Watford FC 2-1 Brentford FC - 30/09/2014

THE HYMENOPTERAN DERBY


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Founded in 1889 by Brentford Rowing Club as was the norm then to fulfil the need for a winter activity to keep their athletes fit. After a nomadic existence the club settled upon its current home Griffin Park in 1904 which was a former orchard swallowed up by the growth of the London suburbs. Four pubs The Royal Oak, The New Inn, The Griffin (which lends its name to the ground) and The Princess Royal are sited at each corner usually providing a place over the years for supporters to drown their sorrows.

They were as with us a member of the Third Division South in 1921.But the fortunes of the two clubs showed a marked separation with Brentford reaching the First Division in 1934 and like us impressing in their first outing achieving the heady heights of fifth and mirroring our entry into the top flight being in the top half of the table until the outbreak of the Second World War.

The interruption did not do the Bees any favours as the club spiralled down the divisions reaching a nadir with relegation to the Fourth Division in 1961. Along the way they did manage to become the first side to play all then current 91 league clubs.

With the club in crisis they narrowly managed to avoid being taken over by local rivals QPR while on the field the club to coin Graham Taylor yo-yoed between the bottom two divisions. But by 1992 the team managed a return to the second tier if only for a season. Despite a relegation back to the fourth tier in 1998 excitement was not in short supply with several playoff final appearances at Wembley.

Unfortunately for their loyal band of fans these ended in disappointment. A loss in 2002 to Stoke was further compounded as with recent events at Griffin Park by missing out on automatic promotion in their final league match. An unwanted experience which we too can empathize with.

While fans might have hoped the takeover of the club bu the Brentford Supporters Trust might impart better luck on the pitch it saw the club end up in the bottom tier in 2007 despite the efforts of Leroy Rosenior and then considered a top manager of the future Terry Butcher.

It was former Bees legend Andy Scott revived the clubs fortunes with promotion to the third tier (League One) achieved in 2009 and the club settled into League One with solid home form enabling the team to compete until the beginning of 2011. A run of poor results saw Scott resign with Nicky Forster and Mark Warburton taking up the reins.The latters appointment has seen in recent seasons a flow of players from the Vic to Griffin Park (Harry Forrester, Rob Kiernan, Adam Thompson, Lee Hodson to name a but a few) with Mark tasked with the role as with Nani under the Pozzo's to get the right players for the manager. Despite securing a midtable position Forster was replaced by Uwe Rosler who slowly but surely started to form a team capable of challenging for promotion.

The end of the 2012-3 ended in heartbreak with the team missing out on automatic promotion with that last gasp effort from Doncaster events that were later repeated with memorable scenes and euphoria at the Vic a week later. There was yet more heartache for the Bees when yet again they failed in a playoff final this time against Yeovil.

But undaunted and under Roslers guidance the team picked themselves up and secured promotion the following season to join us in the second tier. This was despite the German leaving in midseason. His successor was Warburton who remains the current incumbent and a believer in technical football. Indeed he was pivotal in setting up our own Harefield Academy. The future for Brentford looks rather bright at the moment with a new stadium scheduled to open in 2016, a promising academy and a plan which sees the club plying it's trade in the Championship on a long term basis and an eye on promotion.

Brentford Community Stadium:

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Playing Style:

Completed passes against Leeds with Button in goal on the left. A great deal of the play as with other passing maps for the Bees is down their flanks:

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This is our pass map against Blackburn which shows as with our other passing maps a great deal of activity in the middle of the pitch. Gomes is located in the right hand goal on the map:

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Warburton prefers to play a short passing game from the back sometimes employing a high press. Compared to us their main method of attack is down the flanks. The fullbacks Bidwell and McCormack provide an attacks with width and overlaps. Several players like Judge, Odubajo and Dallas provide this width further upfield and are quite content to switch flanks at will.

Pritchard, Tebar and Jota are all technically adept and drop into the channels pushing on into support of the sole forward. Apart from one game Warburton plays with just this one forward which has varied from Tommy Smith at the beginning to Proschwitz. As befits their differing styles Proschwitz is used as a targetman for long balls holding up the play for the midfield to support him while Smith and Gray (a scummer) have the ball into feet around the box.

We should expect a 4-1-4-1 as the sole game in which Warburton switched to a 4-3-3 saw a comprehensive defeat at Middlesbrough. As befits the away side and most sides coming to the Vic they will attack on the counter as they have done in their away games this season.

Playing Personnel:

In terms of experience McCormack who has recently signed a new contract Craig,Douglas and Smith if he plays provide the bulk of it. The rest of the team is relatively youthful and inexperienced at this level. Pritchard, Judge, Tebar and Jota are all technically adept and the creative pivots, Odubajo and Dallas provide pace.

Warburton has assembled a squad with real potential picking up players rejected from PL academies ie Bidwell, the best of the crop in the lower leagues like our former target Scott Hogan and using his knowledge of the European market to sign Betinho and Jota. The latter was a key figure in the promotion of Eibar to the Spanish Primera last season and an astute buy.

In terms of injuries Tommy Smith has recovered from his knee problems but Scott Hogan like Tamas is out with an ACL injury and club captain Kevin O'Connor is also absent. The loss of Adam Forshaw and Clayton Donaldson two key components of their promotion winning team from last season has not been felt.

Possible Brentford line up for tomorrow

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Season so far:

Brentford have played six of the teams we have encountered so far. And their results almost match ours barring a draw against Charlton and a loss against Bournemouth. Like us and reflective of the nature of the Championship they have been fortunate to pick up some points while dropping others. A fortunate win against Rotherham can be married to an unmerited defeat against Norwich.

Scorers and assists for the Bees this season:


Match statistics from Squawka:


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Where are we ?

At first glance 17 points from nine games and sitting fourth in the table may not look disappointing. However the last three games have given cause for concern.

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The team is not playing as a unit from front to back.It is still more a collection of individuals where moments of quality have rescued the team. There is a distinct lack of urgency at times from the pressing upfront which is never in concert. The passing in the final third and in midfield has been sloppy and casual at times spurning opportunities and allowing the opposition chances.

The absence of Munari and Andrews has been felt in terms of covering the defence now that it has switched to a central pairing. Toszer and Murray (who looked off the pace against Blackburn) failed to provide enough coverage.Both fullbacks have been weaknesses. Credit has to be given to Paredes for his efforts but Pudil has been exposed several times. Blackburn's equalizer saw Angella drawn out with Pudil caught upfield. And service from the flanks has been equally poor with several promising situations squandered by a poor final ball. One player in particular has been a shadow of his former self. Not to mention that getting to the byeline has been a rarity.

Apart from some sloppy passing it lacks speed to pull the opposition around and create space for players like Vydra. And passing simply for the sake of passing is not going to win matches. It lacks direction and thought. One move against Blackburn lasted 27 passes with the ball remaining in the middle third for all of that time.

There is a tendency at the moment to over complicate, to take an extra touch and on the counter instead of the forward ball there has been a negative mindset to hold onto the ball whereas under Zola the one thought was to attack at speed. It seems to have afflicted Anya particularly.

We have a very talented squad. In all honesty one of the top three in the division in terms of quality. But even the best teams have to out work the opposition in order to impose themselves and allow their extra quality to win out. So far there have not been enough Deeney like performances. The loss of Sannino and his replacement by Garcia was far from ideal meaning players would have to get adjusted to new ideas. His unfortunate illness meant he barely had the time to work with most of the squad. This may account for some of the lack of direction in recent matches. Not to mention the tinkering in formation and personnel.

There still is no settled backline. Injuries and suspensions are partly responsible and there is no settled midfield.Again injuries have not helped. Given the example of Leicester and Burnley last season a settled first team line up would be preferable. But perhaps the need to keep what is a large squad happy has forced the managers hand, not helped by the loss of Beppe to some unrest for this very reason. Maybe Billy will be firmer and clearer in his squad expectations and choices in creating more of an on field empathy between the players.

One has also to bear in mind several new players have come into the team and it will take time for them to fully integrate. It will take a few games before Billy fully implements his ideas. On the positive despite not playing to anywhere near our potential we are in a fine league position. Deeney should be back shortly and although McKinlay has not been the main man at any of his former clubs he is a hard nosed, down to earth character who gets the best out of players, is a good tactician and works well with youngsters.

Last and by no means least we would all like to wish Oscar Garcia and his family all the very best for the future. One's well being is the most important thing in the world. It may have been a very short stint and perhaps not very sweet but fingers crossed he returns to the game he loves and regains his health.

Get well soon Oscar



Brentford fan forums:

http://www.griffinpark.org/forums/forum.php
http://www.brentford.vitalfootball.co.uk/forum/forums/forum-view.asp?fid=2

Our historical record against the Bees. They used to have the upper hand but in the last three decades it has almost always been the Hornets that prevail:

http://www.11v11.com/teams/watford/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Brentford​

 

You can make out the density of passes to an extent zztop. We do faff about in the middle of the pitch a fair bit without any real purpose.