A New Dawn

Chabuddy G - do not buy tickets or Sean Paul Gaultier perfume from this man

Happy days ! The football is back and I've discovered my laptop again ! I can hear the audible sighs of relief, if not they wouldn't be audible would they ? 

There you go, in three short sentences you realise that following the hiatus this blog hasn't changed..........oh dear !

I did try and get tickets for Saturday but like a Norman Hunter tackle, I was way too late ( I've not lost my love for contemporary references ). Whilst some might suggest going along and trying to get a ticket from someone like our friend above I'm not taking any chances. No, I shall stay at home and tune into Kurupt FM as I believe they are carrying the game live.

Plenty of water has passed under the bridge ( and elsewhere ) since the last league outing, that wonderful away win at Bloomfield Road. Ironically, Riga needn't have ever left as he has now changed dugouts having saddled himself with a seemingly bigger basket case than even ourselves !

If anyone can save the Tangerines then it has to be Jose and good luck to him. I for one, will never forget the truly remarkable job he did in saving us from relegation. Fortunately, I had the chance to thank him personally at the end of season dinner ( perhaps I drove him away ). 

In what appears to becoming something of a tradition we start the league campaign away to a promoted team. Similarly, we start at home in the league cup. We have to hope that we fair better than last time, at Dean Court. At least our midfield is unlikely to be as aged as it was on that occasion.

It does promise however, to be every bit as tough as last season's opener. Brentford have recruited well, not least one time Charlton target, Alan Judge. In Mark Warburton they have an excellent manager who seamlessly took over the reigns from Uwe Rosler. There's plenty to admire in Warburton who has established himself in coaching / managership by self-funding his learning after taking the risky decision to pack in his lucrative, if stressful career, as a trader.

Brentford have plans to move to a new ground in the next couple of years and one assumes that unlike Griffin Park, the architect has not included a pub in each corner, a shame. Some will call the increased move to new stadia progress but I think it's a shame as we lose the tradition and character of the older grounds.

I feel the same, if not more so, in cricket with the Rose Bowl being a prime example for me. A cricket ground should allow you to wander round its entirety with various viewpoints as you do so to gain different perspectives on the game. It should have different stands and seating too. 

Sadly, this is being reflected in football too, grounds are becoming like the Rose Bowl, continuous rows of seating all joined together and devoid of character.

For the Addicks it has been a summer of intense activity both on and off the pitch. There has been a lot of investment in both areas and it looks on the face of it to be quite promising and in stark contrast to last season.

I haven't shared the frustrations of some in the owner and his team not meeting to face intense questioning from various quarters. As ever, actions speak louder than words and in the last few months those actions have spoken quite loudly. It may of course all end in disaster but for now it looks ok to me.

We have an as yet unproven manager but then again so was Jose and he turned out ok. Let's hope that Peeters can at least emulate his achievements. It would seem on early showings that he is keen on the team playing a decent passing and that is to be applauded. It would nice to see some aesthetically pleasing football, especially at home.

Sadly, after many years I have moved seats, lured away as I was by the offer of cheaper seats further along in the east stand. Those who've had to suffer my swearing and inane comments will be mightily relieved but for me it is tinged with sadness as I was rather fond of my seat and the view it afforded. However, for the sake of moving along 30 or so seats I was able to purchase three rather than two season tickets and save £150 at the same time.

Who knows what to expect on Saturday ? Should we lose and play badly then we can expect to hear that " the team needs time to gel " but the last time we recruited to this extent that didn't apply as the players became a team very quickly. Let's hope that can be repeated and we get off to a good start as we'll need it given that we have a testing batch of opening fixtures. 

If you're going to West London to see the game then I hope you have a great day out especially if you're one of those making the trip by boat. Hopefully we can start with a win and settle any early season nerves.

Come On You Reds !