It seems incredible that this weekend’s visit of Derby is our first Saturday 3pm home league game for nine weeks.
The last one was in mid-December against Huddersfield – and that was also our last three-pointer at Griffin Park, so hopefully a nice little omen.
The Rams’ recent form is almost as bad as ours and the sides occupy the bottom two places in the current Championship form table based on last six results.
After losing 1-0 to arch rivals Nottingham Forest in November (video below), Derby went on a run which saw them top the table towards the end of the same month.
On Boxing Day, Derby won their last match to date – beating Fulham 2-0 at the iPro Stadium to go top of the Championship league table Since then it has all gone wrong.
They have failed to win any of their eight league games since that day – drawing four and losing four – and are clinging to the final play-off place by three points.
They have also changed their manager with Paul Clement, who reports linked to Brentford last summer, being sacked after only eight months in charge – not for the dip in results but because chairman Mel Morris said the club had “not made enough progress” under his leadership.
Morris said promotion had not been the key this season and added: “The priorities were building on the Derby way and style of football enjoyed in the past two seasons, adding depth and strength to our playing squad.”
The club’s Under-21s manager Darren Wassall has been put in charge for the rest of the season.
He explained: “The Derby way is simple. We want to be hard to beat and make the iPro into a fortress but we also want to try to play attractive football and score lots of goals.”
Derby are in their eighth consecutive season in the Championship – their 13th year out of 14 in this division – but have only been promotion contenders in the past two years
They finished third in 2013/14 before losing to QPR in the play-off final and then last year imploded in a similar way to their recent poor run as, having been top in the final week of February, they only won two of their final 13 matches to not only fail to win promotion but also miss out on the play-offs with the Bees grabbing the final place on the last day of the season.
WE’VE MET BEFORE
Since we returned to league meetings with Derby last season, for the first time since 1992/93, our three matches have resulted in one win each and a draw.
Their visit to Griffin Park in November 2014 was a match that will be remembered for all the right reasons by Brentford fans as after Chris Martin had put the Rams ahead in the first half, Andre Gray ended an eight-game goal drought to equalise and then substitute Stuart Dallas scored a dramatic injury-time winner.
Derby got revenge in the televised return at the iPro in April as after Brentford had led for most of the match following Alex Pritchard’s 28th minute opener – Darren Bent grabbed a last-gasp equaliser deep into injury-time.
In October, Derby earned a very comfortable 2-0 win over us, in Lee Carsley’s second game in charge, thanks to first half goals from Chris Martin and Tom Ince.
IN CHARGE
New head coach Darren Wassall is in his second spell in charge of the club after a brief stint as caretaker manager following Nigel Clough’s departure in 2009.
The former defender played more than 100 games for Derby in nearly five years at the club in the mid-1990s while he also represented Nottingham Forest, Birmingham and Burton with loan spells at Hereford, Bury and Manchester City.
After being appointed, he told BBC Radio Derby: “It’s a massive privilege to take charge of the first team for the next 16 games.
“It’s a brilliant opportunity, working at a brilliant club with brilliant players and brilliant people.
“Anybody would be a fool not to want this job. Outside the Premier League there are not many better clubs, probably inside the Premier League too.”
OPPOSITION VIEW
Derby’s new coach Craig Short and newly-signed full-back Marcus Olsson have both said they are wary of the threat that Brentford can pose in Saturday’s game.
Short told Derby’s Vital Football site: “Apart from Derby, Brentford were probably the best team to come and play us when I was at Blackburn.
“They haven’t had it easy this season losing a lot of vital players such as Andre Gray, however they’ve still got players like Alan Judge and forwards who pose significant threats.”
And Olsson, also on the books at Ewood Park for our November visit, told the Derby Telegraph: “I’ve played against them this season and they’re a good team
“We will think about ourselves first and try to improve our game before we worry about them. We have to dust ourselves down after the last match and think about winning the next game.”
SQUAD NEWS
Derby midfielder George Thorne has missed their last two games after being a regular in the side this season because of a calf injury and is unlikely to be fit enough to return on Saturday.
However the side’s two league ever-presents – defenders Richard Keogh, reinstated as captain under Wassall, and Jason Shackell should continue their 100% appearance record for the season in a back four also likely to feature Cyrus Christie and new boy Marcus Olsson.
England international Scott Carson regained his place in goal last month while the midfield should feature Tom Ince, second top scorer on eight goals, Bradley Johnson, Jeff Hendrick and Craig Bryson, although Jacob Butterfield, used as a substitute in the past two weeks, will be pushing for a start once again.
Top scorer Chris Martin, with nine goals to his name this season, is likely to partner Johnny Russell up front.
Strikers Darren Bent and Andreas Weimann have been used mainly as substitutes this season and January signing Nick Blackman was also on the bench against MK Dons last Saturday.
IAN WESTBROOK
@ianwestbrook
Drinking in Brentford
For Derby fans coming down, you are probably aware there are plenty of pub options pre-match and all are most welcoming. Colours are fine and there is no ‘bouncer culture’ on the doors of our boozers – not yet anyway. All fans are welcome and most fans usually cite Brentford as their favourite away-day which we’re quite proud of.
As is etched in common folklore, there were four pubs around the ground until a few weeks ago – unfortunately one closed down to leave only three now. The Griffin is closest to the away end (like 30 secs walk) and is very popular with away fans – but also very very busy. The New Inn is on the other side is also popular with away fans. The Princess Royal is the other option (The Royal Oak was the one that closed down).
Other pubs slightly further afield for the more creative amongst you include (and this is by no means a definitive list) the … The Globe (Windmill Rd) is the Beesotted fanzine main pub – a very friendly pub indeed. The other boozer is The Lord Nelson (Enfield Rd) – both incredibly friendly and cosy away-friendly pubs and 30 seconds walk from each other .. frequented by ‘away fans in the know’. Boro fans and Bees fans had one hell of a party before and after last season’s league match in both these boozers (despite us losing)- and The Plough (Northfields Ave – 1 minute walk from the tube) in Northfields is a decent stop-off if you are coming by tube to Northfields before making your way down to the ground (normally stopping off at The Globe and Lord Nelson en route on the Northfields pub crawl).
Easily the best way to Brentford is to get the Piccadilly Line from King’s Cross to either Northfields or South Ealing (35 mins).
Northfields is preferred by fans in the know as it has a decent pub crawl run on the way to the ground (Plough, Lord Nelson, Globe). South Ealing has one posh pub en route that doesn’t really like football fans so we won’t even give it a mention here. It’s 20 mins walk from either South Ealing OR Northfields to the ground or you can get the E2 bus from Northfields or 65 bus from South Ealing for the five-minute journey.
Some fans prefer to take the tube to Vauxhall, then get the overground to Brentford mainline station. Depending on your connection time, this could be a slightly longer route as you could be waiting for up to 15 minutes for a train and the train takes 26 mins to Brentford. Including your connection from King’s Cross this journey could take you the best part of an hour as opposed to under 40 minutes (plus the journey to the ground).
If you do take this route, there is also a pub right by Brentford station always referred to as … er … the Pub by Brentford station.
For ale head to the Magpie and Crown pub on Brentford High Street. The Royal Horseguardsman can probably hold 15 of you at a push. The Brewery Tap is a cosy boozer by the river. And if you are super adventurous, get off at Kew Bridge and visit the brand new boozer One Over the Ait right on the river – beside the bridge. Great views over The Thames. It’s around 15 minutes walk to the ground from here.
There are loads more too. A quick Google search and you’ll find them all. There are many many more too if you have a look around.
Parking is pretty easy away from the ground going up towards and over the A4 Great West Road (ie. North) via Ealing Road or Windmill Road.
