Welcome Bristol City

Returning to Beesy’s quasi-nostalgic theme that we should never really have left division three in the first place, it’s quite surprising to see our regular soccer foes Bristol City have changed their name to “Rovers” and become much smaller. And less good.

Ignoring the James Wilson shaped hole in this argument, Bristol City/Rovers’ team has changed markedly since we last met at this level and now features relegation expert Jo Kuffour and flash-in-the-pan (and not a very good pan at that) Chris Dickson.

Brentford’s Great Game – can Kabba or Cort score before Christmas – continues apac… Well, it continues. This week’s random defensive reshuffle is yours to guess.

We haven’t bothered researching any stats and we can’t be bothered to go either. It’ll finish 1-1 and Alan Bennett will get sent off. The end.

Charlton preview – and not a proper one

With a jaunty hat tip to Sesame Street, this preview is brought to you by the following quote from Kevin O’Connor (as nicked from the official website) referring to the FA Cup game in 2006 (we think):

“I played in that FA Cup game, to play them in the league shows how far we have come and also that they have come down.”

Beesy would like to point out that when we played Charlton in the Cup that day, we lay third in division three. That folks is precisely how far we have come.

Anyway, so to the game that will inevitaby see your correspondent have to buy food for a homeless type. Your PMA wristband-wearing Brentford fan will tell you that we’re unbeaten and unbeatable this year. Your disappointment-hardened Brentford fan will point out that we’ve only won twice this season, one of which thanks to a managerless Norwich side imploding in the second half but still only being beaten by two set pieces, while our strikers have stunk the place up horrendously all season.

Which means 2-0 Charlton: a Deon Burton belter and a soaring Sam Sodje header from a corner.

Bah!

Southampton Preview: Wot no Beam Back???

So where were you on Feb 19th 2005? If you were a Brentford season ticket holder/ club member you where probably gnashing your teeth whilst sat at Griffin Park cursing all those non fans that had stolen/ bought your Southampton away day ticket.

Now Beesy’s take on Beam Back has always been that it must have been the best, most magical way of viewing a game given the opportunity for dancing girls, booze and fireworks.

Of course Beesy has never actually experienced the delights of Beam Back. We made a decision to get up early and using phones got tickets quite easily. So we were at St Mary’s for the Isiah Rankin wondergoal and the hilarious disallowed goal for Kevin Phillips right at the death. But we still are outraged that the option for people to pay to huddle around a large screen at Griffin Park hasn’t been taken up. Beesy can only think of three reasons for this:

1. That there suddenly is space in the large, usually half filled stadium for paying visiting fans?
2. That it’s going to be a hard Christmas for those in the Large Screen/ Beam Back Business?
3. Or that a League of the Damned match featuring two mediocre teams is of a waning interest to most?

You, dear reader can of course decide.

What can be said with certainty is that following two relegations in five years Southampton FC (formerly a subsidiary of Southampton Leisure Holdings PLC) is in decline from the Keegan/ Le Tissier / Le Saux glory years of virtually all of our football watching existence which saw 27 years of our 30 in the top flight of English football.

Currently on a net tally of minus nine points, with two goals scored and Southampton can be found firmly rooted at the bottom of the League of the Damned. As has been well reported a summer of financial travails has left the club feeling their way into the new season tentatively with an opening day draw with Millwall the highlight so far, with two away defeats to Huddersfield and Swindon making up their other fixtures.

Having turned to Alan Pardew in the summer Southampton stll have a squad of players you’d have heard of: Chris Perry, Graeme Murty, Marek Saganowski um… ok maybe not that many players you would have heard of but with new signing Ricky Lambert in line for a start it should be expected that tomorrow will be no easy tie.

But then Brentford, buoyed by victory over one of the other too-big-for-this-league club Norwich City in the week will take solace from the loss of Alan Bennett by the new loan signing of James Wilson, everyone’s favourite very good Bristolian central defender (even if it does mean bad news for fans of Karleigh Osborne’s unique haphazard style of football).

Also fingers crossed for Steve Kabba. Let’s hope that he can deny a hobo a nutritious and possibly life saving meal.

So lets see those Southampton Facts:

• Southampton is a bloody big port city but will always be more famously known known as the “gateway” to the Isle of Wight than for, say, being the fourth largest UK port by tonnage.
• Southampton has a “special relationship” with Kaliningrad, that weird bit of Europe near Poland that isn’t really acknowledge on maps (due to it being owned/ ruled/ part of Russia). Beesy couldn’t possibly say what this special relationship is but, well.. y’know Sailors and Vodka
• Brentford’s current home kit is remarkable similar to the Southampton’s Admiral 70s numbers. Look here for proof: www.historicalkits.co.uk
• These people come from Southampton… see if you can spot them at the match: Benny Hill (Comedian); Craig David (Singer-ish); Sir John Everitt Millias (Pre Raphaelite Painter. He was the good one). Admittedly you may only see one of them.