Ian Westbrook’s TW8 diary
Teenage praise
While Tuesday’s defeat at Watford was deeply frustrating after another good Bees performance, the manner of the display gave encouragement – and the reaction of many home fans showed how grateful they were to have won.
A Watford-supporting friend of my teenage son texted him after the match and said: “Much as I want to take the mickey out of you, I can’t because you played so well and deserved a point.”
And a Hornets fan we chatted to in the interminable queue to pay in the car park afterwards said he thought we were the best side they had played this season and he liked the way that we kept trying to play football.
Generation game
Going to Vicarage Road was a real throwback for me and many others.
When I started watching Brentford in Division Four in the 1970s, Watford were the only local team we played so games there, at Reading and at Aldershot were the away matches we attended.
I went to those matches with my late father and Tuesday gave me the opportunity to take my two teenagers to this fixture for the first time.
It’s scary to think that the last time we won at Vicarage Road in 1977, a game I remember well for Paul Priddy’s two penalty saves, I wasn’t quite a teenager myself!
Solid September
So the second month of Brentford’s Championship season has been completed and a total of six points from five tough fixtures is a solid return.
With more luck that return would have been greater as, with the exception of the Middlesbrough game, the side has played well for spells of every match and could have got something against both Norwich and Watford.
The Bees now have 14 points from 10 fixtures and a similar return over the coming months would see them finish with around 63 points, which would be an excellent total for their first campaign at this level.
Despite the brief flutter with being sixth in the table after the Brighton game, this season is all about retaining Championship status and a finish of anywhere above the danger zone would please Brentford fans.
Rosler reunion
The highlight of October for many supporters will be the trip to Wigan on the third Saturday of the month and the chance to renew acquaintances with former manager Uwe Rosler for the first time since he left the club last December.
When the fixtures came out in June what we didn’t know was that the game would also be a chance to meet up again with Adam Forshaw.
Since moving to the DW Stadium, Forshaw has made three appearances, one as a substitute, and will be keen to play a part against his former colleagues.
The month will also give Brentford’s travelling fans the chance to cross another new ground off their lists with a first-ever visit to Bolton’s Macron (formerly Reebok) Stadium.
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