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00:00:01
Wildcard Wednesday: Ultimate Brentford XI Part One
32 Plays14 days ago
This is your Wildcard Wednesday, where we discuss Brentford's greatest managers and defensive players of the modern era. Wojciech Szczesny or David Raya? Kevin O'Connor or Henrik Dalsgaard? & much more! Join us next week for Part Two!
Host: Daniel Toppin
Lydia Batalona
Instagram/X/TikTok: @gspnbrentford
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Transcript
00:00:10
officialgspn
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Daily Brentford Podcast with myself, Daniel, where today we will be compiling our ultimate Brentford XI of the modern era starting with the greatest defensive players of the most recent generation. I am once again joined by Lydia. How are we doing today?
00:00:26
Lydia
Yeah, I'm doing good. Excited after Saturday. That was a good game. Knew there'd be loads of goals, but I was surprised by the amount of goals.
00:00:34
officialgspn
yes i think your prediction was closer than mine but most importantly over the last week have you been learning all the players from the 2008 2009 era yeah we we'll see how you get on today obviously some of the
00:00:44
Lydia
um Slightly. i've I've been hearing, I said to my dad, oh, I feel like I don't know half of these people. And he's like, oh God, yeah, forgot how young you are. But no.
00:00:58
officialgspn
players and managers we're going to be talking about may also be from that era but obviously some of them will be more recent too. Just before we get going guys we're a brand new company so we are looking for your support over the coming season and beyond as we look to bring you the best and most in-depth coverage across the entire network.
00:01:15
officialgspn
Whether this is a five-star review on your favorite podcasting platform or a recommendation to your friends we are very grateful for any support that we receive. So then just to clarify for those that didn't listen to the podcast last week
00:01:26
Lydia
We'll see.
00:01:28
officialgspn
As per the game we played, when we say a modern era, Brentford 11, we're judging that as post 2008, starting from the year that Brentford 1 League 2, which is ultimately the start of our curve, which leads to us today. I just thought that was a good place to kind of start and in terms of judging this. And obviously, given that me and Lydia are both very, very young, we're not going beyond that. and You more than me. I think I started probably in about 2003, 2004. So I definitely do remember a little bit of the era before that. But let's go from when our success started. and So then every good team needs a manager. So I thought we'd start with picking the best Brentford manager, our favorite Brentford manager in the last 16 or so years.
00:02:20
officialgspn
And also, by the way, when we go through these picks, we don't necessarily always have to pick the best players because, of course, it's difficult when you're a Premier League team now, it would essentially be the current team if we're just going for the best players.
00:02:33
Lydia
Yeah.
00:02:34
officialgspn
But if we can judge on a variety of factors, such as their ability in relation to the level we we're at at the time, um such as their longevity at the club, such as impact they might have had off the field as well, et cetera, and then we'll come
00:02:46
Lydia
Yeah. Controversial comments.
00:02:51
officialgspn
Yeah, controversial comments. Ivan Tony will be next week, unfortunately. um And various things like that. So we we can just judge generally um on and how we feel about these people. So like I said, managers, I've come up with a short list of five for every position, apart from centre back, because we'll be picking two centre backs, so it's a bit of a longer list. So the managers we've got is Andy Scott.
00:03:21
officialgspn
He was an ex-player for Brentford. He started the rise in 2008 as the manager after an incredibly low spell under Terry Butcher.
00:03:25
Lydia
Mm hmm.
00:03:31
officialgspn
That was probably the worst it got, certainly in the modern era of being a Brentford fan. He's the first person to win a title as both a manager and a player.
00:03:42
officialgspn
UA Rosler, who guided us to ninth in League One, which is our highest finish in six years at the time, then He was in charge on that painful day against Doncaster at the end of the season, where we managed to not get promoted, despite having a penalty in the last minute, whereas if it would have gone in, obviously he would have got us promoted to the championship.
00:04:04
Lydia
Yeah.
00:04:04
officialgspn
he He did then start the ball rolling the following season for Mark Warburton to finish it off. Mark Warburton is our next nominee on this list. He did see our promotion to the championship, then guided us to a playoff finish in our first season.
00:04:19
officialgspn
although he was controversially replaced um at the end of that season, which was announced as it went whilst we was in the midst of um a promotion battle. Then we've got Dean Smith. We had three mid table finishes um in the championship at the time. It was at times a bit inconsistent under him, but I think he helped develop the style of playing the culture, which we've ultimately built on now. And he was instrumental in signing the likes of Rico Henry.
00:04:47
officialgspn
And then we've got Thomas Frank. Of course, he guided us to the Premier League for the first time in 74 years and kept us there. He's won 122 of his 283 games despite winning just one of his first 10 games.
00:05:02
officialgspn
And it's his birthday today, as I've seen on Twitter.
00:05:04
Lydia
oh cool
00:05:05
officialgspn
ah So then, Lydia, where would you like to start on this list? Any memories that you have that stand out in particular through any of these eras?
00:05:14
Lydia
I can't, to be honest, the only memories I have to start from Dean Smith onwards.
00:05:20
officialgspn
Do you not remember the day against Doncaster when we had Rosso at manager?
00:05:25
Lydia
no Well, to be fair, do you know what I remember from that is because one of my friends from uni is a massive Doncaster fan and he just sends me stuff like memes or videos I've seen like I don't think I was there though but I definitely he's like show me the videos about a hundred times and now I always get it recommended on YouTube so yeah
00:05:34
officialgspn
It was the worst day of my life. I was there.
00:05:46
officialgspn
Yeah, i've i've I've never seen Griffin Park so quiet. So obviously, Doncaster were third at the time. We were second. No, I think it was all the other way around. I think Doncaster were second. We were third. If we had won that game, we would have overtaken them and got automatically promoted.
00:06:01
Lydia
Yeah.
00:06:01
officialgspn
Nothing really happened from what I remember for the first 89 minutes. 90th minute, we get a penalty. Trotter takes it off of O'Connor, smashes it against the bar.
00:06:12
officialgspn
Doncaster run up the other end and score. we come third and ultimately lose the playoff fighter against Yeovil. Very unfortunate. And it could have gone much better for Rosler.
00:06:19
Lydia
what
00:06:21
officialgspn
I mean, Rosler was still a good manager. He still did good things with Brentford. He still left on his own accord. But, you know, you never know where we could have gone with him if if he had seen it out that year. um go there what What do you remember about Dean Smith?
00:06:35
Lydia
I remember thinking again, he'd have some questionable decisions. I think this was like, when I started like properly, I got a season ticket, I was going all the time. And I just remember my dad not really being a massive fan. So maybe that colored my view a little bit. But I do think he obviously had some great signings. And I think that, I think he got remain soil, like on a free, I think,
00:07:03
officialgspn
Him and Henry both came from Warsaw and he also came from Warsaw.
00:07:06
Lydia
Yeah. I think that definitely he provided a lot of the bru blueprint for Frank. Um, and I think that he made a, you know, attractive style of play and like passing style. And I think that a lot of like the, how we're known as like an entertaining team to watch, I think maybe was partly due to him. So I'd say even though I think
00:07:37
Lydia
Obviously we didn't finish as high as like under some of the other managers. He definitely is very influential in like the modern Brentford game.
00:07:46
officialgspn
Yeah, I think it was more of a long-term project with him and obviously looking at how it turned out, he obviously put us on good foundations for us to keep pushing on. I don't know whether we could have been on the trajectory we have been on if he remained as manager.
00:08:03
officialgspn
I suppose we'll never know.
00:08:04
Lydia
Yeah.
00:08:05
officialgspn
I think his record since Brentford has been okay. um He took Villa up. Obviously he didn't do brilliantly with Villa in the Premier League, but he did take them up. Um, he kept them up as well.
00:08:17
officialgspn
Um, and he's in America now, I believe. So, you know, he's had a decent career for himself. Um, but I do think there's probably only one winner on this list.
00:08:26
Lydia
Yeah, I think we all need the answer to this.
00:08:29
officialgspn
And that's Thomas Frank. Would you agree?
00:08:32
Lydia
Yes, definitely. I think that Thomas Frank embodies what is, okay, maybe, no, I'll go with this. It's a strong statement, but I think he embodies like the Brentford culture and the desire to perform well on a limited budget compared to the other teams. And I think that in my views, at least, okay, maybe not all the time, but it's quite a wholesome club. And I think that he's definitely a stand up guy. And I think that he, because of his genuine belief in this Brentford system and the players, he like reaps the rewards basically.
00:09:08
officialgspn
yeah I mean, he's done what no other manager has done for over 70 years at Brentford. So I think for that alone, he's got to be there. um Although I do remember his his very first few games at Brentford.
00:09:21
officialgspn
And I remember being at, I think it was Preston away. And I just remembered that more than the others because it was just so far away.
00:09:25
Lydia
Yeah.
00:09:28
officialgspn
And there wasn't that many away fans out. I just remember sitting there at Preston away. And I think we went 3-0 down in the first 20 minutes and it didn't look like it was necessarily going to work out at that stage.
00:09:38
Lydia
I bet you didn't think it would be here.
00:09:39
officialgspn
So credit.
00:09:40
Lydia
You'd be here right now.
00:09:42
officialgspn
Exactly. Yeah. So credit to Matthew Benham for sticking with him at the time. I think Andy Scott deserves a shout out as well. Obviously he started the rise and and that was that still our last league title that we won in League 2 that year. And um just how low it was before he came in. I think we were bottom half League 2, obviously before that we had but we'd come dead last in league one. I think it still needed someone to turn around the culture and inject confidence back into the players. Obviously, I know that was also around the time when Matthew Benham became involved. So maybe we were able to get slightly better players in as well, but it still needed someone to put it together. So I think he deserves a shout out to. So Thomas Frank is the manager we have in our Ultimate Brentford team.
00:10:31
officialgspn
I'm determined, by the way, to not make this all current players and current staff.
00:10:35
Lydia
Yeah.
00:10:36
officialgspn
um In goal, and it proves this because I have not even included Mark Fleckard on the list ah for the goalkeepers. So we have Ben Hamer.
00:10:47
officialgspn
He had four loan spells at Brentford. Perhaps his most notable season was when we won League Two under Andy Scott. And that season, he also won the Golden Glove with the most clean sheets in the league.
00:10:59
officialgspn
Then we've got Wojciech Chesney. He was a fan favorite, which was our first season back in League One. he That was his only season at the club, so he he never played too many games at Brentford.
00:11:12
officialgspn
He was voted keeper of the decade in a fan poll in 2015, according to Wikipedia, anyway. And um there were some fairly famous tweets, I don't know if you've seen them, but when Andy Scott was sacked, and they do they do resurface every now and then, that he took to Twitter, he was an Arsenal player,
00:11:28
Lydia
Mm.
00:11:32
officialgspn
that at the time then, obviously he was always an Arsenal player, we loaned him. um He was very critical of the club when we did eventually sack Andy Scott. and So that's quite funny to bring up now and then.
00:11:45
officialgspn
and Recently Cipha Barcelona as well after apparently retiring a month ago, so he's he's obviously had a change of heart there.
00:11:52
Lydia
Mm. Mm.
00:11:53
officialgspn
Then we've got Richard Lee. I think the most vivid memories are probably with him um out of out of this list so far just because of the single occasions he gave us such as the Everton at home league cup game where we won on penalties obviously as a league one team when Everton were obviously still in the Premier League. He was also voted player of the season by the fans in 2010-2011. Next one who I think was a bit unfairly criticized um after he left was Daniel Bentley
00:12:27
officialgspn
he had 123 league appearances over three seasons. I do remember towards the end he did make quite a lot of mistakes but I do think prior to that he was quite solid for us for for quite a while and then we've got
00:12:34
Lydia
Yeah. Again.
00:12:41
officialgspn
David Rhea finally, promotion winner, Spain international, 150 appearances, not without an error either, um most notably in the playoff final.
00:12:51
Lydia
Yeah, that's true.
00:12:53
officialgspn
And he was bought for 3 million and sold for 30 million. So where would you like to start on these look on this list?
00:13:04
Lydia
i Okay, with Richard Lee, I've definitely seen on Twitter like quite a few times him in that match against Everton. So that's probably my outstanding memories of Lee. And then for Dan Bentley,
00:13:20
Lydia
I think obviously he was with us for so long like three seasons as you mentioned towards the end there was kind of discontent probably because he was making more mistakes but I do think he was quite a stable goalie which is all you want really.
00:13:36
officialgspn
He was. I don't know what happened towards the end of his time at Brentford.
00:13:39
Lydia
Yeah.
00:13:39
officialgspn
It all fell apart a little bit towards the end, but I do think for the majority of his time at Brentford, he was quite solid. And again, he played a part in that consolidation period under Dean Smith in the championship.
00:13:51
Lydia
Yeah. I, but I think for me, it's definitely David Rayo.
00:13:59
officialgspn
Yeah, I'll agree with you, although. Chesney, I think. It's a weird one because I think you could probably tell at the time that his future was destined to be at the very top level and and obviously for a season we had him and you know it looked like he was way too good for League One.
00:14:17
officialgspn
I don't think he was at Brentford long enough, although he's very, very popular and in in his time.
00:14:19
Lydia
and
00:14:21
officialgspn
I don't think he was at Brentford long enough to be really considered here. um Richard Lee it's moments with him. I don't think he ever really, yeah I think he was in and out the team um in terms of being our first choice, but it is just the moments apparently saves and for him.
00:14:31
Lydia
and
00:14:40
officialgspn
And obviously that kind of earns him almost iconic status. Like he will always be remembered for those things. But again, in terms of consistency, doing it over a long time, I think, yeah, that da David rare is clearly the best.
00:14:49
Lydia
Yeah.
00:14:53
officialgspn
I don't think there's any,
00:14:54
Lydia
Yeah.
00:14:55
officialgspn
um debate about that, you know, even in terms of the way he plays in terms of being able to play out as well. And in terms of being off to the keeper that took us to the Premier League, obviously the only maybe slight negatives are those high profile mistakes, um especially the one against Fulham in the playoff final.
00:15:12
Lydia
Yeah.
00:15:15
officialgspn
But I'm happy to have David Rare in this team. So then let's move on to right back. So we've got Kevin O'Connor, club legend. He played in multiple positions for Brentford, but for for this list purposes, i've I've put him as a right back. He had 501 appearances, which I believe is a club record, scoring 44 goals in 16 seasons. Next, we've got Shailam Logan, 104 appearances, five goals during three seasons at the club, whilst Brentford were in league one.
00:15:51
officialgspn
Moses Odebajo, two spells. I think the first spell was probably more memorable than the second. He did also start off as a winger um and was a crucial player during our championship playoff year in our first season up. He made 75 appearances, scoring three goals in total. Then we've got Maxime Colan, 62 appearances, four goals in two and a bit seasons. I think he was a fairly solid championship right back. Then we've got Henrik Dalsgaard,
00:16:21
officialgspn
promotion winner and vice captain. I think it's a shame that he never got to play in the Premier League for us. He scored a hundred he he didn't score 147 goals. He played 147 games, scoring six goals, and he earned 22 international caps whilst at the club, which was a record at the time.
00:16:40
officialgspn
Where would you like to start on this list?
00:16:42
Lydia
Okay, I'm gonna, the only ones I remember seeing are Maxime, Colin and Henry Dowsgard. But I don't know if you have any resounding memories of the others.
00:16:55
officialgspn
um Well, Kevin O'Connor is obviously a club legend. He's still in the staff now.
00:16:58
Lydia
Yeah.
00:16:59
officialgspn
When I first started going to Brentford, I'm pretty sure he was a striker. And over the years, he ended up at right back. He ended up at he ended up in central midfield, either side of a spell at right back, so he could really play anywhere.
00:17:14
Lydia
Yeah.
00:17:15
officialgspn
um And I think he just personifies Brentford. And if Thomas Frank ever was to be poached by somebody, I think, at least in the short term, we could be seeing him taking the reins.
00:17:27
Lydia
Yeah.
00:17:29
officialgspn
um And I'm sure every Brentford fan would want him to do absolutely brilliantly.
00:17:34
Lydia
Yeah. It's definitely cemented in legend status.
00:17:36
officialgspn
Yeah,
00:17:39
officialgspn
yeah I kind of want him in the team. I kind of want him to win this just because of If we're talking about off the pitch and what he's done for the club and what he's still doing for the club.
00:17:47
Lydia
yeah
00:17:50
officialgspn
And, you know, he was still a decent player and quite a good player at times during, you know, years of struggle and years of doing quite well in the lower leagues. It should have taken the penalty that trotter day.
00:18:02
Lydia
Yeah.
00:18:03
officialgspn
And then it would have all been different. Um, I'm sure he scored a penalty in the playoffs semi-final game later. Um, so i think for everything he's done i would probably put him ah ahead of dale's guard who would probably be second for me i think if we're talking about the other ones well logan i remember he scored a couple of really good goals in league one and i think he was quite fairly attacking quite exciting you can probably say the same about odibajo i think his second spell was probably a bit underwhelming um when odibajo came back um
00:18:16
Lydia
Yeah.
00:18:31
Lydia
Mm hmm.
00:18:41
officialgspn
Colin, I think, was just very solid. And then Dow's guard's unlucky that he's in the same grouping with Kevin O'Connor, because otherwise, again, I think he would also be worthy of a place in this team.
00:18:43
Lydia
Yeah.
00:18:55
Lydia
Yeah, I'd say I definitely think that Dall's God would be out of the ones I remember come out on top. But I do agree that O'Connor deserves a place.
00:19:09
Lydia
and all
00:19:09
officialgspn
501 appearances, but we'll give him a place.
00:19:12
Lydia
Yeah.
00:19:13
officialgspn
Obviously, with Dale's guard again, if if he had stayed, because I believe it was his choice to leave in the summer after promotion, he wanted to go, obviously, back to Denmark.
00:19:21
Lydia
yeah
00:19:21
officialgspn
If he had stayed and made a good impact in the Premier League, um maybe he could have got into the team. Obviously, we will never know. After the break, then, we will be choosing our centre backs, two of them, and our left back in this team um as we wrap up part one.
00:20:50
officialgspn
Hello and welcome to part two. So then centre backs. We have a bit of a longer list for centre backs. I think I've eventually ended up putting seven on the list.
00:21:01
Lydia
Yeah.
00:21:01
officialgspn
That is because we'll need to choose two of them, obviously for for our centre back pairing. So just to quickly run through them. ah The first one is Carly Osborne. 185 appearances.
00:21:13
officialgspn
He scored six goals in eight seasons. perhaps never really fully nailed down a first team space for too long when he was at the club. and Perhaps also not as consistent as he should have been, but obviously is now back at the club. He is head coach of the Brentford's women's team and they appear to be doing quite well. They always seem to be winning yet they haven't quite managed to get promoted in the last couple of years. Hopefully they do this year.
00:21:41
officialgspn
um Next is Leon Legge, fans player of the year from 2009 to 2010. He scored nine goals in 94 league games and I remember him being a very popular player. Got a couple of controversial ones in here. and We've got Harley Dean, 224 league appearances, eight goals. He was a player of the season winner 2016-2017, although he made some very questionable comments after he left the club. Then we've got Tony Craig, 129 appearances in three seasons, but never scored for the club, um which I didn't realise. He was also a regular standing captain. I think Kevin O'Connor was a formal captain at the time, but but didn't really play towards the end of his career. Then we've got James Tarkowski, four goals in 74 appearances in two years, famously went on strike to push through a move to Burnley.
00:22:37
officialgspn
He was sent off in that famous win at Leighton Orient when we won 1-0. The day we essentially but probably kick started our promotion from league one.
00:22:47
Lydia
Mm hmm.
00:22:47
officialgspn
He was also part of the championship playoff side. Next up we have Pontus Janssen, Premier League promotion winning captain and extremely popular figure at the club. 107 league games, four goals and arguably the siding that pushed us to the next level and ultimately develop this winning mentality that we've had in the subsequent years.
00:23:10
officialgspn
Next up, finally, we have Ethan Pinnock, 173 league appearances, 10 goals, and counting. I believe that does include his goal at the weekend, I hope. Last season's Fan's Player of the Year.
00:23:23
officialgspn
I actually met him at the end of year fan's awards thing.
00:23:26
Lydia
hey Yeah.
00:23:28
officialgspn
um And he was also in the 2020-21 championship team of the year. Let me start then with the ones who were maybe a little bit before your time. um I put Carly on because I wanted to find a centre back from that early kind of era and a lot of them didn't hang around for too long. None of them really stood out for me and I think he is another Brentford youth product. um I thought he would have maybe played more than 185 times given that he was around for eight eight seasons.
00:24:03
Lydia
Yeah.
00:24:04
officialgspn
I think the disappointment with him, he probably never got to the heights or the consistency that we maybe would have hoped. Leon Legg was very popular, and very tall centre-back, scored quite a lot of goals for a centre-back, um very dominating in the air. Maybe in today's game and the way we play today, maybe we would have been lacking in terms of playing out from the back, but in terms of being a dominating centre-back,
00:24:32
officialgspn
in some ways fairly similar to Ethan Pinnock today, um very, very solid. And then I'm sure you remember the likes of Harley Dean.
00:24:42
Lydia
Yeah.
00:24:42
officialgspn
I'll hand over to you.
00:24:44
Lydia
I think, yeah, we'll go to the controversial ones now. I think Harley Dean, obviously his, ah the view of Brentford fans on Harley Dean has kind of been marred by his, I'm going to say trashy comments since leaving.
00:25:00
Lydia
Like I, again, this kind of does surround on Twitter when he was with Birmingham City saying that their squad was like 10 times better or something like that than the Borberton team but again i just think if you're in the public eye you know what fans are going to say like why do you go out your way to say things like that it's just a bit stupid in my eyes so yeah i know some people they just need to they need to think like oh maybe i need a media manager like maybe i'm not cut out for this so
00:25:23
officialgspn
It is stupid. I think footballers just do that though. I think some footballers don't realize what.
00:25:34
officialgspn
And then we went and beat him 4-0. Then we went and beat him 4-0 at their place, just after.
00:25:38
Lydia
Yeah. So at the end, it's like, it's just a little bit embarrassing for him. So he's definitely can't end up on our final team. Um, I remember Tarkovsky, a lot of, obviously when he refused to play against Burnley, that was a standout, maybe controversial memory, but then also I think that was the first season I got a season ticket and I was probably watching and um there were quite a few random own goals and things like that. And there was like just random sort of disasters and getting sent off. So I think too many to end up on our top team.
00:26:21
officialgspn
Yeah, I mean, with with him, he obviously went on to have a very, very good career and he would have if he had stayed and still reach those heights, he would have been our best tenor back and probably best player at a time by a mile.
00:26:26
Lydia
Yeah.
00:26:35
officialgspn
So he's obviously a very, very good player.
00:26:37
officialgspn
Obviously, he was more at the earliest stages in in his career. I think in his defense, he wanted to go back up north. We started from Oldham, so Burnley obviously not too far from there.
00:26:37
Lydia
Yeah.
00:26:48
Lydia
Is he at temperature now?
00:26:48
officialgspn
ah
00:26:49
Lydia
Yeah.
00:26:49
officialgspn
He's at Everton now, yeah. I don't think he went about it in the right way though. I don't think we're a club that whole players hostage hostage if they really want to go. We we just simply want them to receive the right price for the player and that's what we deserve to receive.
00:27:04
officialgspn
um So I definitely think he went.
00:27:05
Lydia
Like sometimes I think, would these football players like survive in a normal job where you can't just go on strike? It's like, no.
00:27:12
officialgspn
He went on strike though before the game against Burnley and I remember
00:27:16
Lydia
Yeah.
00:27:18
officialgspn
extremely, extremely rude chance that I can't repeat on here being aimed at him throughout that entire game. And it threw us off, I think, as a team because I think we were well outplayed that day and and Burnley beat us quite easily.
00:27:29
Lydia
Yeah.
00:27:31
officialgspn
and Pontus Jansen then, I absolutely love him. I think he's got to get into the team. I think when he left, it was quite sad, especially when he gave that speech after the game.
00:27:42
Lydia
Yeah.
00:27:42
officialgspn
And obviously, there was a banner behind the West End. I do really, really think that he was the signing, amongst others, because I think the likes of Norgard came in the same summer as well. But he was that statement signing that we need. He was obviously, I think he was the lead captain, leads another team in our league who are battling for promotion with us. you know He made the move to Brentford. He obviously believed in Brentford. We believed in him. We made him captain straight away. And then,
00:28:12
officialgspn
the amount that we improved with him in this side and his leadership. um And see eventually he did what no other captain has done in the last 74 years and took us to the Premier League and kept us there. And I felt that he did also fairly well if he had injury problems, but when he did play in the Premier League, I felt that he he did extremely well.
00:28:37
Lydia
think. I agree with everything you say and like the belief in the system and the fact that he was such a so like a star player off the pitch as well is like so valuable and I think that you're right and that it was like a real mark into the direction that we're in now.
00:28:56
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:28:56
Lydia
So you definitely should be in starting low.
00:28:59
officialgspn
Yeah, I think arguably he's maybe ah apart from Pinnock, he's probably the best on this list in terms of football and ability and also behind the scenes.
00:29:09
officialgspn
I think its it was perfect from him, to be honest. I remember it took a long time for him to score though. He scored four goals in the end. I feel like he didn't score for a very, very long time and he did always regularly score for leads.
00:29:21
officialgspn
So um but maybe could have got more than four goals, but we'll let we let him off.
00:29:23
Lydia
Will I move the hook?
00:29:27
officialgspn
We'll let him off the hook. He's in the team. um ah Alongside, I would suspect Ethan Pinnock.
00:29:31
Lydia
No.
00:29:32
officialgspn
I don't think we can leave him out. um Again, solid. I have said the argument before, and maybe he hasn't quite hit the heights of his usual self this season. I think he's still been decent, but I mean, last season he was our best player.
00:29:50
officialgspn
I think in the past he has been, you know, a top five or six centre back in the league.
00:29:50
Lydia
Yeah.
00:29:55
officialgspn
and And I've said that maybe a year ago. I was saying that maybe he's fallen a slightly below that this year, but that's still no, um no shame in doing that. um I definitely think he's underrated by fans of other clubs.
00:30:09
officialgspn
um So I think it's got to be Pontus Jansen and Ethan Pinnock as a centre back pairing. So then left back, I think we're going to have a clear winner here, but we will go through the um nominees. So we've got Sam Wood, four goals in 108 league appearances. He was a 2008, 2009 player of the season. He also did play on the left wing um and was a lead two promotion winner, but we have put him in this category.
00:30:38
officialgspn
Ryan Dixon around at the same time as Samwood he scored three goals in 87 league appearances another league two promotion winner and stepped up quite well into league one. Craig Woodman 79 appearances two goals over two solid lit years in league one.
00:30:56
officialgspn
Then we've got Jake Bidwell, 211 appearances, three goals, a league one promotion winner, a championship playoff semifinalist, was made captain in 2015-16 and unfortunately unfortunately for him, left for QPR. Then we've got Rico Henry, 186 league appearances, five goals and counting. So he's closing on Jake Bidwell. He was a championship promotion winner. He's been a regular Premier League left back when he's not been injured.
00:31:25
officialgspn
And there have been calls for him to be in the England squad. Now this list of five, I think is literally pretty much every left back we've had since 2008. Um, there's played a lot of games because obviously we've had Rico for such a long period and we had Jake Bidwell for such a long period before that. So in terms of the first three, I think Sam word is a very popular figure. He could have also been put put further up in the field.
00:31:53
officialgspn
I think very hard working, maybe not technically the best, but he would always do a job for you. I think Ryan Dixon may be a bit more exciting in terms of pace um and delivery and attacking actions. I think his time at Brentford was affected a little bit by injury. um But again, both of them did solid jobs. Craig Woodman, I think, uber also did a solid job. He was much more of a traditional left back. He was he probably quite uninspiring, to be honest, but he was solid enough.
00:32:27
officialgspn
And that doesn't sound good enough to get on the list, is it?
00:32:29
Lydia
ah that sounds really depressing but but yeah you don't have any standout vocabulary for him i do i have standout memories of like the chance afterwards once he'd left to qpr i do think that he obviously
00:32:34
officialgspn
Craig, if you're listening, I'm sorry. all Jake Bidwell. I mean, he wasn't a bad player, Quaidwell. I don't have any standout memories of him. No. But do you have any standout memories of Jake Bidwell?
00:32:58
Lydia
I do remember him being captain. That was probably like the second or third season where I'd had a season ticket. Um, and I do think that he obviously was like solid in his appearances with us, but then he moved to UPR. So I don't know. That's what my memories are off. I think maybe correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he had like, he was quite like an angry player.
00:33:29
officialgspn
I think more after he left. I feel like there's a lot of images after he left of us playing against him and us scoring goals and him just being on the floor after he'd been turned inside out by Jota or somebody, which is quite amusing.
00:33:39
Lydia
Yeah, maybe. Yeah.
00:33:44
officialgspn
I think there's several of those photos of him just scrambling after us, after we put the ball into the net.
00:33:50
Lydia
Yeah.
00:33:52
officialgspn
and
00:33:52
Lydia
I think, yeah, most of my memories are probably after when we were playing QPR, to be honest.
00:33:56
officialgspn
yeah i'll eat Again, with him. He, in a quite a similar to way to Craig, Craig Woodman was probably never the best player on the team, but he was solid enough, quite reliable.
00:34:08
Lydia
Mm.
00:34:09
officialgspn
Um, and obviously he was very young when he came into us and he's gone on to be, you know, a regular championship player, not just at QPR also at Swansea. Um, I think he's still in the championship.
00:34:21
officialgspn
I think he was at Coventry, um, last season. I don't know where he is right now, but I mean, he's going he's gone on to show that he is a solid championship player. And I think that's kind of what he showed at Brentford.
00:34:35
officialgspn
Whereas Rico Henry, on the other hand, is a Premier League player quite simply. I think he's always stood out. He's always been quite exciting defensively. He's great. He's quick.
00:34:45
officialgspn
I think the only criticism at times, maybe his end product could be slightly better in terms of crosses and things like that.
00:34:51
Lydia
yeah
00:34:54
officialgspn
But I do think, again, with England still lacking a left back, that when he's back, if he gets a solid run in the team, that there is every chance that he gets a call up one day. And i really I really, really hope that for him.
00:35:04
Lydia
yeah
00:35:06
officialgspn
And I think he deserves it.
00:35:07
Lydia
I think that the England teams like I don't know, agenda for maybe having top big six players has maybe been the reason why he hasn't been in the England squad yet. But I do think he has a chance when he comes back. And I think as a player, he kind of embodies Brentford's style of play, like his speed, his like he's exciting to watch on the ball, et cetera. So I think he definitely deserves to be in our top 11.
00:35:40
officialgspn
Yeah, he's obviously our longest serving current player. I do wonder whether he would have got, would have had a chance in the England team if fy it wasn't for the injury. Obviously we will never know on that point.
00:35:52
officialgspn
But yeah, I think we've agreed that Rico Henry makes a team. So that will be the end of part one. Next week, we'll be back to discuss the more attacking players of Brentford's last 14 years.
00:36:03
officialgspn
I think there are some very, very difficult decisions for us to make Lydia.
00:36:06
Lydia
Yeah.
00:36:07
officialgspn
For example, Ollie Watkins or Ivan Tony. I think it gets a lot harder actually as you go forward. I feel like there's more standout attacking players we've had over the years. So we'll be thinking about that later over the next week and who we might want to vote for. and But for today, thank you for listening to the bret Daily Brentford podcast. We hope you've enjoyed today's episode. And once again, we would be extremely grateful for your support as this will enable us to get bigger and better moving forwards. Daily Brentford can be found on X, Instagram, and TikTok under the handle at GSPM Brentford.
00:36:38
officialgspn
As I said, there's an international break now so our next episode will be part two of this Ultimate Brentford 11 and that will be next Wednesday. Until then, from myself and Lydia, thank you for being with us.
00:36:52
Lydia
See you.