The Opponent: Brentford
I was hoping to start this thread on a positive note, following a sound thrashing of 8th placed Walsall, the only thing that has changed from that is that we didn’t dish out a thrashing, but I do remain positive. Of course there is an element of disappointment that we failed to take the 3 points but a grounding sense of reality tells me a couple of things. Firstly, we are going through (yet another) period of transition, on and off the pitch, the different methods, on and off the pitch will take a bit of time to adjust to. Secondly, we are still in a bloody strong position, At the start of the season if someone told me we would have lost Di Canio, Ritchie and ended up with new owners, as well as being 3rd in League 1 come March, I would have laughed at them, but here we are, we have a strong squad that have a winning mentality. Tonight, we need the boys to deliver and avoid defeat as a minimum. We are good enough to win this and I don’t think there will be many sterner tests than this, apart from Doncaster and possibly Wilson’s lot, should they turn up on the day.
Brentford away was my very first Town game on my travels, I can’t for the life of me remember when this was although I would hazard a guess at it being towards the end of the 90’s, and I have made the journey 4 times since and in the past it has always been up there as one of my favourite away days. It’s a nice easy journey (although the Chiswick roundabout and the M4 may slow the progress of those travelling from the west), and it has always had the feel of a proper football ground, although I could understand not everyone agreeing with that.
I’m not sure if it is still the case but Brentford is famous for being the only ground in England that has a pub at every corner of the ground. The surrounding land was formerly owned by the Griffin Brewery, hence Griffin Park. If you are feeling thirsty, get there early and have a pint in all four. They are the Royal Oak (a small locals pub), The Griffin (serves Fullers real ale), The Princess Royal & The New Inn. The New Inn is the favoured pub for away supporters, well it was, so don’t blame me if you get ten ton of shit kicked out of yourself. Interestingly, Griffin Park was used as one of the venues for the Olympic Games in 1948, and in front of 20’000 black and white folk, Italy narrowly edged past The USA by 9 goals to 0! Coincidentally, these Olympics were then known as “The Austerity Olympics”, much like last years £9 billion spent on London 2012.
Founded in 1889 to serve as a winter pursuit for the Brentford Rowing Club, the club moved to its present day home in 1904. In 1920, it was a founder member of the Third Division South. during the late 1920s and 1930s, the club began to make real progress. In the 1929–30 season, the side won all 21 of its home matches in the Third Division South, but still missed out on promotion. They are the last of six teams in English football to amass a perfect home record, and the only one to do so over a season of 42 matches or more! Although I doubt there are a great deal of Brentford fans that can remember this proud time in their history.
Brentford Last 6 – WDWWLL (Currently 6th in League 1 on 61 points)
The Threat – Same guy as last time. Clayton Donaldson has now bagged 20 goals for the season and one of the other strikers turning out for the Bees tonight will be former Swindon Town loan target Bradley Wright Philips. To be honest, when I hear his name it now reminds of a turbulent few weeks in our clubs history which is much worse than just being thought of as either Ian Wright’s kid or not as successful as his elder brother. Cue the BWP last minute winner.
The Irrelevant Stats – So far this season the Bees have played 18 league matches at home, they have won 10, drawn 6, and only lost twice. It will take a bloody good effort to get the 3 points from this game. They have scored 29 goals at Griffin Park this term and have let in 17, keeping 8 clean sheets in total. Although Brentford may be unbeaten in their last 6 home games, our away form is none too shabby, with 3 consecutive away wins.
A warm welcome to – Jonathan Douglas. Surely if Dougie wasn’t a footballer he would be a proper bonafide traveller?
Head to Head – We have met in the league on 75 occasions and just have the upper hand having won 31, drawn 18 and lost 26 times.
The Odds – Brentford 13/8 Draw 12/5 Swindon 15/8 It seems 1-1 is quite a popular scoreline with the bookies, 5/1 generally being the price. Adam Rooney seems well priced at 7/1 and rather oddly, BWP, who has managed 1 goal in 22 games, leads the way at 9/2 to score 1st.
The Son Says – A level headed and rational decision from the boy. 3-0 victory.
The Prediction – As much as I would love to share my lad’s youthful and refreshing optimism, after a day of shifting hundreds of bags of rubble, weighing nearly 3 tonnes, it really is a struggle. But, I think we have enough in the locker to sneak a tight 2-1 victory, goals from A.Rooney and A.Williams, 6’699 (1’210 Town fans)
And Finally – It was announced yesterday that Brentford have handed a 2 week trial to a Spurs Centre back, the brilliant but childishly named Will Ekong.
