Brentford 0 Brighton 1 – Saturday 11 September 2021
Welcome back to Brentford Neal Maupay, albeit at a different ground to the one he left in 2019. He and his Brighton team-mates came out onto the pitch in an all-light blue/pale turquoise away kit. Nice.
Brighton’s manager these days is the respected Graham Potter. Notable members of his team include Welbeck, Dunks, Trossard and Cucurella, their new No.3 with the big hair who’s a good player but tricksy. The first half was scrappy, like a Championship game. Our fans were subdued. Theirs less so, much noisier than Arsenal’s.
Buzzing quietly
In the second half Brighton fell over often and the referee fell for it often. Most frustrating. Not like Brighton of old who used to play good football. Is this what it takes to stay up? For a long time Maupay was the exception, seeming to have cleaned up his act, at least for this game. He’s certainly a better player these days.
Stop thief!
In the 90th minute, the Seagulls swooped to conquer and Trossard scored. They grabbed the points like robbing chips from a child on a seaside promenade. Maupay couldn’t resist a little centre spot time wasting malarkey to prevent Brentford restarting briskly in the hope of a last gasp equaliser. Our first defeat in 16 Championship and Premier League matches.
Memory of this one best left inside the stadium
Wolves 0 Brentford 2 – Saturday 18 September 2021
Played a shambles of a gig at the Poly here in 1979. Next visit was 35 years later to watch the Bees in the Championship in 2014. I remember the ground was lovely but the scoreline that day wasn’t – Wolves won despite going down to 10 men. No sign of ex-Bee George Saville. After the game the small city centre was deserted in that dead zone between Christmas and New Year.
Ray from Corrie
This time it’s different. Both clubs are in the Premier League. Seems everyone in the throwback shopping centre is wearing Wulfrunian gold with black trim. We spotted Mark Frost, who played villain Ray Crosby in Coronation Street until February this year, sitting outside a café in the main square.
A place of worship
Molineux is a short walk from the city centre. On the way we trudged up Wulfruna Street, past St Peter’s Collegiate Church, a large 15th century church built of red sandstone in the Perpendicular style. Then down the other side to the stadium which was as lovely as we remembered. Good ambience, the many food stalls outside gave it a festival/market feel. Fans cool and friendly. Saw Corrie Crosby again.
Got to our seats just three rows back from pitch side when two guys who used to sit next to us at Griffin Park suddenly appeared in the seats bang in front of us. ‘We’re not stalking you!’ said one, and we had a nice old natter. The flame thrower display was impressive but being so near, the heat from the blasts was a bit much. The home fans joining in for ‘Heigh-ho WOLVERHAMPTON!’ was deafening.
Another place of worship – this time with a giant walkie-talkie
The first half was exciting. We scored four times, two of them rejected by VAR. Elation that we were 2–0 up at half time. The programme tells us Robert Plant is one of the club’s Vice Presidents. So, can I resist the temptation to say that Wolves’ players had suffered a Communication Breakdown? No, I can’t. By the way, Wolves’ matchday programme is one of the best I’ve seen. 100 pages of quality info and photos. And a fun two-page scratchcard quiz.
One of the best programmes around
In the second half, Baptiste got a silly second yellow. We felt for him. Down to 10 men, we were determined to hold on to our lead. Timewasting isn’t nice, but needs must. By the way, Mr Wolves Manager, Raya didn’t change his goalkeeping gloves to waste time – one of them got ripped after getting stuck on the crossbar.
Ivan Toney leads the lap of clapping
A flipped repeat of December 2014. But what a game. And what a result! We floated on cloud nine back to the main square for a sarnie at Alice’s Tea Rooms – a decent café run by a friendly Louis Theroux look-a-like.
The Bluebrick is a lovely pub near Wolverhampton railway station that itself was the main station until 1967. We had a pint there, strolled round to the new station then got the train home.
Brentford 7 Oldham 0 – Tuesday 21 September 2021 [EFL Cup aka Carabao Cup]
A midnight slip road in Oldham, 1978. Shivering in the rain trying to hitch a lift back to Leeds after Bowie at Bingley Hall and missing the Manchester train connection. I also recall that Oldham’s ground is nicknamed Ice Station Zebra and reputed to be the coldest in England. Combined recollections = bleak.
What a player he was
Before the game there was a minute’s applause for Jimmy Greaves, during which his face graced the big screen.
Oldham Athletic are fairly athletic, tidy and did try to play football. But they were no match for Brentford and sitting at the bottom of the fourth tier, their priorities probably lie elsewhere. Sad to think they were in the top division less than 30 years ago. Their fans were great though, at times louder than us. And their ‘Can we play you every week?’ chant at 2-0 down brought a smile to everyone’s face.
They also serve who sort the divots
Being 5–0 up at half time often signifies there’ll be no goals in the second half but there were two, both top notch, the last a thrilling bicycle kick from Wissa. 7–0 in a game where Forss forced in four. A bleak result for Oldham.
Brentford 3 Liverpool 3 – Saturday 25 September 2021
There is nothing to fear but fear itself. And Salah and Mané, Robertson and van Dijk. All of them in fact.
We’d been looking forward to this from the start, though as the week wore on it started to dawn on us – this is the Premier League proper, against one of the big four. A reality hit. But Brentford showed no fear. Liverpool’s defending seemed surprisingly unsteady, and Mo Salah strangely unlucky in front of goal. On the other hand, we played out of our skin, always in the game, in one of our best performances ever.
Getting stuck in
In the first half, we scored first, then they equalised. In the second half, they went ahead. Uh oh. But then we equalised. They went ahead again. We equalised again. The game flashed by, spellbinding and exhilarating. We’re still buzzing six days later.
Let’s get this party started…
Jurgen Klopp was a little stingy in his praise of Brentford’s achievement: ‘They’ll get a few more points, for sure, particularly here.’ For sure, he must’ve been disappointed not to win, and he may even be right. But that statement may well now adorn the noticeboard at Jersey Road.
…and may it never end
Not many sides get to put three past Liverpool. And it leaves Brentford ninth in the table, with nine points from six Prem games played. That’s going steady alright.
Thick and fast next month: Brentford take on West Ham, Chelsea, Leicester, Stoke and Burnley
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Brentford 0 – Thursday 2 December
‘Spurs fan?’ asked security outside the Blue Coats pub near the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. ‘No.’ But he let us in anyway. Inside it was loud and friendly, and the service well organised and super-efficient. The positivity and optimism of these fans confounded my abiding memory of the Spurs fan I worked with in the 1990s. He wore a replica shirt to work on every shift, and even when they won was oh so glum, ‘We’ll probably lose next week.’
Classy. If we can sparkle…
White Hart Lane has long been a distant memory of a couple of visits many years ago. This was my first time at the new stadium, and… it’s amazing. Big, bright, spacious. At most grounds, programme sellers are cash-only, even now. Here, they’re contactless-only.
Light show like something out of Close Encounters.
Waiting on the concourse involved playing our little game of managerial merry-go-round guess who’s the opposition manager this week. And of course, this evening it’s much-travelled heart-throb Antonio Conte. We also enjoyed a mega sausage roll and a pint or two. At our seats the pre-match light show was worthy of Glastonbury.
The stadium has a capacity of 62,850, including an away fan allocation of around 3,000. The attendance was 54,202. I wonder how many were Brentford. A glance at the match day programme; nice and glossy with a couple of almost-amusing caption errors under Sergi Canos’s photo.
My sheltered upbringing means I’ve never heard of the Spanish position, nor have I ever met someone whose nationality was Forward.
Tottenham cruised much of the game; they looked like they could’ve stepped up a gear had they needed to. Son Heung-Min was the stand-out player. So quick and skilful. He got an assist for Sergi Canos’s own goal on 12 minutes and scored one himself on 65 minutes. He also took all the corners, bouncing the ball like a tennis player before placing it on the corner quadrant.
It was a philosophical trudge that we made to Wood Green tube in the cold night air.
Leeds United 2 Brentford 2 – Saturday 4 December
We arrived in Leeds the night before the game, to be greeted by cold, wind and rain. Revisiting the Leeds side streets that we slipped down in our student days. Back streets and back alley pubs, some cash-only with no music, TV or wifi. Myriad Asian restaurants, many of them very good (we’ve been here before in the Championship).
We chatted about the game in prospect as we walked along the River Aire and through the railway station hinterland, then followed the hordes down to Holbeck and across the motorway footbridge to Elland Road.
Ex-Bees Stuart Dallas and Adam Forshaw are here. The popular Toumani Diagouraga, aka ‘Toums’, or even ‘Dave’ to some, left Brentford for Leeds in 2016, and is now at Morecombe. And of course our very own Pontus Janson came to Brentford from Leeds. The club have recovered well from the dark days of 2007/10 when they were down and nearly out in League 1.
The pre-match entertainment didn’t dampen our spirits.
Triangle man is sitting in front of us, blowing up red balloons and launching them above the frozen breath of the crowd. At home games he rings a triangle whenever Brentford get a corner. Been doing it for years and was one of the first Bees fans we ever met. On six minutes there was applause for Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, the child abused and killed by his father and his father’s partner who have just been sentenced. So sad and really puts things in perspective.
The match day programme is the smallest I’ve seen, but not in a bad way – it’s more pocket friendly in size. Each of the articles in the early section (the important ones that don’t usually tell you much) are signed off ‘Marching on together’, which seems to be a common theme in the signage.
On the pitch though, Leeds were marching decidedly out of step. They scored first, then we got two. As we reminded them to the tune of “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, ‘Leeds, Leeds are falling apart, again.’
‘Scoreboard, scoreboard, tell us the score!’
We were playing much better than in the previous few games. But Leeds nicked an equaliser in 90+5. From a corner at which Alvaro looked dazed and unsteady following a collision. Didn’t that happen at Spurs, too? The ground has a capacity of nearly 38,000. The attendance was 35,639. Some Leeds fans were chanting that we hadn’t sold all of our allocation.
Leeds were happy to save it at the end. We were disappointed but OK with the result. As we left the ground and into the dark streets, some Leeds fans were growling abuse at anyone in Bees colours, including youngsters. We later read that objects had been thrown at Sergi Canos and Bryan Mbeumo. This is certainly not Newcastle.
Brentford 2 Watford 1 – Friday 10 December
We usually do well on a Friday. On the way to the ground we span the wheel of managerial merry-go-round guess who’s the opposition manager – it’s Claudio Ranieri! Stand out players are Cleverley and Sissoko. Tinkerman meets Little and Large?
As usual, the cardboard portal to Premier League survival was assembled before the start of the game. Five minutes later it was dismantled.
Watford were in yellow shirts with thin black hoops. All the players took the knee and the fans applauded. We started well. Lots of possession. Winning the ball back well in midfield. Janelt safe and steady playing at left centreback. ‘He comes from Germany…’
Then Watford scored. A recurring nightmare as yellow flare smoke came wafting along the stand from the away section and our play became disjointed. Just like the Norwich game. Triangle man responded by blowing up red balloons again and punching them into the cold night air.
Watford goalie trying to put Bryan off by the penalty spot.
We got two late on to win the game. A Pontus header on 84. A Bryan penalty on 90+5. Watford were stunned, Hornets stung by Bees.
Brentford v Manchester United – Tuesday 14 December
There could be no better time to play United, a club in transition following the sacking of Solskjaer, and the immediate departure of caretaker Michael Carrick after his final game. Rangnick’s got his work cut out with an unsettled squad.
We’ve even done the Covid vaccination pass stuff. But no, the game was postponed due to cases of Covid in the United camp. B***er. Surprised to learn that top-level players at some clubs haven’t been vaccinated. Whatever the rights and wrongs, you’d have thought the big clubs would have insisted on it, when they control so much else of their players’ lives.
Southampton v Brentford – Saturday 18 December
Postponed, this time because of cases of Covid in the Brentford camp. Thomas Frank is among those calling for all games to be called off until the situation is resolved. That won’t happen.
Brentford 0 Chelsea 2 (EFL Cup Quarter Final) – Tuesday 21 December
A 7.45pm kick-off, and we arrived earlier than usual for the Covid pass checks now being introduced at all grounds. Some fans were even wearing masks, which may explain why the singing was a bit muted.
Brentford were inflicted with an unfair yellow on 11 minutes which left many bemoaning the favour referees appear to give the elite clubs. I’m not sure how true that is, but it certainly set the tone for subsequent decisions.
Chelsea dominated possession in the first half with their lovely, precise passing. But we had the best chances. Half-time entertainment came in the form of the Brentford subs (probably unwittingly) skipping and high-kicking in time to Wham’s “Last Christmas”.
‘Come on you Bees!’
In the second half Chelsea turned up the heat and brought on Jorginho and Pulisic. Ghoddos came on for Henry on 73 minutes, a decision that mystified some fellow-fans. On 74 minutes the ball was cleared, looping out of play and down into the stairway exit near our section of the North Stand. We cheered as though we’d scored. Not long after, Chelsea brought on the biggest gun, N’Golo Kanté, who immediately controlled the midfield. Ominous. His pass to Reece James led to goalmouth confusion and Pontus own-goaled. Five minutes later we conceded a soft penalty.
Chelsea players applaud their fans. Thomas Frank applauds ours.
We played well but Chelsea deserved to win. Roll on the old cliché about concentrating on the league and isn’t the FA Cup a bigger deal anyway?
Brighton 2 Brentford 0 – Sunday 26 December
The first of the return fixtures. An 8.00 pm kick-off on a Boxing Day Sunday with no trains running and several other games postponed because of Covid. Brentford fans met the travel challenge admirably, in our case by driving down the day before in unending rain and through many partially flooded roads.
A storm was brewing at Brighton.
A walk to the sea at Rottingdean during a lull in the drizzle and later a ride on a bus full of Brighton fans to the ground. Its capacity is 30,666 and the gate was 30,141, though many of them must’ve arrived late because the place looked half empty in the first half.
Couldn’t find a programme seller so I ordered one online the next day. It’s pretty good, with an interesting section on Brentford. There’s also a pull-out section-cum-poster on Brighton player Tariq Lamptey. We know manager Graham Potter from his time at Swansea in the Championship. Seems a decent fellow.
Sometimes it felt like we were tilting at windmills like this one on the South Downs.
A more thorough Covid pass check but still no attempt at verification. More masks being worn. A pie and a pint on the concourse. We like the ground and its cushioned seats but there was no sitting down today. After a bright start by Brentford, Trossard scored for Brighton on the counter. Then ex-Bee Neal Maupay got their second with a wonder strike.
Bees warming up.
It didn’t take Brighton’s fans long to take our ‘Hey Sergi Canos, ooh, ah! I wanna know, how d’ya score that goal!’ song and adapt it to Neal Maupay. A double stab to the heart. The top deck of the bus back to the hotel rang with choruses of ‘Albion! Albion!’
Seagulls entering the portal of imminent victory before the game.
Brighton are the first and probably won’t be the last team to do the double over us this season. They’ve had a bad run of results recently and it wouldn’t surprise me if we were the last team they beat, way back in September.
In the days after this game there was unease on social media about whether our performance suffered because of injuries, tiredness or style of play. We side with those who say this affects most clubs outside the big four, so get behind the team and enjoy this special time come what may.
Brentford 0 Manchester City 1 – Wednesday 29 December
All a bit weird, two days before the game the Premier League announced a record 103 new cases of Covid-19 among Premier League clubs’ staff and players during the previous week. But most games are going ahead nevertheless. The club was doing a more thorough inspection of Covid passes than previously, so much so that mine was rejected and it took some persuading that it was indeed not out of date.
Man City practising before the game. But they don’t really need to.
An 8.15pm kick-off because it was being shown on Amazon. The camera operator scuttled away from the centre spot and only just made it to the touchline before kick-off. What’s that all about?
City played in light blue. It was a nice change for an away team to play in a strip other than yellow, especially when Brentford’s away kit is also yellow. Whatever happened to that lovely away kit from last season (or maybe the one before) – dark grey with orange/red socks?
The game? Oh, yeah. Well we were brilliant. One of the best performances I’ve seen from Brentford, though I am starting to think there’s a grain of truth in the referees never book stars allegation. Champions and table toppers City got away with a good few bits of naughtiness.
City’s goal came from a De Bruyne pass that was so perfect you hardly noticed Foden guide it into the net.
Well that was some game!
Next time…
Well, that was some sleigh ride together for two, too. And we go again on Sunday with the second of the return fixtures, at home to Villa. Mercifully, there are just three league games and one FA Cup game in January, unless the Premier League decides to shoe-horn in some rearranged fixtures.
Stop press, the Premier League has just decided to shoe-horn in the postponed game at Southampton a few days after Port Vale.
Back in balmy August we got a draw at Villa in our third ever Premier League game. After that, things were a bit patchy for them, and in October/November, ex-Bees manager Dean Smith’s Villa lost five in a row. He got sacked and is now at Norwich. He was replaced by Steven Gerrard, who has won four out of seven. And so the Happy New Year manager-go-round goes round and round.
We want you…
Full of enthusiasm we strode to the ground for a 2pm kick-off. Sunshine on a rainy day as the drizzle fizzled out. As the teams lined up each side of the cardboard portal thing before kick-off, we could see that Villa’s away kit for this game was a midnight blue version of Chelsea’s home kit. At least it’s not the all too frequent all yellow away kit that Brentford and several other clubs have adopted this season.
Ex-Bee Ezri Konsa was playing at the back for Villa. Ex-Bee’s striker Ollie Watkins wasn’t even on the bench. Covid maybe?
…and we did!
Inside the ground the sun disappeared. The wind rose and pushed the clouds, buffeting them against the regular procession of planes descending towards Heathrow. It mirrored our efforts on the pitch. After a breezy start we were labouring, slower than Villa to every ball. So we were more disappointed than surprised when Danny Ings put them ahead on 16 minutes after a sublime drag-back and pass by Buendia. But we fought back and equalised just before half time – a lovely curler from Wissa.
Roerslev has just scored the winner
The second half was all Villa in possession, but they couldn’t find a way through. Their frustration evident in Trezeguet’s shocking dive that later went viral on social media. Bees’ patience and effort got a reward on 83 minutes when Roerslev shot, the goalie parried and Roerslev shot again. Yes!
If you’re happy and you know it…
After the game we met up with a couple of Bees friends in the Rose and Crown in South Ealing. We let it all sink in while sinking a pint. We were excited yet nervous about how it was all going now we were at the half-way mark…
Port Vale 1 Brentford 4 (FA Cup 3rd Round) Saturday 8 January
A train to Stoke. Again. We came here for the Carabao in October. We walked to Hanley for a Spoony’s lunch, then yomped up to Burslem and just about made it in time for kick-off at 3pm. Vale Park is a nice old ground. Sit anywhere you want in the away end, so we were able to watch the second half with our friends once we’d found them. No programmes? They don’t do a printed programme any more but you can download one. Not a bad thing, I guess.
The Tree Stories sculpture tells a tale to a pushchair as we head to the ground
Robbie Williams is local hero/major shareholder. Bailed them out in 2006. And yes, they do run out to Let Me Entertain You! Lemmy was also from Burslem and a Port Vale fan and Ace of Spades is also played before each game.
Ex-Bee Leon Legge is at the club, but didn’t feature today. The manager is Darrell Clarke, a no-nonsense former Vale player and all-round good bloke, by all accounts.
Attendance was restricted to 9,000-odd to avoid the need for Covid checks. The actual gate was 8,069, 1,126 of whom were Brentford. There was no scoreboard or clock visible to away fans, and the PA system cut out so often not a single one of the announcements was comprehensible. At least the wifi was good, so we could track events on our phones more easily than in big stadiums.
My kind of ground, Vale park is…
In the first half we were good, visibly a different class. So much so that all the action was down the other end of the pitch, but we managed only one goal, smashed in by Forss on 26 minutes. We entertained themselves by singing our way through the Bees songs back catalogue, including the Sammy Saunders song (You are the love of my life…) that includes an offer dubious on so many levels). Sammy seems to be the love of Steve Pound’s life these days since he started playing at Hanwell Town. After nearly every game Steve presents Sam with the MoM champers… and good luck to him.
In the second half Vale were much better, more tenacious and had some good chances. So much so that it seemed the ball was never destined to come down our end. Until Bryan was unleashed from the bench on 62 minutes. Four minutes later he scored. Then Vale scored. Game on! Then Bryan scored again. Then Toney was awarded what I thought was a rather soft penalty. He very generously gave the ball to Bryan to complete his hat trick. What a gent. And it was good to see Kristoffer Ayer back after his injury.
Mbeumo’s shot is crossing the line, parlez-vous?
After the game our friends gave us a lift back to Hanwell. It was nice to doze in the back seat, warm and dry.
Southampton 4 Brentford 1 (rearranged from 18 December) Tuesday 11 January
We soon found out what Saints had in store for us
This game had been postponed because some of Brentford’s players/staff had Covid. For this rearranged fixture we managed to get a lift there and back. Could get used to this for any evening mid-week away games outside London. At the ground, I couldn’t find a programme seller, once again. And what with the slow Covid checks we missed the cardboard portal of doom palaver. But we were just in time for the taking of the knee.
The Saints manager is Ralph Hasenhüttl, who seems to have done a pretty good job so far, despite having no ex-Bees on the playing staff.
Some of them evidently arrived late…
From the off, all 27,383 spectators made a lot of noise, not just us away fans. From the off, Saints dominated. We tried and failed nearly all game. The desire for us to play better at times led me to wish it was Brentford playing in the red and white stripes with black shorts that’s so similar to our home kit.
2-1 at half time. Could we get a draw second half? No, we continued to be a victim of Ward-Prowse’s prowess, save for a couple of decent chances near the end when it was too late.
‘We’re the Itchen over here!’
Saints fans were full of song all game long. We found ourselves sandwiched between ‘We’re the Itchen, we’re the Itchen, we’re the Itchen over here’ and ‘We’re the North End, we’re the North End, we’re the North End over here’. And every round of ‘Come on Brentford!’ we belted out was instantly drowned out by ‘F**k off Brentford!’ from both sides.
We are all made of stars
All around the ground a phone torch starry starry light show glittered against the dark behind the floodlights. They were winning 4-1 and they deserved it.
As the game drew to its painful end we were treated to ‘It’s a long way back to London when you’re shit’. It was a long way back to London, and we were, a bit…
The match day programme
I bought a programme online. Lots of stuff about new owners Sport Republic, backed by a Serbian billionaire. Also a heart-breaking article about ex-Saint Sam McQueen’s fight against repeated injury and the toll it took on his mental health. And a very good Junior Saints section with perhaps the hardest Spot the Difference I’ve ever come across.
Liverpool 3 Brentford 0 Sunday 16 January
This is what you dream of when you picture a season in the Premier League – a trip to Anfield. And a 2pm kick-off is quite good when it still gets dark early.
Calling occupants…
We arrived at Liverpool Lime Street the day before so we could have a look round – the Radio City Tower, the Philharmonic pub (a Victorian marvel), Albert Dock, Chinatown and the Italian Club Seafood restaurant.
The mothership cathedral has landed
The Metropolitan Cathedral had a fascinating display about the Irish who arrived in the city in their thousands, fleeing the Potato Famine in the 19th century. They built the docks in Liverpool that at one point in the late 19th century handled 40% of ALL world trade. They built the towers of London, too.
We’re going down the pub!
It was also an interesting walk to the ground. Found a programme seller straightaway – card only like at Spurs. Great ground, great buzz outside, a bit of an anti-climax inside. We expected a bit more in a relatively compact stadium with almost 53,000 people sitting in it.
At least we could see the pitch
Tucked away in corner at the back of the away section we felt a bit claustrophobic. Like being in an observation pillbox. We heard and joined in with the minute’s applause for Liverpool legend Billy Liddell (who I confess I’d never heard of), but the acoustics meant we couldn’t hear much else.
Even Kops have an off day
Brentford played in white, a nice change from the usual away yellow. We played well too, at least in the first half. It was so good to see Rico back after injury. Our dreams of making it to half time nearly came true but Liverpool scored just beforehand. But then we started the second half well, too. We were playing much better than we had against Southampton. But once Liverpool netted their second goal it was all over really. And that would have been a fair score line. But another defensive slip-up in the 77th minute and Minamino made it 3–0.
I hope we do CONTINUE THIS JOURNEY
We sang well throughout, some of the chants good-natured taunts that Anfield was a ground full of tourists (not Tories as I and others misheard) and ‘race you back to London’. Liverpool fans were chuffed at the news coming though that Everton had sacked Rafa – there’s Schadenfeude for you!
The match day programme
The programme was pretty good, not exceptional – authoritatively confident, like the club. On social media we were praised for not singing about Hillsborough. It’s sickening that anyone would.
Brentford 1 Man United 3 (rearranged from 14 December) Wednesday 19 January
This one was originally postponed because of cases of Covid in the United camp. And here we are at five to eight on a dark chilly night as the United players emerge from the tunnel of hope and slow-jog towards the cardboard portal of disarray in a pleasing away kit of blue top with yellow shorts.
The players fled the cardboard portal when it spewed forth the referee
Brentford were the better team in the first half. United gave the ball away surprisingly often, they weren’t playing as a team. We had loads of chances that even at that early stage we thought we’d later regret missing. And missing describes Cristiano Ronaldo’s first half performance. Love him or hate him, he did used to be a top player. Not so sure he still is. Did he always used to cheat this much? Some of his falling-over show was shown on social media later. Laughable. At least the ref didn’t fall for it much.
At half-time the big screen showed an interview with Christian Norgaard, who has just signed a new contract. Interesting stuff and what a nice guy. And with the continued talk of Christian Eriksen maybe joining the club, it’s… Onward Christian Soldiers?
What a player!
In the second half United improved. Both sides had loads of chances. United took theirs better. Their passing was more accurate too, we began resorting to too many hopeful hoofs. We chanted ‘Live round the corner, you only…’ but in fairness the away fans sang and sang strong with a definite Mancunian twang, at least to my ears.
I guess the Bees players tried to follow the plan. They certainly tried to play. But it didn’t work, and some of them seemed off the boil. Many of the fans near us were fuming with frustration and disappointment. They’re devoted to the club but feel we should be better than this, even if we don’t win. On 67 minutes there was a minute’s applause for Pete Hayward, a devoted Bees fan and tireless charity fundraiser who had recently passed away.
On 71 minutes Ronaldo was substituted after a busy evening of falling over and moaning at his team-mates and the ref. By this time United were 2-0 up. Apparently he also threw a tantrum in the dugout, unhappy at being taken off.
Marcus Rashford got a third for United and Toney got a consolation for Brentford, in what was a bit of a missed opportunity of a game.
Brentford 1 Wolves 2 Saturday 22 January
Ah, nothing like a good old-fashioned Saturday 3pm kick-off, we all agreed as we settled in our seats. But the phrase ‘must-win game’ soon took our pre-match chats after three defeats in a row.
I blame the slightly off-centre positioning of the preposterous portal…
After the cardboard portal of nonsense there was a minute’s applause for those who have passed away over the past year. During the clapping I looked around the stadium and thought I saw a drone above the corner where the south stand meets the west stand, but it was just a plane descending towards Heathrow.
It’s OK, it’s only a plane
Brentford started brightly, lots of possession, winning tackles and moving the ball around. All seemed to be going well and there was no hint of the mayhem that was to follow. So, deep breath…
Around the 20-minute mark Rico Henry and Matthias Jensen both went for the same ball. A sickening collision of heads. There was a long delay before they were taken off the pitch, each bleeding from gashes to the head. Some fans went for an early half-time pint. Baptiste and Roerslev came on as concussion subs, meaning we could still make the usual number of further substitutions.
Wolves were better when the first half resumed. Bees had had to reorganise and seemed a bit unsettled. But only a few minutes later the more eagle-eyed among the crowd started pointing to the sky. It was a drone, flying over and around the ground, sometimes dropping as low as the top of the stand. The players were led off the pitch, cos them’s the rules. More fans went for an early half-time pint, some were going for seconds. At one point the drone disappeared, then returned. 19 minutes later play resumed. Wolves again quickly got into their stride and Bees’ play was more disjointed, so it was no surprise when the visitors soon scored.
At half time proper, many more fans went for refreshments, some for the second or third time. After half time the players and linos came onto the pitch, but where was the ref? We were kept waiting for five minutes or so, during which time the squiffy wag in the seat behind suggested a further return to the bar…
At some point a helicopter appeared and hovered around for a while, presumably as a drone deterrent. Meanwhile, back down here, Wolves resumed their dominant play. One of their players was red carded but it was rejected by VAR.
Ivan Toney scored. Jubilation mixed with apprehension. At that point I’d have settled for a draw. But Wolves scored again, what turned out to be the winner. Their goalie went into immediate time wasting mode. Like Raya did at Molineux when we were two nil up and down to ten men. What went around was now coming around.
In our section of the stand all was anger, frustration. I started humming ‘Let the Heartache Begin’ to myself. Some are blaming our goalies. When will Raya be back? Not soon enough but it’s not their fault. General defensive lapses? Tiredness?
Thomas trying to explain the ‘no dickheads’ policy to the ref
After the final whistle there was a melee in the centre circle, during which Thomas Frank got two yellows and was sent off. What a way to celebrate signing a new contract that keeps him at Brentford until 2025.
Oh dear. Four defeats in a row and a make-or-break two-week winter break to fix it. During which to hope Christian Eriksen finally joins and we get that nifty Forest player we’re after.
Next time…
January was meant to be a quiet month but rearranged fixtures and a cup game put paid to that. Games coming thick and fast is fine when all your players are fit and you win some of them. So here’s hoping for a successful integration of new and returning players, a boost to those who’ve signed extended contracts (Pontus, Norgaard and Bryan) and a refreshed mindset in February. And here’s hoping Toney’s silly comments about the club can be turned into a motivating positive. Come on you Bees!
Words and spaces, sounds and places 