New Beesotted contributor, James Tippett, serves up the second part of his series of articles and looks back at the weekend’s defeat at AFC Bournemouth.
As the Championship Marathon 2014/15 reaches the metaphorical one mile mark, Brentford are definitely showing promise. It is still very early on, and the runners are yet to be split up significently, but the Bees (or Los Abejas) are showing signs of early positivity.
Although disappointing, the 1-0 loss to Bournemouth showed promise for the Bees, both in attack and defence. For periods of the game we looked the better team, and a draw was probably a more deserving result. There is further encouragement to be had in the fact that Charlton managed to emerge victors over Wigan, a result which indicates that our 1-1 draw to them was a decent result.
It is always hard to judge how well each team will at this very early stage of the season, and I believe that our current league position after two matches is by no means a fair reflection of our performances. Some teams will undoubtedly find themselves at completely opposite ends of the table come May to where they find themselves in the coming weeks. That being said, it would be nice to see Fulham maintain their position at the foot of the division.
Turning our attention away from the Championship Marathon, the Bees progressed through the first round of the Capital One Cup “Bleep Test”, as it were. Those who travelled the length of the District Line on Tuesday night were rewarded with a roller-coaster ride of a match. The joint highest scoring League Cup game in history saw Brentford run out eventual victors against a resilient Dagenham & Redbridge side.
It is unusual to concede 6 goals in one match and run out eventual winners, but if anyone can do it Brentford can! Warburton’s men finished the match with effectively 9 men after Smith and Moore were both affected by the challenge of playing 120 mins, but it was good for players such as Diagouraga and Dean (among others) to get valuable playing time under their belt.
The sweetness of wiping the smile off Jamie Cureton’s 150 year old face was added to on Wednesday night when we drew Fulham in the next round. I imagine the look of horror on the faces of Fulham fans when they saw that they would be facing the mighty Brentford was similar to the look on the face of the Sky Producer when he realised that his presenter had completely cocked up the draw for the second round on live television.
The visit of the Cottagers to Griffin Park on the 26th August is set to be a great occasion, and with Fulham’s current form I would say that a Bees win is definitely on the cards.
Never mind the onslaught of upcoming fixtures, Warburton’s biggest challenge over the next few weeks must be the task of mastering of the Spanish language following the acquisitions of Spaniards Jota and Toral, in addition to the already present Tebar. Extra marks go to those of you who can translate the title of this piece without Google Translate.
Both of these players are highly-rated, and will no doubt add quality to our midfield. However, following the bolstering of our midfield, I cannot help but think that this spells the end of Adam Forshaw as a Brentford player.
The fact that he is training with the development squad sure further indicates that he is on his way out. If he wants to go, which appears to be the case, then there is only so much that Warburton can do. I expect a possible deadline day deal being made.
Looking forward, I hope that those who make the long trip up to Blackpool on Tuesday are rewarded by witnessing Brentford’s first 3 points in the Second Division for 21 years. Jose Riga’s men are favourites for relegation and I for one would regard anything less than a win as a disappointment. Hopefully from there the Bees can kick on and start to make a real impact on the Championship this season.
So, although it will still be a while before distance between the runners emerges, and packs start being formed, the opening games have given some indication if which runners will be leading the race come May, and who will be crossing the finishing line amongst the bottom three.
Early signs show that Brentford have the potential to finish the race in the top half, but it is still very early days. And as they say in Spain: Es un maratón, no una carrera rápida.
James Tippett
@JamesTippett
