CALL IT CURIOSITY, nosey, or just plain sneaky and rude, but it was hard not to throw a few glances at the woman’s screen as she scrolled through video after video on her phone while sitting beside The 42.
The sound was on but far from intrusive on the Friday morning train from Gatwick Airport to London Victoria.
The various social media feeds of Bundesliga club Union Berlin were the woman’s only interest.
Now and again, she would speak to her two friends in her native tongue and then return to her phone.
A quick check on Google showed that Union had drawn 1-1 with Augsburg the night before. The woman scrolled through comments’ sections on articles and videos of the game.
Then, with a side eye that lingered, her phone background piqued more curiosity as it was a photo of a Union player hugging a couple of supporters.
“I hope you don’t mind,” The 42 began, “but I see you are a Union Berlin supporter.”
“Well, yes, my son plays on the team,” she replied in perfectly fine English that also made it clear to The 42 to tone down the Dublin accent.
“That’s good. What is his name?”
“András Schafer,” she replied, before flipping back to her native tongue to perhaps explain why this random conversation was now taking place coming past Clapham Junction.
The name Schafer rang a bell, and just as it ran through The 42’s head like Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber, she followed it up with: “He plays for the Hungary team too.”
Bingo!
Schafer played in that game in Budapest, and when The 42 informed his mother we were from Ireland, she instantly told her two friends. They burst out laughing in unison and then they feigned disgust before returning to conversation.
The Hungarian mother – The 42 cannot recall her name, except for the detail she provided that where she is from in the country, wives do not take their husband’s surname – explained that she still could not believe what had happened in the game.
The 42 told her the same.
Hungary's András Schafer rises to meet a header against Ireland in Budapest. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
She had been enjoying the start of her 60th birthday celebrations until this point. It got even worse for her when she explained how she lived in the countryside and worked as a dentist.
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“Our manager is also a dentist,” The 42 said.
“What do you mean your manager?”
“The Ireland manager, the coach, Heimir Hallgrímsson, he is a dentist and comes from Iceland.”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE COACH IS A DENTIST?”
Further explanation only seemed to irk her, and by the time we disembarked in central London, we both had very different weekends ahead of us.
Hopefully the same goes for the summer should Ireland follow up that stunning 3-2 win in Hungary with success in the play-offs to reach the World Cup.
That was a topic up for discussion with Brentford head coach Keith Andrews the day before he took his team to face Chelsea at Stamford in Bridge in a west London derby.
The former Ireland assistant admitted that he hadn’t met or spoken to current senior boss Heimir Hallgrímsson, and that John O’Shea has been his point of contact when it came to discussing goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher and captain Nathan Collins.
The latter wears the armband for club and country, and Andrews reckons he is still learning what it takes and what it means to be a captain as he continues to grow into the role.
Indeed, speaking to The 42 after that 2-0 defeat to Chelsea — in which a mix-up with Kelleher led to the home side’s second goal from the penalty spot — Collins explained how he has been able to lean on Jordan Henderson for advice since the former Premier League and Champions League-winning Liverpool captain arrived at the club from Ajax last summer.
The back of Stamford Bridge in the background looking from King's Road Bridge.
Collins also had to deal with the aftermath of that 3-2 win over Hungary in Budapest when he returned to his club. He explained that while Andrews had also been “buzzing, over the moon, [he] was watching us screaming at the TV”, the defender admitted that in the Premier League game away to Brighton six days later he was still feeling the effects of the emotional and physical toll the game took.
“I just had a bit of a hangover from that, just constantly even playing the moment in your head. But no, listen, that’s gone now. You have club football for a long time in between Budapest and the next one in March. So you just have to get back on with it and just get back playing football and into that groove again.
“When it gets close to the time [of the play-off], I’ll get my head around that.”
Brentford, of course, have enough to deal with in the Premier League. They went into Saturday’s game fifth and dropped to seventh with Chelsea rising above them in sixth.
The condensed nature of the Premier League means that should Bournemouth beat Liverpool, and both Manchester United and Chelsea fail to beat Arsenal and Crystal Palace, respectively, then a win at home to Nottingham Forest on Sunday would send Brentford fourth in the table.
Regardless, European qualification is very much on the agenda. “We thought we were a better team. We thought we dominated the game. It’s annoying. It’s a positive that we’ve come here [to Stamford Bridge], we’ve taken control of the game,” Collins said.
“To do that at this stage, we’re in a really good place. It’s more of taking the positive than the negative.
“I think we have to expect that from each other. I think the way we are as a squad now, the standard of players, not even on the pitch, they’re driving each other, I think, like that. We credit so much, we dominate. They (Chelsea) were in a low block, they were going long from goal kicks every time, I thought. It’s a massive compliment to us.
“It’s exciting for the rest of the season. But if we keep continuing like that, we have a good chance of doing so,” Collins said, referring to finishing in a European place.
The juxtaposition of these two clubs facing other at the weekend says so much about the current state of play in the Premier League.
Before kick off ,there were protests against Chelsea owners BlueCo from a couple of hundred fans.
Both outside and inside Stamford Bridge, there was a mixture of apathy and seemingly amazement from plenty more about the level of anger.
One elderly lady in a mobility scooter with her hair dyed pink, wearing a fluffy onesie with Cartman from South Park’s face dotted around it could hardly have been less bothered.
This was a different kind of Chelsea pensioner.
Indeed, just after both sets of players finished their warm-ups and 10 minutes before kick-off, around 20 Chelsea fans were led from far side of the pitch towards the tunnel area.
They were being marshalled by a Chelsea staff member in a suit who was holding a large black and blue pole – kind of like a tour guide who would lead a trail of tourists around the streets of London.
Two of the Chelsea protesters outside Stamford Bridge.
As the guide came closer to side of the pitch, it became clear what was written on the top of the pole – The Dugout Club – although there were some stragglers around the centre of the pitch who stopped and took selfies or generally just wanted to soak in this moment.
Quite literally, too, as the sprinkler system was turned on and drenched a number of the fans with deep pockets.
A quick check of the price list for The Dugout Club shows the cost of a single ticket for their next home game in the Premier League against West Ham United is just over £2,000. That price increases to £7,000 for the visit of Manchester United.
Getting soaked a few minutes before kick-off in front of 39,704 people as the away fans sing about you being a tourist? Priceless.
Potential Dugout Club ticket holders should know the cost does drop after United come to town, and it will be £6,250 for the final home game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur in May.
By which point, of course, Andrews should know if Brenford are still in the European mix, and both Collins and Kelleher could be gearing up for a World Cup with Ireland.
For Hungarian players and their mothers, that train has left the station.
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A weekend in west London: the Hungarian mother, Ireland stars, and Chelsea tourists
CALL IT CURIOSITY, nosey, or just plain sneaky and rude, but it was hard not to throw a few glances at the woman’s screen as she scrolled through video after video on her phone while sitting beside The 42.
The sound was on but far from intrusive on the Friday morning train from Gatwick Airport to London Victoria.
The various social media feeds of Bundesliga club Union Berlin were the woman’s only interest.
Now and again, she would speak to her two friends in her native tongue and then return to her phone.
A quick check on Google showed that Union had drawn 1-1 with Augsburg the night before. The woman scrolled through comments’ sections on articles and videos of the game.
Then, with a side eye that lingered, her phone background piqued more curiosity as it was a photo of a Union player hugging a couple of supporters.
“I hope you don’t mind,” The 42 began, “but I see you are a Union Berlin supporter.”
“Well, yes, my son plays on the team,” she replied in perfectly fine English that also made it clear to The 42 to tone down the Dublin accent.
“That’s good. What is his name?”
“András Schafer,” she replied, before flipping back to her native tongue to perhaps explain why this random conversation was now taking place coming past Clapham Junction.
The name Schafer rang a bell, and just as it ran through The 42’s head like Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber, she followed it up with: “He plays for the Hungary team too.”
Bingo!
Schafer played in that game in Budapest, and when The 42 informed his mother we were from Ireland, she instantly told her two friends. They burst out laughing in unison and then they feigned disgust before returning to conversation.
The Hungarian mother – The 42 cannot recall her name, except for the detail she provided that where she is from in the country, wives do not take their husband’s surname – explained that she still could not believe what had happened in the game.
The 42 told her the same.
She had been enjoying the start of her 60th birthday celebrations until this point. It got even worse for her when she explained how she lived in the countryside and worked as a dentist.
“Our manager is also a dentist,” The 42 said.
“What do you mean your manager?”
“The Ireland manager, the coach, Heimir Hallgrímsson, he is a dentist and comes from Iceland.”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE COACH IS A DENTIST?”
Further explanation only seemed to irk her, and by the time we disembarked in central London, we both had very different weekends ahead of us.
Hopefully the same goes for the summer should Ireland follow up that stunning 3-2 win in Hungary with success in the play-offs to reach the World Cup.
That was a topic up for discussion with Brentford head coach Keith Andrews the day before he took his team to face Chelsea at Stamford in Bridge in a west London derby.
The former Ireland assistant admitted that he hadn’t met or spoken to current senior boss Heimir Hallgrímsson, and that John O’Shea has been his point of contact when it came to discussing goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher and captain Nathan Collins.
The latter wears the armband for club and country, and Andrews reckons he is still learning what it takes and what it means to be a captain as he continues to grow into the role.
Indeed, speaking to The 42 after that 2-0 defeat to Chelsea — in which a mix-up with Kelleher led to the home side’s second goal from the penalty spot — Collins explained how he has been able to lean on Jordan Henderson for advice since the former Premier League and Champions League-winning Liverpool captain arrived at the club from Ajax last summer.
Collins also had to deal with the aftermath of that 3-2 win over Hungary in Budapest when he returned to his club. He explained that while Andrews had also been “buzzing, over the moon, [he] was watching us screaming at the TV”, the defender admitted that in the Premier League game away to Brighton six days later he was still feeling the effects of the emotional and physical toll the game took.
“I just had a bit of a hangover from that, just constantly even playing the moment in your head. But no, listen, that’s gone now. You have club football for a long time in between Budapest and the next one in March. So you just have to get back on with it and just get back playing football and into that groove again.
“When it gets close to the time [of the play-off], I’ll get my head around that.”
Brentford, of course, have enough to deal with in the Premier League. They went into Saturday’s game fifth and dropped to seventh with Chelsea rising above them in sixth.
The condensed nature of the Premier League means that should Bournemouth beat Liverpool, and both Manchester United and Chelsea fail to beat Arsenal and Crystal Palace, respectively, then a win at home to Nottingham Forest on Sunday would send Brentford fourth in the table.
Regardless, European qualification is very much on the agenda. “We thought we were a better team. We thought we dominated the game. It’s annoying. It’s a positive that we’ve come here [to Stamford Bridge], we’ve taken control of the game,” Collins said.
“To do that at this stage, we’re in a really good place. It’s more of taking the positive than the negative.
“I think we have to expect that from each other. I think the way we are as a squad now, the standard of players, not even on the pitch, they’re driving each other, I think, like that. We credit so much, we dominate. They (Chelsea) were in a low block, they were going long from goal kicks every time, I thought. It’s a massive compliment to us.
“It’s exciting for the rest of the season. But if we keep continuing like that, we have a good chance of doing so,” Collins said, referring to finishing in a European place.
While that would be a stunning achievement for Andrews and Brentford – although director of football Phil Giles did tell The 42 on the eve of a win over Manchester United back in October that it was possible – it’s the bare minimum Chelsea expect under new head coach Liam Rosenior.
The juxtaposition of these two clubs facing other at the weekend says so much about the current state of play in the Premier League.
Before kick off ,there were protests against Chelsea owners BlueCo from a couple of hundred fans.
Both outside and inside Stamford Bridge, there was a mixture of apathy and seemingly amazement from plenty more about the level of anger.
One elderly lady in a mobility scooter with her hair dyed pink, wearing a fluffy onesie with Cartman from South Park’s face dotted around it could hardly have been less bothered.
This was a different kind of Chelsea pensioner.
Indeed, just after both sets of players finished their warm-ups and 10 minutes before kick-off, around 20 Chelsea fans were led from far side of the pitch towards the tunnel area.
They were being marshalled by a Chelsea staff member in a suit who was holding a large black and blue pole – kind of like a tour guide who would lead a trail of tourists around the streets of London.
As the guide came closer to side of the pitch, it became clear what was written on the top of the pole – The Dugout Club – although there were some stragglers around the centre of the pitch who stopped and took selfies or generally just wanted to soak in this moment.
Quite literally, too, as the sprinkler system was turned on and drenched a number of the fans with deep pockets.
A quick check of the price list for The Dugout Club shows the cost of a single ticket for their next home game in the Premier League against West Ham United is just over £2,000. That price increases to £7,000 for the visit of Manchester United.
Getting soaked a few minutes before kick-off in front of 39,704 people as the away fans sing about you being a tourist? Priceless.
Potential Dugout Club ticket holders should know the cost does drop after United come to town, and it will be £6,250 for the final home game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur in May.
By which point, of course, Andrews should know if Brenford are still in the European mix, and both Collins and Kelleher could be gearing up for a World Cup with Ireland.
For Hungarian players and their mothers, that train has left the station.
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Brentford Chelsea FAI Nathan Collins Premier League Republic Of Ireland Soccer up close