Beesotted contributor Jim Levack responds to Billy Grant’s article – . Levack feels it is too simplistic to put Brentford’s form simply down to a simple theory when mitigating factors such as refereeing displays, recruitment and lack of strength of depth should also come into play.
In an era when managers, players and club owners are scrutinised to within an inch of their lives, it beggars belief that match officials can still act with arrogant impunity each week. There’s little doubt in my mind that referee Simon Hooper had a major influence on the outcome of the Cardiff game, such was his frankly jaw-dropping incompetence.
But far more worrying than the official’s staggering inconsistency – awarding the softest of penalties, waving away at least two nailed on ones at the other end and then failing to book Kaikai’s assailant on the edge of the box – is the fact that some Bees fans are happy to ignore the fact that he affected Brentford’s performance.
Mr Hooper was arguably the worst, or at least most myopic, referee I’ve seen at Griffin Park since Alf Grey all but pulled on a Sheffield United shirt in 1976.
Despite his game-changing role in Saturday’s match he will slink off into the shadows with no questions to answer, to no doubt ruin someone else’s weekend next time round. The Football League should be open and transparent and let fans know he will be ‘rested’ or ‘dropped down a division’… just as players are.
As someone for whom every home game means a 200 miles round trip, I’m known for being vociferous about the growing band of referees who see themselves as bigger than the game . I don’t mind if we don’t win, as long as we put in a performance and the referee’s part in proceedings passes largely unnoticed.
So when I read Billy’s comment piece about the refusal to accept mediocrity on the pitch, I was a little surprised that Beesotted were appearing to gloss over the ineptitude of Mr Hooper to instead focus on the deficiencies of the squad, and by inference Dean Smith (the referee was poor. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that we have also been sub-standard. To focus on the referee’s performance is to gloss over the team’s non-performance – Ed).
And then it got me wondering whether he has a point… and to be honest, I think he does and he doesn’t.
He does because clearly the performances of late haven’t hit the previously stellar heights in terms of slick, fluent football that we played with the likes of Jota, Pritchard, Judge, Gray, Dallas and Co in the side. But the clue to why lies in the second part of that sentence.
While we’ve bought in some decent players, we clearly haven’t strengthened after each window as we were promised and we don’t seem to have the same clout in the loan market that we did under Warburton.
Dean Smith knows exactly the areas that need strengthening and if Scott Hogan leaves, he – and more importantly the Directors of Football – will be facing a migraine to avoid mediocrity when it comes to attacking options.
When I read Billy’s piece I have to admit I was seriously concerned as he has always preached moderation, patience and an awareness of where we are at, largely echoing the views of Matthew Benham. Where we are at now is pretty much where we deserve to be given the recruitment in the summer (I would like to think I’m massively patient. And as has been indicated in the editorial below, I know that even if we play at the top of our game, we are a Top 8 team at best. On paper the difference between 8th and 14th is nothing. So should us as fans be be overly worried? Probably not. However, if we are paying good money each week to watch football, we would like our team to at least try and play to their full potential and give us something to shout about – Ed)
His ‘mediocrity’ article suggests a slight disconnect with Mr Benham, which is in itself disturbing. But more worryingly it fails to acknowledge the – to my mind – obvious reason why we do, at times, look mediocre this season (Not sure what this has to do with anything and why does it disturb? It’s a personal opinion. Who knows what MB is thinking. MB for all we know may be thinking the same. Maybe someone will ask him in the not too distant future – Ed).
It’s not rocket science guys… it’s because we simply haven’t got stronger in each window. FACT (Interestingly, we have only 4 points less than we did in our Championship playoff season at this moment in time. That season we came into Christmas off the back of a really strong run too – Ed)
And despite what some may think, there’s only so much any manager can do with a squad that I feel is missing two or three ingredients to turn it into the top six side that Billy would like us to be.
Any football fan with knowledge of the game can see where Brentford are lacking – pace and/or guile on the flanks, a second goalscorer and a defensive midfielder – yet repeatedly these areas remain unaddressed so we now face a situation where we will face a mad rush in a market that knows we’re loaded should Hogan depart next month.
Billy’s spot on – we’ve looked mediocre at times and the 5-0 spanking at Norwich was inexcusable, but to apply a logical formula to who should win games in the Championship is a little naïve. Anyone can beat anyone in this league.
The inference of the article is that Dean Smith and the coaching team are getting only mediocre responses from their squad – yet there’s no mention of the Directors of Football at whom the same mediocrity accusation should surely be levelled if we are, reluctantly, going down that route.
I’d urge anyone who thinks we’re mediocre right now to look at the best judge of a strong squad – the subs’ bench – now and a year or so ago. I rest my case.
If we look mediocre, then the transfer and equally critical loan policy is where the spotlight should be focused… oh, as well as the string of dreadful refs who seem determined to favour the so called big clubs.
Jim Levack
@jimblee1
Billy Grant’s response: In response to Jim’s article above as he take the opportunity to reference my article a number of times, I hasten to emphasise that the focus of my article was to drive home the fact that I believe that as a starting 11, we have the players to deliver a top 10 finish in The Championship easily. They have shown us – when they can be bothered – they have the ability to play good football. We’ve taught teams flying high like Brighton and Reading footballing lessons this season. The problem I have is the acceptance of mediocrity. Almost as if we feel don’t deserve to be there. Or don’t deserve get the result. We are apologetic when we lose a match we should have got points from. Where is the belief?
And this has nothing to do with strength in depth. This to me is a shrouded way of saying that our players are not good enough. Everyone was raving about our players at the back end of the season when we were winning games for fun and playing great football. Bentley. Colin. Woods. Hogan. Class players. Would anyone have put money on Vibe going from hero at the back end of last season to zero this season? People also seem to forget that our squad was threadbare two seasons ago. We had a great first team but we were also lacking strength in depth. Two or three injuries to first team players and our season would have been very different. We were lucky that year with injuries.
I feel overall our players are good enough to take on the likes of Birmingham and Preston and Leeds and Norwich on their day. We should be able to beat all of the teams from the top 10 down to Rotherham in bottom place on paper. And we should be able to give any team from 4th place to 10th a good battle. Yes give a good battle – doesn’t matter if we lose – and us fans, who don’t ask for much, are happy.
I admit that the top 3 is way out of our reach (even if we did beat Brighton). And we are too inconsistent to say we deserve a top 6 place in May. But on the flip side, are you telling me that 5th place Leeds United and 6th place Sheffield Wednesday are on their day any better than us when we actually decide to turn up? We should easily finish in the top 10. Not if we keep making excuses for dropping points we won’t.
My article is highlighting the fact that we need to be bolded. Show some body language. And say we are going to WIN against Norwich on Saturday as nothing else is acceptable. Already, I can see the excuses piling up.
“They’re a premier league side-in-waiting”
“The referee was poor”
“We didn’t have a strong enough bench”
That’s all nonsense in my book.
If we don’t have the balls to go out there, take on teams like Norwich – who will be quite literally walking into Griffin Park on their knees – and dispose of them good and proper …. then we may as well cash out our season tickets now for the second half of the season and come back in August for the next round.
Billy Grant
@BillyTheBee99
To read the original article – – click this link
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Always good to see healthy debate, and whilst I accept Billy’s point re an acceptance of mediocrity I do think our squad lacks genuine strength in depth to enable rotation, competition and tactical manoeuvrability during and in between games. Bottom line is that our squad is not as strong as it was 18 months or so ago.
I think the B side should also be readied for use to bolster the team. Last season players were being signed to the L Back position but Field has shown his capability and has had a new 3 year contract. I addition Josh Clarke has come on and only injury has stopped him being in the recent starting eleven. There are other players who should be getting game time from the B side and I for one will look forward to them playing some minutes.
Our coach dose not motivate the players dose not know dhat team to pick persist with long ball football and comes up with excuses every week.
Our tacktics don’t work and players continue to make errors but play every game so they know it makes no difference.
The players who quite clearly changed the game will go back to the bench and we will persist with the same predictable formation.
We will hit high ball’s to our five foot players give the ball away as we have no player in mid to link up play .
But I agree the referee did have a big part to play in the result but we are never going to beat the ref .
We need to be brave run with the ball play higher up the field.
Smith dose not like flair player’s unlike mw so while he is at the helm we have to put up with the boring football we are producing
We haven’t got the players, because the best ones jumped ship, when MW was ushered out the door; who would have faith in a plan which started with pushing out a top class manager, who was not only popular, trusted and respected by both players and fans , only to start phase one of the plan, by replacing him with a useless manikin-like duffer. Things have bumped along, in a mainly uninspiring manner, since. The QPR performance, was so good and out of character, it remains an enigma.
Next, Jota, will not want to return to GP and waste his time and talent on the current regime; he would be only going backwards and would be fleeing to Spain ts. I believe, if he joins MW at Rangers, it is because of the factors that I have outlined. Only players, who have no other offers, or have no playing time in their current team, will reluctantly move to GP.
Disagree, Brentford is currently an excellent stepping stone for players who want to play in the PL… the next step in our development – and possibly the hardest – is to build a team that makes them believe they can do that without leaving.
We have good players but are missing two or three who can take the others with them to the next level.
Bentley had lots of teams chasing. Egan too. Sawyers may not be to everyones taste but he’s clearly talented and was in the PFA team of the year 2015/16 alongside Egan and Rico Henry. Our previous players who made the PFA Division 1 team of the year recently are Alan Judge, Jake Bidwell and Adam Forshaw.
Players who are plucked out as being the best in their division over the season are always highly sought after.
So your theory that we can only attract players who can’t go anywhere else seems to be a tad flawed.
Interesting discussion, good points being made by both sides. I think there are just too many factors at play with Brentford as a club at the moment, a lot of it almost comes down to just bad luck I suppose.
They probably should be doing a lot better this season, as often they have been mediocre but the championship is getting tougher and tougher. I think our expectations of the club are too high, is a mid-table finish really all that bad? Of course Brentford could be promoted and I hope and know they will some day but only 3 clubs out of 24 can go up so its not easy.
I think Brentford will beat Norwich if Dean responds to the result against Cardiff. Surely Kaikai will start. Josh MC and the Hoff showed they deserve a chance. I would like KK to feature more due to his form towards the end of last season but something must have gone on behind the scenes that we are not aware of as he is not really getting a chance at the moment. I think Vibe needs to be on bench as its not really working out for him atm. Sawyers and Yennaris’ form is not consistent enough that they should start every game. I think rotation is necessary otherwise players on the bench etc are not going to be happy at the squads inconsistent xi continuing to remain very similar after mixed results.
Brentford will get something out of the game in my opinion, they have a point to prove and they will still be hurting from the Canary thrashing and will be out for revenge.
Next month will be tough transfer window wise. I think if Brentford repeat last January and do not invest then promotion is very unlikely. I remember last year Smith spoke of how players were priced too highly but I think they have to gamble a bit as opposed to playing it safe if they really want a chance of going up (and if they can financially afford to invest). Hogan will probably go as it much as it pains me to say, however, do we stand any chance of going up if he does leave, I am not so sure. I think we will be lucky if we keep hold of him to the summer, although I really want to stay for good. I am really not sure what will happen with Judge. I can’t see him leaving on a free in the summer after how much we have supported him so I guess either next month providing he has recovered and is fit again or signing a one year extension or something. We need a proven lower league goalscorer(s) for example – Matty Taylor, John Akinde, Omar Bogle, Sean Maguire, pace on the wings – gboly ariyibi, Jodi Jones and something else in midfield – Cameron McGeehan, Bradley Dack, Josh Morris, Ollie Watkins. Any of those, maybe just one or two could make a big difference to the squad.
Agree with a some of your thoughts here but I don’t think promotion is on the cards this season unless things drastically change. Doesn’t mean we can’t compete, beat a load of teams, finish well inside the top 10 and have a good cup run.
As for goal scorers, with all due respect to John Akinde, I don’t think him – and the likes of him – is the answer. Yes some unearthed gem (like Hogan and Gary) from the lower leagues is the way forward. But since teams like Brentford took a risk buying those players from the lower divisions and throwing them into a Championship team, everyone is now on the case. We lets hope we can stay one step ahead of them.
What is it with modern day football – everybody wants to point the finger. Why can’t we get back to doing what we’re there for – SUPPORTING OUR TEAM – then we might just get the results we all crave.
Not pointing the finger. Merely saying that Brentford should have more faith in their ability and stop accepting half-baked performances. The article acticle gives credit to the team saying they are better than the results they are churning out and the performances they are producing.
Will we be a top 6 playoff chasing side this season? Probably not. But we can play a lot better than we are.
And Norwich is a real tester for us as the message emanating from that dressing room on Saturday should be “We’re not going to give you guys a sniff today” and they should go our an tear them apart – just like they did Reading. With absolutely purpose. We know we can do it.
IMHO there are truths in both articles..who is more right? I dunno!
These are my observations and I’d welcome constructive criticsm.
The first season in the championship was amazing. We had some great players either at the club or on loan at the club. As mentioned we were a bit lucky with injuries that time out aside from Hogan of course and Gray stepped up. But what has been forgotton is that we were that close to breaking FFP…even with a threadbare squad. It wasn’t sustainable.
Last year we had a team shorn of significant first team players and went on a rebuilding exercise. Some of the players brought in needed time to adapt but because of serious injuries to at least 4 1st teamers we had to throw them in so we did well…bloody well…to finish 9th.
This season though we’ve sold a quality GK and left back (and captain), brought in 3 players and a loanee, but didn’t really replace Bidwell or Toums or Jota and Dallas, and of course Judgey (who would have been sold but the money would probably have been put towards a replacement) so i think we are a few players down. That wasnt so noticeable as MCLeod was back from injury and looking good, but we’ve now been robbed of his talent. This isn’t Deans fault. Its the DoF for not having adequate cover, but even then we’ve been unlucky with injury. And like i said how much depth can we have in the squad without breaking FFP?
That’s the defence for DS.
The counter argument is that he plays some players regardless of form for me. I think he’s played RS more than his performances certainly at the start of the season have merited and i feel sorry for the guy. He’s suffering from the boo boys not because he’s a bad player, but because when he does play badly he stays on the pitch and others get taken off. He doesn’t make those decisions and because of that his standing with the fans has suffered. Then as the Liberal points out, DS is forever tinkering with the team / formation. We seem to worry about the opposition a little too much. Warbs used to say let the opposition worry about nullifying us, not the otherway round. Sometimes his alterations work but sometimes it fails spectacularly. The substitutions made are predictable to. And i also think confidence is waining a bit and its up to the manager to improve that. There are also some guys in the squad who don’t get a chance. KK is one for me and i am personally crying out for Macca to come back in and add some steel and drive to the middle of the park.
So then the ref….well we started well against Cardiff and then dropped our heads a bit when we conceded a penalty. Billy you said as much….but that penalty was a terrible decision. A team fairly low on confidence will be affected especially when its unjust. Then not to get a couple of shouts youself you start getting frustrated and angry. The Birmingham game was another one. Ref was poor there. Kuicek can take as long as he wants to kick the ball yet Bentley was told to hurry when the one time he did take a moment to set the ball the ref whistled. All this has an affect so i think there is substance to partially blaming a referee. It matters more when in a middle of a slump and things out of your control go against you. We should have had a penalty against Derby. Should have got something out the Birmingham game (though we were sloppy in possession) and probably could have got more out ofthe Cardiff game had heads not dropped because of a terrible decision…equally we were poor against Fulham and woeful against Norwich
Fair points Rob. And yes losing McLeod has been a loss. And McCormack – as injury prone as he has been – was very instrumental when we were having the winning run this season. A McCormack-style player cropping up in the side after Xmas could do wonders for us no doubt. But we’re still underselling ourselves at the moment. We can play better than we are overall. With the same players. Yes bring a few more in and we can go up a few notches. But lets try and get the best out of the bunch we have at the moment as thats what we have to play with at the moment.
I think we are in agreement. The team is better than the kind of football its producing. Yes we are missing creativity and steel in the middle of the park and we are a wing back and winger light (annoying when Jota is our player and he’s not doing much at the moment) but i agree the tempo and energy levels aren’t what they should be. There’s very little movement off the ball. When we have a throw in for example and no one moves. A lot of them don’t look like they want the ball either…is that lack of confidence? And then thats up to the manager…and lets not forget all these other coaches such as the pyschology coach and nutritional coach to get them playing with their heads up
We don’t look to be playing in the “Brentford way” at the moment either…moving the ball quickly forward and pressing high up the pitch.
Didn’t see beesotted’s original piece as controversial at all. Brentford last played really well and produced the result to match at loftus road. Since then it has been a struggle and there are aspects of Smith’s performance in the role that justify critique. I felt we were awful on Monday despite the joker in black. It’s also entirely fair that the debate is balanced, Smith relies on the head scout and DoF’s to provide tools to help match the stated aims of the owner. The squad is overloaded in areas and way short in others, this has been known and not addressed, particularly in the midfield area where an enforcer type has been a priority for over a year now. BFC under MB is ambitious to progress, let’s face it promotion is the only way he’s going to see any of his money again. The “project” is about 2 elements, the objective, and its implementation. The objective as I understand it is to grow BFC, to reach the premiership, playing a brand of attacking attractive football throughout the club, and to bring through home grown players. So how are we doing relative to others in the division? If the objective has changed and survival is the aim until we reach LR then fine, Smith’s pragmatism may well be enough with the resources available. If MB is happy then I guess that’s good enough for me, maybe the beesotted crew can ask him. 3 huge games ahead, I feel 3 points and progress in the cup are a minimum ask. Luck and poor refs haven’t helped but we had a few breaks early on in the season.
Dean Smith took the role in the full knowledge that he was to be the head coach, a man motivator, an enthusiastic, energetic, improver of players that would be chosen for him by stats and other methods and brought together under his guidance to be a team. What has changed in that job description in a year?? Nothing! I would grant that injuries have not aided him and also a few players, who it was hoped would be better than how they are performing at present might have kicked on but in the space of a year in the job, when I look at the group of players that DS inherited and others who he helped bring in, I cannot see where he has improved a single players ability and pushed them on to better themselves.
The whole thing is flat. It’s flat and predictable and dare I say it, a bore to watch. Norwich was complete dross of an inevitable air of defeat from a team totally lacking in fight and passion and then other games recently, although not on a par with the Norwich performance, have been bland and stale where it is so flat that the crowd don’t leave their seats at all, until a referee makes a decision we don’t like and as painfully bad as they were on Monday against Cardiff, that was all that got the crowd fired up and passionate! Because a referee who was clearly on a different planet if not seeing the blatant hand ball that Harlee Dean protested about it so vehemently, was the cause that it got only slightly exciting for the last 5 mins because before that, it was the pedestrian passing, slowly, painfully slowly, that someone like McEachran brings to any side he plays in. There is no fight, there is no pace, there is no passion to win. There is an inevitable set up of pedestrian football and that can only be placed solely at the door of Dean Smith and how he prepares the team during the week and with what I would like to think is a final motivational speech before they leave the dressing room but probably much more likely to be a ‘good luck today lads, let’s try and score the first goal this week……but if we don’t, we’ll trot out that usual line about learning from it and putting it right next week’ nonsense!
No one has warmed to Dean Smith as far as I’m aware but he makes it very difficult to do so. He hasn’t formed a bond with the fans. He doesn’t inspire confidence and an air of ‘I’m good enough and so are we’ that were looking for badly right now and quite like the man himself, seems very bland and magnolia football. Safe and uninspiring. If I honestly thought that given time, he could turn it around and get us to play exciting, attacking football that were lead to believe is what is required, then I’d be happy to watch this season peter out to nothing and a mid-table finish but reality is, even if it does, has he the capacity to get us firing on all cylinders next year and improve any player currently with us on our books to achieve a better performance level?? Or not a chance? A year is a long time to I still your beliefs and processes on a team and I firmly believe he has done so. So much so that we are witnessing the results of this, which is drab, dull, possession football but no end result or perhaps first time balls in behind teams to players on the move. Instead it’s now a bank of 3 centre halves, none with any pace at all. Bjelland the big chance we have waited for, is not exactly ripping up trees with his performances and has been at fault several times this season. Then all I keep hearing is we need a midfield enforcer and pacy wingers but to state that means we’re satisfied with our attacking midfielders but name me any of them where goals are going to come from? Woods? No. Yennaris? No. Sawyers? No! Kaikai, up until Monday? No! McEachran? Unless we move the goals to the sides of the pitch, 100% no! So take Hogan out of the side and we hope to survive mid table this season but unless we play out every game at 0-0 and pick up enough 1 points for a draw that way, then I don’t see where a goal is coming from next, unless Colin who makes tireless overlapping runs on the right flank gets a few, then our options are limited at best!
We seem to have a B team flying in terms of their performances and results and keep hearing were developing these to be first teamers but is it not about time we started putting some pressure on the comfortable performances of the current starting 11 and give them something to think about, or a rest at least?
We have a good few games in us and a hope that there are at least 3 teams worse than us this year (which thankfully I think there is to be honest) but with Dean Smith in our corner to send out a team to scrap and fight for the points, are you hopeful that he is the man for the job? Not for me, hasn’t been for a long long time. I can’t think that even given another year of if we would improve an ounce under him, so what harm would a change be at his stage? New ideas, new motivation for the players to perform for someone else! New training methods, a more fired up team, a chance to get our mojo back but something is missing and I can’t help but feel that it has to start from the man at the top and his ‘attitude’ to the mediocre performances and the bland style of football were now experiencing so for me, I’m done with it. As bad as I feel saying it but Sat aside and going to enjoy a New Years Eve game but the thought of a trip up to Birmingham on Monday to watch another uninspired performance, well not for me this year. Last 2 years of watching us up there was bad enough but if I thought Dean Smith had it in him to inspire us to victory, I might but just can’t see it any time soon.
On course for our 3rd best season in 60 years … how would the instant gratification crew cope if they were QPR fans?
How about everyone have a cold shower and look at a few facts.
There have been four matches against teams where Brentford should have done better – Rotherham, Wigan, Blackburn and Cardiff, resulting in 10 points washed away, which should have been in the back pocket. If all 10 points had been harvested the Brentford would be sitting 1 point outside the top six.
I think it would be reasonable to have expected a miimum 8 points from these teams and be sitting no worse than 3 points outside the top six.
The Norwich game would have been dismissed just as the Middlesbrough game was in Warbs day, with a brief comment and a shrug of the shoulders.
There will be a few lunatic supporters who will conclude that because Brentford did not beat the bottom teams then relegation is a certainty, but the reality is that for some quite inexplicable reason Brentford tossed away vital points to teams that will be locked in a desperate relegation battle all season and three of them may well (most likely will be relegated).
If the above 4 results are excluded/adjusted it demonstrates quite clearly that Brentford are more than a match for the Championship competition and should be sitting in or close to the top six.
Clearly Brentford are up there, but for some inconsistency of performance against teams that will ply their trade in Div 1 next season- and this has more to do with being a very young side than lacking of talent or skills.
There is always room for improvement of course, but the liberal use of the words such as mediocrity, etc, in describing the current status at Brentford is, quite simply, incorrect.
Much to do by the players, Dean & Co, the Directors of Football, etc, because the Promised Land is still a little distance away, but in getting there supporters have a role to play in encouraging and supporting rather than being mischievous and destructive with their comments and lack of understanding.
To use the phrase, “lunatic”, to undermine those you disagree with and prop up your comment, shows a lack of reason and moral rectitude within yourself.
All very balanced when taken as a whole.
The word leadership has not however appeared above.
I will support BFC til I leave the earthly pitch. But I hope to move on at least having seen players giving 100%.
What we are seeing at the moment are capable players seemingly playing for their pay packets – not their manager.
Whatever manager we have in charge must be bale to motivate his men to perform for their love of the club and their personal pride and self esteem.
When I see professional footballers pulling out of tackles; turning their backs to avoid the ball hitting them; admitting in post match commentary that “we didn’t turn up”; I feel angry and foolish in equal measure.
I would readily accept demotion if we go down fighting; sweating blood; showing passion; and leaving nothing on the pitch.
But we are witnessing not mediocre football but a mediocre attitude. And that I am afraid comes from the top and sorry DS the manager.
I agree totally with the comments posted by Steve. Whilst we might have unreasonable expectations, we want to see our players fight for every ball and play bright attacking football. Even if we lose, it’s important for fans to see that every player has given everything for the cause. I am just not seeing that at the moment. Whether that’s down to team selection, manager’s tactics, poor squad quality or a combination of all three I am not sure. What I do know is that the football we are being served up is flat and totally boring. A mate of mine who is a Leeds season ticket holder said he felt his team deserved the lucky win at Elland Road the other week because Brentford did not come to make a game of it, this reflects what a lot of Brentford fans currently feel that we are currently more concerned about avoiding defeat rather than actually being set up to try and win games – it’s so bloody frustrating because despite my misgivings about Dean Smith I feel sure we have the players to get us higher up the table. Personally, I have never warmed to DS, his tactics or his motivational skills but I was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. I have now reached a point where I feel that if we do not have a decent return in the next three games and a cup win, a change will be necessary. The D of F also have a lot to answer for imho as they have failed in a number of transfer windows to sign players of suitable quality and strength for this league. I remain a committed, enthusiastic Brentford supporter but I need the DofF, the head coach and the players to start giving me something to shout about for the rest of the season.
In all honesty the biggest problem we have as Brentford fans is players do not want to play for Brentford. Players only come to use us as a stepping stone. Do people really see us getting into the big time when year on year our best players leave?
Sorry Bernie, i don’t get your reasoning,players are going to want to play well for the Bees and then go on to bigger clubs and pay packets.Im afraid thats a fact of life being a Bees fan, always has been.
Bang on.
re squad depth.. Subs bench for 2-1 defeat at Wolves 28/12/2014..
Bonham, Dean, Yennaris, Diagouraga, Saunders, Toral, Proschwitz
Personally I think it’s far too ‘simplistic’ to blame recruitment and the size of the squad. Whilst the first summer under Giles/Ankersen saw many mistakes I believe they’ve learned from that and in general the business so far this season has been very positive. Yes, we do need another striker and a quality DM but so does everyone in this league and they don’t come cheap or easily. Buying ‘championship experience’ just isn’t an option for us so we have to gamble to some extent on lower league, younger, foreign or out of favour/injured players. Sometimes this will work, other times not so well but in general we’ve done ok. It’s easy to forget that the hallowed partnership of Warburton and McParland made a few rickets too; Betinho, Proschwitz, Moore and Tebar spring to mind and they’re not exactly unearthing gems up at Rangers at the moment either.
Equally the loan market has changed massively this season with the removal of the youth/emergency loans and having to commit to season long loans. PL clubs are demanding fees and commitments on appearances for their players so this isn’t the goldmine it has been for us previously. Kaikai has been a disappointment so far but was an impressive capture at the time and one 99.9% of fans applauded. To compare with Pritchard, both had had great seasons on loan in League 1 the previous year. Pritchard managed to kick on with us and for Kaikai it’s taken longer. It happens.
For me, the issue is not so much the players we have but what we’re getting from them. Woods started like a house on fire and has gone right off the boil. Egan too. Players come in, have a good 20 minutes, get a game and then get dropped. KK ended last season teeing up Hogan nicely. One poor game and he’s history. Gogia looked an interesting player, not given a chance. Now having a blinder in Germany when we desperately need some attacking flair. MacEachran is clearly a quality player but Smith can’t seem to find a way to fit him in for more than 15 minutes. Vibe seems to be a favourite but can anyone say why? Systems change every week. We play a fast, high pressing attacking game at QPR and wipe the floor with them. Following game at home to Fulham, sit back and let them rip us apart. We know on their day the players can do it but are they being allowed to?
We supposedly have a ‘footballing philosophy’ but I don’t feel it’s one that Smith feels particularly enamoured of. IMHO he’d do himself and the club a massive favour by looking at the way the B team play and trying to instil a bit more of that into the 1st team but I won’t be holding my breath. Equally there’s some great talent in there that hopefully can follow in Field’s footsteps but I fear Smith is much too safety first to go anywhere near that idea.
In conclusion, I don’t think we’re that far off being a top half side and with a couple of astute additions in Jan could even challenge a little higher but in order to do that we need Smith to throw off the shackles a little. Be a bit more adventurous at home. Up the tempo, get in the oppositions faces, move the ball and move off the ball quicker, start picking out those amazing runs that Hogan is constantly making EARLY and get more players in the box and suddenly you’ll find the crowd getting more behind the team and the players gaining in confidence and then maybe we’ll see whether these players are really good enough and I honestly think most of them are…..
That’s a good post Pete, along with many others here. The only stuff I struggle with is the notion that airing some criticism means you aren’t “supporting” BFC, also the “it’s not as good as Warbs team so I’m not going anymore”. Binary viewpoints & both equally hard to understand. I’ll never stop going but won’t always say it’s all wonderful & we have to be grateful. BFC takes an increasing chunk of my income & time, no problem with that but I feel it cleansing to get stuff off my chest when away from GP.
Regardless of tactics and squad changes I feel we really lack some leadership and passion on the pitch, only HD at times shows any. We have the Danish captain in the side but he’s like a mouse out there, the younger players need help & the crowd feed off it. Things to work on.
Be realistic guys (and Gals)!
Apart from Rotherham and Burton, we have the lowest financial turnover in the division. The fans of every other team in the league (apart from Brighton and Newcastle) are saying exactly the same as you. Their team should be fighting for promotion. The only difference is that their clubs have vastly higher resources than we have and do not have the same FFP restrictions we have.
We are punching way above our weight and it is a joy to see. Of course I would like to see us in the Premier League, but that will not be sustainable until we are in the new stadium when we will have greater financial resources, less FFP restrictions and will be able to attract better players
To my mind it is so much more important to avoid relegation for the next 2 seasons and that in itself will be extremely difficult without SH’s goals. We have got some very good players at the moment and who can blame them if other clubs in our division with much greater resources tempt them away by doubling their wages.
My plea is for ALL the fans to support the present team and to get behind the players. The booing of some players is inexcusable. They do try. I think their performance against Cardiff was fantastic in that despite the appalling referee they still refused to be beaten. That was not the performance of an unmotivated team.
UP THE BEES
Another terrible game, tonight. No shots on goal, awful. Even against ten players. Bentley saves, BFC blushes, again.
You must be gutted tonight mate, remind me how Saint Warbo got on away to Brum
I think as it is only half way through the season it is too early to be overly praising or criticising Brentford’s team and form. In football there are just too many variables at play. Brentford could be promoted at the end of the season or equally they could be relegated, we just don’t know. I know things aren’t right now but I think we just have to give the squad more time. They are a young squad, a changed squad and even getting to know each more and playing together more could suddenly change things. Brentford started 2016 poorly but ended the season brightly so who knows what might happen, it is football at the end of the day. The Hoff might be on fire in 2017, Jota could come back and change the dynamic, Bonham may, nah scrap that one. Its all ifs and buts but anything is possible.
I also think we are less likely to lose star players unless financially necessary. Button under-fire at Fulham, Bidwell playing at QPR with the hypocrite ‘Mr I think Brentford will be relegated, I believe Toums might be with the u23s at Leeds (completely out of favour) and Tarks (family issue asside) may have only made a couple of starts since joining Burnley a year ago. Even some of the loan stars are struggling at new clubs.If Hogan goes to Villa or Newcastle or Norwich who is to say he won’t join their flop clubs.
I also think the criticism Dean gets is unfair. He is not the best manager, but nor is he the worst. He may not have won over the fans but is anyway really going to after Warburton. It feels like every manager after him will be compared with the Rangers boss. Dean Smith is a nice guy and you don’t get many of those in football. He is not loud or angry or mean for the sake of it. He doesn’t really moan or blame too much if things go wrong, he just wants to fix them and we can’t accuse him of not trying or caring as it is his job and its what he is paid to do. Hes doesn’t strop like Mourinho, claim not to see it like Wenger or act corrupt like Big Sam. To me he just seems like a good guy trying his hardest with a limited budget, limited decisions to make himself (ie transfers) with a team playing 2/3 times a week in a tough league. Cut him some slack!
Sorry to rant, I feel like a unsubstantiated load of Daily Mail waffle.
He spits on the pitch, all the time, on TV, class
First of all, I didn’t think Billy’s article was unfair. If we all reread it, we will see it was about MEDIOCRITY… and that is exactly what a lot of our football has been like this season.
Secondly, I agree with Jim that the Directors of Football have a lot to answer for and have not given the manager the best tools with which to do the job.
Thirdly, the referee against Cardiff was appalling and definitely affected the result. However…
…that does not mean that people should not be able to criticise Dean Smith if they so wish. He is a decent man and a good coach but I do personally think he should be getting more out of the current squad. I think it is too simplistic to say he can only work with what he has got. I honestly believe another manager would be able to motivate the players to give more and raise their levels right across the pitch.
Case in point: Carsley coming in for Dijkhuizen. Same players. Completely different methods, new intensity, tangible results. For me, the buck stops with the man picking the tactics, formation and team. Yes it would help him to have a more talented squad, but I don’t think he is getting as much out of the players as he could.
I also agree with some of the comments regarding certain players being untouchable, regardless of form (Sawyers) and others who never get a look in (Kerschbaumer).
This is not character assassination. This is not unjustified hysteria. This is simple statement of the facts. After all, how many Brentford fans who saw the games against Burton and Cardiff can honestly say they left Griffin Park feeling elated at the kind of electric, fast-paced, free-flowing football on offer?
Yes, he has been let down by Ankersen and Giles. Yes, the squad is not what it could be. Yes, we are ‘punching above our weight’. And yes, we should all be thrilled that we are in the Championship, especially given our revenue streams and small capacity stadium. But none of that means we shouldn’t be able to have a constructive debate about the kind of football we are currently playing, and more to the point, the reasons we are so poor at the moment.
Of course, give Dean Smith more time and hopefully bring in one or two in January. But if performances and results don’t improve over the next 6, 8, 10 games, let’s not be afraid to question the club’s long term aspirations, along with the reasons behind what we are having to endure on the pitch.
Our club has been in a downward spiral since closing the Academy.
The way we treated those kids can only bring us doom.
Rumors of serious financial difficulties are becoming more substantial by the day.
Karma?
WTF???
ref alf grey/sheff utd mentioned in the article wasn’t in 1976- maybe 78/79.
We have a young and a fairly inexperienced squad. We were due to sell Alan Judge in the Summer for a fee between £5m-£10m, which would have allowed us to strengthen with experience and already made quality.
We have one of the lowest budgets in the division also, it’s all well and good people bring up Warburton’s team but that was a team we couldn’t afford to keep together. We sold Andre Gray and still weren’t within FFP, after spending money on the likes of Tarkowski, Hogan and Jota, not to mention the loan of Alex Pritchard.
I’ve accepted that this season won’t amount to much and I look forward to us getting a big fee for Hogan to re-invest in the team, and I spend most of my time watching us and shouting the word c*nt because of how frustrating it is to watch us now, but we’re a work in progress.