The passage of time in Wellington and elsewhere
From the BBC:
“Brentford finished third in the table, one place above Fulham on goal difference, and won both league meetings during the regular campaign.
If they fail to win, the Bees will have taken part in more unsuccessful play-off campaigns in the English Football League than any other club, with this their ninth attempt.”
The Bees struggled early on in the Dane’s reign but this modest club now stand one game away from the Premier League
Mon 3 Aug 2020 08.00 BSTLast modified on Tue 4 Aug 2020 04.37 BST
It was long after the final whistle at Griffin Park last Wednesday, and a little before David Raya and Sergi Canós carved up the goal net to take a patch as a souvenir from the stadium’s last competitive game. The Brentford owner, Matthew Benham, was taking penalties at the Ealing Road end, trying to replicate Marcello Trotta’s infamous stoppage-time miss against Doncaster in 2013, when the striker smacked the crossbar before James Coppinger tapped in at the other end to extinguish any hope of automatic promotion from League One. Seven years on, the magnitude of the prize at stake is incomparable.
A day of history? One way or another- yes.
It seems almost ridiculous to be thinking of Brentford playing in the top flight- the Premier League as it is now. For all those years of 3rd and 4th tier football, remembering gong to GF as a kid when the style was limited and understanding the risk to the club’s survival: it seems unreal that they are in such a position.
At the beginning of the season to be in the play-offs was considered a good result. That they had the chance to take automatic promotion was amazing- though clearly did not work out. However, you cannot complain as the level of achievement is above what was expected.
I can remembering asking my dad many years ago if he could see Brentford reaching the FA Cup final. I think he laughed at the thought. This is clearly bigger than that. Dreamlike. The lads talked in the pub on the last Saturday of the season game when a win against Stoke could have gone a long way to achieving promotion. We laughed at the ridiculous thought of the Bees entertaining the likes of Liverpool and Man U. at home. Something previously considered mad but now not so far away.
90 minutes against west London rivals Fulham. A great way to go about it.
At the same time as saying ‘COYB’- there is still the nagging fear of what happens to smaller clubs who are promoted and whether they manage to survive intact in the future. I have that fear though think they re more likely to enjoy their time in the sun, lose, but take the money.
Griffin Park is one of the few old-school grounds left in English football, hemmed in by housing and retaining terracing – a rarity in the Championship in the days of all-seater stadiums since the dawn of the Premier League era.
A nice piece on the BBC to commemorate the final game at GP which happened in the week.
By Rob Stevens
BBC Sport
| Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-finals, second leg: Brentford v Swansea (agg 0-1) |
|---|
| Date: Wednesday, 29 July Kick-off: 19:45 BST Coverage: Live text on BBC Sport website from 19:15 BST, commentary on BBC Radio London and BBC Radio Wales |
The turnstiles at Griffin Park have already rattled for a final time. The Ealing Road terrace, usually a swelling mass of bodies on match days, stands empty.
However, the ground, Brentford’s home since 1904, will host one final game on Wednesday night before the west London club move into a new stadium this summer.
Home team scorersOllie Watkins 11Emiliano Marcondes 15Bryan Mbeumo 46
Away team scorersRhian Brewster 78
Aggregate 3-2 Brentford win 3-2 on aggregate
Jonathan Liew at Griffin Park
Wed 29 Jul 2020 22.35 BSTFirst published on Wed 29 Jul 2020 22.11 BST
A night for moving on. For shedding baggage, and laying the past to rest. On the night Brentford said their farewells to Griffin Park, they came closer to top-flight football than they have done at any point since 1947. They did so with a sparkling modern brand of football quite at odds with the weathered girders and sardine seats of their old home.
The hope does not take long to disappear.
A poor performance and the opportunity to control their future and possible promotion has gone.
The reason- pressure and anxiety? Lack of fitness after so many game and loss of movement and style? Poor passing and no real pressure on the opposition.
So back to likely play-off process after the last round of games next Wednesday unless wild things happen.
COYB.
Possibly the biggest goal in Brentford’s history:pic.twitter.com/iqIZSwpQfB— Essential Brentford (@BrentEssential) July 17, 2020
As the saying goes currently…”we live in strange times ‘.
Football in the Championship as well as the Premier League has restarted behind closed doors as a result of the pandemic.
Brentford have come back after the lockdown break so well with eight wins. They have slowly pulled in WBA and this is the round with 2 games to go. It started .. and ended.. with WBA one point ahead with the Bees having a better GD.
But the Baggies have screwed up by losing to Huddersfield – so now Brentford have the future in their own hands. Four points needed from their last two games. One tomorrow v Stoke away and then home to Barnsley who a rooted at the bottom of the table.
So now a big, big game tomorrow.
Down to the Globe in Windmill Road to see the outcome.
Brentford made it to the 4th round of the FA Cup and played Leicester City at home. The ‘Foxes’ are going well, currently third in the Premier League. So no fools.
Brentford put out a B team again essentially, as per the against Stoke in the 3rd round. Leicester were not at their strongest as they have lots games on currently including a League Cup semi- on Tuesday.
In the end Brentford played pretty well after a nervous and bad start.
But the line-up shows their perspective on the competition really. And charging full price for the game!