Brentford travel to Hull City AFC on Sunday, looking for a chance to jump back on the horse after the unbeaten run came to an end against Liverpool last weekend.
Brentford travel to Hull City AFC on Sunday, looking for a chance to jump back on the horse after the unbeaten run came to an end against Liverpool last weekend.
That was a game which was beyond frustrating for so many reasons. The theatrics and dark arts from Liverpool.
The inconsistency and awfulness of ‘referee’ John Brooks. The taking the lead but then shooting themselves in the foot by a Brentford team who ended up with just nine players on the pitch following two avoidable red cards.
Both Yehor Yarmoliuk and Vitaly Janelt were sent for early baths and miss the trip to the MKM Stadium. The first, for a petulant reaction to Jérémy Jacquet’s provocation just prior to half-time.
He has since apologised to everybody, and whilst it was an out-of-character move, there’s no denying it put Brentford completely on the back foot at a time when they should have gone bouncing into the changing room at the break.
Vitaly’s, equally avoidable. This one as much down to Keith Andrews’ failure to recognise that his captain was throwing himself further into the game and had already been booked for mouthing off at the volatile Mr Brooks.
Instead of subbing him out when the chance was there, he kept him on, and the net result was the Bees finishing with 9 men to Liverpool’s 12. Any thoughts of a last-gasp equaliser dashed by Brentford simply not having the numbers to mount a final assault. The record from Keith’s last 17 league games now reading: W3 L3 D11.
It was a brutal shame for so many reasons. Primarily because until the Yarmo incident it genuinely looked as if The Bees were in the ascendancy. KLP’s fine header giving the lead and a potential ‘Chelsea’ on the cards.
Instead, the door was opened for Liverpool, and they took the opportunity with gusto. Leapfrogging the now sixth-placed Bees in a table which has tightened up again. The gap to third-placed Brighton six points; that to the teams in the relegation zone, five.
That’s not to suggest for one second Brentford are in any danger of joining those in the basement. More to wonder about what might have been had The Bees been able to take the win in this formative stage of the campaign.
Blah. Blah. Blah. We’re not going to change anything now. Instead, how does Keith ‘go again’? Who does he pick? The obvious questions surround both the midfield and Igor Thiago, who has so far managed a solitary league goal this season.
For me, the choice is as good as pre-determined. Mathias Jensen, Mikkel Damsgaard and Mamadou Sangaré to make up that central trio and then hope they all have 90 minutes in them. The only possible alternative being KLP going middle and Diouf as LB, as happened at Aston Villa, but to me that feels like unnecessary over-tinkering.
Let’s please not even consider the possibility of starting with three centre backs and two in centre-mid. That experiment surely now long-consigned to the waste bin of footballing history, with the Bees always looking way more potent when setting up in a more positive fashion.
That said, Keith did use Thursday’s press conference to tell us that both Nathan Collins and Jannik Schuster are available, meaning he does have four central defenders to pick from. Perhaps we’ll end up seeing Nathan in the holding role….
KLP (who is in fine form at present) and Michael Kayode as wing backs alongside the pairing of Kris Ajer and another should complete the back line. For me, Schuster, but I suspect Keith will stick with Sepp. Jaidon Anthony, Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago completing the starting XI as a front three.
Whichever way Keith chooses to set up, one would imagine that his getting Igor back on the scoresheet is a top priority. The player increasingly being forced wide and playing more of a provider than poacher role at present.
All well and good, but he can’t be in two places at once. Put him in the danger zone. Get the ball to his feet. Don’t leave him waiting weeks for everybody else to catch up to a long ball.
I’m no coach. Far from it. What I know about tactics you could write on the back of a matchbox, but I’ve also watched a lot of football. I’ve seen this man scoring goals for fun and going toe-to-toe in the Premier League Golden Boot race. This time around, even Jordan Henderson has found the back of the net more often.
The glass half-full argument says that The Bees are scoring from a variety of positions. KLP and Vitaly have both found the net this season (twice each), but it still feels as though we aren’t playing to our full potential.
‘Total football’ is all well and good, but if it doesn’t include our target man and main striker joining those in the scoring column, and the team aren’t winning on a regular basis, then perhaps it is time to mix things up.
It’s a nice challenge to have. Brentford are still sixth in the league, and this game will mark the one-fifth point of the season being passed. Anyone perceiving any negativity, think again. My view is that of a realist rather than blinkered sicophant who does nothing but fawn. We can, and should, always be aiming to improve and do better regardless of the last result. On and off the pitch.
This is a team and set-up so laden with talent and potential that we’re overflowing. Our ‘problems’ (outside of rogue rugby balls and awful ‘forced-fun’ flag displays) are of the proverbial first- world type, and there are so many other positives to take heading into this one.
Caoimhín Kelleher is on fire in goal. KLP having his best-ever season for The Bees and keeping £40m El Hadji Malick Diouf out of the side. New signing Jaidon Anthony has taken to Brentford like the proverbial duck to water. Kevin Schade rediscovering his form and taste for goal (he’s on 3 now). The club are on a beyond sound footing financially – no dodgy sponsorship deals or shell companies here.
As for Hull City, bravo. Winning the play-offs is hard enough (don’t we know it), but more so when, for most people, you are nothing more than an afterthought. The glare of all that publicity around cheating Southampton still blinding us even now. However, to then come out of the traps flying is next-level performance.
They started with back-to-back wins, including that opening day defeat of Manchester United. After that initial flirtation with second place following the win at Coventry City, a clutch of draws and defeat at Fulham last time out (how???) leave them just a single point behind Brentford. Keith quick to recognise this in the aforementioned conference, where he noted: “They’ve produced some really, really good performances and they’ve been in every single game they’ve played in.”
Mohamed Belloumi is very much man of the moment. The good news for Keith is that I seem to have performed my usual jinx by picking him for Fantasy Football ahead of that game in Putney last week. That worked well, not. Their top-scorer can keep his place in the side for Sunday.
They also have John Egan at centre-back. The former Bee operating as part of what is likely to be a five-man defence and sure to get a generous welcome, even if just in the warm-up, from the travelling support.
Perhaps the most important participants are the officials. More so after that Liverpool game. Thankfully we’ve been spared the unholy trinity of Attwell, Madley and Pawson (all three of whom are involved in the game at Sunderland) and instead have a team of:
Referee: Rob Jones.
Assistants: Akil Howson, Alex James.
Fourth official: Andrew Kitchen.
VAR: Tim Wood. Assistant VAR: Alex Chilowicz.
Safe travels for those making the long trip North. Don’t forget that it’s also a Sunday 2pm kick-off, with coverage on Sky.
The upper echelons of the table beckon for both teams. All it needs is a win. Here’s hoping Keith finds a way to tame the tigers.
