OH BRENTFORD, MY BRENTFORD!

Sorry for the delay to anyone that reads my blog but I have been mourning Brentford’s loss in the JPT Final at Wembley on Sunday.

Had a fantastic day starting off in the Green Man where my mate Gary Blissett and 20 Germans along with my friends shared a pre-match event and met some great supporters. Watched the game and ended the day in The Globe and finally The Inverness. What it proved once again was Brentford F.C. is all about the loyal supporters over the years and what it means to them and thankfully I was able to meet a fair few of them on the day. Cheers Boys and Girls!

Now back to the blog...

I returned home with a slight Achilles injury and needed treatment so I phoned Steve Perryman the manager at Brentford and he said I could come to the Club to the Physio (Roy Clare) and he would take a look at me. In the meantime I had signed a non-contract at St Albans in the Diadora sponsored Isthmian Premier League. John Lacy the ex-Spurs defender was Manager, the pitch was magnificent and I wanted to get match fit.

The injury cleared up after a few weeks and Stevie P asked me to train with the first team. It was great, I was training professionally again playing semi-professionally and getting a decent wage from St Albans.

The full-time training was having its rewards on part-time football. I was captain of St Albans and given a licence to play and my extra fitness really started to show in games. Just after Christmas I had scored 29 goals from midfield and on Boxing Day I received a call from Steve Perryman asking if I wanted to play for Brentford for the rest of the season. I left St Albans who were fantastic towards me and signed non-contract forms for the Bees just before the transfer deadline. My debut was at home to Notts County and I was outstanding - receiving the Man of the Match award. Throughout the remainder of the season I played really well and Brentford played some great football with Steve building a team of creative experience and enthusiastic youth. His Spurs upbringing was rubbing off on his players and his attention to technique in training was a dream. I enjoyed Steve’s approach to playing football and it suited my ability but sadly he and football were to change for the worse. Steve changed as a coach and football lost its identity.

I knew I was going to be offered a contract and when Steve called me into his office and offered a 2 year deal I wasn’t really surprised. My confidence was high which was born at St Albans due to their great belief in me and it carried me through the remainder of that season at Brentford. My rapport with the Brentford crowd was growing and I carried on scoring at League level so being rewarded with a contract was well and truly deserved. The reoccurring theme running throughout this blog is the word ‘confidence’ and later on I will be paying more attention in how to attain, maintain and use the most important ingredient in any footballers make-up.

Oh! How I could relax now. The security of 2 years, injury free and a team that believed in creativity. It was a great couple of seasons, all the players was mates and mixed socially breeding an excellent changing-room atmosphere. The banter and camaraderie was alive and I am sure if the management would have kept building at this level we could have gone on to achieve even greater heights because so many important ‘foundations’ were already in place.

For 2 seasons we had just missed out on the play-offs and progressed to the quarter-finals of the biggest cup competition in the world and one of the biggest days in the mighty Bees history. Our style of play definitely suited playing better opposition and beating great teams such as Blackburn Rovers and Man City really proved the amount of ability in the side. We really fancied ourselves to progress beyond the quarter-finals if the draw was favourable but I suppose who we played was the best experience we all could have hoped for.

Crowded with friends and family around the 'box' (TV) on a Saturday evening waiting for the draw to be made by the Lancaster Gate ‘suits’ on Match of the Day was like waiting to be called into the dentist chair. Their hands delved into the velvet bags that held the numbered balls and....................


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