Nathan Collins D Brentford b.2001

Originally Posted by Fixer82

So essentially we need Collins at the base with a prime Wes and a prime John Sheridan

Might as well go full-hog ~ Prime Johnny Giles and a prime Liam Brady as well.

Originally Posted by seanfhear

Might as well go full-hog ~ Prime Johnny Giles and a prime Liam Brady as well.

We might as well lose Collins and stick McGrath in so

Lovely one touch finish for Brentford today. They're up to seventh now and his form is playing a major part in their run up the table. Really starting to deliver on all the early promise now.

You don't want to take these statistical ratings sites too seriously, but notable all the same that he was rated by WhoScored as the best defender across the 100 or so clubs that make up the top 5 European leagues for the month of November.

I was at the game today. Great fun.

He still is raw and has a mistake in him, but I think he has a really high ceiling.

Put it like this, he would have won a cap or two for England by now if he was English and face it, that's a rare compliment for young Irish lads these days.

Him, Ferguson and Kelleher are probably the only three players we have currently where that would be the case if they were English.

Funny thing is, he had a really good game overall yesterday but it has to be said he made a total mess of a back pass that Isak capitalised on but then inexplicably allowed the keeper to recover. He should have just put it into touch, in hindsight anyway. And I’d fault him for Isak’s first equaliser too, stepping back to play Isak onside instead of stepping up or holding the line. Each the result of bad decision making / game management imho.

In general Brentford have a great thing going on at the Gtech. And Mbeumo has the biggest glutes I’ve ever seen.

I like big glutes and I cannot lie

Interviewed in the independent today
https://www.independent.ie/sport/soc...327991848.html

It's great to hear the commitment and everything but sometimes the stuff they come out with, presumably off the back of the media training they get at their clubs, stretches credibility. In this article Collins says:

"It’s such a good squad. It’s really frustrating that we couldn’t get over the line [and qualify for last summer’s Euros]."

I mean, in terms of the last Euros, we were so far from the line that we couldn't even see the line. We were miles off in our group and it's nearly harder to not at least make the Euros playoffs these days and we didn't even manage that either.

100 Premier League appearances today

Won MotM as well, though he really should have done better for the Palace goal. But he's clearly a leader at Brentford and probably - at the moment - looks like the Irish player with the best chance of becoming a first team player at a Champions League level Premier League club in time.

Also won the penalty for their opener - albeit it should have gone for a hand ball before that.

The drama around the penalty is worth watching the highlights reel as a neutral. Mad stuff

Some more numbers around Collins' 100th PL appearance

Was watching him there more to see Ferguson. But he's turning into some player.

Originally Posted by Olé Olé

Was watching him there more to see Ferguson. But he's turning into some player.

He always looked like a great prospect, if he could kick out the mistakes ~ As many very good centre-backs had to learn as well.

Was just going to post what Sean has already said - he seems to have reduced the number of mistakes and lapses in concentration. He has always had the natural ability. Brentford fans seem convinced they're going to lose him for a massive fee in the next year or two.

Having the ability to send out a team including four solid Premier League performers at the back in Kelleher, O'Brien O'Shea and Collins (average age 24) must surely give us a strong foundation to build on for the next few years. Though if the last member of our GK/back four combination is 33 year old PNE squad player Robbie Brady that's a serious drop off from the other three. The standard gap between the stronger positions in our team and the weaker ones seems to be getting wider if anything.

Hate to break it to ye but I didn't say he wasn't a great prospect or didn't have the natural ability. I always thought both of those things. In fact, anyone with two eyes would have seen this so nothing revelatory here.

My point is that he does seem more focused and does not appear to be lapsing in concentration. He has the odd howler in him as we saw for Ireland.

When I say he's turning into some player, he looks to be focused, he looks to be assured and his performances this season are seeing him marked out as their ever present, defensive lynchpin.

He looks every inch a consistently
comfortable and very good Premier League player.

Originally Posted by Olé Olé

Hate to break it to ye but I didn't say he wasn't a great prospect or didn't have the natural ability. I always thought both of those things. In fact, anyone with two eyes would have seen this so nothing revelatory here.

My point is that he does seem more focused and does not appear to be lapsing in concentration. He has the odd howler in him as we saw for Ireland.

When I say he's turning into some player, he looks to be focused, he looks to be assured and his performances this season are seeing him marked out as their ever present, defensive lynchpin.

He looks every inch a consistently
comfortable and very good Premier League player.

Agreed. It was only the occasional lapses in concentration that was holding him back. His performances this season show how much he has cut that out and he’s where we knew he’d be. He’s a rolls royce of a player.

Wins Man of the Match in the late game on Sky, Brentford won away at Bournemouth.

Brentford still in the running for Europe.