Caoimhín Kelleher GK Brentford b.1998

Another strong performance from Kelleher yesterday, albeit on the losing team. While Parrott has understandably received the most praise lately, he is not (yet) playing in one of the top European leagues. Of the few Irish players that are, Kelleher is undoubtedly the standout right now - by a distance. If he keeps this level of performance up there's a move upwards from Brentford there for him, especially as he has previously shown that he can handle the pressure of a title challenge, cup finals etc.

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Originally Posted by Eirambler

Another strong performance from Kelleher yesterday, albeit on the losing team. While Parrott has understandably received the most praise lately, he is not (yet) playing in one of the top European leagues. Of the few Irish players that are, Kelleher is undoubtedly the standout right now - by a distance. If he keeps this level of performance up there's a move upwards from Brentford there for him, especially as he has previously shown that he can handle the pressure of a title challenge, cup finals etc.

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Yeah, was at the game and he kept the score respectable with an excellent performance - might have been 5 or 6 but for him.

While the Bees fans' forum has him receiving 87.7% of the vote (222/253) in their MOTM poll. (Plus a load of posts demanding to know why it wasn't 100%!)

Otoh Nathan C has so far received one vote - presumably his Ma.

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

Yeah, was at the game and he kept the score respectable with an excellent performance - might have been 5 or 6 but for him.

While the Bees fans' forum has him receiving 87.7% of the vote (222/253) in their MOTM poll. (Plus a load of posts demanding to know why it wasn't 100%!)

Otoh Nathan C has so far received one vote - presumably his Ma.

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Collins has all the physical attributes of being a top class player. It's his head that lets him down sometimes.

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Originally Posted by Fixer82

Collins has all the physical attributes of being a top class player. It's his head that lets him down sometimes.

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If NC wasn't good on Saturday - and he wasn't - then he was only one of 7 or 8 Bees players who were all pretty crap.

Has been generally ok this season, mind - the odd error, but still a fixture in the team.

He has a mistake in him, a couple against Spurs. He miscued a pass back to Kelleher in the second half – did the same in Helsinki, but got away with it this time. Agree with Fixer82, he has the attributes to be a top player but the concentration lapses are frustrating and for a big lad, he does tend to get bullied a bit. Feel the captaincy role, for Brentford and Ireland, is a distraction he doesn’t need.

Thought Kelleher was good but had a couple ropey moments.

I have to say there is a little bit of worry for Andrews and Brentford (and I say that as someone who thought his appointment was a big risk but Andrews deserves credit so far) - they have lost 4 of the last 6 and have a big December coming up. You would expect a loss Man City but Brentford do need to be beating Leeds, Wovles and Bournemouth to demonstrate that their form so far was not the outlier.

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Originally Posted by Jolly Red Giant

I have to say there is a little bit of worry for Andrews and Brentford (and I say that as someone who thought his appointment was a big risk but Andrews deserves credit so far) - they have lost 4 of the last 6 and have a big December coming up. You would expect a loss Man City but Brentford do need to be beating Leeds, Wovles and Bournemouth to demonstrate that their form so far was not the outlier.

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If their away form has been poor (mostly tougher games tbf), then their home form has been good (mostly easier games, it has to be said).

And if a team needs to perform well in both in order to challenge near the top of the table, at the same time good form in either is enough to keep a team out of any relegation worries.

Meanwhile, you can be sure that the Owner and his Execs will be monitoring progress closely, but in terms of performances, not results. In which respect, the team's xG stats etc suggest that they're actually playing better than their league position might indicate. While from this observer's pov, the "eyeball test" suggests that KA hasn't "lost the dressing room", or anything like it.

Moreover, the club's past record since Benham took over shows that they're quite prepared to be ruthless if they think something needs to be done - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marinus_Dijkhuizen.

But by the same token, they're also be prepared to be FAR more patient than most clubs if they're satisfied with how the manager is doing. And there is no talk whatever of any disatisfaction with KA.

It a long long way from going to Griffin Park out of curiosity when Eddie May was appointed manager. How things can change for a club thats ends up well run, or lose the run of themselves like Charlton, koining the hiring and firing - best run club in England....

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Originally Posted by Jolly Red Giant

I have to say there is a little bit of worry for Andrews and Brentford (and I say that as someone who thought his appointment was a big risk but Andrews deserves credit so far) - they have lost 4 of the last 6 and have a big December coming up. You would expect a loss Man City but Brentford do need to be beating Leeds, Wovles and Bournemouth to demonstrate that their form so far was not the outlier.

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i thought it was a big mistake to rest everyone good except Kelleher for the game against Arsenal (Collins, Henderson, Damsgaard, Thiago). As we saw with Sunderland, Arsenal can be got at by playing the type of football Brentford play and a point or three against Arsenal would have been huge for momentum, like it was vs Liverpool, United, Chelsea, Newcastle, Villa. Resting those players and foregoing the result puts huge pressure to get a result the next game (against the old manager) and a 2-0 loss to Spurs was the result.

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Originally Posted by Nesta99

It a long long way from going to Griffin Park out of curiosity when Eddie May was appointed manager. How things can change for a club thats ends up well run, or lose the run of themselves like Charlton, koining the hiring and firing - best run club in England....

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As I recall, Eddie May was absolutely shafted by David Webb, who was to become something of a hate figure at Griffin Park.

As for the rest, you don't have to go back as far as 1997 to see them as a basket case of a club. As late as 2012, when Matthew Benham took full control after having bailed them out the previous season with a loan, they were fan-owned and absolutely potless, indeed losing unaffordable amounts week-by-week. Crowds were down to barely 5k in a delapidated GP and the club was only surviving hand-to-mouth by bucket collections and sponsored walks etc.

I have little doubt that had MB not arrived, they'd be non-league by now, or even out of business entirely. And even after he arrived, in their last full (pre-Covid) season in the Championship their entire annual revenue was £15m (before transfer profits, that is). Yet 5 years later they're in their brand new stadium, looking to become established in the PL and buying players for £30m (Thiago), as replacements for others sold for twice that (Mbuemo)!

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Originally Posted by elatedscum

i thought it was a big mistake to rest everyone good except Kelleher for the game against Arsenal (Collins, Henderson, Damsgaard, Thiago). As we saw with Sunderland, Arsenal can be got at by playing the type of football Brentford play and a point or three against Arsenal would have been huge for momentum, like it was vs Liverpool, United, Chelsea, Newcastle, Villa. Resting those players and foregoing the result puts huge pressure to get a result the next game (against the old manager) and a 2-0 loss to Spurs was the result.

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Maybe. With the benefit of hindsight at any rate.

Otoh, they played Arsenal as well as any team has done at the Emirates, only failing to get a draw by virtue of a stunning, world-class save by Raya and an injury-time second goal by Saka. Had that draw been achieved, everyone would have been piling in on Arteta for picking a below-strength team, and hailing KA as a genius.

All of which tends to reinforce Matthew Benham's contention that whatever the "Sacked in the Morning" mob would tell you, managers actually have surprisingly little influence on individual matches, with work on the training ground over a season or three being FAR more important.

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

Maybe. With the benefit of hindsight at any rate.

Otoh, they played Arsenal as well as any team has done at the Emirates, only failing to get a draw by virtue of a stunning, world-class save by Raya and an injury-time second goal by Saka. Had that draw been achieved, everyone would have been piling in on Arteta for picking a below-strength team, and hailing KA as a genius.

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Genuinely felt it as soon as the team was announced. And I think had they started the 4 lads they left out, they probably would have taken points from the game.

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Originally Posted by elatedscum

Genuinely felt it as soon as the team was announced. And I think had they started the 4 lads they left out, they probably would have taken points from the game.

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By your use of "points" (plural), you think they "probably" would have won, do you?

Before the Brentford game, Arsenal had played 10 games unbeaten at home (6 x PL, 1 x LC, 3 x CL), winning 9 and drawing just the once (vs Man City). Their GF total was 27 and their GA was 3.

I wouldn't mind being your bookie. :)