How the other side sees it: Brentford (H) - 7 August 2022
Answering the questions: Brentford fan Nick Bruzon
Who do you think is Leicester's most dangerous player and how will Brentford try to combat their threat?
I guess that all depends whether James Maddison is still with you by the time Sunday comes around. Talk of Newcastle sniffing around is music to my ears after his performances against the Bees last season.
He may as well have turned up in a top hat, cape and sporting a waxed moustache when the Foxes visited Lionel Road back in October, such was his performance. The theatrics further compounded by his then giving it large to the home end when he scored down our end in the second half.
The return fixture was no better, of course. One could almost hear the maniacal cackle of a panto villain’s laugh as he backed into Mathias Jensen, threw himself to the ground and then got back up to hit a screamer past David Raya. No doubting the quality of the strike – one to rival your opener – but whether he should have even been in a position to hit the ball remains very much open to debate.
It had seemed questionable at the time but subsequent viewing really did beg the question as to what the heck was going on in the VAR booth? Even the ‘official’ highlights from our friends at Sky Sports cutting straight to the goal itself rather than the cause. Very much ha case of ‘Move along, nothing to see here’
That said, don’t give it if you can’t take it. I’m sure we’d have been doing the same. Who doesn’t love a bit of shithousery? No matter how much it smarts when done against you rather than for you. There’s no doubting Maddison is one to rival even Neal Maupay in these stakes. Especially given he has the talent to match it.
The other danger man being, of course, Brendan Rodgers. Or, rather, his tactics.
After that game at Brentford, my son posed a question at full time. “Dad. Do you know who men of the match should be?”
Err, ‘men’?
He continued, “The Leicester physios”. The regularity with which they collapsed to the floor before making a full recovery had not gone unobserved by him, the entire North stand and fourth official. My word, it was almost as though it had been a preordained tactic. The Foxes collapsing like chimneys, Brendan Rodgers very much channelling his inner Fred Dibnah when it came to setting up his team.
More of that stuff will not make a good game although I suspect it could end up being less carnival and, instead, quite agricultural in the centre of the park.
Who should we particularly look out for in the Brentford team?
Where to start? Midfielder Mathias Jensen is my dark horse choice of being the one to really step it up this time around. He’s a Danish international anyway but really started to find his feet in the Premier League as the season progressed.
He’s got his Denmark teammate and our player of the season Christian Norgaard alongside him as well as, of course, Vitaly Janelt. He’s a German U-21 whose looking more and more of bargain with each passing day since we signed him for 50p and a packet of sweets back in October 2020 from Vfl Bochum.
That holy trinity of midfielders are going to have a lot of expectation on their shoulders, especially given that other Danish chap - I forget his name - has rejected our contract offer and gone up to Old Trafford.
Which new Brentford signings are you most excited about and has anything changed from your approach last season?
Approach wise, we’re the same. All the focus over summer was on whether Eriksen would stay or go. The latter being the eventual decision but that’s done. While I fully understand how a dumper truck full of money would be hard to resist, he’s dead to me now and we look onwards.
Amidst all that speculation we’ve been quietly hoovering up top, top talent - Keane Lewis-Potter from Hull City and Aaron Hickey from Bologna being the main expenditure. Back up goalkeeper looks ten times stronger now, with genuine competition for the wonderful David Raya, while, in Hickey, we finally have what looks like a nailed on ‘first choice’ for right wing-back.
In short, optimism is high. We had a wonderful start and finish to 2021/22 - albeit we're not really talking about the middle bit. As much ruined by the injury Raya picked up against yourselves as a thin squad falling foul of Covid, injury and fixture pile up.
The run in was only spoiled by falling flat on the line against Leeds United and sparing them the ignominy of relegation. Here’s to picking up again from those last (and first) few months of our Premier League life.
