Newcastle have become a bit of a bogey team for Brentford, as they are one of three sides we have played in the Premier League who we have never beaten, along with Crystal Palace and Leicester.
We have lost four of our five top flight matches with the Magpies, including this campaign’s 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park.
Sunday’s match does mean something for the visitors, who can still clinch European football again for next season in either the Europa League or Conference League.
As well as beating us, they have to rely on results in the Chelsea-Bournemouth and Brighton-Manchester United matches going in their favour, or possibly United losing the FA Cup final to Manchester City.
Sunday could of course be the final appearance, or place on the bench, for Brentford for some of our players such as Ivan Toney, who will be facing his former club, Saman Ghoddos and Shandon Baptiste, who are both out of contract in the summer.
WHO’S IN CHARGE
Eddie Howe replaced Steve Bruce as head coach in November 2021. He is the 14th longest-serving boss in the four divisions and seventh longest-serving in the Premier League, but will jump to fifth when Jurgen Klopp and David Moyes move on this summer.
He is best known for his time at Bournemouth, who he led from League Two to the Premier League in two spells as manager, which were interrupted by a brief stint in charge of Burnley.
Eddie kept the Cherries in the top flight for five seasons, before leaving following their relegation in the summer of 2020.
He also started and finished his playing career as a defender at Bournemouth, with a spell at Portsmouth in- between, but injury forced his retirement at the age of only 29.
WE’VE MET BEFORE
Brentford and Newcastle have barely met over the years – with only 13 league games and four meetings in cup competitions.
As mentioned earlier, we have a terrible record against the Magpies, having only won three league games and one cup tie against them.
We have lost nine and drawn one of the other league encounters, while the Magpies have triumphed in three of the four cup ties.
Five of those meetings have been in the Premier League.
The first match was our 3-3 draw at St James’ Park in November 2021, the only match from which we have so far taken a point.
It was Eddie Howe’s first match in charge following the departure of Steve Bruce, but the new manager couldn’t be at the game as he had tested positive for Covid – so had to follow it from his hotel room.
In an extraordinary match, we fell behind to a Jamaal Lascelles header from a corner in the 10th minute, but Ivan Toney equalised a minute later. Rico Henry put us ahead just past the half hour mark, but Joelinton made it all-square at the break.
Substitute Frank Onyeka’s shot deflected in off Lascelles for a 61st-minute own goal to put us 3-2 up, but Allan Saint-Maximin earned a point for the Magpies in the 75th minute.
The return was memorable for the debut of Christian Eriksen, but he could not help us prevent a 2-0 defeat.
Eriksen replaced Mathias Jensen, the man who had replaced him for Denmark after his cardiac arrest, in the 52nd minute, but all the action in the match was in the first half. Josh Dasilva was sent off early on and goals from Joelinton and Joe Willock wrapped up the points for the Magpies and stretched our winless Premier League run to eight games.
Our visit to St James’ Park last season is best forgotten – Ivan Toney’s penalty our only goal in a 5-1 defeat.
Bruno Guimaraes and Jacob Murphy put the Magpies 2-0 up at half-time, but Toney gave us hope with a 54th-minute penalty. However, within two minutes Guimaraes had restored Newcastle’s two-goal advantage and Miguel Almiron, and an own goal from the returning Ethan Pinnock completed the scoring.
The return game in April was notable for Ivan Toney missing his first penalty in our colours. He made amends with a second penalty to give us the lead on the stroke of half-time, but we still lost 2-1. An own goal by David Raya and a great strike by Alexander Isak in the first 20 minutes of the second half earned the visitors the points.
We lost this season’s first meeting 1-0 to a second-half Callum Wilson penalty.
We also met in 2020/21 in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, and we pulled off a shock 1-0 win to reach the last four of the competition for the first time.
Josh Dasilva scored the only goal midway through the second half as the Championship Bees claimed our fourth Premier League scalp of the competition.
Our other recent cup meeting was a second round League (Worthington) Cup tie in 2001 at St James’ Park.
It was quite a surreal experience as the match took place the day after the September 11 attacks in New York. Brentford chartered a special train to take fans to the match, and my memories of that journey are everybody silently reading any newspaper they could get hold of all journey.
It seemed odd to be going to football in those circumstances, but we did and the Second Division (now League One) Bees did us proud in taking our Premier League hosts to extra-time.
Lloyd Owusu gave us a shock 17th-minute lead. Shola Ameobi equalised in the 59th minute, but we took Bobby Robson’s Magpies, with Alan Shearer in the side, to extra-time.
However, that proved too much for us and a hat-trick by Craig Bellamy – who scored in the 108th, 117th and 120th minutes – gave Newcastle a 4-1 win.
Our FA Cup meetings came in the third round in 1938/39, when the Magpies won 2-0 at Griffin Park, and in the 1954/55 fourth round, when they beat us 3-2 in the north-east.
Our other eight league meetings have come in the second tier (now Championship).
We first met in the 1934/35 season and the Bees did the double on our way to winning the title, with a 5-2 win at St James’ Park and a 3-0 victory in the return.
Our next meetings came in 1947/48 and each game ended in a 1-0 home win.
The other league games are much fresher in the memory and were all won by Newcatle.
The first was on a Sunday afternoon in October 1992, in our first season in the second tier since 1953/54, and was live on ITV, with Brian Moore commentating.
David Kelly put Kevin Keegan’s Magpies ahead in the first half and Gavin Peacock doubled the lead after the break before in a grandstand finish, Gary Blissett halved the deficit and then Marcus Gayle, now a Brentford club ambassador, missed a great chance to snatch a point.
We were hammered 5-1 in the return with David Kelly, Paul Bracewell, Lee Clark (two) and Robert Lee on target for the hosts – with our reply a Kevin Scott own goal, as we slipped closer to immediate relegation.
Our other league meetings came in 2016/17.
The game at St James’ Park in October was a good day off the pitch but a disappointing one on it, as we let in two early goals on the way to a 3-1 defeat.
Ciaran Clark and Dwight Gayle put the Magpies in charge by the 16th minute and Gayle made it 3-0 soon after the break, before Scott Hogan quickly pulled one back from a corner.
Brentford were unlucky to go down to a 2-1 defeat in the return the following January.
Dwight Gayle gave the Championship leaders a 20th-minute lead, but Lasse Vibe equalised in the 52nd minute, and then came within millimetres of giving us the lead when he lifted the ball over Karl Darlow and watched as his shot hit the post and rolled along the goalline before being cleared.
Daryl Murphy, a regular thorn in Brentford’s side, headed a 79th-minute winner for Newcastle with his first league goal for the club.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE GAME IF YOU CAN’T BE THERE
If you can’t get to the Brentford Community Stadium for Sunday’s 4pm kick-off and want Brentford commentary, audio coverage is available via Buzz Box for free.
Coverage starts half an hour before kick-off and is advert-free, with Mark Burridge and guest.
PUBS IN BRENTFORD AND TRAVEL NEWS
For Newcastle fans coming to the Gtech Community Stadium, there are plenty of pub options pre and post-match and all are most welcoming and away-fan-friendly (as it should be).
The pub areas are split into two zones. There is the area around Brentford’s old Griffin Park stadium. The pubs there are still very busy on match day frequented by Bees locals before heading down the road to the stadium at Kew Bridge which is only 15 mins walk.
Then there is the area in and around the stadium in Kew Bridge.
It is possible, if you have a good early start, to savour a few pubs in and around Griffin Park and Brentford zone before heading off to the pubs in the Kew zone or even vice versa if you so fancy.
Pubs in Griffin Park/Brentford zone
When at Griffin Park, Brentford was well known for its four pubs – one on each corner of the ground. Three are still operating.
The Griffin is closest to the old away end and has always been very popular with both home and away fans and has its regulars who still make the journey down to the new stadium from there on matchday. The New Inn is on the other side which used to also be popular with away fans before the move. The Brook pub is the other option if you want to savour a pub in and around what is left of our old home. Worth a peep if you want to reminisce about old Brentford.
About five minutes’ walk away from the old ground are two pubs which are enormously popular. The Globe (Windmill Rd) is a “lively but comfortable” pub on matchday where many of the Beesotted crew drink on matchday. Incredibly friendly and cosy, it has always welcomed away fans for years – you can wear colours but also #manners are order. The pub has been popular with a selection of away fans who fancied having a beer a few minutes further walk away from the ground without having to queue six persons deep. After the move to the new ground, The Globe has retained many of lot its regulars from the Griffin Park days and with screens throughout the pub and in its sheltered beer garden, it shows both Premier League and EFL football before and after each match.
Meanwhile around the corner, The Lord Nelson (Enfield Rd) is another incredibly friendly and cosy away-friendly pubs about one minute walk from The Globe. Again with a TV screen for live sports and a lovely beer garden, this is another pub frequented by “away fans in the know”.
The other pub worth checking out in the Griffin Park region is The Black Dog Beer House, formerly The Albany, on Albany Road, if you like your real ales.
There are plenty of other pubs in and around Brentford High Street including real ale pub Magpie and Crown (Brentford High Street) and the cosy Brewery Tap (Catherine Wheel Road) near the river.
For a Griffin Park area pub crawl before heading over to Kew we recommend the following: Take the Piccadilly line to Northfields station. Turn left and walk for 2 mins and you will come to The Plough (Northfields Ave). Then walk to The Lord Nelson (10 min walk from The Plough) & then The Globe (1 min walk from The Nelson) en-route before hitting The Griffin (8 min walk from The Globe) and then The Black Dog (2 mins from The Griffin). You can also try and do the other three pubs on the corner whilst down here if you fancy.
Then you can then either walk (15 minutes from The Globe/The Nelson and The Griffin/Black Dog ) or take a train from Brentford station (which is five minutes walk away from both The Globe/The Nelson and The Griffin/Black Dog) or a bus (237/267) to Kew Bridge.
Trains run at 24 and 54 minutes past the hour to Kew Bridge from Brentford and take 2 mins.
Pubs in the Kew Bridge zone
Right next to Kew Bridge station, you will find the Express Tavern – an ale pub with a retro feel. The pub has been refurbished in readiness for the new football season and needless to say, is popular before the match due to its close proximity to the stadium.
Across the road by the river is One Over the Ait – a spacious boozer right next to Kew Bridge. This pub is situated on the location of the now-demolished Oxford & Cambridge pub where Brentford Football Club was founded in 1889.
Across Kew Bridge and the River Thames, there are two pubs on Kew Green – the Cricketers and the Greyhound – very close to the pier where Brentford fans have embarked on their away journeys by water to F*lham, Orient, Charlton, West Ham and even Southend.
North of the river along hoity-toity Strand on the Green, you will find The Steam Packet, in an old Cafe Rouge, and The Bell. A bit further down are The City Barge and the Bulls Head – two pubs side-by-side in which you would often see Ant and Dec hanging out.
There is also The Pilot which you can get to coming out of the BACK entrance of Gunnersbury station and we believe the old John Bull pub at the front of the station has been refurbed as The Gunnersbury but we have never been there so can’t give it a or a
Transport to Brentford and Kew Bridge
With no direct trains, we recommend people jump on the tube from Kings Cross or Euston and head to Northfields or South Ealing on the Piccadilly Line.
It is only 40 mins max station by tube to station meaning you could be in a Brentford pub within an hour of embarking your train at Kings Cross, Euston or Liverpool Street.
The other station option is Gunnersbury. You can walk to the stadium from Gunnersbury tube station (District line) in 25 minutes or take a bus (H91, 237, 267, 110), but note that it is closed for entry for one hour after the match.
For the Brentford/Griffin Park pubs you can get the Piccadilly line tube to Northfields station from King’s Cross or Euston (35 minutes) then walk down to The Plough, The Globe, The Lord Nelson and The Griffin and other pubs from there.
The new stadium is around 25 minutes’ walk from South Ealing station – if you don’t fancy Gunnersbury – or you can get on the 65 bus from across the road which will drop you almost outside in 15 minutes.
You can also pick up the 65 bus from Ealing Broadway (District and Central line) which will take you to the new stadium in 25 minutes.
You can check out Transport for London’s guide to travel on the Tube and Overground.
