Bees Lose Another Defender

Me and Marcel Eger

So, once again in the close season we seem to find ourselves without yet another centre back. After losing Karleigh Osbourne on a free (such a shame) it seems that Marcel Eger has also decided to leave TW8. I thought that after signing Harlee Dean that Marcel would be an ideal partner for him, but it seems not. I'd like to be the first to wish Marcel Eger the very best in his future career - a lovely bloke whose Brentford career ended far too early.

On a much brighter note, we have signed two stunning young players with a future brighter than the sun. Who are they? None other than Harlee Dean and Adam Forshaw, from Southampton and Everton respectively. Hopefully these great new signings can push Brentford forward to the top of the league next season!

Back on the Blog!

Just a quick message to say after a long absence from my blog, I am back! Which, rather ironically, coincides with the end of the season, so there may not be too much Brentford related stuff to blog about. However, seeing as it is 2012, there will be both the Olympics and the European Championships to write about (the latter I may even get to witness, if I somehow win the competition, which you can help me with!) But, nevertheless, a good summer of football awaits you and I, and I hope it doesn't fail to disappoint us!

I am hoping to blog more regularly on this now that the school year is coming to an end and because I wont have anything to do until the end of September! Apart from laying on a beach in Turkey... and getting burnt to a crisp. But thats for another time, for now, enjoy the previous entries!

Ryan

All Good Things Must Come to an End

 Some say, “All good things must come to an end”. Whether this be your love affair with your best friend’s sister, your Sunday league team going from winning 3-0 to being demolished 13-0 or Brentford’s play-off push, its true in all forms of life.  But it was fun while it lasted, and now Brentford can enjoy the last two games and look forward to next season and away trips to the likes of Portsmouth, Coventry and Swindon.  

There’s no point on dwelling on “ifs” and buts”, so I’m not going to write an article on things that I’ve seen posted around Twitter such as “if we had beaten Bournemouth” and “if we didn’t have so many loan players”. There’s no need for it.  It’s a bit like saying that if I looked like Channing Tatum then I could get any girl in the world. Realistically, that won’t happen. For a team that was aiming for a top ten finish, Brentford did extremely well to take the fight for a play-off place to the 3^rd last game of the season, especially when our season looked finished after defeats to lower table teams. Overall, I’m very pleased with what Uwe Rosler has done and I cannot wait for the next season.

I believe that the time is right to release my shortlist for Brentford’s “Player of the Season”. With two games left, my mind wont change from what I’ve seen from the season as a whole, and as a result the player I have in mind has already shown to be a great player week in, week out.  So sit back, and enjoy the little review about the players I have shortlisted for the 2011/2012 “Player of the Season” for Brentford FC. 

1.    Richard Lee

Brentford’s number one and last seasons Player of the Season once again proved what an incredible goalkeeper he is this season with a number of clean sheets between the sticks. The 4 clean sheets in 4 games (Oldham, Bury, Hartlepool and Notts County) helped to propel us into the play-off picture. Richard’s top corner and point blank saves has proved over the course of the season just what a quality goalkeeper he is, and most certainly one of the best in League One.  His most memorable performance for me came at Griffin Park against Bury, where a string of amazing saves resulted in a clean sheet for Richard.

2.    Sam Saunders

Sam Saunders has been given a new lease of life under Uwe Rosler, resulting in him and his twinkle toes bagging a very healthy 9 goals. The wing play that Sam Saunders has exhibited this season is nothing short of superb, right up there with some of the best in League One, which is a far cry from the old Sam under Andy Scott.  Also, because of Sam’s free kick technique, which he is rumoured to have taught David Beckham, we have become a serious force from dead ball situations this season. Sam Saunders has definitely been one of the most consistent players this season. The best of Sam Saunders’ free kicks came against Leyton Orient, where he whipped the ball into the top corner, leaving the keeper with absolutely no chance. Simply beautiful.

  

3.    Jonathan Douglas

Signed from Swindon in the summer for a free, Jonathan Douglas has proved to be a midfield general for Brentford this season, playing in every league game so far. Tenacious in midfield, Douglas may not score many goals but has certainly put in a fair few thunderous tackles over the course of the season. His ability to break up the play and spread the ball like a quarterback has been a great asset to Brentford today, giving us someone we can rely on in the middle of the park. A comparison to Paul Scholes of Manchester United or Scott Parker of Tottenham most certainly springs to mind. 

4.    Shaleum Logan

Coming to Brentford from Manchester City can definitely be seen as a shock to the system, but Shaleum Logan adjusted to life at TW8 very quickly, with a memorable first appearance at Griffin Park against Yeovil, scoring on his debut. After injury early in the season, it showed how much Brentford needed the right back, and ever since his return to the squad he has been ever-present, putting in big performances over and over again. Although a right back, Logan has contributed very handily to the overall score tally, and scored at very important stages in the season.  In conclusion, a very solid first season for the right back.  

That’s the shortlist for my “Player of the Season” for 2011/2012. Unlike the PFA Player of the Year awards, I cannot offer a large trophy or vast amounts of money, but I can offer a well done. So here it is, well done to all four of the players I have shortlisted. As a fan, its very satisfying when our players perform as well as these four have, putting in massive shifts throughout the season. I’m sure there are many fellow fans out there that will disagree with my choices, but lets put it this way. These players have performed admirably throughout the season, and seeing as they are all permanent players I find it very difficult to argue against naming any of them as “Player of the Season”. All four of them have been great ambassadors for the football club, and I cannot wait to see them again next season, hopefully aided by even more fantastic players.  

My “Player of the Season” for Brentford Fc 2011/2012? Well, I think that’s simple really. My “Player of the Season” is Jonathan Douglas: the anchor in midfield. I really dread to think where our midfield would have been without him this season, although he hasn’t scored many goals he has broken up countless opposition attacks as well as spreading the ball for numerous Brentford assaults. I’d say Douglas is a huge contender for League One’s signing of the season.  

Finally, a quite sad and gloomy look towards the end of the season, with games against Sheffield Wednesday and Chesterfield left. Although it’s still mathematically possible to get into the play-offs, it is highly unlikely, so I look forward to a good performance (one hopes) against Wednesday and hopefully a very enjoyable day out in Chesterfield for our first visit to the B2Net stadium. It’s a shame the FA have once again overlooked League One and Two and so we find ourselves playing at the same time as the FA Cup final. As I find myself writing this paragraph about the coming end of the season games, the cliché comes to my head again. “All good things must come to an end”. All that’s left to say is: “Goodbye League One 2011/2012, hello Euros 2012”. 

The Fabled Five Finals

The phrase “cup final” is normally thrown about by football fans without actually thinking what the phrase means. To some, the FA cup final at Wembley is the ultimate “cup final”. To others, a last game of the season relegation dogfight at a ground where the pitch is more sand than grass would be worthy of the title.  But recently, the term has taken on a completely new meaning to the Brentford faithful.

Why’s that? Well, most teams have one cup final a year if they’re lucky. However, Brentford have had 5 cup finals in a row this season. 5 games to see us into 6^th place and fire us into the play-off picture. Hartlepool, Notts County, Stevenage, Sheffield Wednesday and Chesterfield. Our cup final won’t be played at Wembley like last season, but rather at the traditional Griffin Park and the amazing B2Net Stadium.  As a fan, this is fine by me.

Let me give you a scenario and ask you a question. It’s May, and your team are in the relegation places in League One but you had a day out at Wembley for the Johnstone’s Paint trophy final. Would you consider this a “successful season” simply because of a Wembley appearance? Or would you rather that you were out of the cup competitions by December, but had a chance of gatecrashing the play-offs come the end of May because of a great run of games? Well, the latter is the predicament that Brentford find themselves in this season, and what a fantastic place to be.

Normally, a league game lacks excitement, and it tends to feel like ‘just another game’. Our 5 cup finals has changed that feeling completely. I don’t tend to get pre-game nerves, at the end of the day I feel as though we have many games left to gain back the points we may have dropped. That’s changed in the last few weeks, as every Brentford fan knows full well that a loss is no longer acceptable, and to be fair a draw isn’t much good either. Only a win will do. The excitement, thrill and thought of the unknown just isn’t applicable to most league games, but is to these end of season match ups, and the atmosphere round Griffin Park couldn’t be better.

Which is strange. I recently purchased a fanzine from outside of Griffin Park entitled “Thorne in the Side” to see how other fans were writing about the season. What a shock I was in for. Rather than seeing intelligent discussion about whether Niall McGinn has been fully utilized or if the new signing Stuart Dallas will be a major coup for us, it was full of hate and distaste for Uwe Rosler and his Brentford team. This was not a fanzine. It was as though the most miserable, boring and brainless people in the world had assembled to simply slag off people that have done better than them. Or, to me, it seemed as though the “authors” of the fanzine were stuck in the past, constantly referring to past players who they seemed to think “played with some heart”. This coming from the people that seem to think the only player that had done something this season was Kevin O’Connor, even though he has been injured for most of it. It was neither intelligent nor well thought out, but the biggest waste of money ever.

Moving on, I have to once again sing Uwe Rosler’s praises. As seen in previous articles, Rosler has been up and down more times that a yo-yo in the views of some Brentford fans, which has been completely unjust. The signing of Clinton Morrison has been an act of pure genius, and has coincided with our great run of form. Why may that be? In my personal opinion, it’s because of the vibe that Morrison brings to the dressing room. Any one that has seen Clinton Morrison will understand full well when I say the bloke is a bit of a character. Its because of that, however, that the dressing room has seemed to pick up after slumps at Orient and Bournemouth and all of a sudden find themselves in the play-off picture. Its remarkable that one simple signing can produce fruits like this. If it hadn’t, mind you, I’m sure the authors at the ‘fanzine’ would be slating him for not scoring yet. Football is a strange, strange world unfortunately. 

The Notts County game at the weekend was one of the best games I have been to all season long. Of course, the crowd had swelled as a result of it being such a huge game, meaning an increase in the amount of ‘”floating fans”. This didn’t harm the atmosphere however, but made it a million times better. For once, all three sides of the ground were singing in unison, aided by a small army of children in the New Road stand that sang Brentford songs when no one else was. You could see the benefit of this to the players on the pitch, who played some very slick football that Barca would most definitely be proud of. We were the better side for most of the game, and it’s a huge shame that we came away from that game with a 0-0 score line. How Sam Saunder’s freekick was cleared off the line by the defender’s head when it should have nestled in the top corner is beyond me, but nevertheless it was a thoroughly good game. I just wish the 7000 fans that were there would come every week; our players seem to love the attention.

Although this season has been very much up and down, I believe it is vital that we remember that Brentford is a club in progress. Rome, or Manchester United in this instance, was not built in a day. Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t immediately make Man United into the fantastic team they are now overnight, and its crazy to think Uwe could do that with Brentford, who have a tiny, minuscular budget, which is smaller than even Shaun Wright-Phillips. However, with the eye that the management has for talent, I think next season will most definitely be a fantastic season for all connected with Brentford Football Club.  Let’s hope that we have a cup final and a promotion to enjoy!

Thorpe Park? Forget That; Lets go to Griffin Park Instead!

Rollercoasters. You either love them or hate them. Some would consider a day out in the gut-splattering, upside-down, teenage haven of Thorpe Park an ideal day. Others may not. If you are the latter, then I suggest you do not come to Griffin Park any time soon. We can offer more thrills and spills than Thorpe Park, Chessington and that mouse’s funfair over the pond combined.

Here’s what I mean: after losing three games on the trot and already looking as if we had gone on our summer holidays, we’ve turned into the form team, winning four on the bounce. Thankfully, we’re nearly at the end of the ride, but I just cant help but think where we would be without the inconsistencies. At the time of writing we are five points off Carlisle in sixth, a team that we made look like Beddington Terriers. We also just beat MK Dons away, and they’re meant to be the 5^th best team in the division!

Without a doubt some of the football played in the first half last night against Oldham Athletic was (I’m sorry to use the cliché but there’s really no other way to describe it) Barcelona-like. The ball was pinged around from Douglas to Dave like a small man is between the crowds in rush hour on the Underground. It was magnificent. Why pay £50 at QPR to watch a team of useless, overpaid, Twitter-holics play rubbish football when you can pay a third of that to watch the Bees play total football? Shaleum Logan was running down that wing just like Dani Alves (far better in my opinion, cause the lad can defend too) and Sammy Saunders was hitting free kicks just like Xavi. We were too much for Oldham to handle, and that was reflected in the 2-0 score line.

Now we find ourselves at the business end of the season, or if you’re on a rollercoaster the bit that makes you want to puke your guts up for the next 4 hours.  6 games left to ultimately decide whether we end up in the end–of-season-lottery or the rubbish pile. 6 cup finals if you want.  I’m very sure the team are well aware that we cant really afford to drop points if we want to be in the play-offs, Clinton Morrison will undoubtedly have already told them about 45 times, but we can do it. Teams that tend to do well in the play-offs come into form at about this time in the season and carry that momentum through with them, and as sure as anything some of our players are most definitely coming into form. A certain Mr. Clayton Donaldson, who I stood up for whilst he was going through his rough patch, has proved me right and has started playing like that striker we bought from Crewe, big and powerful and able to score bags of goals. Worryingly, it seems that Donaldson and Fernando Torres mirror one another’s performances, as they are both starting to look like their former selves. I say worryingly because we all know Torres gets injured when he plays well, and as much as I don’t like the Spaniard I do not want to see our man Clayton get injured by mirroring him! With him and Clinton Morrison up front, I think we have a strike force that can do damage to even the best defences. That will be tested when Sheffield Wednesday come to visit on the 28^th April.

Although I’m going on about our chances in the play-offs, I have to be realistic and look ahead to the prospect of another season in League One. It wouldn’t be such a bad thing in all honesty.  Its only Uwe Rosler’s first season at Brentford, let alone in England and he has proven to be a top class manager, even if some of the grumpy fans at Brentford call for his head every second game. Our budget is far smaller than some of the teams in this league, and for us to be able to beat them, and beat them convincingly is credit to his management. We’ve also gone from playing Andy Scott football, which for those of you that haven’t had the pleasure of witnessing this is giving the ball to the goalkeeper who in turn lumps in down the field for a striker to head down and then score, to playing one touch football on the ground. It worked for Brighton under Gus Poyet, and it looks like it’s working for us under Uwe Rosler. I wouldn’t be surprised if Barca come in for Uwe if Pep Guardiola leaves them at the end of the season. I’m sure he would stick with us though.

Finally, with the season coming to a 124mph sudden stop that sends your lungs through your ribcage, it looks to be a very nail-biting time to be a Brentford fan. But hey, isn’t that what it’s all about? 

Alexander the Great Conquers Wycombe

I’ve said it many times: Brentford is a club in progression. No more was that apparent than on Saturday afternoon against Wycombe, where some quite simply brilliant football saw us run out 5-2 winners. Yes, I did say 5-2. I was, and still am, delighted with the performance and result, as I’m sure many of the Griffin Park faithful are, but what makes me even happier is the view from Mr. Uwe Rosler. Rosler stated in his post-match interview, "It was good to get five goals ... there were still some areas where we need to improve massively to stay in that top 10.” This is the stance of a man who purely wants to be the best. I admire him for that.

A man that is on fire at the moment, not literally of course, is Gary Alexander. All of this recent talk about finding a striker seems to have pushed Alexander into the form of his life, bagging a hat-trick on Saturday as a result. His 3^rd strike was one that I’m sure even Messi would be proud of. His partnership with Clayton Donaldson definitely seems to be bearing fruits now, and my goodness do they taste good! Donaldson, although not scoring as regularly as I’m sure he would like, is instrumental in Alexander’s current form. His movement off and on the ball is crucial in taking players out of the game, and judging by the amount of fouls on him by the Wycombe players he’s more than a handful when the brick house is running at the opposition. Hopefully Alexander can hit at least 20 goals and propel us back in the play-off picture.

The only sour point of the game was the fact that Wycombe scored twice against us when they merely did not deserve a single thing based on their performance. A lucky first goal where the assistant referee did not seem to understand what to do when he puts his flag up and a sloppy second goal denied the sensational Richard Lee a clean sheet in a game where he made some stunning saves. I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Richard after the game where he signed my copy of ‘Graduation’, and I must say he is a complete and total gentleman and deserves all the praise he is getting at Brentford. A distinctive save he made was a double save from what must have been point blank range, thereby minimising the goal scoring of Wycombe to just their two (lucky) goals.

It seems to me that Brentford are now coming into their stride. Although we lost the game at Huddersfield last week, the team put in a very good performance, and on another day could easily have walked away from the Galpharm with all three points. The ability to put 5 past a struggling team is something that Brentford have not possessed in recent years, and at this crucial stage in the season it’s important that we are able to score goals as the playoff picture may come down to goal difference. It is that tight around there.

I have been putting off writing this article until today, as the legendary transfer deadline has now passed. Of course, being a Brentford supporter it’s not as manic and exciting as it may be for some of the bigger clubs, but I was keen to keep an eye on a couple of coming and goings. Firstly, I am thrilled to see that Karleigh Osborne hasn’t left Griffin Park, and secondly there was no signing of that “oh-so-needed” striker. We did however, sign a goalkeeper in the form of Antoine Gounet and a development squad player who goes by the name of Antonio German, who our friends (and I use that term loosely) from Sheperd’s Bush may recognise. However, I am not entirely sure why we have signed a new goalkeeper, as I can’t see him replacing Richard Lee as first choice keeper, nor can I see him replacing Simon Moore. I’m sure if he does play for us he will prove more than adequate in the goal mouth.

Finally, a look ahead to the game on Saturday against Preston North End. I hope to see a better performance against them than I did in the reverse tie, which was a 3-1 loss. However, if we play like we have played for the past two games than they will most definitely have their hands full, especially with Donaldson and Alexander on the pitch. It’s safe to say that the team we possess are more than capable of going up to Preston and doing the job required, all I can say is that I hope we keep a clean sheet and smash in a few goals!

A special note must go out to my girlfriend, Emma Walsh, who correctly predicted that we would score 5 goals against Wycombe last Saturday. I wish she would predict that every weekend, maybe we’d be the country’s top goal scorers!

Playing at Home this Weekend? Oh Dear.

Brentford’s first defeat away from home since August 13th came on Monday after a well battled game against league leaders Charlton, but I can’t help but ask why can’t this form be transferred to Griffin Park?

It’s easy to blame Uwe Rosler and his tactics, any one brain celled Neanderthal could do that, but I fear it’s far from that. In fact, I think it’s quite the opposite. Uwe and the players have more than proven, on their day, that they can play sensational football, and have also demonstrated that they have players that can run circles round opposing players, bombard the goal and dictate the game.

However, 1 win in the last 5 games just simply isn’t good enough, especially for a team that is intent on challenging for the play-offs. So where does the blame lie? Well, maybe a lack of confidence about playing in front of our own fans, a small minority of who seem to just turn up to boo the team at half time, might be the answer.

Clayton Donaldson, or “Donaldinho” to the Griffin Park faithful, has proved at Crewe that he is a mammoth goal scorer, scoring 28 goals last season. Unfortunately, that form just hasn’t transpired at Brentford, and seems even more so at Griffin Park. However, his impact of the bench just cannot be ignored, and despite the goal drought, I’ll bet my hat that we are a better team with him on the pitch then without, and it will only be a matter of time before the man comes good for The Bees.

In terms of youngsters, I thought we had a real gem of a player at the start of the season with Jake Reeves. The 18-year-old was a revelation in pre-season, and although young looked right at home with Jonathon Douglas in the centre of the park. Sadly, in my opinion, it was a shame to see him less and less on the team sheet and more and more in a suit and tie handing out sweets before the game, but hopefully we will see him back on the pitch in the red and white stripes sometime in the future.

Of course, it’s simple to charge the lack of goals and wins at Griffin Park to a certain Charlie MacDonald, and I’m certain this topic will come up again and again this season. I won’t get bogged down on the issue and will say only this: Charlie is gone, and it’s time to concentrate on Gary Alexander, Clayton Donaldson and Mike Grella and get behind them as much as we did with Charlie MacDonald against MK Dons.

Consistency is a major part of any play-off push, and I’m going to put it bluntly. We simply do not have any. America has more consistent diplomacy missions to North Korea than Brentford have football games. One week the team can play like Barcelona, the next like Accrington Stanley, or dare I say QPR? Consistence is key, and that applies both to the performances and the team selection.

Uwe made a huge mistake selecting Emmanuel Oyeleke in the middle of midfield against a powerful and well disciplined MK Don’s side. He may as well have pressed the large red “self-destruct” button on his office table. I don’t blame Oyeleke with what happened in that first half, but I know he is one for the future and I sure hope that hasn’t destroyed his confidence.

As a result of all these things, I just can’t see Brentford challenging for the play-offs. We are not strong enough mentally or physically, and I’m just sorry to say we haven’t got the players required for that – this season. I trust that Uwe Rolser was, and still is, the right man for the job at Griffin Park and that will show next season when he has been able to stamp his seal on the club. Until then we’ll have to be contempt for a mid-table or near-play-off finish, and just hope we can give more ‘sure of ourselves’ performance at home. Oh, and we will have to hope that Clayton Donaldson will find his shooting boots and silence his critics, as I’m sure many Griffin Park regulars and I would.