Brentford were dumped out of the EFL Cup First Round after falling victim to Exeter City’s extra time winner – a result and a performance that has many fans demanding explanations as to why the competition isn’t being taken seriously enough.
With Dean Smith raising concerns about fitness levels and his player’s 90-minute match fitness, Tuesday evening’s cup match in the West County was the perfect opportunity to boost stamina and confidence levels against lower division opposition – especially in light of Saturday’s mediocre showing at Huddersfield.
However, it was widely predicted that there would be changes to the team and few who made it down to St James Park were that surprised to see a mixed selection with fringe and emerging players, including extended trialist Emmanuel Ledesma, starting and more experienced players waiting on the bench if called upon. Hofmann was also given an opportunity to shine from the start. But shine he did not.
There are lots huffing and puffing about the weak team, but in truth, the younger lads weren’t the reason that Exeter weren’t despatched – Bonham, Holldack and Field had decent games – and although Josh Clarke was a little too predictable and may not be the solution to our wide-man inadequacies right now – being trusted with a whole game will have done him no harm.
Whether the early loss of Alan McCormack completely knocked Brentford’s game plan or not I doubt – Yennaris, Woods, Ledesma and Saunders failed to unlock the Exeter defence and the threat posed by Field and Clarke, overlapping down the flanks, was snubbed out fairly comfortably. It has to be said that Hofmann looked completely ineffective.
Hofmann was eventually replaced by Hogan with a little under 15 minutes of normal time remaining, and looked bright, but there was simply no service or threaded balls through the home side’s defence – the real star of the night was undoubtedly 15-year-old Ethan Ampadu who looked unfazed and composed all night for the home side – even after taking a battering in extra time where it looked as though his dream debut could end in tears. With the right guidance he could be a genuine star of the future.
With the game petering out to a 0-0 conclusion in 90 minutes, the groans around the away end were audible as extra time became a reality – everyone dreading a long journey home in the small hours. But surely the Bees wouldn’t make that journey worse by getting knocked out at the first hurdle again?
Hmmmm! That eventuality became a reality when Ryan Harley found the bottom corner of the net after being set up well by ‘Bees target’ Ollie Watkins. It was a decent finish, but there are few excuses that explain why a League Two side made Brentford look so average again. As you will hear from listening to the Beesotted Pride of West London post-match Podcast below – the fans weren’t impressed!
You couldn’t doubt that the players wanted to win this game and they battled to the end, and if last season showed us anything we have to remember that the season is a nine-month rollercoaster, but on the first two outings of the campaign there are clear inadequacies in wide positions and we have stopped running at defenders with any penetration.
It would be good to see more of new Bees signing Justin Shaibu, who arrived on Monday from Danish side HB Koge, as he looked bright in the final stages of extra time – hopefully he can emerge as an exciting player in the B Team and challenge for more first team action.
This is certainly not a time for getting things out of all perspective or for some fans to scurry back into the dark corners of last year, but things have to improve quickly… there’s no better time for that to happen than this Saturday against Ipswich… but it is going to take a marked improvement from virtually every outfield player in the current squad, plus at least two new faces as and when they are identified.
The Ipswich scouts certainly won’t be worried about what they’ve seen so far – unlike the travelling Brentford fans who have already clocked up hundreds of miles to see their team splutter.
Dave Lane
@beesotted100
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Poor result but not totally unexpected. Massive credit to the 400 that were there, fantastic support. We aren’t where we’d hoped we’d be going into a new season, squad balance, fitness, injuries – all make us a work in progress. Have to say that i’m surprised that we weren’t able to secure a couple more signings given that we got the 3 L1 boys in on 1st July. If we are right to assume that these were signed from DS’s connections we have only recruited 1 loanee via other channels. I’m sure there are very good reasons why, but it leaves us slow out of the blocks and still playing just like we were in pre season. Regardless it is time to stick together and get behind the club and work our way through this. Big points to be won or lost at GP in the next week, we have to do our bit and not sit and wait for improvements. With he crazy money and lunacy that surrounds us in this division we need to keep calm and box clever, work our way to safety and go from there.
I went to the Exeter game yesterday and it was not an encouraging experience. Having said that, it is early days, but there was absolutely nothing to suggest that Brentford, from the championship, were better in any way at all than Exeter from division two. There were positives: I thought Holldack had an excellent game after a shaky start and Clarke looked at least moderately threatening. I also thought that Bonham looked solid in goal. Unfortunately the Bees presented little if any threat up front, despite what I said about Clarke and alas in Hoffman we have a player totally out of his depth. Things have to improve from this display and let us hope that Saturday will turn out to be a delayed start to our season. Finally, I know that the league is important and defines our season, but good cup runs can give confidence, pull in much needed revenue and enhance the reputation and image of the club as well as encourage new long term supporters. It is a shame that Brentford have lost all of their cup games last season and now at the start of this one, all against lower league opposition, without scoring a single goal and conceding six.
I live in the SouthWest now & after 60 odd years of supporting the Bees I relish the opportunity to watch them in my neck of the woods.That said,after Saturday’s lacklustre performance ,our recent record in Cup competitions & the lack of any encouraging activity on the part of our DOF’s, I decided to swerve this one.
Well boy did I make the right decision! Our collective failure to convert the few chances we created resulting our deserved departure from a competition that we clearly don’t respect,thus vindicating my decision to stay at home.
As a previous poster said we got out of the blocks early signing 3 decent looking league 1 prospects ,albeit losing Championship hardened players in the process.
We all know that’s “our” way given the financial constraints we have.
That said the efforts of our DOF’s,who incidentally there are more of than wideman at the club, have yielded very little else,Elder’s loan being the exception.
Smith & O’Kelly need additional resource both in advanced areas & in my view defensive midfield .
I sincerely hope we have 2 or 3 in before the end of August whilst I wouldn’t be adverse to seeing Hoffman & Mac Eachran going out.
Failure to address our shortcomings is going to make the predictions made at the Fans Forum look ridiculous whilst a certain vertically challenged former QPR Bristolian will be rubbing his hands !!
You’re hitting many a nail on the head there Paul. The co-DoF’s have simply not worked out, alongside our experimentism last year, so ultimately, fall on your sword and step aside. I’ve yet to meet anyone connected with the club, be it fan or otherwise to take to Ra-smug Ankerson and his, ever so eloquent, calm demeanour of nothingness words he spouts out. And as for Giles I’m yet to see anything other than a scared mouse, looking out at big bad cats, when he realises he’s in a corner and trapped and doesn’t have anything to offer for himself to defend his reasons for being there either.
If we got all players in the summer on Dean Smiths advice then surely what have they done to warrant not one position but 2??
I genuinely fear looking at our next few fixtures that if we slip up against Ipswich, which is no easy task against a well known battling side and then again on Tuesday, against an improved Forest side, of where our first 3 points will come from?
I was there last night and to say that we were missing pace with purpose is an understatement. I was struggling to remember when I last saw a Brentford player run at 100% speed in a forward direction? I know our games about passing and possession but if you don’t do things quicker when you break the back line of 4 or indeed overlap to a 8 on 7 situation, then it inevitably gets played in to the centre, slows down and no end product of shot or header comes from it. Far too easy for any pro team to defend against, especially when Dean Smith seems to have decided that McEachran is our ‘play maker’, well I’m afraid if he’s not dropped ASAP then we’re in big big trouble. Hogan is showing signs of frustration when making runs in to the channels when holding defenders off, only to see McEachran look sideways or backwards without a glance in his direction. It’s not working, it won’t work and enough is enough.
Admittedly we’re all hoping that Colin, Bjelland and Elder give mich needed improvement to our defence and indeed Egan or Barbet can step up and please relieve the ever more worrying Dean of his ‘captaincy’ duties along with his place in the side. He’s simply not a ball player put of defence, when that’s what we’re trying to do, he’s a bag of nerves, he’s slow and stiff as a board, no athleticism or freedom of movement and on several occasions per game, can be seen stop still when the ball is not even clear or out of play yet, which must be noticeable to our VT staff when looking back at games. If we’re in a stats based industry, please show me his to warrant his place in our squad let alone team, let alone captain.
Obviously desperately short of wide men. Desperately short of pace but hoping that McLeod has a good year that he owes us, Woods is more than comfortable on the ball and should be given more freedom to get forward and shoot too, we need Vibe back to help Hogan as already too reliant on him. Sawyers looks ok but untidy by also not a wide man and Saunders days are up too unfortunately. Nico must play our holding midfielder role surely too.
And it’s only then that you look at our team under Warburton which finished 5th and I totally understand the clubs buy cheap, sell dear policy to survive and improve but when comparing our best team now to that side then, when the likes of Saunders, Yennaris, McCormack couldn’t so much as get a sniff of it, we are now reliant and wish for them to be our stalwarts. And then with every decent player from that era either sold to higher clubs for bigger fees or Jota being loaned for reasons that can’t be explained, then we’re left with the 1 player who no club made a bid for or put in an offer, in Harlee Dean, and we’ve made him captain.
I know it’s 2 games in but with no goals, no chances created, no pace, no ideas and our laughable free kick routines, then I for one am already seriously concerned and I think it’s time for Dean Smith, with his ‘luck’ in McEachran getting injured and our excellent run towards the end a last year that had given us hope, false hope by the looks of things so far, to start explaining himself to us cos I haven’t heard or seen anything in terms of glowing reports about him or from him apart from his explanation at he fans forum of 1st place finished and our 2 DoF top 6 finish but I have already googled 1st Championship manager to leave a club and am very tempted to lump on some money towards it.
I know it’s not all his fault but is anyone really totally convinced he has the personality or backing of everyone at the club to lead us? Take away his last few games of last year but did he do anything prior to that, except be non-existent and a wall flower, to suggest we have the right man for the job at the helm yet? Not for me.
I truly hope for a dramatic turn of events before Sat and Tues coming but if we don’t up the pace by 20% when attacking, the commitment to win by 40%, our determination in tackles and wanting to win by 60% (McEachran, this figure is 100% for you) and our pride by 80% then it’s going to be along walk in to the winter and prior to Christmas for us and a fair few apologistic tweets towards Holloway fairly soon.
I know this sounds quite dramatic but this has hung on since last year for me and the paper that was put over the cracks with that win of 7 out of 9 was simply that for me. I saw issues last year and none have been addressed this for me yet. Nowhere near.
We’re a team a shadow of 3 years ago made up of fringe players from then as our main stays now. We have deteriorated like it or not and we could well be relegation fodder much sooner than we think if we don’t get wins under our belt sooner to rather than later. Let’s just up the pace and work rate on Saturday and hope the rest takes care of itself.
Brilliant and brave opinions and analysis; well said!
Stupid comments at Fans’ Forum part one:
Phil Giles saying the top six was ‘very realistic’. A dangerous prediction if ever there was one.
Stupid comments part two:
Dean Smith (in answer to a question about whether it was worth the fans going to Exeter) saying that we would put out a strong team and he went into every game to win it etc. etc.
This is not really the way to get the fans onside if/when things go wrong.
I’ll ask the question again – is the reason we cannot get deals ‘over the line’ financial or is there something more to it? In the case of the latter, the DOFs have questions to answer.
If my memory serves me correctly this season Brentford have one point less than last year, the same position with the Cup, a Manager that understands the game and has a history of success, less serious injuries, a great group of young and skilful players and the same owner dedicated to playing in the Premier League in the short term.
There are 45 matches still to be played and as it currently stands Brentford have the same points as everyones favourite for winning the Championship.
Just what is all the fuss about. Best to save the all the angst until 10 -12 games in because until then no one will have any substantive facts to base any argument about how good or how bad Brentford are.
A little support to a small band of players would be far more helpful at this stage of the season.
So for the second time this week my question goes unanswered. Oh well…
Whatever the situation, I really think the DOFs should steer clear of “bold predictions”. I think I’m right in saying Ankersen made some claim at the ill-fated forum four days before Marinus was sacked which was completely overblown.
In fairness to Stephen, a football message board is where you are free to give your opinions one way or the other. I know there are some people who go to football seemingly to moan throughout, but surely they are in the minority. Just because you might give your opinions on a board such as this doesn’t mean you turn up on a Saturday slagging off all and sundry and failing to support the team. There are two members of the first-team squad who I would love to see the back of, but believe it or not I would love to see both of them prove me wrong. I doubted Nico Yennaris, but he didn’t half come back with a vengeance last season after most people had written him off. And fair play to him.
So yes David, of course you’re correct in saying we need to look after ten League games – it’s only logical. The flipside is that we seem a bit undercooked with the season having started, the “Brentford niggles” have recurred in abundance and question marks could be raised already against the DOFs.
Final comment – I felt there was a certain complacency at the Fans’ forum; pre-season had hardly gone outstandingly, we were still looking to fill certain positions (and hoping to get people in last week – wonder what happened to them) yet we were hearing play-off predictions. Of course, this is much easier to do before a ball has been kicked than a month in, when probably this gathering should have taken place.
Regards
Gordon
It’s a totally fair question GB, but one that nobody here can answer. I’m as surprised as you by our inability to give DS one or more of the players he has surely asked for. Money will be a part of it but we have our lists of targets so you’d have to believe there is still some value out there that fits our brief. Otherwise questions rightly will be asked about the plan of the brief itself, and of course those tasked with delivering on it. Early days and all we can do is hope something happens today and to get behind the team tomorrow. By the way if we lose these next 2 home games I too will be very worried, regardless of the 10 game thing.
Never mind the centre forward….we should be trying to sign the 15 year old CB, he was sensational…..DoF’s?
He looked mature and composed way beyond his age…..
I’m disappointed that a 400+ Mile round trip was met with such a poor performance. My view is, start with a strong line-up and bring on the younger/development players when you’re 3.0 up, we seem to want to chase the game……