Chapter 19

The ball was defended ruggedly, and Matheus was able to block the threw ball forcing the ball out for a throw in. The danger was only just beginning, and the new manager was well aware of how effective Brentford could be from these situations. The players had also been briefed on what to expect and prepared themselves accordingly. Mads Bech, the centre back stood on the side-line while the rest of his team organised themselves. He then winded up and threw a rocket towards their striker Ivan Toney.

The rumour mill had been filled with discussion of him returning to his former club Newcastle United, who were now flush with cash and ready to spend. The disruption this had bought to their team was enormous and he had hoped that meant he wouldn't play but that had been a false hope. The predatory striker had played in three different levels of English football in the last three seasons and found success in all of them. The reason was manifold, but it had to do with his main attribute being his off the ball movement. He was able to take advantage of the infinitesimally small period of time in which the defender had to look at the ball to essentially disappear in the eyes of the opponent. Derided by the uninitiated as only scoring tap-ins, those in the know understood that meant he was able to reliably recreate high quality shooting opportunities. His final attribute was his aerial presence and that was the one which they would need to deal with today. The defenders had been briefed but stopping it would be an entirely different challenge and one he wasn't sure they were up for.

Toney had placed himself in the space between the full back and centre back, forcing them to decide who would pick him up. The choice was easy on account of the ball being high and Bafode charged in to intercept him. The ball which was flying through the air was about to enter a comfortable space between the two players so the centre back bent his knee to jump as high as he could. He then threw himself into the air at the same time as the striker, who used his body to initiate a shoulder challenge. Bafode who was confident in physical battles prepared himself for the contact, but he couldn't prepare himself for what was about to happen. It felt like coming into contact with a brick wall and he felt the air leave his lungs. He had also lost control of his jump and was now no longer in contention for the header. The striker for the Bees, who had barely even paid attention to him, utilised his arms to stabilise himself and get higher to connect with the ball cleanly.

The movement shown by Toney had placed him in a position where the numerical superiority was on the side of The Blues. The point of superiorities was to have better control of the ball and progress it easier but in this case that worked against them as the qualitative superiority of Toney in the air was too great for the players around him. The extra numbers in that area also meant they were light in other areas which was the reason that the striker headed the ball to the edge of the eighteen-yard box. The region which he headed towards was about to be occupied by the classy attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen, who killed the momentum of the ball dead. He then pulled back to unleash a strike when the young centre back Ravil who had been biding his time came flying out at him to block the shot. Eriksen proved the difference in quality in one superlative move when he lightly pushed the ball past the defender, the previous pull back having been a cleverly disguised decoy. Either that or he simply changed his mind when the defender came, both being possible for a player of his calibre. The space now open to him in the box was truly shocking and Kjell attempted to make himself as big as possible while closing the space down. He was only just able to leave his goal line before the ball was ruthlessly smashed into the top corner of his goal.

It was now one goal to the boys from Brentford, but the move had been as demoralising as possible for his young team. The difference in ability had been shown as clearly as possible with this move, where they knew what the opponent wanted to do but were unable to stop it. Brentford had achieved a thirteenth-place finish in the premier league last season, and they were showing exactly how that was done. The team were direct and highly aggressive utilising all their cunning and strategies to eke out an advantage versus opposition who had far superior funding. The club ethos was doing the basics right so they can squeeze as much out from their squad as possible. The club was very well managed and had managed to stabilise in the Premier League almost immediately. The reason he knew so much was that he admired them and knew the difficulty it took to compete with the big teams. The reason he organised this match was that he wanted the players to truly understand the level they needed to reach.

The squad reflected his hopes for that as he had rushed Kjell Scherpen into the line up so he could experience it as quickly as possible. The defence was the same as the first fixture and they were playing a 4-2-3-1 formation. Jobe had been dropped into the double pivot though it might not be the right game to judge him on. The attacking midfielders were George, Mvoue, Facu with Troy leading from the front. He had put both Marcelino and Emanuel on the bench as he wanted them to watch Eriksen and Toney respectively. Eriksen could be considered the blueprint for a classic number ten, the way he made his presence felt with a few touches of the ball was awe inspiring and if Lino had played, he wouldn't have been able to get a real look. Emanuel was pulled off as he still needed more work on his composure in front of goal but also to view Ivan Toney as properly as possible. The striker was physically gifted but didn't rely on it or turn it into his crutch, he added off the ball movement to his game and that made him even more dangerous. Eman would need to learn that the most important part of being a striker was mainly what you did when you weren't in possession as that was the majority of the game.

The match was going completely in favour of Brentford and frustration was beginning to set in with the Birmingham players. This was especially the case for Bafode who had been dominated the entire game. To lose in an area he was so confident in and barely get a touch of his opposing number was negatively affecting his composure. It all came to a head when a ball was passed to Toney with his back to the goal, Bafode attempted to get to the ball but couldn't move the powerful forward even an inch. This led to him lunging at the ball and instead getting the leg of the striker. Predictably the striker fell to the floor and the referee judged it to be dirty play hence awarded a foul and a yellow card. Bafode was incensed and started remonstrating with the referee which could have gotten him a second had it not been for Ravil pulling him away. His centre back partner talked to him about calming down and refocusing on the game. The first half was soon to come to an end as Christian Eriksen stepped up to take on the dead ball situation. The moment was one of those in which it simply felt inevitable, and the new manager could swear he knew it was going to go in even before it did. The wall was made up of the tallest players they had and even Troy had come back from the attack to add to it. Kjell had organised them and pulled them to exactly where he wanted, they had even put a player lying down below the wall to prevent any low shots. All of it was ultimately for nothing as the Danish playmaker put his foot cleanly through it and delivered a spectacular arching shot to the top corner. The ball was not once in reach of the keeper and as the opposing team celebrated The Blues felt even more disheartened. The whistle was desperately needed, and it soon came.

The team talk had been difficult to give because there wasn't much, they could improve on, the goals had come simply because of a difference in quality, and they weren't ready to compete against these lot just yet. He had done his best to remotivate the team by telling them to think of the score as zero to zero and go again with a more attacking minded ethos. To concede is not the problem, they simply need to outscore the opposition. The second half started to a raft of changes with both Eriksen and Toney being substituted out of the game, this allowed him to also make changes as he no longer had any reason to keep Lino and Eman on the bench. The two were bought on and the team went into the second half with a much brighter atmosphere. The two substitutes tried to use what they had learned and came close to scoring but the match ended without a goal in the second half and another loss to the record of BCFC.

Trivia:

Brentford are referred to the Bees on account of a simple journalistic mistake. In the early days of the club, a group of students from Borough Road College had turned up to support their friend and chanted "Buck Up B's" which was their colleges chant. Local newspapers misheard the chant as Buck Up Bees and the nickname stuck ever since.