Get ready, get set…
The play-offs
The ghost of play-offs past
Play-offs! Who needs them? Exciting for the neutral and the winner of the final. Stress-filled nightmare for the fans of the three clubs that miss out. But better than not being in them at all, I guess. Brentford’s play-off history is pretty dismal. Up till now, the Bees had been in many, successful in none.
We still remember the long trudge back to Hanwell after the Wembley disappointment v Yeovil in 2013. It was a relief to get automatic promotion to the Championship the following year and no big surprise to miss out in a further two play-offs in a bid to get to the Prem. But this time? Could we break the jinx? Many of us thought we might have a chance if we could somehow avoid Swansea and their dark arts.
AFC Bournemouth at the new stadium – 22 May 2021
Tickets printed. Boiled sweets packed. Facemasks located. Bring on Bournemouth! Our second ever visit to the new Brentford Community stadium brought more comparisons with Griffin Park, and stirred up more memories that had lain dormant during lockdown and iFollow football on TV. Interesting to hear that bricks from the old stadium were incorporated into the North Stand (which is where our new seats are) at the new stadium. Nice touch.
The new stadium is configured at a similar angle to the old one, and our seat is in a similar location as in the old one. So airplanes approaching Heathrow still rise to our left and set to our right in stately procession. Another nice touch.
Before kick-off Thomas Frank jogged a lap of the pitch, exhorting the 4,000 socially-distanced (sort of) fans to make more noise.
Although we’d done the double over Bournemouth in the league, they were 1–0 up from the first leg of this play-off semi-final. We were apprehensive, even more so when Bournemouth scored after five minutes. Then Ivan Toney put away a penalty in his trademark cool way to equalise. On 28 minutes, ex-Brentford Chris Mepham brought down our beloved Bryan. Poor old Mepham. Final score: Brentford 3 Bournemouth 1. We’d made it to the final! Frank and the players toured the pitch, applauding the fans. We applauded back. Emotional.
Swansea City at Wembley – 29 May 2021
Inevitably it had to be bloody Swansea, didn’t it? Both league games had been 1–1 draws. Both had been tough, physical and niggly. Another social-distancing affair, with 11,689 fans allowed into a 90,000 capacity Wembley. Brentford played magnificently, with first-half goals by Toney and Marcondes. But where were the Swansea players today? Well, one of them, Jay Fulton was in the dressing room, sent off in the second half.
I looked up at the scoreboard to check it had really happened. I looked up at the Wembley Arch overhead and sang ‘It’s beautiful… like a rainbow’ in my best Family Guy Peter Griffin voice. We watched the team and staff celebrate on the other side of the pitch and joined in with ‘Bus stop in Hounslow. We’re just a bus stop in Hounslow…’ a version of the chant QPR fans used to taunt us with, that we made our own.
Voices hoarse and a jubilant spring in the step as we left the stadium and wandered around the streets in a daze. Didn’t we have a lovely time, the day we went to Wembley?
Pre-season friendlies
We’ve been to very few pre-season friendlies over the years. So the games away to AFC Wimbledon and Boreham Wood passed us by.
Man Utd 2 Brentford 2 – 28 July 2021
But we did watch Man U 2 Brentford 2 on MUTV in our local pub. Only a friendly but a great game and four cracking goals. Come on you Bees!
Brentford 2 Valencia 1 – 7 August 2021
We weren’t able to make the friendly at home to West Ham on 31 July. Sods law that Benrahma would score the winner for West Ham but good luck to him. But we weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to see Valencia, and the very funny Korrupt FM take over. A good omen for the new stadium: I got the number of ‘better’s right before the ‘oooh!’ in Hey Jude. Get in!
The game gets under way. We score… VAR?! Wasn’t expecting that in a friendly! Next time an incident went to VAR there was the woooooh build-up home fans do to an away team keeper about to take a goal kick. I wonder if betting sites will soon advertise in-woooh betting on what the VAR decision will be?
It was all about the occasion, really. It was a good game but Valencia weren’t over-exerting themselves.
Goodbyes and hellos
Among those leaving Brentford were Henrik Dalsgaard, a personal favourite. Emiliano Marcondes, scorer of the second goal at Wembley, also went and is now at Bournemouth. We wish them both well. In a sense they’re still with us – they’ve joined the extended family of ex-players now at other clubs. Some might be surprised at how many of our old boys are at other Premiership clubs.
Of those joining, Kristoffer Ajer and Frank Onyeka stand out. There’s even a Frank song already. Yoane Wissa looks like a good signing.
There have no doubt been many comings and goings in the spectating squad too. Many new arrivals, of course, but not much clarity about some of the old faces who inhabited our part of the New Road stand at Griffin Park. We’ve clocked Uncle J and The Absent-minded Character Actor at our new home. And Mr Greatcoat, who would rattle a triangle whenever we got a corner. But so far no sign of Whirling Dervish, Old Misery Guts or Pottymouth.
Next time: Brentford take on Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Forest Green Rovers and Aston Villa.
Around Hanwell and up the allotment 
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