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 “league 1”

14 Oct 2013

Should Brentford sack Uwe Rosler now?


Football fans are basically and usually inherent kind souls who although ranting away on a saturday with murderous chants, often then reflect, and certainly turn up the following saturday.  At Brentford there has been much discussion about what our expectations are this season, what our budget is and hence what should the manager be doing to achieve this. My own humble view ( n=1), is that Uwe Rosler is not the man. I have become disenchanted gradually over the last year. Nothing specific. no one thing. Others do not agree, some vehemently disagree. Anyway I pulled together a few thoughts this afternoon and posted them on Beesotted ( the most excellent and balanced of fanzines/websites). Here I repeat them with a poll. I genuinely want to know am I wrong?

 

My own views differ. It is not about Stevenage nor 3 defeats. It is about the poor management at the end of last season  and the continuing poor management this season. Combined with some abysmal signings. Let us recall we have scored 4 home goals the lowest in the league. We have even scored 3 of them in one game against arguably the worst side in our league. We have conceded 13 away goals almost the worst. This persistent poor form is down to Rosler not down to injuries nor bad luck. It is clear where our deficiencies are . Goalkeeper. Central defence. Defence generally. A roulette wheel approach to team selection. Our best players were on the bench last week. 
This is not a panic opinion but a considered one that also notes Roslers refusal to explain to the fans any of his more bizarre selections. We cannot waste any more time nor money . Finally I am not enjoying this brand of football this season.

 

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05 Oct 2013

Sian Massey. Linesman or Lineswoman?


Sian Massey is an English football referee who is 28 years old and has been officiating in the football league and premier league since 2010 when she turned professional.  Although the subject of some controversy over alleged sexist remarks from SKY presenters she has been well recieved in the football game. The few times she has officiated at Brentford, including running the line today Brentford v Rotherham, her performances have been in my humble view amongst some of the best. Maybe her original chosen profession as a teacher might have helped her.

Sian Massey

Sian Massey

Sian Massey

Sian Massey

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02 Sep 2013

Brentford v Shrewsbury. October 26th. This may be a Pay what You Want Game


Brentford have had some marvellous initiatives over the last few years and encouragingly not only are the crowds starting to rise but a quick visual inspection tells you that there are far more juniors around than in years gone by. This is good news for Brentford and also for football. This week Mark Devlin tweeted that Brentford v Shrewsbury may be the next pay-what-you-want game.

Football everywhere is starting to see sense. Non-league clubs such as Hampton are allowing season ticket holders from league clubs in half price and non-league has many other similar ventures that attempt to persuade fans to watch football every saturday.

Any football fans here please forward on this post and lets try and get Brentford packed!

Yoevil V Brentford 2012-13

Yoevil V Brentford 2012-13

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13 Apr 2013
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Portsmouth Fans at Brentford v Portsmouth


The behaviour of the Portsmouth fans was not impressive today. They arrived at the game knowing that the Supporters trust would most likely be able to buy the club and essentially they could consider themselves as shareholders. They were in good voice but then their chanting became foul mouthed and abusive for no good reason. At the end of the game they invaded the pitch and some then went on to start fighting. Just to put this simply, they are the worst set of fans that I have personally seen in League 1 for many years and no doubt will continue to grace League 2 next season. The sympathies I held for them have vanished totally.

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17 Feb 2013

Chelsea 4 Brentford 0. Chelsea Fans 0 Brentford Fans 4.


As a Brentford fan days out like this at Stamford Bridge are rare and to be cherished. The harsh reality is that in the first game Brentford should have won and a 2-2 draw was not fair reflection of that game. Today Chelsea had their first team out, internationals galore, and deserved to win but not by 4-0. A few mistakes and some curious refereeing decisions ensured that their win was relatively painless, and some less than excellent defending too. Nevertheless a few reflections on the day. 

The atmosphere in the Chelsea fans area seemed akin to a library and one wondered if any fans were actually there or was it purely neutrals rocking up to see a game that maybe was easier to get tickets for. The Brentford terrace chants of ” 4-0 and you still don’t sing” and when the Chelsea fans were leaving in their droves in the 80th to 85th minutes, the chant of ” Is there a firedrill?”, resounded. Having said all that, the Chelsea fans and stewards were nothing less than friendly. 

Would I come back here again to see a game? Probably not. My preference is for more atmospheric games such as those in compact small grounds in league 1 and 2. 

The Brentford fans were superb throughout, singing and chanting and generally won their game with ease. ImageImageImageImage

 

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03 Feb 2013

Yoevil 3 Brentford 0. Divine intervention fell on the crowd but not the Brentford team


One of the crazy things in football is how Chelsea can be European champions, and even crazier thing is how one week Brentford can effectively beat Chelsea and then lose comprehensively to Yoevil Town. 

To be positive a visit to Yoevil is always pleasant, the roads lead straight there, car park right next to the away terrace for a mere 2£, decent programme, but Bees always seem to lose and never seem to have much luck. Essentially, that was the pattern from yesterday, and after Bees missed a few chances, the writing was on the wall. A lucky rebound for a first goal for Yoevil, a stunning volley for a second and a decent third. Brentford to me played the wrong team from the start with the wrong tactics with the wrong attitude. The pitch before the game looked good, but as soon as the game started it was clear it was a pudding of a pitch. Bees were well beaten, and frankly beaten on merit, effort and luck. Marek Stech the Yoevil keeper looked as good as I have seen this year, other than our own Simon Moore. 

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03 Feb 2013

How can football fans live their lives without Stewards? Let us rejoice in their wonder and let rays of sunshine descend onto their heads.


The importance of stewards at football is renowned. I feel so safe when I see the stewards, well trained in social and administration skills, and clearly combat at times too. However clearly those of a Divine nature have the same opinion as evidenced by a single ray of sunshine onto this Steward at Yoevil Football club yesterday.
What would we do without stewards? I must thank the ones yesterday for frisking me so thoroughly to ensure that I was not carrying in items such as plutonium or other radioactive substances, or maybe Semtex cleverly disguised as a football programme, or even a dreaded water bottle. Such attention to the important things in life makes me forgive them for not knowing where such unimportant things are such as gents toilets, refreshment kiosk or why they were attempting to cram a large cohort of Brentford fans into only half the terracing initially. Luckily I engaged them in some counting of numbers activities that extended beyond binary, and all said terracing was then opened. But feel free to suggest what they might have been searching me for?Image

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31 Jan 2013
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Brentford FC New Ground- Lionel road


Delighted to see that plans are forming for the new Brentford ground, which will hold 15,000, a sensible sized ground. Should Brentford reach the championship in the next few seasons, which is likely, it is very much a southern based division. Likely visitors to the new Lionel Road stadium would include Millwall, Charlton, QPR, Fulham, Reading, Southampton, Watford, Crystal Palace and maybe West Ham. Given some other big names, it is likely that 50% of games could be sell-out crowds and few crowds would be under 8,000. In other words the ground will host atmosphere as well as games. 

The ground it seems could be ready in time for the 2016-17 season. Great plans, great idea. I feel more positive about the future of Brentford than at any time in the last 50 years of my support. Maybe Brentford might be due a new mascot then?Image

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27 Jan 2013

Brentford 2 Chelsea 2


It has been a long time since I have been so proud of my team. For those not familiar, Brentford are a small West London team averaging crowds of around 6,000. Chelsea are the current European champions. In the 4th round of the FA Cup today they drew 2-2.

A great day was had by all. It all started well by us meeting the Brentford manager Uwe Rosler on the way to the ground and he was kind enough to pose with my family for a photo. A good MCDonalds breakfast, and a great game of football in a packed stadium. 

At no stage of the game were Brentford overawed by Chelsea and in reality came close to knocking Chelsea out. 

A few photos as moments but sadly all I Phone photos and the camera on the phone underwhelms me totally. 

The only negative might be those who thought it clever to let off flares in a packed terrace. ImageImageImage

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19 Dec 2012

Pay what you want to watch Brentford v Stevenage. 22nd Dec.


Strange but true. Brentford ask a minimum of 1£ only but you can choose what to pay if you buy your ticket beforehand up until 4 pm friday evening. Why are they doing this? Perfect sense. They have around 2000 season ticket holders, who do not begrudge them doing this at all, and will make it up to their season ticket holders later in the season with some offer one suspects. So 2000 have already paid. The expected crowd for a home game the saturday before Xmas is never high, maybe 5000 maximum and possibly lower. Stevenage will not bring armies of fans and most likely will bring around 200-300 only. Folks will not pay 1£, they are likely to choose to pay a median amount of between 5-10£ in my opinion.

So a good PR activity, a good day out. Lets hope this works. A few years ago a home game versus Peterborough was sponsored by a company (maybe St George Homes?), and they essentially made it free to get in. Result, great crowd,great atmosphere and home win! So spread the word and call Brentford to buy your tickets over the phone or online. Lets fill the ground. Already two sides have sold out, so don’t delay.

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