Nothing beats watching Brentford pull apart one of the top-six teams in a night game at the Gtech Community Stadium. The expectation rising in the air as the players walk out. The chants cascading through the West Stand and echoing around the ground. The sense that we can somehow suck the ball into the net through our communal endeavour.
But then there are those matches where we struggle to break down a stubborn Wolves, Everton or Leeds United, and the crowd’s energy is sapped with each shithouse-induced stoppage in play.
In our sixth season in the Premier League, the club and several fan groups, including Bees United, have come together to see what we can do together to improve the matchday atmosphere.
The club has formed a working group to consider how we can channel some of the magic of those big home victories into the games when the team could benefit from an extra push.
Gtech reopens – Bees v Oxford
Home teams have a strong and consistent statistical advantage, and research suggests that supporters are a significant cause, alongside players’ familiarity with the pitch/stadium and the lack of a need to travel.
The Covid-19 pandemic proved the point, with home advantage dropping to near-zero in the Premier League when there were no fans present.
With one of the smallest budgets in the league, Brentford need every marginal advantage we can get, if we are to keep improving and achieve our ambitions to get into Europe and/or reach a cup final
Clearly, noise levels are impacted by how well the team is doing overall and in any one game. But the club management and the players also say that they are affected by the atmosphere. Could more individual skill, fewer errors or better tactical changes have turned one point into three points at the end of last season against Wolves, Fulham, Everton and Crystal Palace? Probably. But could more intense and consistent support have also helped get us the solitary point we needed for Europe? That’s quite possible too.
Fans and Club working group
So what can the working group do to help? This is one of several that Bees United board members and other fans have joined to provide the club with supporter input on issues ranging from ticketing to accessibility and heritage to food and beverage. In the first place, the aim is to put the issue of matchday atmosphere on the agenda and start sharing concerns, thoughts and ideas.
We’ve already had a meeting with club staff, and recently met Keith Andrews and Kevin O’Connor at the training ground to get their perspective on the impact of the crowd on the players and performance.
Some of the challenges that arose in these initial discussions included: chanting fans being too dispersed in the West Stand, the failure of many chants to carry/be repeated beyond the West Stand, fans not knowing the words to chants, a lack of pre-match energy in the stadium until just before kick-off, people leaving their seats early before half-time and coming back late afterwards, a lack of uniquely Brentford art/slogans in and around the stadium and the need for more exciting visual displays during matches.
The next stage is trying to come up with some answers. The club can’t improve the atmosphere by diktat. It will need to cooperate with fans and embrace some experimentation, just as Brentford’s footballing staff try many different approaches to boost performance. Some researchers have suggested that support levels are so critical to outcomes that clubs should consider paying fans bonuses for on-pitch success. That’s an intriguing idea and, although it’s not on the agenda yet, it would be fascinating to see if, say, a £2 food and beverage credit for each win would be a meaningful incentive for supporters to raise their voices.
The first practical step taken by the club was to trial a dedicated singing section in the West Stand at the pre-season friendly with Eintracht Frankfurt. Then, at the Tottenham game, the club worked with fan group TW8 Casuals and other volunteers to distribute flags to fans in the West Stand. Against Sunderland, the flags were rolled out to the North Stand too, creating a really impressive visual display. This will continue for the foreseeable future, so if you get a flag, please leave it behind after the same so it can be used again. The club is also experimenting with turning off the live match broadcast on the screens in the concourses after half-time to encourage fans back to their seats, an idea that came from Arsenal.
It is still early days and, ultimately, the answers won’t come from a committee in a meeting room, but from all Bees fans and the club pulling together. So please let me or other Bees United board members know if you have ideas for elevating the matchday atmosphere. What would make you sing louder and prouder? How can we bring some of the old Griffin Park edge to our new home? How can we bring new generations of fans along on the journey?
What’s going to make Gtech a loud ‘in your face’, fortress?
Tell Ben
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hello@beesunited.org.uk
Ben Bland BU Board
