Heroes & Villains – Brentford
Hero – Kevin O’Connor
O’Connor played 501 times for Brentford between 1999 and 2015.
He was captain for most of his time at Griffin Park and was part of the 2009 and 2014 promotion teams.
O’Connor is a member of the Brentford Hall of Fame and has also been at Griffin Park in a non-playing capacity.
He was the Head Coach of the Brentford B Team before becoming Assistant to the First Team Head Coach in December 2018.
Villains – Ron Noades
In his time at Griffin Park, Noades was owner, chairman and manager.
He became unpopular when he tried (unsuccesfully) to relocate Brentford.
Noades put himself as manager shortly after buying up a majority shareholding of the club in the summer of 1998.
Brentford would go on and win the Division Three title in his first season (see photo above). He sacked himself the following year, following a home defeat to non-league Kingstonian in the FA Cup.
Noades blamed the fans for his departure from the dugout, saying at the time: “They have put up posters saying I am wanted for the murder of Brentford FC”.
He stayed on as Chairman until 2003 when Supporters’ Trust Bees United took operational control of the club. Noades would sell his majority shareholding to the same group three years later.
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