Christian Eriksen – Words and spaces, sounds and places

Brentford FC in the Premier League 2021/22 – episode 8

February made us shiver

Everton 4 Brentford 1 (FA Cup) 4th round Saturday 5 February

Everton have a new manager. Not sure they’re right for each other, but hey-ho. We shall speculate on how long before the Magic Lamp starts singing a different kind of blues.

Couldn’t go cos of work. First game of season missed, home or away. Someone should compose a paean to those who go home and away, rain or shine, every season. Commitment. Dedication. Is their outlook different to home onlys?

But we will be there for the Prem League near the end of the season.

Manchester City 2 Brentford 0 Wednesday 9 February

The train up to Manchester, hotel check-in and a wander round. It’s been a long time since either of us has visited Manchester. It’s been a long time since we had to deal with such a long losing run. A long time since we’ve felt the loom of relegation at this point in the season.

We like Manchester. Memories of Afflecks Palace and all that. But these days there are many more street characters and homeless hopefuls than before. Meanwhile James Watt reads a book about steam engines.

Manchester bee images abound, not unlike our own humble bumble, they symbolise the city’s age-old work ethic. Not sure how hard City would have to work today…

As we Bees swarmed to the 7.45pm kick off under a blue moon, word went round that Ivan Toney had injured his calf and that Canos and Ghoddos would be playing up front. Gosh.

The Etihad is a beautiful stadium, especially at night with the constellations of bright lights adorning the massive steel framework and the flash motors in the carpark. Starry starry night. The programme seller also offers the club magazine and the club songbook…

No Covid tests. Concrete innards and a smaller concourse than Spurs but does the job with quick service and easy access to the spacious seats – plenty of leg room here. Through the clouds from the smoke machines, the energetic waving of big flags and the din of Blue Moon and something by Oasis I failed to notice the cardboard portal of silliness and I’m glad I did, though I did notice the wonderfully large scoreboard.

The only downside is that the away section is split over two tiers, which made coordinated singing difficult for those of us in the upper level. It made it harder to compete with the City fans, who love to sing and did so all game.

In the first half we were nervy, then competent but not brilliant. We fended off the best team in the world for 40 minutes, until Raheem Sterling drew a foul from Mads Roerslev and Mahrez pooped in the penalty. What a shame. Half time came and the PA treated us to some more Oasis.

The matchday programme features an interesting bit about Kevin Cummins, NME photographer and City fan who in 1980 did a shoot with Madness and still got to the game at Coventry by dint of deviousness. I loved the NME in those days. Everyone did.

The half-time Pep-talk had City ramping up the action way down the other end of the pitch. Raya was kept busy and just one slip, a fluffed pass that ended up at Sterling’s feet. Shot saved but ball fell to De Bruyne, who was never going to miss from there.

Wissa and Mbeumo came on. City went into cruise control, but there was no time wasting. Sign of a good side?

Scuffles on the lower tier at the interface of Brentford and City fans. Amazed it went on for so long given the huge number of stewards and police. Sparked I think by objects thrown down from upper-tier City fans away to our left. No one got thumped.

As we left the ground to the accompaniment of more Oasis, we were just grateful Brentford didn’t get a thumping either. As for City? No one can stop them now – coz they are all made of stars.

Brentford 0 Crystal Palace 0 Saturday 12 February

An even-muster-winner game if ever there was. Well, certainly must not lose. Need to halt the slide.

We missed the introduction of Onward Christian Eriksen before the game. Guess he’ll be making his first-team debut before too long.

One of the portal porters telling Pontus that most other clubs’ portals are plywood not cardboard

‘Palace have a plywood portal… pass it on!’

Palace are strong and tricksy, as we discovered at their place way back in August. They also have the brilliant but easily provoked Wilfred Saha up their sleeve.

In the first half some good football was played, entertaining stuff. In the second half Palace improved and we didn’t, a familiar pattern where a once solid defence gets rattled and resorts to scrappy clearances. We just didn’t look like we’d score. The fans instead started hoping we wouldn’t concede, we’d be happy with the point.

Controversy about the cross a Palace player handballed that the ref didn’t give. Funny how bad the refereeing is when you’re not winning.

The draw was a fair result. Our heads are still above water.

Arsenal 2 Brentford 0 Saturday 19 February

Twenty years ago a Gooner ex-colleague was forever going on about going up the Arse. Until one day some wag asked him if he ever took his girlfriend…

Patrick Vieira, who we saw at Brentford with his Palace team just last week.

Micah Richards has been getting some stick after saying on Radio5live that Brentford are overrated. I’m not sure who by, but he does have a point. We’ve long since stopped being the breath-of-fresh-air newcomer surprise package that beat Arsenal in the first game of this Premier League season.Patrick Vieira, who we saw at Brentford with his Palace team just last week.

In the concourse for a pie and a pint. All good tho small compared with Spurs and City. The telly tells us Newcastle only drew. We’re so happy, one of the shit cushions is still in place. This is what it’s come to…

Arsenal are certainly a lot better now, but still have a tendency to self destruct. A red mist (with white sleeves and white shorts) still sometimes descends and leaves its red calling card.

We weathered the first half but storm clouds awaited the start of the second.

Arsenal’s matchday programme has a lively community feel to it and the easiest Spot the Difference, ever.

A welcome belated patch of sunny blue greeted our VAR-confirmed consolation at the Emirates.

The clock from the old Highbury Clock End told us Arsenal’s revenge was all but in the bag and, well, we hadn’t expect to win this one anyway. Most of the shit cushion teams below us didn’t win either.

As we file down Upper Street to the Spoonies at the Angel I muse aloud that we might finish by staying up with the lowest points total ever. No one laughs. I am rebuked.

Brentford 0 Newcastle United 2 Saturday 26 February

Hanwell Town has a strong connection to Newcastle so opened their bar to Newcastle fans before the game, even though Hanwell were playing away today. Nice touch.

It felt like spring as we walked to the stadium, and hope springs eternal as we learn that Ivan Toney and Christian Eriksen are on the bench. Eleven games left and the season starts here!

In five minutes’ time they’ll be taking it down again.

But our new season lasted not much longer than the no-sooner-assembled-than-dismantled pointless pre-kick-off portal when Josh de Silva was sent off after just 11 minutes. And we’d started so brightly, too. Indeed it took Newcastle ages to score.

In ten minutes’ time Josh’ll be back in the dressing room again.

Midway through the second half Christian Eriksen came on to massive applause from all. To come back from near death as he has. Ivan Toney came on too, but it was too little too late. You got a taste of what’s to come with Eriksen’s dominance of the midfield and exquisite passing. You certainly noticed the whole team lift.

Before this game Newcastle were one of the shit cushions below us. Now we’ve become one of the shit cushions below them. Thomas and the players still did the walk around the edge of the pitch. Christian Eriksen spent more time than anyone applauding the fans and was the last to go down the tunnel. Does anyone else think he looks a little bit like Budgie from the Banshees?

Next time…

All this talk about going down, when there are still 11 games to play. Thing is, when you haven’t won for such a long time you wonder where the hell it’s going to come from. Well, next week at Norwich. Obviously.

Brentford FC in the Premier League 2021/22 – episode 9

Marching on with Eriksen…

Only three games for the Bees in March because of the international break at the end of the month and our swift exit from The FA Cup at the start of the previous one.

Norwich City 1 Brentford 3 Saturday 5 March

A lovely walk through old Norwich to a lovely old ground for a traditional Saturday 3pm kick-off.

The pointless portal here today was pink, which I don’t think I’ve come across that often. And it was way off position – half way towards the centre spot! No ex-Bees at Norwich, though they do have the wonderfully-named ‘Pukki’. And Brentford’s Sergi Canos is an ex-Canary.

Pink portal approaches centre circle in its excitement…

Each seat had a large blue or yellow card for fans to hold up in solidarity with Ukraine. It was well respected by both sets of fans, all 26,887 of us, and sure puts things in perspective. I’m hoping the familiar Brentford chant of ‘Red army!’ during the display was not intended in the military sense.

In the reverse fixture in November, Norwich beat us in a game we fully expected to win. With Christian Eriksen starting and Ivan Toney back, we were more expectant than complacent about this one. We played in all white, which made a nice change from the standard all-yellow away. We also sang and sang throughout both halves, though I didn’t much care for the dubious chant of ‘We’ve only got five… you’ve got six fingers…’ Ugh.

The green pole is carrying a revolving screen.

Around half-time there were a few announcements concerning Mr Carrow, which seemed to amuse the Norwich fans. Who is this Mr Carrow?

Jonathan Rowe on the cover of the matchday programme.

The matchday programme is called OTBC (On The Ball, City – though they weren’t much today). It had an interesting article ‘Seasons in the sun’ that describes the 1934/35 season at the end of which Brentford finished top of Div 2 and went up to Div 1 for the first time. At the start of that season Norwich had just won Div 3 and joined Brentford in Div 2; their first time at that level. The following season would be Canaries’ last at the Nest before moving to Carrow Road. Fascinating stuff. The junior bit (Captain Canary’s Classroom) is pretty good, with a nice and easy spot the difference.

It was an exciting game. Four goals, including two penalties. Two goals disallowed. Loads of yellow cards. We played well and we won! Christian Eriksen was inspirational, which made the whole team raise their game. And Ivan Toney got a hat-trick, Brentford’s first ever in the Premier League.

A whopping eight minutes were added on at the end, during which we chanted ‘Dean Smith is a Brentford fan’ and ‘Deano, Deano, give us a wave.’ Dean Smith the Norwich manager was of course Thomas Frank’s predecessor at Brentford before going to Aston Villa, the club he’s supported since boyhood.

Chatting to Norwich fans in the pub later on, we learned that ‘Mr Carrow’ is a security code: a flare had been lit in the away fan section concourse.

Anna Sewell, author of Black Beauty, was born here.

The next day we visited Great Yarmouth, or Gee Tee Yarmouth as the satnav lady kept calling it. Interesting place.

Brentford 2 Burnley 0 Saturday 12 March

After two years of Covid and not a sniff of a snuffle or a sneeze and now I have the mother of all colds. A lateral test shows negative but I don’t feel up to going to the game and I don’t think it would be a good look in our section of the stand either. So my wife went by herself and I missed my first league game of the season.

At 3pm I switched on the radio and listened to the game, the experience supplemented by occasional texts from my wife and other fellow Bees fans.

Just as at Norwich the fans found a large blue or yellow card on their seat to hold up in solidarity with Ukraine. And just as at Norwich the display was well respected. Being towards the top of the North Stand our section had blue cards. Yellow cards were at a premium, as I’m told much fun was later had brandishing them at former Brentford centre-back James Tarkowski. Poor old Tarks. An excellent player but he did leave under a bit of a cloud.

As the game wore on without a goal scored I became a little apprehensive, given the Turf Moor tonking we witnessed in October, and despite the presence of Eriksen today. But then Ivan Toney scored with five minutes to go. Then Burnley had a player sent off and Ivan Toney got another in the fourth minute of time added on.

Burnley’s manager, Sean ‘Royal’ Dyche can’t have been happy, but I was. I ended up sending two texts, both of them read ‘YESSSSS!’, straight after each goal.

Leicester City 2 Brentford 1 Sunday 20 March

We drove up the day before and stayed in the south part of Leicester, near the lovely Aylestone Meadows and the path alongside the canal and the River Soar that goes all the way up to the Kingpower Stadium. This is Lineker-land – there’s a photo of him behind the bar at the Soar Point pub not too far from the ground). We had breakfast there, then went for a wander round the city centre.

Along with Norgaard and Jensen, Christian Eriksen has been picked to play for Denmark. That’s great news – his reason for joining Brentford has already paid off. David Raya has been selected for the Spain squad for the first time, Saman Ghoddos will be with Iran and Marcus Forss has had a Finland call-up.

But Christian won’t be playing today – he’s got Covid. Uh-oh. Tricky cos we still need a win or two to be sure of staying up. And Leicester have got some decent players: Jamie Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel of course, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, whose surname sounds like a place where university students live, or perhaps a venue for posh wedding receptions. And we hadn’t forgotten how maddened by Madison we were in the home tie last October.

The King Power stadium is a good size and good-looking. It felt like the many pylons around were channelling power to the area around the ground and the 31,830 souls inside. Perhaps the power soothes and moderates the bittersweet of recent Premier League glory and the sorrow of much-loved owner tragedy.

Nampalys Mendy on the cover of the matchday programme.

A flick through a matchday programme that has a very good article on the history of Brentford, spoilt a little by the inclusion of a photo of Kevin O’Connor that is actually Mark Phillips. Newcastle made the same mistake in their programme last November. Is it possible this was provided and mis-labelled by Brentford? The Junior Foxes section is a disappointment, just one page and no spot the difference.

Even before the 2pm kick-off the Brentford fans were happily singing “Leicester’s a s*******e, I wanna go home”. Ha, ha, but Leicester is anything but. Have to confess we were surprised at how lovely it is. Well the city centre anyway. Romans, Richard III, lovely old buildings, history info boards and cycle lanes. All done very well.

What wasn’t done well was the banging of a big bass drum somewhere away to the left. I know, I didn’t think Leicester were that kind of a club either. “We’re Brentford FC, we don’t need a drum”, we sang. But we did need something. There was no bite up front and we kept giving the ball away. Outplayed and outfoxed, we deserved to be 2–0 down at half time.

Thomas Frank normally manages to conjure something up over the tea and orange segments but in the second half we couldn’t even get out of our own penalty area. Ominous. All of us away fans were standing up of course but the guy next to us could take no more. He just had to sit down, even though it meant missing all the action on the pitch. “Don’t worry mate,” we told him, “we’ll let you know if we ever cross the halfway line.”

Eventually we did. Quite a bit. Finished brightly. Wissa scored and a draw was on the cards. After the game we met some old friends round the corner by Filbert Street, at the end of the road where the old ground was and Leicester Tigers rugby now is. Then into town for pints, chat and the game on telly at the Soar Point. We weren’t too sore, I guess.

Next time

Reasons to be cheerful 1, 2, 3…

1 We’re 15th, with 30 points. That’s eight points clear of the drop zone, and the teams below have mostly caught up with their games in hand. Thank goodness for those two recent wins!

2 Rico has signed a new contract… will that be a confidence booster?

3 Christian Eriksen comes on for Denmark. Three touches later scores a ‘worldie’. And gets precious game time. Meanwhile David Raya gets to start for Spain – he’s a worldie!