Biggest Shock

[West Ealing Bee]

Also if we are going to be pedantic this evening I said players in the mold of Peter reid, not peter reid specifically.

Which player in the mould of Peter Reid has more than 53 caps?

 

[Oxford Bee]

Which player in the mould of Peter Reid has more than 53 caps?

It's a moot point how one interprets 'in the mould of Peter Reid', but it might include Phil Neville (59) and Gareth Southgate (57). There could also be an 'honourable' mention for Emile Heskey (58).

Putting a list of players in order according to caps won, could be an interesting exercise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_England_international_footballers

 

[seanrs]

shock #5... actually, make this shock #1... the big name premier league player we have signed is... bob bloody booker.[/QUOTE]


The bigger shock was when he left us for Sheff Utd. I must have read it about 8 times on Teletext before I accepted it was for real

 

[beebopalula]

You are obviously all a lot younger than me. The biggest shock was in the mid 60's hearing on the six o'clock news that the Bees were being bought out by QPR and Brentford FC would cease to exist! Not even going out of the League-just ceasing to exist. I'm sure the more senior supportesrs will never forget that.

 

[Brentford 4 Life]

You are obviously all a lot younger than me. The biggest shock was in the mid 60's hearing on the six o'clock news that the Bees were being bought out by QPR and Brentford FC would cease to exist! Not even going out of the League-just ceasing to exist. I'm sure the more senior supportesrs will never forget that.

I think you win the award of biggest shock. I can only imagine how terrible that news would have been. I hope i never have to experience anything like that during my time as a bee.

 

[Stanley]

Bowles signing was not so much of a shock as a very pleasant surprise. It seems odd now but big name players often dropped down to lower leagues to end their playing days. Ron Harris, Mickey Droy and Bowles were like top players from the top four of the Premiership playing for Brentford today, it just wouldn't happen.

Bowles was simply a player you paid to watch, he got me back to watching the Bes regularly after a lull in attending. You cannot pigeon hole him with any player today, only the young Bostock has ever come close to a Bees player reminding me of his skill and quickness of feet.

Ignored by England? not really, for all his ability and charm he was a p***head and addictive gambler by todays' standards and as for Hoddle he never really did it in an England shirt despite all the hype about him.

 

[bees66]

top players from the top four of the Premiership playing for Brentford today, it just wouldn't happen.

If the MK Dons can sign Dietmar Hamann as player-coach why can't we one day??

 

[beebopalula]

I think you win the award of biggest shock. I can only imagine how terrible that news would have been. I hope i never have to experience anything like that during my time as a bee.

Indeed. I still have occasional flashbacks and recall the feeling of being totally stunned and whether I had heard the news correctly. So whenever I hear about similar crises with other clubs, I totally understand how their fans are feeling cos I've been there

 

[westwing]

Yes, I remember the talk of a 2 tier stand and being quite excited (as a 10ish year old would). Then the horror when I saw it.

"HORROR" being used quite correctly in this case

 

[TW3Bee]

Yes, I remember the talk of a 2 tier stand and being quite excited (as a 10ish year old would). Then the horror when I saw it.

When I heard that we were going to get a two tier stand I was thinking it was going to be something like the one at the old Filbert Stret ground Leicester.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

That stand is an embarrassment and a joke.

 

[westwing]

When I heard that we were going to get a two tier stand I was thinking it was going to be something like the one at the old Filbert Stret ground Leicester.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

That stand is an embarrassment and a joke.

Exactly my point.
Martin Lange pulled the wool over our eyes by initially stating that it was for the good of the club. Nobody questioned him because he promised us a wonderful new stand and we believed him because he was a so called fan of BFC. This was a stunt that was brushed under the carpet and left BFC with no options for the future. If the old Royal Oak had been modernised or rebuilt and the huge space used for bars and a shop etc. would BFC really have gone bust, the answer would most probably be NO.
Martin Lange ruined our stadium and that will always be my biggest shock.

If LR gets built that will also be a shock.
Please stick to the 20K seating plan and bring it on

 

[TW3Bee]

Exactly my point.
Martin Lange pulled the wool over our eyes by initially stating that it was for the good of the club. Nobody questioned him because he promised us a wonderful new stand and we believed him because he was a so called fan of BFC. This was a stunt that was brushed under the carpet and left BFC with no options for the future. If the old Royal Oak had been modernised or rebuilt and the huge space used for bars and a shop etc. would BFC really have gone bust, the answer would most probably be NO.
Martin Lange ruined our stadium and that will always be my biggest shock.

If LR gets built that will also be a shock.
Please stick to the 20K seating plan and bring it on

Were we ever shown any plans for this new stand?

I can't remember seeing any.

Now we know why.

 

[westwing]

Were we ever shown any plans for this new stand?

I can't remember seeing any.

Now we know why.

No plans but plenty of promises............

it was a step too far IMO and I know plenty of people who gave up on the club after this.

Great news for BFC now Lange has finally ****** off

 

[Bungy Bee]

You are obviously all a lot younger than me. The biggest shock was in the mid 60's hearing on the six o'clock news that the Bees were being bought out by QPR and Brentford FC would cease to exist! Not even going out of the League-just ceasing to exist. I'm sure the more senior supportesrs will never forget that.

Must agree with this one......

 

[Garybaldbee]

Exactly my point.
Martin Lange pulled the wool over our eyes by initially stating that it was for the good of the club. Nobody questioned him because he promised us a wonderful new stand and we believed him because he was a so called fan of BFC. This was a stunt that was brushed under the carpet and left BFC with no options for the future. If the old Royal Oak had been modernised or rebuilt and the huge space used for bars and a shop etc. would BFC really have gone bust, the answer would most probably be NO.
Martin Lange ruined our stadium and that will always be my biggest shock.

If LR gets built that will also be a shock.
Please stick to the 20K seating plan and bring it on

The stand is an eyesore and a sad replacement for the grand old Royal Oak. However, without being close enough to know the ins and outs, on the face of it I do have some sympathy with Lange over this.

You have to remember the context. This was the mid 1980's, football was in crisis and clubs across London were especially vulnerable to asset strippers at a time of enourmous property speculation. This was the era when Chelsea almost went bust and then nearly lost Stamford Bridge, when Charlton did lose the Valley and when the frankenstein monster of Fulham Park Rangers nearly brought down both of our good friends and neighbours, in one fell swoop. Under Lange's stewardship Brentford were an island of relative tranquility and stability in a turbulent London sea. I always believed, rightly or wrongly, that the sale of the land at both ends of the ground was a contributory factor in this.

And with regards to the dissapointing size and design of the stand, well, again, context is everything. Attendances had been on a downward spiral for 20 years and with hooliganism rampant and the TV and sponsors increasingly turning their backs on the game nobody seriously considered that the trend might ever be arrested, much less reversed. It was about managing decline. Our home crowds were down to frequently not much more than 3,000 despite being in the top half of the 3rd tier and with even top flight matches frequently pulling in less than 8,000 (not just at Wimbledon either) it was hard to envisage a large capacity ever being required at GP again. And, of course pre Hillsbrough nobody could have forseen the need for all seater stadia, which would place further pressure on available space and capacities. On top of all that clubs didn't then have access to the type of grant funding and design support which would be introduced in the early 1990's after Taylor.

In the long term the sale of the land at Brook Road and Ealing Road have cramped the growth of the club and limited its potential, but I think the picture would have looked very different back in 1985.

 

[beebopalula]

The stand is an eyesore and a sad replacement for the grand old Royal Oak. However, without being close enough to know the ins and outs, on the face of it I do have some sympathy with Lange over this.

You have to remember the context. This was the mid 1980's, football was in crisis and clubs across London were especially vulnerable to asset strippers at a time of enourmous property speculation. This was the era when Chelsea almost went bust and then nearly lost Stamford Bridge, when Charlton did lose the Valley and when the frankenstein monster of Fulham Park Rangers nearly brought down both of our good friends and neighbours, in one fell swoop. Under Lange's stewardship Brentford were an island of relative tranquility and stability in a turbulent London sea. I always believed, rightly or wrongly, that the sale of the land at both ends of the ground was a contributory factor in this.

And with regards to the dissapointing size and design of the stand, well, again, context is everything. Attendances had been on a downward spiral for 20 years and with hooliganism rampant and the TV and sponsors increasingly turning their backs on the game nobody seriously considered that the trend might ever be arrested, much less reversed. It was about managing decline. Our home crowds were down to frequently not much more than 3,000 despite being in the top half of the 3rd tier and with even top flight matches frequently pulling in less than 8,000 (not just at Wimbledon either) it was hard to envisage a large capacity ever being required at GP again. And, of course pre Hillsbrough nobody could have forseen the need for all seater stadia, which would place further pressure on available space and capacities. On top of all that clubs didn't then have access to the type of grant funding and design support which would be introduced in the early 1990's after Taylor.

In the long term the sale of the land at Brook Road and Ealing Road have cramped the growth of the club and limited its potential, but I think the picture would have looked very different back in 1985.

Excellent summary of the position. It's easy with hindsight to lament the loss of the stand but it was the right thing to do at the time. I also don't agree with those criticising ML.He was good for this club and kept us on an even keel at a difficult time. His backing got us into the second division so his chairmanship saw our most successful period for nearly 40 years.

 

[westwing]

Excellent summary of the position. It's easy with hindsight to lament the loss of the stand but it was the right thing to do at the time. I also don't agree with those criticising ML.He was good for this club and kept us on an even keel at a difficult time. His backing got us into the second division so his chairmanship saw our most successful period for nearly 40 years.

I agree that something had to change at GP.
But even back in the 80's, we all knew straight away, once we saw this
excuse for a stand, that it was a mistake.
The stand could have gone back a bit further and right across the width of the pitch. An extra 1200 or 1500 places wouls have made all the difference.
The plans were crap, we can't even use the exit on New Rd unless there is a major emergency.
We only ever got promoted to the 2nd Division because ML was under pressure from the manager, board and fans, he had always kept the brakes on success because BFC were one of the few clubs making money in the lower divisions. If I can remember rightly, a couple of the BFC directors who wanted to stay in Div 3, finally agreed that we should go for promotion, then flew out to the States for that season.
I am really hopeful that next season will bring success, nobody holding Scotty back and everyone wanting promotion

 

[Gee Bee]

Ramsey built a team around what he had, solid, strong hard working players. As we won everybody thought this was the way to play interntional football so we suffered for 20-30 years ignoring such wonderful players as bowles, marsh, currie and charlie george and this continued even as late as matt le tiss.

To a degree you are right, however there are only so many fiair players you can fit into one side. In the early 70's , you had Marsh, Currie, George, Hudson, Worthington, Osgood etc etc. All great flair players, put them in one team and you will get overrun. So you can only have 1 or 2 in any one side, add all their caps up as if they were individuals and you will get close to a 100 or so. Revie followed Ramsay and just didn't know which ones to pick so ended up with a dozen or so players only getting a dozen or less caps.
Ramsay had plenty of flair in his teams win lots of caps, such as Charlton & Peters but had solid hard working players to compliment. That what continued since as I have stated above but without the continuity of caps generated. After Revie, we had Keegan & Brooking as regulars and considered flair players. Hoddle won excess of 50 caps before Gasgoine and Matt le Tiss woul dhave won many more caps imho had he had the bottle to leave his small pond for a bigger lake to swim in.

 

[SpiderBee]

To a degree you are right, however there are only so many fiair players you can fit into one side. In the early 70's , you had Marsh, Currie, George, Hudson, Worthington, Osgood etc etc. All great flair players, put them in one team and you will get overrun. So you can only have 1 or 2 in any one side, add all their caps up as if they were individuals and you will get close to a 100 or so. Revie followed Ramsay and just didn't know which ones to pick so ended up with a dozen or so players only getting a dozen or less caps.
Ramsay had plenty of flair in his teams win lots of caps, such as Charlton & Peters but had solid hard working players to compliment. That what continued since as I have stated above but without the continuity of caps generated. After Revie, we had Keegan & Brooking as regulars and considered flair players. Hoddle won excess of 50 caps before Gasgoine and Matt le Tiss woul dhave won many more caps imho had he had the bottle to leave his small pond for a bigger lake to swim in.

Bowlesy and Hudson appearing at Sutton Cricket Club this Thursday.
"The Mavericks Of Football"

http://www.suttoncricketclub.com

 

[WisBee]

You are obviously all a lot younger than me. The biggest shock was in the mid 60's hearing on the six o'clock news that the Bees were being bought out by QPR and Brentford FC would cease to exist! Not even going out of the League-just ceasing to exist. I'm sure the more senior supportesrs will never forget that.

.....................totally agree that this was the biggest shock, until I found this.............

I think you win the award of biggest shock. I can only imagine how terrible that news would have been. I hope i never have to experience anything like that during my time as abee.

..........................Brentford4Life being the financial brains behind the BFC recovery...................astounding, if only for the fact that no poster is supposed to have more than one ID on the GPG!!!......................

 

[Brentford 4 Life]

.....................totally agree that this was the biggest shock, until I found this.............





..........................Brentford4Life being the financial brains behind the BFC recovery...................astounding, if only for the fact that no poster is supposed to have more than one ID on the GPG!!!......................

rofl

 

[mhead bee]

Which player in the mould of Peter Reid has more than 53 caps?

OK if you have nothing better to do,

Which players without flair have more caps then Matt Le Tiss (which is 2 for the record) and Stan Bowles?. You can include Peter Reid if you like.



I think you understand the point being made, if you dont, please dont bother respondoing its dull.

 

[West Ealing Bee]

OK if you have nothing better to do,

Which players without flair have more caps then Matt Le Tiss (which is 2 for the record) and Stan Bowles?. You can include Peter Reid if you like.



I think you understand the point being made, if you dont, please dont bother respondoing its dull.

I'm more than capable of being very dull, I excel at it

Matthew Le Tissier has eight England caps I believe

 

[Les Beeavinu]

Matthew Le Tissier has eight England caps I believe

Ah - but did he?

 

[vcmazz]

Too young for this particular moment, but wasn't it great without interweb and not knowing whaton earth was going on until you turned up !

Back in the early seventies me and my dad didn't even know who the opposition were most of the time, until we got there and paid 5p for the programme. Sometimes we'd check in the paper if one of us had casually said 'I wonder who we're playing today?', but no one really gave a toss who we were playing in those days - you just knew we were playing at home (stood to reason - we were away last week) and turned up. We even walked along the South Ealing Road one Saturday only to find we were wrong and there was no match lol.

As for my biggest shock - turning up for my first game in 1972 and discovering A) There was no commentary and B) It was in colour.

 

[Brentford 4 Life]

Back in the early seventies me and my dad didn't even know who the opposition were most of the time, until we got there and paid 5p for the programme. Sometimes we'd check in the paper if one of us had casually said 'I wonder who we're playing today?', but no one really gave a toss who we were playing in those days - you just knew we were playing at home (stood to reason - we were away last week) and turned up. We even walked along the South Ealing Road one Saturday only to find we were wrong and there was no match lol.

As for my biggest shock - turning up for my first game in 1972 and discovering A) There was no commentary and B) It was in colour.

lol

 

[seanrs]

As for my biggest shock - turning up for my first game in 1972 and discovering A) There was no commentary and B) It was in colour.

and C) there was no action replay!

 

[vcmazz]

and C) there was no action replay!

True. But that didn't matter so much because I was too busy drinking pop and playing 'had' with the other kids to be bothered with all this football watching nonesense anyway lol.

 

[toeneebee]

1. Finding out on the morning news that there had been a fire at the ground and most of one stand had burn't down. Sheer panic!!
2. Royal Oak end going and replaced by a garden shed......diabolical

 

[hatfieldbee]

1. Finding out on the morning news that there had been a fire at the ground and most of one stand had burn't down. Sheer panic!!

Especially as we were to play Liverpool a few days later at home in the League Cup!

 

[seanrs]

Especially as we were to play Liverpool a few days later at home in the League Cup!

I remember the next home game after the 4-1 Liverpool defeat. At HT Peter Gilham was reading out train/coach journey arrangements for the return leg at Anfield. Talk about hilarious when he went through revised return journey times should the game go into extra time!

 

[vcmazz]

I remember the next home game after the 4-1 Liverpool defeat. At HT Peter Gilham was reading out train/coach journey arrangements for the return leg at Anfield. Talk about hilarious when he went through revised return journey times should the game go into extra time!

rofl Hey why not? It's eleven V eleven - anything can happen :shrug:.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peSvC_gUMIU

 

[Downbeat Bee]

Nicky Forster re-signing