Ben Burgess became a fan favourite at Griffin Park during the 2001/02 campaign, netting 18 goals in 51 appearances while on loan from Blackburn Rovers. In total, Ben led the line for 10 clubs during a 14-year career.

Now a teacher in Lancashire, Ben still keeps a close eye on the Bees and will be providing his thoughts ahead of each game this season.

Gone too soon

The last few months have seen some fantastic former footballers pass away at far too young an age.

The first was Sinisa Mihajlovic, who was an absolute machine of a player and had a left foot like a magic wand. In fact, the only thing harder than his shooting was probably himself. He certainly didn’t shirk any challenges. He was just 53 years old when he passed away from Leukemia.

More recently we have seen the passing of the Italian great Gianluca Vialli. I will always remember him as one of the pioneers; one of the first big-name players to move to the Premier League and make an impact.

Watching highlights of some of Vialli’s goals jogged my memory of how deadly his finishing was.

His goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford, when he slipped the ball under the on-rushing Peter Schmeichel, will always stand out for me because at that time Schmeichel always jumped out like a maniac and blocked everything.

Vialli, however, was far too cool for the towering Dane to panic him.

The death that made the biggest impact around the world was that of the original GOAT - Pele.

His name is known globally and his story (that has been serialised in a plethora of books and films) is the true rags-to-riches tale.

I watched one of the films recently with my children so they could understand the true genius of the man - my son has tried to do kick-ups with mangoes ever since.

Growing up I had three videos about football. One was called 501 Great Goals, which I watched practically every day, and the other two were black-and-white videos of Pele playing in games and training.

Many people argue that Maradona was greater and that the Argentine just got mixed up with the wrong people (a bit like Gazza).

I don’t agree; part of being the best is having an elite mentality, being the most professional and making the most sacrifices. Rest in peace, Pele

Tales from the top

Now could well be the time that you have finished that football book somebody bought you for Christmas.

The sheer number of books on the shelves telling footballers’ stories is pretty impressive. I am someone who loves reading and listening to books on every topic and genre there is; unfortunately, I can’t help but think many footballers’ autobiographies are duller than an international break.

There have been exceptions over the years, like Stan Collymore’s book, which was extremely ‘revealing’, but I find that the higher profile the player, the more mundane and monotonous the text.

Two of my favourite footballer tomes are from less high-profile players and seemed to be more real, more raw and far more engaging.

They are Robin Friday: The Greatest Footballer You NeverSaw, which contained great anecdotes about his lack of preparation, to the point that when the bus picked him up for a game he had his boots in a bin bag and didn’t have a clue who the team he was playing against would be.

The second was Steve Claridge’s Beyond the Boot Camps, which certainly showed the less glamorous side of the beautiful game.

A quick look on the Amazon footballer book list reveals less-than-enticing prose from Jordan Henderson, Jurgen Klopp and Gareth Southgate.

I think it will be back to George Orwell and John Steinbeck for me... that is after I’ve checked out Prince Harry’s cry for help (sorry I mean book).