In theory, we should still be favourites to win tomorrow and once we win one, we could put another win or two together in a mini return to form as we have done at times this season, two wins from our next two games would maintain a healthy cushion going in to the final four games and make it very difficult for Brentford to catch us. It is as simple as winning the next two games.
My problem is that this season has felt like a real blueprint of a season I’ve already lived 4 or 5 times before. I know it’s irrelevant and a purely personal story, but I was involved with an amateur football team for a good chunk of the last decade and the similarities are bothering me more than they should. I loved the early months of the of the season, as for all but one season, we would be great to be involved with early doors. By November, we were generally top of the division, always the divisions top scorers and we we’re always seen as the most exciting team in the division by neutral observers. On at least 3 occasions, I remember us having early seasons runs where we would have victories of 5 goals or more for 6 or more games on the trot. Despite that, Christmas always seemed to hurt us. We would lose a game and all of a sudden the swagger disappeared. We would find it really difficult to recapture our form in the winter, not helped by losing cup games to higher division sides. We would always get caught by the divisions more organised side (there was always one, usually sides who were more drilled and were as a whole mates outside of the football). We often ended up playing our title competitor with 2 or 3 games of the season left and although we would still be within touching distance, we never won the clinch game. I still remember the last season I was involved, going into the title deciding game, knowing already were were going to lose as we had always lost this game in my time there. Funnily enough, I think we only ever finished runner up once. We would end up slipping into third or even fourth in occasion in the final few games of the season, as we completely lost our bottle.
Momentum is everything for sides who are high on swagger but low on organisation and coaching. I can’t help but feel our early season form had elements of that, with us coasting playing great football and thriving in confidence. We haven’t recovered since the dip in form in mid December. Now, the CoVID break has just allowed Brentford to reset and get back into their groove.
It just feels like I’m back with my old amateur football club. I’m praying it isn’t de ja vu.
