As days in football go, Tuesday 15 August 2017 will go down as one of the most eventful in the club’s recent history in view of the magnitude of news and events that came out of Griffin Park.

Firstly, in terms of the timings of announcements at least, Cliff Crown unveiled the much anticipated details of the new stadium planning amendments, which have been received with mixed, if somewhat measured, reactions by most fans.

We all have individual views on the news stadium, and no one person’s opinion means any more than another’s – our hopes and expectations for the replacement of our proud stadium aren’t necessarily universally shared. In my view some of the decisions that have been made make good sense, others I am scratching my head about somewhat.

There was some healthy discussion in the pubs before the game – and I spoke to a lot of people, none of whom seemed that worried by what they had read in truth. When it was explained there would be no club shop, no club offices, no pub and that the Trust had been moved out (albeit just next door) more than a few eyebrows were raised. “How can you build a new stadium that doesn’t even have a club shop?” That may be an over simplistic summing up, and without visuals, or comparisons being released, it does possibly highlight how deep the cuts have been made to the design.

Whether or not the stadium can ever be realistically upscaled, if need be, is also very hazy. But the consensus of opinion seemed to be that if we can fill a tight, modern new stadium and make it as atmospheric and intimidating (in a good way) as Griffin Park, then that may not be a bad thing – rather than risk having empty seats or a diluted mix of hardcore Bees fans. There’s still plenty of food for thought on all of this though.

Then, with kick off time fast approaching, Bees midfielder Ryan Woods released a heartbreaking statement, which told the world of his families tragic loss – it really did put everything in perspective. “Last week, my partner and I suffered the tragic loss of our baby. As you can understand, this came as a devastating blow and has left us, our family and friends struggling to come to terms with the implications.”

As a parent looking back to the time in my life when my kids were about to be born, I cannot imagine the pain and grief that the Woods family are feeling right now, and my love goes to them, as no doubt it does from all Brentford fans.

You can only wonder what affect this has had on Ryan’s team mates too – people who share the training ground, hotel rooms and travel up and down the country together week in week out. The players are a tight group; so they will be hurting too, let’s not forget that.

In other news, there was a game of football to be played.

As most fans urged after the leaky Nottingham Forest defeat at the weekend; Barbet and Dean were given the nod at the centre of defence in a bid to sure things up. Well that went well! The Bees were one down within five minutes after a half-cleared ball was smashed home… all very déjà vu.

The Bees responded well enough, lots of possession and lots of shots on goal, but it was clear the team lacked a cutting edge with Vibe looking off sorts – his stats speak for themselves – but when it ain’t happening for him, it just ain’t happening.

Ollie Watkins is fast becoming a terrace hero, and his reputation was boosted even further when he headed home the most delicious cross from Jota, to almost literally lift the lid off of Griffin Park. Game on, although the sight of Josh McEachran leaving the pitch on a stretcher once again highlighted the two sides of the day over all.

Neil Maupay’s introduction brought out some unnecessary cheers as Vibe left the pitch, but it took no time at all for the new French striker to show what he’s made of – he’s quite some player too and his celebrations after finding the perfect finish to give the Bees the lead shows he’s right of for it!

My own evening took a turn for the worse when my phone’s keyboard started only half working which gave me the right hump.

Eight minutes of injury time usually means a twist in the tail, it’s almost 10% of the match added on, and Tuesday produced a really gut-wrenching body blow – Brentford had deservedly won the match, yet they couldn’t clinch the deal, and nerves set in.

Dan Bentley almost gifted City an equaliser when he came out of his area to slice the ball straight to an opponent, and if it wasn’t for Barbet’s miraculous goal-line clearance the visitors would have been back on level terms earlier.

But surely we could hold out? Well, you already know the answer to that. The Bees conceded with virtually the last kick of the match to leave us feeling like we’d lost again rather than belatedly got off of the mark points-wise. It was gutting… gutting that we’d dropped two points.

But not as gutted as to have lost a precious child.

Our thoughts and condolences are with Ryan and his family at this sad time.

Dave Lane
@beesotted100

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