I apologize in advance.
Although this was solely supposed to be a story about my journey from Copenhagen to Brentford for a home game I’d better put in an early disclaimer.
Whenever there are railway strikes or engineering works, it always coincides with my trips. This weekend was no exception with a strike on Saturday and engineering works on Sunday.
But that was never going to destroy a wonderful trip watching our team try to send the Palace boys back to East Croydon with a defeat, although probably not by train.
But as you probably all know it didn’t quite happen. My journey for this game started 11 ½ hours earlier.
If my mother had seen me wake up that early, she would have been genuinely proud. It was never one of my strong sides when I went to school, but in hindsight I would probably argue that for purposes of real importance to me, it would be no problem.
My alarm clock woke me up at 4:30 AM – Danish time.
A quick bath and I was on my way. It was still dark outside when I left my house.
Usually I have 25 minutes, and at that time of the day, a refreshing, walk to the nearest station, but as it was raining, I took the car to the station instead.
The passengers in the train were mainly people going to work or heading for the airport.
As we passed through the centre of Copenhagen a lot of youngsters, mainly in a good mood, entered the train on their way home from a happy night out.
For a 3 PM game I more or less follow the same itinerary each time.
Norwegian from Copenhagen 08:10 AM (Danish time) to Gatwick – Expected arrival 09:15 AM.
Train from Gatwick via Clapham Junction to Brentford
Planned arrival at Premier Inn, Brentford: 11 AM.
Well, what else!
Every time I fly to London the morning plane is filled with football fans. It is mostly Spurs or Arsenal fans in smaller groups.
Occasionally I meet Chelsea fans, but I can’t recall having ever met fans from the other London Premier League clubs.
I always wear a shirt or a jacket with the club badge, so it is visible that I’m a Brentford fan but unfortunately no one has ever come up to me and presented themselves as being the same (Ed. they will soon Leif, they will soon!)
This morning is certainly an Arsenal flight. Around 15 fans, mostly Danes but also a couple of Swedes. Getting on the train at Gatwick there are more Arsenal fans. It’s quite odd. Sometimes you are just being ignored, but other times there is a kind of silent understanding, where a small nod of the head acknowledges that no matter which club you support, we are still just football fans together. An Arsenal fan in the seat behind me did exactly that, and I said to him “Good luck. Please win today.” I hope he had sufficient knowledge to recognize that I was not a Gunners fan in disguise but referring to their West London opponents. Unfortunately, my request wasn’t fulfilled.
Due to the traffic problems, I arrived at the hotel almost an hour later than I usually do. Normally I would have the time to drop by at both The Griffin and The Globe to say hello to my mates before the game.
Given the circumstances I only made it to The Griffin. Sitting at one of the tables in front of the pub discussing the end of last season, the activities throughout the summer and the start to the new season with Graeme, whom I hadn’t seen since the Villa game late last season.
The time ran faster than I had expected, and I had to move on to a lunch appointment at The Steam Packet.
Whenever I’m at Brentford, I try to meet as many fans as possible. Local as well as International, young and old. New acquaintances, but also some of the fans I have met at previous visits. I really like to be updated on the other fans’ views of the club and be able to have a respectful discussion about the issues, which are very important to all of us. I love that part of being a fan. I don’t consider a beer or two at the same time as a disadvantage either!
Before the game I coincidentally met Victor at the West Stand. It was the second time I had ever met him. On both occasions by coincidence. The first time was 9 days earlier in front of The La Seu Cathedral in Palma de Mallorca. We were both wearing Brentford shirts and just confirming the fact that Bees are everywhere.
You may be familiar with the phrase: “There is no bad weather, only the wrong clothes.”
When living in Denmark or England bad weather is a fact of life. We are used to the changeable weather, but I still prefer good weather, especially when I’m going on a short holiday. I know it is ridiculous, but the last week before I go to London, I check the weather forecast all the time. The sensible part of me knows I have absolutely no influence on it, but still I seemed to get it right this Saturday. Not a single drop of rain until I stood in the dry under the roof of the West stand, listening to the sound of the rain and watching lightning, thankfully not close to the stadium.
It was actually a remarkable match in a couple of areas. Firstly, there were no yellow cards. Secondly there were no VAR decisions.
I’m positive about VAR, but critical about the way it is being handled. VAR has now been used in the Premier League for so many seasons that it will be wrong still to talk about teething problems. I think one of the major issues is the lack of training and education. Perhaps we need a new and younger generation of referees to make VAR a success. In some cases, the rules could be changed to make them more VAR friendly. I don’t understand why a red card can be reviewed by VAR, but a second yellow cannot, although the consequences of a wrong decision are the same.
The waiting time for a VAR decision can be nerve-wracking. Whenever I’m at the GTech Community Stadium, I have my own VAR counselling board back home in Denmark. My stepson and 2 son-in-laws are sending me text messages, giving me their view of the situation. The funny thing is that it is not everytime they have the same view of a situation. None of them are Brentford fans so I’m always pretty sure to get their honest view.
Of course I was not satisfied with the result. I had hoped for more, but although Crystal Palace attacking wise were rather weak, I had the feeling that if we didn’t increase the lead, one single situation could cost us the victory, and it did. The apparently never-ending story of draws with Crystal Palace didn’t stop today.
After the game I went to The Globe. I felt the atmosphere was a bit subdued, which was quite surprising to me. I don’t know if it was the result, or the fact it was a Bank Holiday weekend, and the fans were leaving early to be with their families. When the televised Brighton-West Ham game ended a lot of guests left the pub.
When you take into consideration that Matthew Benham bought FC Midtjylland in 2014 and Rasmus Ankersen joined Brentford FC in 2015, it is a bit odd that the Danish Fans have never tried to form a fan community. There have been more than 25 Danish players and coaches at the club since 2015, so there really have been no excuses not to have formed an organized group. In August 2022 a young Danish fan, Sørine established a Danish Facebook group for Brentford fans. After a slow beginning the group has been growing. We are now more than 300 members, and there is still a lot of potential. Apart from sharing news and information about the club, we encourage the fans to become MyBees members and try to support them in getting tickets for games.
I was joined at The Globe by Daniel, his wife and son. It was their first visit to Brentford and they had been to the Fan Shop and bought the new home shirt. On their journey to London they had been more than 4 hours delayed and arrived just before the game started. Furthermore, they were 24 hours delayed going back to Denmark a couple of days later. But it didn’t matter. They had a wonderful experience and were determined to come back another time. This attitude is exactly what we try to promote in the Fan group.
After more than 18 hours on my feet, tiredness was beginning to take a toll on me. I went back to the hotel. A suitable form of relaxation would have been to watch Match of the Day. Unfortunately, I fell asleep.
Sunday was all about travelling. I left the hotel at 9:30 AM and arrived at Copenhagen Airport at 3:30 PM (English time). 32 hours after I left Copenhagen Airport, I was back again. This was my shortest trip ever to a Brentford game. Usually I try to stay from Saturday to Monday. Not only because it makes the trip less stressful, but also because the difference in the price of plane tickets from Sunday to Monday is often bigger than the cost of staying at the hotel for one more night. I have been so many times in London, there are almost no tourist attractions I feel bothered to visit. Instead, I go for long walks in the Ealing, Chiswick and Richmond areas. It’s a different way of being a tourist. There is still a lot to see.
This Sunday was actually the last day of my summer holidays. Going back to work Monday. Looking forward to going to my next Brentford game. I think it will be Manchester United away. See you there!
Leif Pedersen