An interview with Dave Morley and Ian Townsend
The first people to experience the brand-new Brentford Community stadium on a match day (apart from opposing players and officials) were members of the press and media due to ongoing covid restrictions. A lot was new and unfamiliar, but two recognisable faces had transferred from the Press Room at Griffin Park to make the move as seamless as possible; Dave Morley and Ian Townsend.
“We’re so glad to see you two are still here.
It’s like they’ve brought bricks and mortar from the old place to the new”
With over 60 years of combined experience in the handling the media, Dave and Ian provided a level of continuity that eased the members of the press into their new surroundings.
Dave started working alongside the original Press Officer Eric White in the 1980’s when Fred Callaghan was manager of the club. Alongside a career in the motor trade, Dave inherited the running of the section after Eric’s passing in 1996. Operating out of a small room under the Braemar Road stand, job functions involved greeting members of the media, producing the team sheets, allocating seating and phone lines, and making the half time cup of tea.
“I used to go out on a Saturday morning and buy four loaves of bread and fillings, make trays full of sandwiches
and buy catering packs of biscuits to bring along to entertain and feed the press.
It was for the enjoyment of looking after the guys”.
Another role in the mid 90’s involved the sourcing of a post-match can of bitter for manager Dave Webb to enjoy during his press conference. Usually appropriated from the Executive lounge pre-match, on one occasion Dave was dispatched to the fans bar Stripes to get an extra can. “The following match the Club Secretary said that I owed the club £1.50. I said it wasn’t for me, it was for the manager. She said I don’t care who it was for; you’ve had the beers, you’ve got to pay for them!”.
The press room at that time was small and crowded with portable TV in the corner to watch replays of goals, and to see the final scores roll in on the BBC vidi-printer. Every penny counted during Brentford’s time in the lower leagues, so when the TV broke down Dave had to replace it out of his own pocket. Even then it only remained in the press room for one game before being taken (without Dave’s knowledge) to replace another TV that had packed up in the fans bar, Stripes.
a pie oven was acquired
Around 2001 Dave needed time off for an operation so called on his friend Ian to look after the press while he was absent. “We were both fairly keen golfers and the common link was golf and football. Ian and his mum used to travel on the club coach, I knew him through that really.”.
Ian’s love for the club came through his parents, who were born and bred in Brentford, and his uncle Len Townsend who played for the club between 1937 and 1947.
The family link to the club is strong. “My mum’s ashes are buried at Griffin Park, in the goalmouth at Ealing Road”.
As the digital age developed and media attention grew, the press room moved to a larger space adjacent to the old room, and then upstairs to what had previously been the players bar. A budget had been allocated in the early 2010’s to provide warm food and soft drinks, and a pie oven was acquired to keep warm a footballing staple. A media team developed within the club, but Dave and Ian still looked after the press.
Media interest further increased as Matthew Benham’s philosophy took hold leading to a requirement to increase staff numbers. Matt Wojciow and another helper named Ben were brought in to deal with the bigger numbers, while security was allocated to the entrance of the room to ensure only accredited members had entry. Ian’s son Charlie also helped when he could.
While the Brentford manager would give a press conference after the game, it was rare for an opposing manager to do the same. If a team from a higher division played at Griffin Park there would be more press interest, but Dave recalls that an away manager would speak to the press only once or twice a season. Rafa Benitez visited the press room when the Bees played Chelsea in the FA Cup, leading to increased media attention and giving an indication what the requirements would be should Brentford reach the Premier League. “It was utter chaos that Sunday morning”.
in lockdown you had to very careful what you said because everyone could hear it
The final games at Griffin Park were played in front of stands devoid of fans; the only people allowed into the stadium being socially distanced club staff, officials and press. Media requests were at an all-time high, and to accommodate the interest the media team ran cables along the length of the upper tier of the Braemar Road stand so that reporters could still attend and comply with stadium restrictions, under the supervision of Dave and Ian.
“We played QPR and Mark Warburton (then QPR manager) accused Brentford of allowing more people in,” remembers Dave, “two or three hundred. But all the screaming and shouting was actually Charlie, Ian’s son!”
“A few directors too to be fair!” adds Ian. “But in lockdown you had to very careful what you said because everyone could hear it.”
I could hear the birds singing behind Braemar Road
Ian has been assigned the supervision of the photographers in the New Road stand towards the end of the season. “My lasting memory is of the last ever game at Griffin Park and I was sat in the (Brook Road) corner of New Road on my own, keeping an eye on the photographers, and the game was going on up the other end. I could hear the birds singing behind Braemar Road. And I thought that this is just so surreal. How lucky am I to be sitting here watching football with what was going on in the world.”
The new stadium was designed with the media in mind, so it is not surprising that the facilities are amongst the best in the land. “The quality of the food is top notch, everyone compliments it. We have a good team” explains Ian. “No one goes without.”
The media attendees have a logical route through the stadium that brings them from the press room to their seating, to the press conference area and finally to a mix zone where they have opportunities to speak to players directly.
After the Bees got promoted to the Premier League, old faces returned to the press room. “When we got to the Gtech, Jonathan Pearce (BBC Commentator) popped up again” recalls Dave. “I hadn’t seen Jonathan for about 15 years. And he said “Christ! You were at Griffin Park!” and we started reminiscing about the old days.”
Dave remained with the club until the beginning of 2025, ending over 40 years of association with the press room. As a season ticket holder, he continues attending games but now purely as a fan. Ian remains in the press room to this day. “I always said to my boy Charlie “I’ll never see Brentford in the Premier League, it will never happen” and we’ve been living the dream for the last 5 years”. “It was always a pipedream,” Dave interjects, “you never actually expected it to happen. It’s absolutely fantastic”.
Dave and Ian are an example of many who have made the transition from old stadium to new as smooth as possible, but their friendship can be summed up in this report from the magazine ‘When Saturday Comes’ which was published during covid:
“Much of the on-field discussion however is drowned out by the two blokes behind me.
Two club employees who keep up a merry volume stream of prattle across a range of subjects such as Brentford continuing to dominate the game,
and encompassing not only what was happening on the pitch, but also tending fish, whether it’s time to turn the heating on, 1970’s wrestling, and track and field.
They often offered frequent unsolicited suggestions to the linesman so audible you could actually see the poor officials ears flapping.”
With thanks to Chris Wickham (Brentford FC Director or Football Communications ) and Don Tanswell (Bees United) for arranging the interview and media area tour
Brendan Nevin