Brentford return to the comfort of the Gtech for Saturday’s game with Nottingham Forest after a tough few days for Keith Andrews.
Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Hull City (a 12th from his last 18 league games) was followed by a midweek League Cup exit at Sunderland. What was always going to be a tricky fixture was made even harder by a significantly rotated team conceding three goals without reply in the space of 13 first-half minutes.
The eventual 3-2 score line giving an appearance of the tie being way closer than it actually was. In truth, the game had long gone after left back El Hadji Malick Diouf had a game he’ll likely want to forget.
Keith’s then keeping a player having so abject an evening on the pitch for the full 90 making no tactical sense beyond admitting the game had already slipped away and, instead, wanting to preserve KLP for this one.
Full credit to Sunderland who took their chances, proving again that shots and ball retention are as meaningless as pre-match flag waving. Goals scored once the whistle goes are what counts.
The Bees had 66.6% possession and 16 shots to the Black Cats 7(seven) but were unable to make it truly count or seize the opportunity.
Clubs from Leagues One and Two had already made it through to the quarter finals. They were due to be joined by either Fulham/Crystal Palace, both very much at the wrong end of the top flight.
Never will anybody that wants a shot at winning the cup have the opportunity for a more favourable draw, at least on paper. Instead, it’s another wait for Wembley. Sunderland the ones progressing and Keith now left to work out who will try to get him a first win in five games.
On the plus side, at least Brentford can concentrate on the league until January. Keith now has 12 games until the FA Cup third round, starting with Nottingham Forest’s visit on Saturday.
The heavy rotation in the cup game – not sought as an excuse for defeat, btw, given our hosts changed 11 from their own weekend game – hinting as much at who will return.
The back line seeing Kelleher in nets with KLP, Kayode, Ajer and, in all likelihood, Sepp van den Berg in front of him. Yarmo is still out following his red card against Liverpool so we can presume three from four of Jensen, Janelt, Sangaré and Damsgaard.
The later not featuring so much this campaign but it doesn’t seem like five minutes ago he was dominating centre-mid. The player quite rightly rewarded then with both the Supporters’ Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year at the end of Thomas Frank’s final season in charge.
Keith has perhaps been spoilt for choice but we’re surely all agreed that Mikkel operates best through the middle rather than out wide. Giving him a solid run in the right position could prove integral to the Bee’s fortunes. I’d love to see him playing there on a regular basis.
The final three also giving a headache of the nicest sort. Dango Ouattara has been intermittent but was star player last time out, Jaidon Anthony is looking in top, top form whilst Kevin Schade rediscovered his mojo in the early phases.
You can’t drop Igor Thiago despite his barren run in the Prem (1 goal from 8 games) so what gives?
For me, Schade. Balance and players on form are the way to go. Ouattara and Anthony on either flank. Thiago back through the middle rather than being forced to chase balls played out wide and then play provider. He was second top scorer in the Premier League last season – get him in the box and give him the ball. It’s not rocket science.
That’s meant with no disrespect to Kevin but more that we should be picking our strongest players in their respective positions. He presents an excellent opportunity for either fresh legs or change of set up but at present we feel lopsided.
As for the backline. Yes, they’re solid but for crying out loud let’s have some urgency. This interminable playing it short and sideways is all well and good but aside from killing the clock it opens us up to the potential of embarrassment not seen since Mark Flekken decided to turn his back and take a drink.
Brentford paid the ultimate price for this faffing about at Hull City, falling behind to an Ollie McBurnie penalty as a consequence.
It’s something more frustrating given we’ve seen the ability with which KLP, Michael Kayode and even Kris Ajer can run the ball out of defence. As long as somebody covers then let them do it.
Perhaps I’m being too simplistic. Keith is so clearly full of passion and knows what he wants to do. You can see how much it means to him when we do win.
He’s the man in the hot seat, even if his league form is in danger of an actual journalist now asking some serious questions. A bit of gentle probing never hurt anybody – just look at what Billy Reeves did to Uwe Rösler at Stevenage
P3 L3 D12 from the last 18 games at this level isn’t great . Neither is seeing the lead taken in each of our first 7 games this time around but surrendered 5 times.
All of which takes us full circle back to that starting line up, which I see going as:
Caoimhín Kelleher; Michael Kayode, Kris Ajer, Jannik Schuster, Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt, Mikkel Damsgaard, Mamadou Sangaré, Jaidon Anthony, Dango Ouattara, Igor Thiago.
As for Forest, we’re almost in double figures for league games played and they still have the same head coach they started the season with (at the time of writing).
Oliver Glasner yet to follow the path taken last season where Nuno Espírito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and Vitor Pereira all tasted the brutal tongue and swinging axe of Evangelos Marinakis.
Despite a solitary win (2-1 at Aston Villa in early September) and his team in the relegation zone, Glasner remains in charge. Albeit, I can only imagine applying generous quantities of sudocrem to his neckline to help with the inevitable chafing that will come should form not change.
That, something which will hinge on their form in front of goal. A mere 6 scored so far is the lowest in the division. Coventry and Sunderland join them on this total and so it’s no surprise they make up the bottom three.
For those who get excited by stats that make no difference to the final score, that paltry half-dozen comes from an xG of 13.5.
I’m sure the visiting support would argue that their position is as much symptomatic of what still feels a strangely tight table. The five point gap separating their 18th to Brentford in 6th is the same as that which separates The Bees from third placed Brighton.
Perhaps, but Keith has been graced with a team in dreadful anti-form (prior to the 1-1 with Ipswich Town last time out, they’d lost the previous three) and so one would hope he opts to grasp the nettle in this one.
If nothing else, a draw won’t be of particular immediate assistance to either side. Forest would in all probability stay in the relegation zone whilst going into this one, there are six clubs just a point and/or inferior goal difference behind Brentford.
On the team news front for the visitors, Glasner has already held his conference in which he confirmed Neco Williams’ availability although expressed doubts over Dan Ndoye.
The Forest manager explaining: “He felt some hamstring fatigue after the game throughout the week and after returning from Switzerland. Let’s see if he can train tomorrow with the team and do well without taking any risk”.
As such, Forest’s likely starting XI :
Matt Sels, Jair Cunha, Murillo, Nikola Milenković , Daniel Muñoz, James McAtee, Xavier Schlager, Neco Williams, Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Liam Delap
The officials, if you need them, are:
Referee: Darren England.
Assistants: Scott Ledger, Mat Wilkes.
Fourth official: Farai Hallam.
VAR:Andrew Kitchen. Assistant VAR: Tom Nield.
Brentford are sixth, everyone. That has to be the key positive going into this game. Win it and that position will only get stronger. The dreams of Europe that slowly dribbled away last season will come flooding back. A short-term downturn in results will have been put right.
Lose it, or even draw, and perhaps our friends in the press may feel the need to start some more critical trend analysis. Some tougher questioning to a coach about whom most observers are still lavishing praise upon.
I’m sure Keith is really, really up for this one though. He recognised the disappointment felt by supporters on Wednesday noting afterwards that: “I’m really gutted that we haven’t been able to give the fans the result tonight that they deserve”
All well and good, if not somewhat predictable. The usual post-defeat platitudes (see also: we go again) count for naff all unless they can be channelled in to something positive on the pitch.
Here’s to Saturday afternoon and seeing Keith’s words transformed into substance.
