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Following Mark Croxford’s ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ piece detailing recent clashes with the Blues of Chelsea, Beesotted’s Larry Signy ventures back even further into the mists of time – to an age when the Bees were seen as equals. Boy, that was a long time ago!

It’s funny how Bees’ fans in general have a hearty hatred of all things Fulscum and Queens’ Park Ha-Ha’s – but tend to be blithely un-obsessed about next Sunday’s opponents… Chelsea.

They’re in the same division as the other two (for the moment), they are in the same part of London – but for some reason, Chelsea is a club that leaves most of us here in cosy Griffin Park cold (well, we’d be cold in this weather anyway, but you know what I mean). Why, we even let their reserves – that motley band of Brazilian, Italian, Spanish, Italians and possibly even a very young Britain – play on our hallowed turf.

Perhaps it’s because we’ve been in different divisions for over half a century – I don’t know how that applies to the other two – but you could never say that Brentford versus Chelsea could ever be a grudge match.

For my part, well maybe it’s old age, but I can’t think of a single game we’ve ever played against the Blues. Not surprising really, the last time we met them as equals was in the old First Division in those heady post-war days of 1947 when they beat us 2-0 at Griffin Park – mind you, in that season just about everyone beat us as we were relegated alongside the soon-to-be-mighty-but-cynically-dirty Leeds.      .

We met them again in the FA Cup (when it was simply the FA Cup without advertising extras) three years later, and they again beat us, that time by a single goal.

Overall, Chelsea do have a better head-to-head record over us – they’ve won six of the 11 games to our four, scoring 15 goals to our 13… But if you look at the Griffin Park record it looks better – we hold the advantage there by three games to two, with one drawn, both of us having scored five.

But back to the history books I’ve obviously been looking at so diligently. If you look at our pre-war record – when we were in the First Division as was – we won three of the four home games against them, and we were consistently above them in the top division table.

In our first season up, 1936/37, or instance, we ended in sixth place to their 13th. Things have certainly changed – in that season, Liverpool were down in 18th place… and ManUre 21th and relegated. Remember – WE WERE SIXTH!

Our next season at the top saw us again sixth, but they’d moved up to 10th, although by 1938/39 we’d dropped to a lowly 18th. But even then we were above Chelsea, who ended up in 20th place.

Then came the war and the league was reorganized regionally for the duration – and in the first season after the fighting finished, well, we were relegated from 21st place while Chelsea had climbed to a magnificent 15th

But now it’s on to this Sunday – and we are told it’s important because we have a chance of getting in the region of a £250,000-plus from this one game – about a week-and-a-two-days of John Terry’s wages if what we are told is true. But for us fans, the young for whom this is a rare experience and for us oldies for whom it can’t be ‘just another game’, it’s all about pride. This weekend, we have a home record to maintain – remember, the last two games saw us lose 2-0 and 1-0, so we are obviously getting better… and it’s time we scored a goal against them.

We look at it that we as a team are on the upgrade, and they (for all their position in the table) seem to be on the down turn. So it’s all to play for – 11 players against 11 and all that stuff.

It’s time to show those upstarts that we really are the top team in West London – and to give them something to think about… that maybe Brentford are their biggest rivals and not that lot in Manchester or along the River Thames.

Well, we can try I guess!