northumberland, painshill, painshill park, paintings, photography, photos, police, premier league, rain, ryman, ryman league, ryman league crowds, ryman league south, ryman premier, ryman south, school, scotland, slovenia, snow, soccer, spain, sports, Sri Lanka, stockholm, sun, surrey, sweden, terminal 5, tooting, transportation, travel, UK, USA, uwe rosler, vacation, vincent van B, walton, walton and hersham, walton and hersham football club, walton casuals, winter | Leave a comment

04 Oct 2015

Favourite Football Photos of this weekend

Carshalton AFC Juggling

Chasing Shadows

Leighton Town FC
Two headed monster

Almost a goal but not quite. Carshalton v leighton

Sam Muzarek

Hand ball

Posted in architecture, beef wellington, best football photos, best keeper, biscuit, bobby price, boston, bridge, cat, championship, championship goalkeepers, city of culture, clarion gothenburg, clarion post, colston avenue, darryk murphy, david button, different languages, dragonfly, food, food photos, football, fried breakfast, garden, gas, glasgow, goalkeepers, history, ice cream, Insects, jake bidwell, jonathon douglas, liam moore, lilacs, mayflower, miss of the century, own goal, painshill bridge, painshill park, Park, pilgrim fathers, plants, poppy, restaurant, restuarant, ryman, sam muzarek, slider, sliders, slovenia, sweden beggars, usa, usa language, usa talk, wildlife and tagged brendan rodgers, brendan rodgers sacked, carshalton, Carshalton AFC, FA trophy, football, football photos, leighton fc, leighton football, leighton town fc | Leave a comment

04 Oct 2015

A Visit to Carshalton AFC. Great Photographic Matchday Experience

The great thing about non-league football is the ability to get up close to players and spectators alike. Stand where you want to and talk with whom you like. For me Carshalton is one of the friendliest places to watch football and always a good matchday experience. Decent burgers too. The new 3G pitch adds a little more interest to the visit. A few photos just to give a flavour.

Colston avenue Carshalton AFC

Sam Muzarek

Colston avenue Carshalton AFC. Freds End

Colston avenue Carshalton AFC

Alex Woodfine. Carshalton v Leighton FA Trophy 2015

Leighton Town FC
Two headed monster

Posted in football, Uncategorized and tagged alex woodbine, alex woodfine, burger carshalton fc, Carshalton AFC, Carshalton Fans, carshalton manager, chris blanchard, good burgers carshalton, leighton, leighton fc, leighton fc photos, matchday experience, nonleague matchday, nonleague photos, photos carshalton fc, sam mazurek | Leave a comment

02 Oct 2015

What is going on at Brentford and what is needed right now

After the farcical events of the last month we need to briefly recap.

We employed an unknown manager and he has been sacked after 8 games.
The results were not the issue but other factors which have not been specified.
Mitigating factors include an unforseen series of injuries
The new manager given the role till the end of the season does not want the job permanently.
Brentford are heading for the relegation places, potentially this saturday.

What has gone wrong? Last season the fans were all together as a unit. Crowds were growing. The ground was sold out most games. Away travelling fans increased in numbers. This season that is all in reverse with 126 fans travelling to Middlesboro for a midweek game. My own view is this. The results have been poor but the performances poorer. A definite lack of tempo compared to last season ( this translates in my language to lack of effort), lack of leadership on the field. Would any away fan during the game be able to spot who the captain was? The quality of the play has been poor. The new players have mostly failed to be as good as the departing ones and certainly not better. And the defence has got worse, and frankly it was bad last year. Brentford are regularly conceding two or more goals each game.

So we need this

A clear statement from the board about the long term managerial situation
A statement from Matthew Benham regarding these matters, his plans and an explanation for what has happened
A new captain on the field.
A new defensive coach
A far higher tempo to the play
some stability for the next 6 months such that we can avoid relegation.

Anyone who thinks we are immune from relegation please think again. We have beaten only two of the poorest sides in the division so far and lost to sides that frankly are mediocre. But importantly we need to see something from the players. management team and board that we as fans can identify as an explanation for what has happened. We need to be able to get behind the team again and give them support. This is not easy when we have no clue what is going on.

Putting out the fires at Griffin Park?

The sun going down on Brentford dreams?

Posted in football and tagged ADHD, airport, art, aviation, BA, barcelona, beach, beer, bees, benalmadena costa, benham, birds, birds of prey, breakfast, brentford, brentford fc, brentford fc issues, british airways, burger, cars, carshalton, carshalton fc, cayman islands, charity, chelsea, cobham, cricket, death, dinner, FA, FA Cup, farne islands, food, football, gaming, garden, grand cayman, griffin park, Heathrow, hedgehog, hedgepig, holiday, hotel, iceland, imber court, indianapolis, italy, jake bidwell, kingston, league 1, lionel road, london, london city airport, marinus dijkhuizen, mark devlin, marriott, marriott hotels, matthew benham, Met Police, met police fc, motspur park, murder, music, nature, new malden, nonleague football, northumberland, painshill, painshill park, paintings, peter gilham, phil giles, photo griffin park, photography, photos, police, premier league, rain, rasmus ankersen, ryman, ryman league, ryman league crowds, ryman premier, ryman south, school, scotland, slovenia, snow, soccer, spain, sports, Sri Lanka, stockholm, sun, surrey, sweden, terminal 5, tooting, transportation, travel, UK, USA, uwe rosler, vacation, vincent van B, walton, walton and hersham, walton and hersham football club, walton casuals, weather, winter | Leave a comment

13 Sep 2015

Whats is it like to watch youth team football? Worth it? Brentford Under-18s

My first experience of watching youth team football was around a year ago when i began photographing some of the Under 18 games at Brentford. The first thing that surprised me was the huge variability in size of the players. Some looked more like 25 and some 15 years. The second thing was the real quality of the football. What was missing was the majority, not all, of the thuggery and cynical fouling that one sees week in and out in the football league. Dont get me wrong there is some strong tackling but not so many cynical fouls. The football standard is hard to gauge but maybe around Ryman Premier standard and on bad days Ryman South. Crowds tend to be small and some bring chairs to sit on not unlike a cricket game. Most of the noise comes from the players. Games are generally played on training pitches, so no stands and terracing. Games get videod.

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Personally I would happily watch this level of football on a regular basis. If a few more folks would come down that would further improve the atmosphere.

Watching youth team football at Brentford training ground

all the 4’s.Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Watching youth team football at Brentford training ground

The Crowd https://arcticterntalk.org/2015/09/13/whats-is-it-like-to-watch-youth-team-football-worth-it-brentford-under-18s/

Posted in football and tagged brentford, brentford academy, brentford fc, football, hounslow, huddersfield, jack boyle, jersey road, middlesex, middlesex football, nonleague football, training ground, under 18, under 18 football, youth team, youth team football | Leave a comment

13 Sep 2015

Brentford 1 Huddersfield 2 Under-18

Despite threats of rain the sun came out and gave decent conditions for this saturday lunchtime game. The reality was that this was an easy win for a Huddersfield team that showed more physical strength than Brentford but all 3 goals were scrappy, with some doubt over the second Huddersfield goal which looked offside.

For those not familiar with this standard of football it is mostly played in decent spirit however Huddersfield did resort to timewasting from their goalkeeper as early as the 60th minute and a few cynical tackles from both sides. The last 10 minutes was frantic after Brentford scored a scrappy goal and four yellow card in four minutes summed up the frenetic nature of this last 10 minutes.

The standard of football is good with a lot of skill but it seems that physical strength plays a large part at this level in terms of results when the average age of the side is low. One player stood out on the pitch, the Huddersfield number 7, Jack Boyle. He displayed stamina, strength, skill and and effort. He is the player to watch here.