Stewart Purvis was one of the 500 fans who made an early start to see Bees concede a late equaliser.

‘Why do the Leeds fans get so angry?’ came a message from a friend as I sat in the away section at Elland Road. In the past decade and a half while smaller Yorkshire clubs like Hull and Huddersfield have had some Premiership years the biggest club in the county has had exactly nowt. But there’s still an air of entitlement at Leeds that turns to anger when they go behind to teams they consider beneath them.

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Stewart Purvis sees the Bees disappointed as another two points get away.

This was the game where a player who never scores got a goal, where a player got a red card for something only the fourth official saw, a manager who saw it differently got sent off too and for the second game running Brentford dropped points but moved up the table. No wonder Head Coach Dean Smith called it all ’strange, weird, mad’.

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Bill Hagerty witnesses the Bees rescue a point in a game that was more football farce than high drama

Acrimony on both sides dominated much of this game, sometimes spilling over so ludicrously that the phrase Fred Karno’s Army sprang to mind. Never heard of it? Oh well, suffice to say that early in the 20th century music hall impresario Karno recruited a bunch of  knock-about comics whose frantic act turned slapstick into an art form. Soon Fred Karno’s Army became synonymous with a group or organisation where chaos reigned.

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Bill Hagerty celebrates the return to form of a Griffin Park favourite as Arsenal record their second win over the Bees in 71 years  

Forget the result – at least, push it to the back of your mind – for this game belonged to Alan Judge. Still brave of heart, he has never quite recaptured the majestic form he frequently displayed prior to the double leg-break that sidelined him for the best part of two seasons from April 2016. Until now. A scorching free kick that had the Irishman’s name written all over it not only prompted furrowed Arsenal brows, but seemed to release any inhibitions remaining in the psyche of a player soon to reach his thirtieth birthday.

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Stewart Purvis sees Brentford lose out in '14 minutes of pain'

On Saturday lunchtime they got special treatment on the BBC’s 'Football Focus' as the team 'that could go top of the Championship table tonight'. By Saturday teatime they had come down to earth with a real bump on the damp turf of Pride Park. 

Dean Smith made two changes from the Ipswich game; Jeanvier got his first League start at right centre back instead of Konsa and Macleod returned in midfield in place of Mokotjo. Perhaps just as significant was the appearance of Moses Odubajo on the subs bench, putting pressure on Henrik Dalsgaard whose form at right back has not been as consistent as it was before the World Cup.

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Donald Kerr was at Portman Road to see the Bees take a point with Maupay again making headlines.

On a warm blustery night in Suffolk, the Bees dominated the first 45minutes and then, with a change of tactics and two substitutions at half time, Ipswich took charge of the second half.

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Bill Hagerty sees a brace of Maupay goals as Wigan wilt and Brentford romp into second place in the Championship

A comprehensive defeat of Wigan, second place in the Championship table and two goals from Neal Maupay that propelled him to top the list of the division’s leading scorers – so what’s not to like? Well, Wigan for a start. What a disappointment to see, for the second home fixture running, a side short on ideas but long on panicky aggression that here resulted in the dismissal of midfielder Sam Morsy. 

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Bill Hagerty admires some fancy football from Brentford but regrets Forest’s hostile tactics and the delivery of a dozen yellow cards

Was it a match, was it a battle, was it a confrontation? Yes, all of those things, which in the final few minutes threatened to explode into a full-scale punch-up.

Brentford deserved to win, no question. Some of the fanciest football seen at Griffin Park since this squad came together consistently threatened to bury a Forest side short on imagination but with its collective sleeves belligerently rolled up above the elbow. Well, hey big spenders: major signings in the close season were predicted to make the club Championship promotion front runners, yet for much of the 90 minutes they looked more like candidates for an army assault course.

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Bill Hagerty sees encouraging one-way traffic at Griffin Park, but once again bemoans the lack of goals

The statistics tell the story: 27 shots, 13 on target; 15 corners; 58 per cent possession, although it seemed a lot more than that. And, oh yes, one goal.

“It should have been a more emphatic scoreline, given the chances we had,” wrote Dean Smith in the match programme, referring to the Bees’ lack of killer finishing against Sheffield Wednesday. You can say that again, Dean, and he more or less did following the slender margin by which Brentford dismissed League Two strugglers Cheltenham from the Carabao Cup.

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Stewart Purvis sees 'a lack of spark' bring Brentford's unbeaten run  to an end.

Even ‘Visit Lancashire’ would admit that an August Bank Holiday weekend in Blackburn isn't a great attraction, especially when the road and rail networks are disrupted. For Brentford it was a disappointing day out as Ewood Park was the end of the road for their season-opening unbeaten run. 

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