So the unbeaten run has come to an end. Brentford were defeated at Griffin Park by league leaders Tranmere who took their chances in a fairly tight game. Did the team underperform? Are Tranmere a team of footballing goliaths? Or was it my fault for wearing a new coat?
Superstition in footballers is common with many having strict pre-match rituals and regimes. Laurent Blanc famously kissed the balding pate of Fabien Barthez before World Cup matches. Uwe Rosler can’t watch when we have a penalty – a trait shared by fellow manager Steve Bruce. But many supporters have strange little habits too.
It’s a fact that Brentford have performed better since myself and the supporters I stand with changed our route from pub to ground. Yes, the manager and playing staff have changed whilst Matthew Benham has invested millions of pounds, but I’m fairly certain our general upturn in performance has improved because I now walk down Hamilton Road before games.
And so to the issue in hand – Brentford have had a good record recently under my previous coat but it just isn’t waterproof. And when it rains I get wet and cold. So I bought a new waterproof coat and – due to the snow – wore it for the first time on Saturday. We lost. So I’m blaming the coat (I walked down Hamilton Road so it wasn’t my route to the ground).
The dilemma will come next Sunday against Chelsea if it’s cold or raining. Do I chance the coat, hoping that it was some other random factor that made us lose on Saturday? Perhaps one of the players had new boots ? Actually, one of the blokes standing near me definitely had a different hat on to normal so it could be that…..
Maybe my coat just needed a game to settle in and will now lead us on a glorious run to League and FA Cup glory. It would be a shame to deny it another chance (although I don’t really fancy wearing it for a sunny game in April). But can I take that chance against Chelsea ?
If tomorrow’s Orient game goes ahead then maybe I could try it then, gambling three league points into the process – we’ll have several games in which to make them back up again after all. No. Can’t do that. It would kill me to see judas Martin Rowlands smugly grinning in my direction as he completes a hat-trick for the visitors, gesturing at my coat before kissing his Orient badge.
Sod it. Rain or snow I’ll wear my old coat on Sunday. Look out for the soaking wet bloke at the back of Ealing Road.
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I now feel truly awful. For the past few days I’ve taken the defeat pretty hard. My three year old son has taken the brunt of my disappointment, after all it was his fault. Well I thought it was until I read this. You see, I had taken Harry to two previous fixtures. The first we drew, the second we won and so it was inevitable that his third game would end in defeat.
I shall now go and apologise and hopefully he will understand that it wasn’t his fault after all….. It was your coat
“it’s all my fault, it’s all my fault” etc
Thank God for that, I thought defeat was the fault of my new Thermal socks. I hate your coat, never wear it again please.
Don’t you dare blame my hat! I wore it against Southend.
Great reading these little stories.
I put a £1 bet on 4-0 for Saturday with Forrester to score. I will gladly accept the blame! (135-1)