Why Fulham v Brentford deserves more recognition

In his debut article, Jon Harland argues the case to the media for the West London derby.

On paper, Monday night’s clash between Fulham and Brentford has everything you want from a derby. They’re just a few miles apart, have similar aspirations, and crucially, they do not like each other.

Both sets of supporters will perform renditions of derogatory chants about the opposition in a couple of days. “You’re just a bus stop in Hounslow” and colourful accusations about Thomas Frank’s private life symphonised from the Whites; euphonies of “Bees up Fulham down” and various ‘clapper’ and ‘prawn sandwich’ based jeers retorted from the away fans.

Yet despite this derby reigniting a decade ago when the two clubs finally found themselves back in the same division, the rivalry between Fulham and Brentford still seems to fly under the radar. Neutral fans and mainstream media overlook the simmering tension pulsating in West London, leaving the clash underrated yet fiercely felt by those involved.

Granted, it’s no North London or Tyne-Wear derby, but the belief that this is a ‘nice’ contest is untrue and patronising.

The West London landscape

Fans of an older generation than me will recall Fulham’s encounters with Brentford throughout the 1980s and ‘90s in the third and second tiers of English football. Promotion to the Premier League in 1998 ensured we didn’t play Brentford during the noughties, who were languishing in the lower divisions. This meant that for many fans such as myself who grew up in the 2000s, the Bees barely crossed my mind.

Besides, we had Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers to worry about. While the Blues have always been the side I want to beat each season more than anyone, the animosity has never really been reciprocated. Worse still, many Chelsea fans I know even have a soft spot for us.

QPR has been a great derby this millennium full of bite and needle. However, with the Rs perishing in the league below, we lacked a heated local derby in the Premier League. Enter Brentford, offering just that.

A rivalry reborn

When the Whites plummeted down to the Championship in 2014, we found ourselves up against our West London neighbours again, who were on the rise following promotion that same year. The Bees then doing the double over us in 2014/15 was a harsh reality check; I hadn’t paid much attention to Brentford before, but I certainly did after that.

Over the next five seasons, they had our number: five losses, three draws, and just two wins for Fulham. Brentford quickly became the game I dreaded losing most; the smugness and glee their fans exuded after each win was unbearable.

Play-off redemption

The Bees were buzzing throughout the 2019/20 season, and having done the league double on us yet again, I was desperately nervous heading into the play-off final against Brentford, who were rightly the favourites to go up.

Thankfully, Joe Bryan’s extra-time heroics in an empty Wembley spoiled the biggest game in their history and denied them eternal bragging rights. Had it been a packed Wembley, the brewing feud might have drawn more attention, showing those outside the bubble of this fixture that this is anything but a ‘nice’ derby.

In the ‘West London mini-league,’ Chelsea sit at the top, QPR are anchored at the bottom, and Fulham edge Brentford for that second spot. It’s all hypothetical, but perhaps a Bees win could have marked a shift in the pecking order had they triumphed four years ago, such was their upward trajectory.

What next?

Now in their third consecutive season in the top flight, Brentford are real competition, especially as we both have realistic aspirations for those elusive European spots. The Bees have forced the Whites to take them, and this rivalry, seriously.

It doesn’t bother me that this fixture hasn’t yet captured the attention of the masses. A proper derby doesn’t need outside validation; it’s fueled by the deep-rooted desperation among fans, players, coaches, and club staff alike to get one over on their rivals. As Fulham and Brentford both continue to thrive in the top flight, old narratives will intensify, and new ones will emerge.

Who knows what the future holds, but one thing is certain: Monday has all the ingredients for a derby thriller. A bouncing Craven Cottage under the lights in a fiery contest could be the spark we need to get our season back on track.