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21 Feb 2016

A Lot of Questions at Brentford Football Club

A miserable afternoon ended with Brentford losing 1-3 to a moderate Derby County side. But for many grumbling Bees fans that was not the main issue. More worrying aspects include the recent sale of key players, no replacements, absence of anything resembling a striker who scores goals and seemingly a roulette wheel that randomly chooses the midfield players. And more importantly deafening silence from the hierarchy as to what is happening and what the plans might be.

For some reason that I cannot begin to fathom two of the better players were left on the bench when the team were crying out for creativity and players that in football fan parlance ” make things happen”. Sergi Canos and John Swift. Swift has his critics, but I am not one of them. He is not the box to box midfielder that maybe Douglas was, but he has far superior skill and this is his first season playing competitive football. The roulette wheel was spun and out popped Kerchbaumer and Yennaris.

The first question is what exactly do either of these two bring to the team? Yennaris to be fair shows some promise as a potential wide midfielder , but not I hasten to add as a first-choice, and surely not ever as a combative central midfielder. And anyone who reads the Sky report on the game would have read words ” a lack of presence in midfield”.
The second question is why we persist with a non-goalscoring non-forward, Lasse Vibe? Vibe began the season as a wide midfielder and looked comfortable there and scored goals. Sky report a ” toothless attack” and many fans would say we have an absence of attack.

Frankly Derby outplayed and outfought Brentford all game bar the 15 minutes following a superb solo effort from Alan Judge, who must be wondering what he is doing in this team and how so much can go wrong from 4 months ago. Many fans have that question too. Is Dean Smith not the man for Brentford? I have no opinion on that but am questioning his team selection. The Derby fans also witnessed their first victory since Xmas.

A bigger problem though is the size of the Brentford players, who often looked like midgets when compared with the larger size specimens on display from Derby. Woods, Vibe, Judge, together equal the size of a single large Bradley Johnson. Physicality is needed in this league and in this regard Brentford are not competing .

In fact in general Brentford are neither competing nor explaining to the fans how they plan to compete. If ever a time for a Fans Forum it is now. But there is a deafening silence from the owner and his minions.

Many worried faces today and few signs that anything will improve soon. And who chose these players and on what grounds were they chosen. There was clear evidence of fan disenchantment today that is increasing by the game. One win in nine games is not acceptable. Not to the fans anyway.

Posted in brentford, Uncategorized and tagged alan judge, bradley johnson, brentford, brentford fc, Brentford Football Club, brentford new stadium, championship, derby county, derby fc, douglas, jonathon douglas, KK, konstantin kerschbaumer, lasse vibe, matthew benham, phil giles, rasmus ankersen, ryan woods, vibe

23 Jan 2016

All Football Fans Should Consider supporting The Charlton Petition

Many football clubs go through lean patches for various reasons, sometimes chance, sometimes bad management, sometimes overpayment of players. But there has been a plethora of clubs just so badly managed for reasons that often defy reality that deserve the support of all football fans.

As a Brentford fan we have had our share of problems with owners such as David W£bb in the past and have come through to be a much stronger club. Clubs like Exeter City are essentially fan owned. So my sympathies are with Charlton who have always been a decent a friendly club that can be epitomised by their own fans clearing The Valley of rubbish such that they move back in not so many years ago.

Charlton are going through tough times and the fans view is that there is serious mismanagement .They have started a site where most information can be found.

http://ourcharlton.org.uk

This is the essence of what they are saying, but I urge you to visit their website for the full information and to sign the petition. The photograph below is of Brentford who are lucky enough to have Matthew Benham as an owner, but without him who really knows where we would have been.

We want our Charlton back
We demand that the current owner of Charlton Athletic, Roland Duchatelet, takes every step to find a successor (or successors) who understands how to run a football club, is willing to invest sensibly in the team and appreciates the critical role of fans in building success. We want Roland out – before it’s too late.

Posted in championship, football, Uncategorized and tagged alan judge, barbet, championship, charlton, charlton athletic, charlton fans, charlton football club, charlton football fans, charlton petition, fan owned clubs, football, greenwich football, james tarkowski strike, league 1, matthew benham, ourcharlton.org.uk, roland, roland duchatelet, south london, the valley, we want our charlton back | Leave a comment

17 Jan 2016

Non-League Football At Carshalton AFC Restoring Some Sanity After Crazy Week For Brentford

Some weeks in football terms are best forgotten. Simply a bad week in the life of Brentford football club. A free saturday afternoon meant that I could go in search of a non league football game that might restore my sanity and belief in football as a game.

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My first choice for a game is nearly always Carshalton Athletic who play in the Ryman South league and are assembling a young and enthusiastic side who are not paid the kind of excessive wages that some non league sides have resorted to in an attempt to buy success. Their season is a good one so far and they sit on the edges of the play off positions.

The ground is on the outskirts of Carshalton with a decent amount of parking at the ground. The terracing would grace many lower league grounds and a crowd of 257 gave a decent atmosphere.

The first thing one notices is that it is easy to walk around the whole ground so you not trapped in one zone all game. The food is generally better quality than league grounds and generally cheaper. One also has to mention the 3G pitch of which I am a fan and the ability of games to go ahead in often highly inclement weather.

The football played could be described as robust, a few tackles flying in which on a different day might have led to a few yellow and red cards. But the game and the result mattered to the 22 players out there. The physique and fitness may not be a league standard but these guys ran, well mostly, for 90 minutes.

Local builders did not seem to be doing much building during the game from their high perch behind the goal.

Away support at this level is varied but I had an excellent conversation with the seemingly sole South Park fan standing behind the goal.

People come for different reasons and many nowadays bring cameras, including myself, and some excellent photos end up online post match.

This football is real, played by amateurs and watched by genuine football fans who in many cases have followed their clubs for years or even decades. Those fans who only watch league football at higher echelons could do worse than spend around 10£ or sometimes less to occasionally watch non league football. It does restore your belief that football is a game, that fans of all teams can stand together and chat, and that the complaints over the referee and officials do not stop at a league level!

As a photographer I also enjoy the ability to bring my camera in and get all kinds of photos from different angles that would never be possible at a league game.

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged alan judge, art, bad manners, brentford, brentford fc, Brentford Football Club, brentford new ground, brentford new stadium, brentford promotion, buster bloodvessel, carshalton, carshalton 1 south park 1, Carshalton AFC, Carshalton Athletic, carshalton fc, carshalton football club, cost football ryman league, football, football photos, james tarkowski, london, luke colquhoun, photos carshalton, photos nonleague football, ryman, ryman league, ryman league crowds, ryman league price, ryman league proces, ryman play offs, ryman playoffs 2016, ryman premier, ryman premier league, ryman south, south park, south park football club, tommy bradford | Leave a comment

16 Jan 2016

3 Comments

Dear James Tarkowski. An open letter.

Sadly last night you were not “dear” to the 10,000 fans who having worked to earn the money to watch a football game that you were supposed to be playing in. You clearly felt it right to “go on strike” or refuse to play in the game. Why would that be? It seems that you are not brave nor maybe stupid enough to reply on twitter to the stream of invective and vitriol that I have been reading all evening from Brentford fans. So I have to surmise what the issue might be.

No Camera even this large would have found James Tarkowski at Brentford.

Brentford played Burnley and we assume you and your agent have had contact with Burnley who have made an inadequate offer for you. Brentford who have trained you and improved you over the last two years quite reasonably need payback for that. After all who else will pay the coaching and fitness staff whose services you have used freely to improve. And while on the topic of pay, maybe I should remind you of the games you have missed through red cards and suspensions, and of course those when you were injured. The club supported you through all this. You indeed have been a good player. Not a world beater. You will never for example be an international player like some of your team colleagues. I assume also that you have an issue with Brentford rejecting the bid as it would lead no doubt to higher wages. Brentford have stated, or the media has at least, that a bid of 4-5 million £ would buy your services. Presumably Burnley will pay that if they agree with the valuation. So, back to the game tonight versus Burnley. Why would you say you were not wanting to play? I can again only guess that you did not feel comfortable opposing the team you hope or imagine or know will sign you. Or worse, did not want to be part of a team that would beat Burnley? This is not how football or life works. You are under contract, legally to Brentford and presumably have been paid in accord with that contract? So you might not want to play, but in short you have to. You owed that to the fans and the club. But you declined this kind offer of team selection. So in short your loyalty is with the potential new club Burnley, who may not be blameless in all this by unsettling you and offering ridiculous low transfer bids, but your real loyalty is to yourself and your selfish desire to secure more money, without a thought for the fans, coaches and others who got you as far as this. In short you have let down everyone who has helped and supported you in your career.

A quick look at twitter reveals extensive vitriol towards you not only from fans but from those who know football from your side, players like Marcus Gayle, and journalists. You really have chosen to upset a lot of people. Football supporters who even have no connections with Brentford.

So if You were watching the game on TV tonight you would have seen a Brentford team clearly unsettled by your selfish, arrogant and stupid behaviour lose an important game. You would also have heard 10,000 Bees fans chanting and singing your name, followed by expletives. You will go down in football history as one of the bad guys, who decided that they were more important than the game, the fans, the clubs and the very fabric of football. You will certainly be remembered in years to come but not for your football prowess. Any club who signs you in years to come will take all this into account as will your fellow footballers. How do you feel about letting down not only the club and fans, but also your fellow professionals. I think it is fair to say you have shown all of them a total lack of respect. I do look forward to hearing your side of the story.

Posted in brentford, football, Uncategorized and tagged @Tarky19, alan judge, brentford, brentford defender, brentford fc, Brentford Football Club, brentford v burnley, burnley bad behaviour, championship, football, footballers on strike, footballers wages, griffin park, harlee dean, james tarkowski, james tarkowski goes on strike, jim levack, john swift, league 1, lionel road, london, loyalty, loyalty to club, marcus gayle, mark devlin, money football, new malden, player wages, ryan woods, sean dyche, surrey, tarkowski, tarkowski strike, tarkowski twitter, turf moor, twitter, twitter tarkowski

09 Jan 2016

2 Comments

A Very Wet Brentford Performance.Brentford 0 Walsall 1

As Brentford fans some weeks are best forgotten and it is better to remove those bees coloured spectacles and see the game for what it was. Brentford were comprehensively beaten by a hard working and decent Walsall side.

An excellent turn out from Walsall that filled the away end.

Fans arrived mostly by car but the potential was there to arrive by boat if they wished, and with such a wet game that might have been a good option.

The first half ended 1-0 to Walsall which is how the game ended but it was totally one-sided. The second half was better for Bees once Alan Judge came on, but frankly they never really seemed likely to score with the exception of one excellent save from the walsall keeper.

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Why were Brentford so bad? Conspiracy theorists will no doubt argue that the cup is not important or maybe that transfer speculation had upset the side. I don’t know, maybe both are true. But the reality was that Walsall were the better side, their work rate was higher , their players seemed technically better. The five players brought in from last week did nothing to suggest they should be chosen next week. The swirling rain made watching even from Row G a rather wet experience. The plus point was the introduction of Marco Djuricin half way through the second half.

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Hands on head time maybe?

The Bees fans on Twitter formed their views of this game which align with mine above. What we learned for sure was that Bees have no strikers. Midfield needs strengthening . But above all the worry that it was not the result but the performance that is most of concern. Players like McCormack did not perform. Swift looked undone by the physical attention of the Walsall players. Hoffman just looked poor really, not a championship player.

Posted in brentford, Uncategorized and tagged alan judge, alan McCormack, andy gogia, art, aviation, BA, bescot, braemar road, brentford, brentford 0 walsall 1, brentford fc, brentford v walsall, CEO brentford, cliff crown, dean, dean smith, FA Cup, fa cup 2016, fa cup photos, griffin park, GSK brentford, harlee dean, hoffman, jake bidwell, Jan 2016, john swift, lionel road, marco djuricin, mark devlin, new inn, new inn brentford, new malden, new road, nico yennaris, pubs brentford, rain, river thames, river thames brentford, ryan woods, ryman league, surrey, the princess royal, the princess royal brentford, tom bradshaw, toumani, walsall, walsall fc, weather Jan 2016, what pub brentford

04 Jan 2016

1 Comment

Lets Remind Ourselves of the highlights of Burnley before Tarkowski and Judge decide.

Some of the Brentford fans had the pleasure of a day out at Turf Moor earlier this season. The stewards and fans were friendly enough and maybe we were unfortunate to lose 1-0 to a sloppy goal from defensive error. But would I want to live there?

Judging by the news Burnley are after signing the whole Brentford squad, the fans, the badge and most likely the urban architecture that is Brentford! Today allegedly having a 2.3 million offer rejected for James Tarkowski. A ridiculous bid.

Lets take a look at what Burnley the town and the football ground was like and maybe Tarkowski and Judge may form a different view of where they want to play their football.

A Night out in Burnley. If these were the new ideas from the new owners, what exactly were the old ones like?

A night out in Burnley

2. Maybe not much different to many Northern towns but this is what the streets looked like around the ground

Burnley Streets

3. Uninspiring architecture here at the away fans entrance

Away Fans entrance

4.The ground itself

Lovely Wooden Seats

Posted in brentford, championship, football, Uncategorized and tagged alan judge, away fans burnley, away fans wooden seats, away stand burnley, burnley, burnley 1 brentford 0, burnley fc, burnley streets, burnley v brentford, championship, david fishwick stand, dean smith, dean smith brentford, football, gogia, griffin park, james tarkowski, lancashire, lancashire football, lancashire town, latics, lee carsley, life in lancashire, london, mark devlin, maxime colin, new owners, night out burnley, northern towns uk, oldham athletic, photo burnley, photo burnley fc, photo turf moor, photos burnley, pubs in burnley, streets burnley, The Bees, turf moor, uk north, what burnley like, wooden seats, wooden seats football ground

02 Jan 2016

Reflections on Birmingham 2 V Brentford 1 Away Day. Jan 2nd 2016

Trips to Birmingham have never been without incident and this one is no exception. The nonsense of buying tickets began on tuesday night with the announcement that sales of tickets from Brentford, having reasonably been on sale for four weeks, would cease lunchtime wednesday, but Birmingham in their wisdom decreed no match day sales. Can anyone explain to me why? Why do clubs not want bigger crowds, especially in the holiday season when often plans are not cemented till the last minute. This ridiculous decision was then reversed maybe 48 hours later. Thankfully Twitter and Mark Devlin kept us updated. A number of tickets were sold at the last minute and these needed collection at the ground.

The nonsense continued on match day with no-one in the Birmingham ticket office seemingly aware that these tickets were somehow being escorted to the ground. A random vision of the sign ” Collections” on a gate at the away end gave at last a clue where tickets might be collected. Two unhappy looking souls distributed tickets after checking for names on an envelope. And giving the impression they were auditioning for a role in a prison behind bars.

A number of positives need to be stated. Firstly all the staff at the ground, the stewards and in fact the fans are super friendly, and it was a pleasure to listen in to a conversation on how awful a referee Keith Stroud is. Parking is also easy. Travelling through the suburbs of Birmingham is frankly non unlike the opening of a horror movie. But ground parking is easy and anyone prepared to walk 10-15 minutes can find free easy street parking. Lower Dartmouth street is my recommendation.

And there are a few sights in Birmingham, somewhat unexpected within yards of the ground. And a good few sights totally expected. The ground is in a sort of area that is an admixture of urban housing and small industrial estates. With a few curious bars and shops thrown in for good measure.

On the way to the ground one walks past canals that look pleasant although here there seemed either a small gravestone or a miniature ” angel of the north”. Street cleaning also seems an optional extra, though maybe a little cruel to say that on Jan 2nd.

The ground itself is a great ground now. Three sides have been re-built and this is one of the better Championship grounds. The whole area smells that gorgeous football smell of onions and cooking burgers.

Views are excellent all around the ground and access is quite uncomplicated. With one notable exception, the tannoy system is so quiet that I did not realise there was one. The game however was dire and will be covered in a different blog. Overall this was a good match day experience. And lastly I should mention that £20 for a ticket is really a very reasonable price in 2016.

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Posted in best football photos, brentford, championship, football, Uncategorized and tagged alan judge, angel of the north, away fan sales, away tickets birmingham, bees, beesotted, birmingham, birmingham fc, birmingham prison, birmingham tickets away fans, brentford, brentford fc, clayton donaldson, cost football birmingham, cost of tickets birmingham fc, david button, dean, foot long hot dogs, football, football burgers, football food, football photos, football updates, good stewarding, gravestones in birmingham, harlee dean, keith stroud, keith stroud awful referee, keith stroud referee, lewis dunk, london, lower dartmouth street, mark devlin, mark devlin brentford, match day ticket sales, parking away fans birmingham fc, parking st andrews, price of football, st andrews, staff birmingham fc, stewards birmingham fc, street parking birmingham, twitter, walking to football, where to park birmingham fc | Leave a comment

02 Jan 2016

What have Weekend Offenders and Foot Long Hot Dogs got to do with Birmingham 2 Brentford 1 . Jan 2nd 2016

Sadly an awful football game. The first half was maybe the worst football, if one can describe it as that, all season. Neither team able to pass to another player and nothing to note other than an awful looking tackle in the 45th minute by ex-bee John Toral on Jake Bidwell. Half time arrived with the Brentford crowd baying for a red card and possible execution.

The second half was better though not by much. Brentford leaked their usual two goals with the second resulting from another error from Harlee Dean. Brentford in between scored a goal, a tap in after a goalkeeping error. Frankly this was the sort of game that neither side deserved any points. The referee was also abysmal, Graham Scott. He was finicky to the extreme. Booking an excessive number of players and stoping the game on any any pretext at any time. He ran Keith Stroud a close second in the worst referee of the week awards.

A strange Brentford team performance after recent very strong ones. Raised questions about possible tiredness? Issues behind the scenes relating to transfers?

The team was also a little unusual in that Jota was neither in the side nor on the bench, for which there may be multiple reasons but is he being transferred was the one being discussed? Alan Judge had his quietest game for months. Maybe tired, maybe took a few heavy tackles , maybe again is a transfer allegedly to Middlesbrough for 12 million on his mind? James Tarkowski had his worst game I have seen him have, but still looked good! Again, transfer issues? Tiredness? Who knows.

On the positive side Gogia looked interested when he came on with 20 minutes to go. Neither Hoffmann nor Vibe are strikers we want playing upfront alone.

So, a strange game. St Andrews is a decent ground but we always seem to lose there every time i go……so maybe all my fault.

Weekend offenders was a great piece of graffiti on a wall and foot long hot dogs smelled great. They were maybe the highlights today.

Posted in best football photos, brentford, championship, championship goalkeepers, football, Uncategorized and tagged alan judge, andy gogia, birmingham 2 brentford 1, birmingham city, birmingham fc, brentford, brentford strikers, brentford transfer rumours, championship 2016, david button, dean, dean smith, foot long hot dogs, football, gogia, graham scott, harlee dean, hoffmann, james tarkowski, john swift, jota, judge middlesbrough, keith stroud, lasse vibe, london, maxime colin, ryan woods, st andrews, transfer rumours, vacation, vibe, weekend offenders | Leave a comment

03 Apr 2015

Are the Police the only way to stop Brentford scoring?

Fulham 1 Brentford 4. By the end this looked the only way to stop Brentford scoring more goals.

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged alan judge, brentford, brentford fc, brentford manager, button, championship, craven cottage, football, fulham, fulham fc, jota, Met Police, police, police football, police football grounds, putney bridge, skybet championship, warburton | Leave a comment

03 Apr 2015

A Day Out On The River. Fulham 1 Brentford 4

As 6,151 Brentford fans were there today and witnessed a fantastic game when frankly Brentford were not at their best and often caught out by long balls from Fulham, yet scored four fantastic goals, world class at least two of them. Fulham is always a decent day out. You have to go by train as there is no parking, and the ground gives decent views from all stands. A nice walk through the park to get there and the only negative is the excessive and unnecessary numbers of stewards present in and out of the ground and the police presence was absurd. This is Brentford not Leeds.

So a few photos to remind us of this incredible day out.