What was the ground like?

In the old pre-Covid days I would be in Brentford at our office 2 or 3 times a month.

Since they built the new ground I haven’t been able to time a mid week game with an office visit so I’m keen to see what’s it like.

looks like it's made of lego when you see it on the TV

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 11:10 pm

looks like it's made of lego when you see it on the TV

Not sure the seat colours help that! Yeah passed it on the train as well and can see your point.

I wouldn’t want them to stay up at our expense but I do admire them as a club over recent years- seem to be doing all the right things.

Burnleyareback2 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 11:18 pm

Not sure the seat colours help that! Yeah passed it on the train as well and can see your point.

I wouldn’t want them to stay up at our expense but I do admire them as a club over recent years- seem to be doing all the right things.

same, I've no beef with Brentford, it's a model I hope we look at going forward

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 11:30 pm

same, I've no beef with Brentford, it's a model I hope we look at going forward

We had a once in a millennium piece of luck in 2009 which is why we are where we are now. Brentford seem to have been building towards this for about 6 years. All credit to them

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 11:30 pm

same, I've no beef with Brentford, it's a model I hope we look at going forward

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... U_yeA&s=19

Why?
They rely on an owner to cover their pretty much annual losses.
Their wage bill in the championship was over 150% to turnover.
Yes they buy, develop and sell players for good money, but they still lose money.
They're no different to most clubs in the championship, operate at a loss and have their owners keep them afloat.

The only part I'd like us to emulate is the player scouting, developing and selling part, we have had some success with that in the past but strayed away from it.

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 12:06 am

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... U_yeA&s=19
The only part I'd like us to emulate is the player scouting, developing and selling part, we have had some success with that in the past but strayed away from it.

yeah this bit was all I meant tbh

I watched it being built working at the school next door .They sold Griffin Park for serious money then built this one They then sold this to developers for £65m and lease it along with co sharers London Irish for £1 /week
They use data driven scouting tracking rising stars thought Europe and UK develop them and sell on for serious money Belrahma and Watkins being two recent ones.Its a model worth copying but you need a manager who trusts and plays these rising stars ,Sean struggles with this concept.

We were stood in the corner, bottom tier half way up and I thought the view was poor. Not helped by the dipping sun. The stands didn't look great in my opinion.

It was easy getting to and into the ground, not far from the old place and a few pubs/high street in close proximity. Home crowd were very quiet until the end. Catering staff were very friendly.

For a London ground and on a day when the underground wasn’t being particularly helpful due to maintenance, it was very accessible and easy to book into a car park within 10 minutes walk of the ground.

On approach to the ground, you simply can’t see it, but then this answers your question… the ground has been extremely well engineered in and amongst the flats and the railway system around it… so tight is the fit, that you can’t really do an immediate lap of the ground from the outside, due to overhanging flats, railway bridges, offices…. and in that respect, whilst clever, it feels claustrophobic.

Inside the ground, it feels as though some of the stands are a strange shape and haven’t utilised seating as well as they could, but this is probably due to the limited space they have in the small footprint.

We were on Row Z, and therefore had a very good view, but as has been said, the dropping sun and the very bright electric advertising boards, made it difficult to see the ball on occasions.

The seats are indeed a bit like a Lego stadium, or something you would find at a Scandinavian football ground. Just not for me.

The concourse was tiny with one small toilet to share between the packed away end.

A good day out a nice ground tick.

I'm not sure who came up with the daft idea of putting the big screens on top of the two main stand roofs. In the bright sunshine they were unreadable. I wasn't there to watch the match on the screen but it would have been nice to know how much time was left.

jdrobbo wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 6:43 am

The concourse was tiny with one small toilet to share between the packed away end.

A good day out a nice ground tick.

There were more toilets upstairs from the entrance concourse. I’d say they just about had enough for the size of the away end.

I’d also add there was plenty of leg room for the 2-3 rows of people who sat down, and plenty of room for those who stood up.

the_magic_rat wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 7:24 am

I'm not sure who came up with the daft idea of putting the big screens on top of the two main stand roofs. In the bright sunshine they were unreadable. I wasn't there to watch the match on the screen but it would have been nice to know how much time was left.

You can pick up a watches for very reasonable prices these days.

I thought it was an excellent ground, the catering areas were rammed but no different to James Hargreaves on match day.
The view from my seat was really good, in fact I’ve made note of my seat number in anticipation of next year’s
return fixture.

An odd little ground and place. Much prefer the old ground. To say it is very near to the old ground the whole area and fan base seem very different.

The waving of the yellow cards following almost every free kick is about as non league as you will see. They just need to clapping sticks to join in with the PA guy.

Thought it was ok.

Easy enough to get to, few boozers nearby.

Plenty of space in the concourse and no massive queues for the toilets.

Had a good view and was able to sit down and see the majority of the pitch despite rows of people stood up in front of me.

My seat was was quite high right up behind the goal against the low fence that separates the home and away fans.

For my dodgy peepers it was also handy to have the row of tv screens along the roof support showing the game for when the ball was down the other end of the pitch.

Only real complaint was no food left at half time.

All in all a good 'tick' except the result of course

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 11:10 pm

looks like it's made of lego when you see it on the TV

Does when you are in there - bizarre ground

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 11:30 pm

same, I've no beef with Brentford, it's a model I hope we look at going forward

It's a model that they are now looking to change because of circumstances and the restriction of bringing players in. Didn't they have about 17 foreign players in their match day squad on Saturday? How many of those players would they be allowed to sign now?

I’m sure I read that the multi coloured seats are so that it looks “full when empty”

I've not got my pics loaded into the Ground Pics yet but the one at the top of the match report is one I took on Saturday.

https://www.uptheclarets.com/problems-i ... tford-loss

My view..

I travelled with a couple of friends who are Brentford ST holders. They still use a pub that was further out than the old Griffin Park, about 20 minutes walk to the west side of the new ground and another 7+ minutes from there to the away corner. It's very clever how they've squeezed the ground into what otherwise would be a pretty dead bit of space between the rail lines and the M4. The flats going up around the ground would be great if you were a young Brentford fan, though I doubt you'd get to watch the game for free from your balcony/window. The stadium looks far from symmetrical. I think a little of the back of my head might be in the bottom corner of the photo above. Good view from high up - as always can't make out the angles at the far end. Only used the tv screens in the roof of the stand to check on the match time every now and again.

I thought we'd got the 3 points for around 10 mins mid-way thru the 2nd half. Then I was happy with 0-0. Then reminded what being a football fan is all about. I hope we are playing there again next season.

I was home an hour after the final whistle.

UTC

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 9:55 am

Does when you are in there - bizarre ground

Looks like they ran out of lego
catering was rubbish

Spike wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 1:31 pm

Looks like they ran out of lego
catering was rubbish

I don't bother with catering, but it couldn't possibly be worse than Burnley's. I thought the ground was dreadful though.

Drove down, fortunately we have a mate who lives on Chiswick High Street, so had a parking space about 5 minutes from the motorway, so getting in and home where the easiest journey to and from a football ground that I can remember.

Liked the ground, modern, feels like a rugby ground rather than a football ground. Their atmosphere was bobbins, the PA announcer was horrific, the last ten minutes were depressing. Went in the Gunnersbury and the Express Tavern. A decent day out apart from the football. Great claret following, need some new songs though.

http://www.uptheclarets.com/messageboar ... w&id=23744

This was our view.
Thought they had done well to fit the ground into where they did like others have said and probably built it to the capacity they will most likely never exceed
Pretty good spot next to the Express Tavern which was a great pre-game pub

UTC

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 9:57 am

It's a model that they are now looking to change because of circumstances and the restriction of bringing players in. Didn't they have about 17 foreign players in their match day squad on Saturday? How many of those players would they be allowed to sign now?

honestly I'm not 100% sure on the latest rules in terms of numbers

I quite liked it, bit of a different style to the normal identikit new ground. Compared to Palace a couple of weeks ago the view was way better.

Needed to have more (some) food for sale and it's another of those where they have toilets and things upstairs but no signs to them so everyone is crammed in downstairs.

To be honest I couldn't care less what a ground looks like as long as it is comfortable and it is a decent view. It ticked both those boxes. It is certainly an odd design and i'd love to see what happens when there is a big downpour with those big sloping roofs off the sides of the main stands.

Drove down early morning..got to my hotel at Greenford at 10..the lady on reception allowed us to check in early thankfully and then we made our way from Perivale via Nottinghill Gate and Earls Court to Gunnersbury..all very simple..although the trains were busy with Rugby fans too.
Made our way to the Express Tavern. Nice pub..big beer garden and tent out the back but £6.50 for a pint of Corona! Made our way back there after the game to wait out the hour for the tube station to reopen. The Brentford fans were gracious in victory to be fair. Found them a very friendly bunch.
The journey back was less simple. All ok to NottinghillGate and then the central line was closed because someone had gone onto the track.
Initial panic then a helpful TFL guy advised me to go to Paddington..then train to Ealing Broadway and a bus from there. Thank god for the TFL Go app..especially with the bus..took us to the door of our hotel on the A40 more or less.

I enjoyed the day out. It is actually in a good place transport wise with Kew Bridge station also just next to the ground. That and a good pub too all help. Shame about the result.

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 3:20 pm

honestly I'm not 100% sure on the latest rules in terms of numbers

It’s not numbers. It’s the new rules brought about by Brexit. Apparently they now have a lot of players who they now wouldn’t be allowed to sign. They have no academy and every player they get has to be signed from somewhere. I read recently that they were having to review the whole policy.

Looks like a stadium on Football Manager and has coloured nets so it’s a no from me

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 3:54 pm

It’s not numbers. It’s the new rules brought about by Brexit. Apparently they now have a lot of players who they now wouldn’t be allowed to sign. They have no academy and every player they get has to be signed from somewhere. I read recently that they were having to review the whole policy.

yeah that's what I was saying, i'm unsure of the numbers allowed now post Brexit. I didn't know they didn't have an academy (aren't Huddersfield in the same boat then ?)

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 4:25 pm

yeah that's what I was saying, i'm unsure of the numbers allowed now post Brexit. I didn't know they didn't have an academy (aren't Huddersfield in the same boat then ?)

There are no numbers to be unsure of. It’s not a limit but a case by case.

No, Huddersfield do continue to run an academy of sorts and have an under 17 team. Brentford just have a first team and a B team.

MrTopTier wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 2:25 pm

Drove down, fortunately we have a mate who lives on Chiswick High Street, so had a parking space about 5 minutes from the motorway, so getting in and home where the easiest journey to and from a football ground that I can remember.

Hi TopTier, did you mate mention the ULEZ zone to you? Chiswick is inside the zone, from October last year. It's £12.50 a day if your vehicle doesn't meet the emissions specs. Petrol vehicles from, I think, 2005 are OK (maybe different year for larger engines); diesel vehicles the cut-off is much more recent, possibly 2015. You get a day or two to pay, or it's £100, or something similar. TFL and ULEZ are the places to check.

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 4:27 pm

There are no numbers to be unsure of. It’s not a limit but a case by case.

No, Huddersfield do continue to run an academy of sorts and have an under 17 team. Brentford just have a first team and a B team.

ah ok interesting, I'm sure Hudders were in the news for ditching their academy at some point, maybe it was partial !

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 5:02 pm

ah ok interesting, I'm sure Hudders were in the news for ditching their academy at some point, maybe it was partial !

They dropped to a lower category and therefore withdrew from the leagues. Like Brentford they run a B team playing friendlies but they also have u19 & u17 teams.

Paul Waine wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 4:32 pm

Hi TopTier, did you mate mention the ULEZ zone to you? Chiswick is inside the zone, from October last year. It's £12.50 a day if your vehicle doesn't meet the emissions specs. Petrol vehicles from, I think, 2005 are OK (maybe different year for larger engines); diesel vehicles the cut-off is much more recent, possibly 2015. You get a day or two to pay, or it's £100, or something similar. TFL and ULEZ are the places to check.

Checked and am compliant, many thanks for the heads up.

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 5:50 pm

They dropped to a lower category and therefore withdrew from the leagues. Like Brentford they run a B team playing friendlies but they also have u19 & u17 teams.

That's why I don't need to know the details, I can always ask you

Vintage Claret wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 11:46 am

My view..

IMG_20220312_150843485_HDR_compress76.jpg

Great view of the back of Claret Tony’s mates head

bfccrazy wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:22 am

Great view of the back of Claret Tony’s mates head

That’s not anyone I went with

I thought I had a belting view

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 15, 2022 1:41 pm

That’s not anyone I went with

You were just over my left shoulder about 4 rows back, there was a gentleman with long hair, glasses and what looked like a foreign football shirt on with you, and a couple of shaved headed chaps

MACCA wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 15, 2022 5:20 pm

You were just over my left shoulder about 4 rows back, there was a gentleman with long hair, glasses and what looked like a foreign football shirt on with you, and a couple of shaved headed chaps

Five of us in total MACCA including three of us with precious little hair and one with far too much. Three other message board members too, you should have said hello.

MACCA wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 15, 2022 5:18 pm

I thought I had a belting view

I'm in this pic Macca

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 15, 2022 5:24 pm

Five of us in total MACCA including three of us with precious little hair and one with far too much. Three other message board members too, you should have said hello.

Yes thats about right, makes sense now being 5.

It was slightly before kick off, and you looked deep in conversation, or I would have said hello

MACCA wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 15, 2022 5:30 pm

Yes thats about right, makes sense now being 5.

It was slightly before kick off, and you looked deep in conversation, or I would have said hello

It was probably my nephew and his daughter I was talking to. They came across for a chat just before kick off.

Vintage Claret wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 14, 2022 9:25 am

Thought it was ok.

Easy enough to get to, few boozers nearby.

Plenty of space in the concourse and no massive queues for the toilets.

Had a good view and was able to sit down and see the majority of the pitch despite rows of people stood up in front of me.

My seat was was quite high right up behind the goal against the low fence that separates the home and away fans.

For my dodgy peepers it was also handy to have the row of tv screens along the roof support showing the game for when the ball was down the other end of the pitch.

Only real complaint was no food left at half time.

All in all a good 'tick' except the result of course

Were you sat down, 2 of you, right next to the dividing fence, skinny blond young lad stood in front of you next to two empty seats?

A higgledy piggledy ground.