There’s not a single Brentford fan that isn’t concerned about the team’s recent run of results – we’ve all looked on as defeat after defeat has seen the boys in red and white slip ever-closer to the danger zone. And, from a position of relative comfort, it is clear there is a real struggle ahead if we are going to edge back towards real safety.
This season was never going to be a walk in the park for a ‘team like Brentford’, and although the early season run was welcomed with open arms and gave us a warming sense of belonging at this level, it is a nine month season, in the toughest league in the world, so realistically, there were always going to be more lows than highs in my view. Not to mention a failure to bolster the team further during the January transfer window.
There’s still ample time to win the points we need to guarantee another bite of the Premier League cherry, and I am certainly not losing sleep quite yet, however, little seems to be going our way in the recent home games we have looked towards as being three point opportunities and, away from home, we’ve not even looked like getting even a point in all honesty, which has been a huge let down. So how do we turn things around, and is it realistic to see Christian Eriksen as our saviour?
Yes and no. Alone, of course not – a man who has come through so much in the past nine months is unlikely to be able to carry a whole team. But there were signs during the second half cameo against Newcastle that CE21 still posses the magic to pick out passes that others simply don’t even see, let alone execute. If, during the valuable training sessions in between matches, players like Bryan Mbeumo and Ivan Toney can work on the same wavelength and integrate some new patterns of play to maximize better quality delivery options, then I firmly believe there’s enough fixtures remaining to make that difference.
There’s little margin for error though, survival means few injuries, no more suspensions to key players, and a little more good fortune going our way. Bizarre incidents during the Wolves match, the absence of a combat ready Ivan Toney against Palace, then the early sending off against Newcastle, have cost at least two points, possibly more, in this Bee’s guestimated calculations… that has to end. Going behind in home games also kills the vibe off the pitch, which is never conducive to a three-point haul. A return to that early season up and at ‘em spirit wouldn’t go a miss either!
Whether it’s this coming Saturday, or against Burnley, we need Eriksen 90-minute fit and as close to his best as is humanly possible under the circumstances. I genuinely believe the tide will turn for the Bees and that Christian’s will to win, desire and class will rub off on all around him as we grasp the nettle during the Spring run-in.
Eriksen said recently; “It was six months of waiting and hard work to get to where I am now. I want to touch the ball, to play some football, to score some goals and get some assists. I want to see where it takes me. I know myself; I want to be as good as possible.” Brentford fans are desperate to share in that journey – to witness those assists and goals and support the rehabilitation that may, just may, take him to the World Cup next December… as well as preserving our place in the Premier League. Here’s to three points at Norwich to get the season back on track. Come On You Bees!
Dave Lane
Beesotted100
