Arcticterntalk.org

The blog of a travelling psychiatrist and football lover. Who happens to be a halfway decent photographer. Takes a cynical view of the world

Archive for the tag “Brentford Football Club”

Brentford 0 Brighton 0 . What does Lager have to do with it?


An excellent fast paced championship game on Boxing day 2015 surprisingly resulted in no goals. There are enough match reports to mean little point me adding to the details. It is the bigger picture though which is interesting , simply is this a prequel to the play off game with these two sides involved again?

Brighton were either average or Brentford made them look average. Nico Yennaris proved again that he is not a full-back but could be a decent midfielder. David Button had a day off. Philip Hoffman should have won the game for Brentford in the final minutes.

The game was played in good spirit with few fouls and none of note. Darren Deadman as referee was better than usual and actually not too terrible, but would either side clamour to have him back again, unlikely. A capacity 12,200 crowd gave an excellent atmosphere for a 1 pm kick off, which traditionally seem unable to provide the same atmosphere and noise as 3 pm kick offs.

The game was end to end and what was clear is that neither side had a potent striker who could have provided the goals that the game deserved. A 2-2 draw would have been a good pre-match bet and probably a reasonable score. Both sides are clearly good but maybe with Brentford improving and Brighton on the decline?

For me the best teams in the championship are Middlesborough and Hull City and these teams may get the automatic places. Perennial play off contenders Derby, Burnley, Ipswich may again make the play offs. Brentford and Brighton are also contenders with Sheffield Wednesday an outsider too.

The big surprise of the day however was being able to get an easy parking space in the Watermans Centre car park  where the graffiti on a window of an office either suggested folks trapped inside demanding Xmas supplies or a prequel to a Lager advert. Great graffiti.

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A visit to Craven Cottage. Reflections on Fulham Football Club and Brentford


The West London Derby between Fulham and Brentford is always a feisty affair . Two local tesm, one very much on the way up and the other on the way down and currently without a manager. There is no need to go over the events of the game. An entertaining 2-2 draw where both the score and the result were a fair reflection of events on the field.

A visit to Craven Cottage though is always a pleasant affair. A few verbals but no fighting among fans and Fulham fans generally, though deluded about their place in the football hierarchy are not such a bad lot.

There is no reason other than insanity to drive to Fulham as parking places are delusional and do not exist in reality, so arrival by train and then walking along the river gives an interesting perspective to the ground. The ground is set essentially at the end of a park and within curiously 300 yards of Fulham Palace. Which raises the first question. Why not the name Fulham Palace? Crystal Palace versus Fulham Palace has a nice ring to it. The Palace is actually quite a beautiful building.

Because of the local derby and a failure often in reality by the police and the club to establish a need for stewarding and policing it is a fair comment to say that things were overdone. This game did not not need police horses, who provided free manure for all fans walking back through the park after the game, and conveniently if one has no time to pick it up one can merely collect it on ones shoes. A fair question was raised as to why if fines are given to dog owners for failing to pick up their mess, why does not the same criterion apply to horses and in this case the police and their horses? The stewards were pleasant enough but this is the first time to my recollection that I have ever been asked to open my coat on entry to a football ground. Overkill might be the simplest way to describe things,and seemingly an ineffective overkill too as pyrotechnics were let off in the Brentford end on at least two occasions. For me this is stupidity and potentially dangerous but mostly unnecessary.

In the ground the views are good and the food a major improvement on years gone. I did vow many years ago never to eat Fulham burgers again however despite their extortionate price they were relatively harmless. The sausages however could have benefitted from cooking and there was no way raw sausage was going anywhere near my digestion.

The whole football experience though was a good one and one that any neutral might have enjoyed. Fulham football club is really though not a cheap place but harmless enough and can be enjoyed. And as an additional benefit the Fulham Burger never killed me nor injured me in any way.

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Griffin Park Brentford FC Painted by Vincent Van B


Painting

Griffin Park Painting

Griffin Park Painting

Brentford 1v 2 Huddersfield Town Development Squad Photos


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Griffin Park Home of Brentford Football Club


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Brentford 2 Stevenage 0. Farewell to League 1 and Hello Fulham.


Too late to write much. But a real celebration today of all that is good about Brentford football club. In truth a meaningless game but one which meant everything to Bees fans. Farewell to League 1. Having watched Brentford for 51 years this season has meant a lot to me and surpasses any of the previous achievements. Brentford have gained promotion and equalled a club record since 1930 of 28 wins in a season. This is not the time to reflect on the season, that will come, but today we saw a decent game with a decent result 2-0 to Brentford. We saw good celebrations  and we hope that we did not witness any farewells to Marcello Trotta, George Saville nor Alan judge. We long ago forgot they were on loan. Just enjoy a few photos to remind us of a great day. action Bees Bees2 Bees22 Champagne Momen2t Champagne Momen22t Champagne Moment goal IMG_8233 IMG_8270 KOC KOC2 top of game Tr5otta Trotta Trotta2

A Trip to Milton Keynes Dons


There are many opinions about MK Dons and few of them favourable. Visiting their stadium today for the first time was a fairly fascinating experience.

  1. The ground although well signposted as it has no floodlights when one arrives it is really not at all clear that it is a football ground. There is a hotel at the front of the stadium and to a casual observer one is arriving at some multiplex DoubleTree Hilton hotel.
  2. For mere mortals there is no parking at the ground, although as the ground is within a major shopping area, how this is policed is not clear. What however is clear is that getting out of the shopping area parking after the football game might need a lifetime investment.
  3. The ground from the outside looks dull. Black and 50 Shades of Grey. Why?
  4. There are decent KFC and McDonalds on one corner but no signs and effectively hidden from the starving fans
  5. The ground inside was superb. I cannot fault anything about the inside other than the relative lack of toilets and the fact that the toilet floor was covered with some unspecified water, liquid and substances. Not good.
  6. Parking was actually easy opposite the ground in the industrial estates. Escape did take maybe 20 minutes though at the end of the game.

All in all, one of the best grounds I have ever been to.

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Brentford Football Club Need Your Help. Send 1 e-mail!!


Brentford have been my football club since I was 6 years old. I have watched them since then almost every week with a belief that one day they might be a big club. Now almost 50 years on that potential is there. They need a new ground. The old one is atmospheric but small and cannot provide any additional facilities that clubs need. The new proposed ground looks superb and will seat 20,000. Hounslow Borough Council have approved the planning permission and now the government and Mayor need to approve.

Can you write a short email to the 3 folks below giving support for this? The reasons are clear! Thanks. Feel free also to share this blog with anyone who might do this. All you have to do is click the link, write the email with your reasons and give your name and address. You will make me happy!!!!

We had a fantastic result on December 5 2013 when Hounslow Council passed a resolution to grant Brentford Football Club planning permission for a new stadium, and residential development, subject to referral to the Greater London Authority (GLA), and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

But the game isn’t over yet, we still need your URGENT support to help guide us to victory.

The stadium move can only be secured with your help.

If you want the Club to remain in Brentford and believe the Club and the Community Sports Trust are invaluable assets to the community, then please contact the GLA by next week and declare your support.

The Mayor of London needs to hear your views before he reviews the matter on January 29.

edward.lister@london.gov.uk

mayor@london.gov.uk

 

david.blankson-hemans@london.gov.uk

Please email your support to the Mayor Boris Johnson, Deputy Mayor, Sir Eddie Lister and the Strategic Planner, David Blankson-Hemans.

As a reminder, you will find some examples of the benefits of the application below:

Housing: over 900 new homes for London – and, if economic conditions improve, contributions to affordable homes.

Jobs and community benefits: there will be a substantial amount of new jobs created for residents in Hounslow as well as significant community benefits including a larger, purpose built space for the Hounslow Interim Education Centre.

Heritage and views: detailed consultation with Kew Gardens and local residents over past 18 months and over 30 agreed views produced, heights reduced, and our preferred bidder for the role of development partner has provided accurate indicative views rather than a misleading one circulated by some opponents.

Transport: extensive modelling undertaken and Club will committed to working with local groups over coming months to press for further public transport improvements to contributions already being made.

Thank you for your fantastic support over the past few months.

Let’s push on now and secure our Club the home it truly deserves.

For those unable to email or who prefer to send a letter you can write individually to the Mayor Boris Johnson, Sir Edward Lister and David Blankson-Hemans (including the reference no. P/2013/1811) at the addresses below:

It is essential David Blankson-Hemans is copied into your email or sent a copy of your letters.

David Blankson-Hemans, Senior Strategic Planner, Greater London Authority, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, More London, London, SE1 2AA.

Mayor Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, Greater London Authority, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, More London, London, SE1 2AA.

Sir Eddie Lister, Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor, Policy and Planning, Greater London Authority, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, More London, London, SE1 2AA.

In all correspondence please remember to include your name and full postal address.

After the Mayor we will be calling on your support one more time and asking you to contact Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles.

 

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