Ben Burgess’ 2001/02 campaign at Brentford made him a fan favourite during his time on loan from Blackburn Rovers; the frontman scored 17 goals in 43 games in the Second Division.

The former Hull City, Blackpool and Notts County striker, who is now a teacher in Lancashire, will provide his thoughts ahead of each game this season…

Mum’s the word

Eric Dier recently explained that he won’t let his family come and watch away games because of fan behaviour. Well, I nearly had to ban my mum as well - but that was more to do with her sticking up for me in quite a vocal way!

It’s hard to completely understand a parent’s feelings until you actually watch your own child play a sport, especially one which you know a bit about as well. I recall my dad telling me that during one particular away game there were a couple of ‘meat heads’ moaning about my performance (they were probably justified). My mum stood up and shouted at them, and protect her baby boy (me), much to everyone in the away ends surprise.

Fan/parent behaviour can often be worse in kids football. I usually don’t allow myself to get riled by the situations, but there was one parent who told his son to give my daughter a ‘dig’ just because she was beating him. I made my feelings clear that day, however, the old saying ‘you can’t argue with an idiot' could not have been truer when he responded: "Have you ever even played football?"

Toon Army

There is definitely something unique about Newcastle United, whether that’s the passion and expectation of their support or the statuesque nature of the stadium emerging from the city centre.

On the two occasions I have played there, I was on the receiving end of heavy defeats, although the atmosphere was electric. The first time was for the Bees under Steve Coppell's tutelage. It was in the League Cup and we were huge underdogs. That night we came so close to causing an upset when we went ahead through the legend, Lloyd Owusu. Darren Powell had Alan Shearer in his pocket. Sadly, after the tie went into extra-time, they brought on Craig Bellamy, who incidentally managed to evade Powelly’s pocket and score a hat-trick!

My other overriding memory from that game was how high and how far away the visiting fans are placed at St James’ Park. Saturday's game will be a real spectacle and I’m sure the Bees will be looking to silence the vociferous home support, whose expectations have multiplied since the £120million spent this summer, and show that splashing the cash doesn’t always produce results.

Taking its toll

The Bees have endured two away games on the bounce with plenty of miles covered. The executive travel players have bestowed upon them nowadays is a far cry from bygone times. On Saturday, players will get meals, drinks, entertainment and, more importantly, leg room.

When travelling to Bristol City away during my season with the Bees, we were stuck in traffic and missed the scheduled pre-match meal at a hotel. There was no food on the coach, so we were all forced to stop at the services - we ended up winning 2-0 after scoffing chocolate, crisps and sausage rolls, instead of pasta, rice, fish and chicken.

Blackpool’s owners were always trying to save money and that was often made clear during our away trips. Many times, we found ourselves travelling back from somewhere down south late on a Tuesday or Wednesday night and the sight of traffic backed up on the M6 near Birmingham was the norm. For most people (and other football clubs), the simple choice would be to hop on the toll road and save yourself hours. Well, we had to beg the coach driver and then all chip money in to pay the toll!