After a day of turmoil at Griffin Park yesterday – started by Times journalist Matt Hughes and ended by the refereeing ineptitude of Keith Stroud – Brentford owner Matthew Benham took to twitter in the early hours of this morning to defend his corner.
The tweets, posted just after 3am in the UK, read “its been a very difficult 24 hours. I will try to explain the situation more in the next couple of days. i’ve been a genuine fan since 1979 and try to honestly act in the best long term interests of the club.”
Benham has undoubtebly steered the club on an upward trajectory over the past few years – and pumped in significant funds to prevent our decline during the seasons of bucket jangling after every game by Bees United – but the vocal support of supporters coupled with the visible support of the players for Mark Warburton may just have given him some food for thought. The Ealing Terrace still sang their “One Matthew Benham” song, but it’s volume was noticeably lower than their support for the popular Warbs on an emotional night.
It’s unclear at this stage exactly what has gone on between owner and manager – but a rift developing at this stage of the season is unhelpful for all concerned, despite the safety of 52 points in the bag. Hughes suggested that Benham “is determined to have a greater influence that the club… and wants the club to adopt a more scientific approach to all areas of their football operation” which I would interpret as a desire by Benham to bring in new players, new coaches or new tactics.
Indeed The Times have reported today that Warburton has resisted demands to bring in a sleep coach (to monitor players when playing and at rest) and a set piece coach. I’d say we could certainly do with the latter, we are toothless at corners. Whether Big Nick Proschwitz needs more sleep or not is more debatable.
If Warburton, as looks increasingly likely, does depart at the end of the season or before there are strong parallels to Southampton getting rid of Nigel Adkins as boss despite a good track record as manager. Their own progress since has been admittedly commendable. They have a game plan and cover all eventualities before they occur. Perhaps this is what we were trying to do in talking to a Spanish coach last week.
The warning sign in this whole saga for me, however, is the prospect of an owner who is potentially unwilling to delegate or compromise. We’ve had one of those before – Ron Noades – and we all know how poisonous that became for Brentford FC. Vincent Tan has recently forged a similar path at Cardiff City. It’s clearly unfair to suggest that Benham is cut from similar cloth after all the good he has done in TW8, but there are undoubtably lessons to be learnt from the past.
There is no doubt whatsoever that Matthew is unable to finance and unearth gems, to find value in players that others had missed, to raise the stock of our playing staff. But our track record is not unblemished with the likes of Javi Venta, Betinho and Marcos Tebar so far adding little value to the playing roster – and these players still have to be managed day to day.
Good leadership knows how and when to delegate. The Brentford manager (whether Warbs or the touted replacement Paco Jemez) will need to build working relationships and trust with his players and whilst a conveyor belt of new talent will no doubt enrich the squad, he will need to manage the team ethos behind this and continue to get the best out of his existing staff. The reaction of the players after Andre Gray’s strike last night indicate that Warburton does this very very well. As a club we need to acknowledge and respect this.
One other worrying footnote from yesterday’s plethora of discomfort was Brentford’s statement in relation to the Warburton situation – a bizarrely worded missive that aided other media sources in pouring fuel on the flames at Griffin Park. I’m not utterly convinced that this went fully through the clubs communication team first – possibly due to the tight deadlines involved – but the result was a mild disaster. We are playing in a bigger pond these days, where journalists hunt in packs, and we need to get our communication right first time.
The progress we have made as a club in the last few years has been astonishing and it’s no surprise that our full throttle push towards the Premiership has hit some bumps along the way. It’s how we deal with this that might just define our future – I hope we do it with dignity, honesty and respect.
Three points at Charlton would be a good start.
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Excellent piece on a very difficult last couple of days, in a season that has been quite easily the best in my 33-34 odd years as a Brentford fan.
We have been spoilt rotten this season, it is clear for all to see, although some fans may quite rightly so, say that we are long overdue it, with years and years and game after game over season after season, of let’s be honest, mediocrity in multitude but this season has honestly, hand on heart, never been bettered, or in my wildest dreams, ever thought possible by a team that I support. Home and away games, of nervous hope before them, a fear that this might be the one that we get ‘found out’ as a team, to not only sit through the first 15 mins, witness little old Brentford, not only hold their own but totally dominate household names, established names, so called big clubs, but then totally take the game to them, dominate possession, outpass pretty much every side we’ve played and all bar one, Middlesbrough away, which I was possibly fortunate enough not to witness, but I firmly believe that not only have we not been beaten, ok maybe the score line suggests differently but without fail, we have either won with ease, won by a small margin but deserved much more, or actually lost when we were by far the better team over the course of the match. To be here at mid-February and to be able to say it, well, who would have thought it? Not one of us. Not even the most ardent of believers and those young supporters, lucky enough not to have the enduring memories of bland football with no cutting edge to draw back on, would honestly hand on heart think we would be still in the play off spots, with a huge chance to maybe shake the football world to its feet and maybe, just maybe, make Wembley come May but our club has done it and is still doing it.
What I guess I’m suggesting is, who or what is responsible for it? Is it one person, is it a couple of a few, or is it an overwhelming tiide of success happening at all levels no breeding more and more?
It would be very easy to say it is all down to one man, or a combination of two, Warburton and Benham, who up until yesterday seemed to working in an unflappable partnership that would not only end with this season of hope but a real chance of Brentford playing in the top tier. As I said earlier, not even in my wildest dreams had I even considered it. But what has gone wrong??? Or in fact, has anything? Is this simply the next phase?? And if so, who are we to question it? Is their a grander scheme? Is this part of the bigger picture? Is it another ‘gamble’ from a professional gambler, who seems to be very very successful at doing what he does?
I feel this way because less than 3 years ago, we as a bunch of fans couldn’t understand why we as a club, we’re letting our best asset, our best hope if you like, in Harry Forester, leave or even hint at moving on. There were disturbances, a non understanding, a sense of ‘typical Brentford’, not realising the potential of what looking back on it now, 3 years down the line, was a player who was good in 1 out of every 4 games but he’s very quickly been forgotten about. Forgotten about because what we had left and what we were about to accrue was better than him. We then had Rossler, definitely the 2nd best manager of Brentford in recent times who pushed us onwards and upwards. He left to improve himself after a successful campaign at the Bees. As fans we couldn’t fathom it or understand it? Why? How rude? But we weren’t used to it? We had never in 30 years seen someone do so well that they might be wanted by ‘better’ teams. When he left we all called for a big name replacement, someone to take us on, someone to excite the fans, yet no, none of that, a name who most had not heard of, in Warburton. And what a success story he’s been. I like all other fans sing his name loud and proud and am absolutely grateful for what he has done. He’s humble and gracious and calm and loyal. He’s everything we could wish for. He has his feet firmly on he ground. He’s only going one way in his career and who would be surprised to see him end up on the touch line at Wembley, in charge of the National side if he continues in this vein? But we also had Forshaw, another player who’s move caused controversy. He moved on, fans were upset, we got fractious over it but now, apart from our recent game with Middlesbrough, his name barely gets mentioned. Why? Because we are evolving. We’re still successful, we’re all happy because we are going places and until that upward spiral starts to turn back down, then why would we be??
And this is where it gets hard to take. Who knows whether if Warburton is ousted, for whatever reason, is the right or wrong thing? Ask most fans now at is moment in time and I’d say it would be an at least 98-100% in favour of ‘ we are making a mistake’ but I think at other moments in time over the last few years, a similar poll could have been taken about Forester, Rossler, Forshaw, et al but at this present time, Mathew Benham seems to have called everyone of them right. And is it one bit of a surprise? It’s what he does for a living, a very decent living by all accounts. He’s a professional gambler and if he sat and took stock, I doubt he’d be half the man he is or as successful but he doesn’t he makes calls, he places bets, he moves fast and he wins. And if this is the next of his well researched, odds in his favour, placed bets, then who can stand against it with any sort of well balanced argument? It just wouldn’t stack up. He’d win every time.
As much as we as fans want to see new signings, new players, new stadiums, new kits, we also get nostalgic and set in our ways about what we like, success and good players/managers. But here it is, there’s a few players in the current squad, that if we’re honest with ourselves, aren’t going to be quite good enough to take us to e next level, whatever that level might be? But who’ll be crying or bleating when they get put on the scrap heap? Who’ll be asking that they should be kept on on long term, well paid contracts? Not one of us, because it’s evolution. We’ll cheer the new successful players names, we’ll herald a new successful manager but we’ll still all be cheering for Brentford.
I like many others am very wary that this could be the totally wrong call. It might fill us with massive regret. It might be the point we all lok back on and think, what might have been but what if it’s not? What if It is just another Forester, Rossler, Forshaw moment in time? How are we to know? Only time will tell I suppose but for now, it seems as though Warburton, the best manager of Brentford for arguably, 70-80 years, is now deemed surplus to requirements and if that’s a call a professional gambler is going to make, then we might just have to think, he knows what he’s doing and lay our chips alongside his stack too?
Just one thing I don’t quite understand though is, alongside our ground, our new stadium, our best players, quality back room staff, is Warburton not seen as arguably our ‘most lucrative’ asset and one with a definite value on his head, more so than I would personally say, 80% of the playing staff are worth but how come, even if he is deemed surplus to requirements, Benham didn’t go about his business in another way? Surely there’s been interest in him? Surely questions have been asked? Surely bigger, established teams are taking note? And if so, then why didn’t the professional gambler, take a gamble and offer him a 4 year contract. Then when another club came calling, we could “let him go” for a hugely inflated figure of compensation and thereby totally doing what Benham seems to be doing anyway, in moving him on but this way, with a nice little win bonus to boot? And that is the only bit I don’t quite understand? It doesn’t ring true for a professional gambler but a hugely successful business man to let a top top asset, leave for nothing on his own terms? How many of us could give away a house or car or holiday for nothing, especially when a host of people were lining up to buy it off us??
I guess we’ll find out the answers in the next year or so but bloody hell, what a journey it is right now!!
Without Mr Benhams finances we would not be were we are today FACT also have you thought maybe its Warbs that wanted a one year rolling contract.You have to trust benham we are not going to be a success without him plus hes a Brentford fan like me since childhood TRUST HIM
Let’s not rush to conclusions. I have faith in the big B. I believe (and hope, just a touch, to be fair), that this is all just good housekeeping, ensuring a plan is place should Warbs be poached by QPR or someone similar.
Excellent piece which knocks into a cocked hate the drivel that was put up on the website yesterday purporting to be a ‘Club Statement’. Begs questions of whoever compiled and approved such a piece of nonsense.
My thoughts centre on a point made toward the end of the last mail. My understanding is that Mark is on a one year contract- he can walk away at the end of the season or he could go to someone like Leicester with the Premier millions where a 5 year 15m contract may be on offer next week. None of us would turn that down in our jobs or honestly begrudge him. So is Matrhew planning for that possibility. He owns the Club, let’s trust in him and hope Marks head is not turned by the Prem or its cash.
As supporters we only ever know a fraction of what is being said, planned or indeed what is happening behind the scenes. When we established Bees United it was in part out of a desire for such a situation never to occur again. Then, things had reached a ridiculous point where the very future of our Club was at stake.Make no mistake, it was our efforts that brought us back from the brink.
These recent revelations should alert us to the importance of ensuring that as many fans as possible join Bees United and BIAS and that we all become actively involved, however and whenever opportunity arises.We know from recent experience that people listen when we speak collectively with a strong and united voice.
What is it about BFC that makes us into a sort of serialized footballing version of War & Peace? It’s certainly never, ever dull following the Bees.
Steve Cowan
In reply, or appreciation of Stephens post 11/2
Well expressed and put into perspective……….
We all knee-jerk our fears, concerns and opinions, but at some point we have to trust (and it’s been difficult for long serving Bees fans) the owner and management, to be capable and be acting solely in the long term interests of the club.
Matthew Benham is a Bees fan, not here for a quick buck or the self engrandisement we see from the publicity seeking, mainly financial engineers other clubs have been infiltrated by.
Let’s be patient and see what transpires, I’m enjoying the ride and have been witnessing the best football of my last 45 years as a Bees fan, and can’t wait for the next match……..You Bees