If 2015 had ended on a high then 2016 couldn’t have started any worse for Dean Smith and his side as four defeats from four in league and cup stalled the early progress under the new Head Coach. There was a sickening last minute defeat to Birmingham City to start off that run as Maikel Kieftenbeld struck in the 89th minute to condemn The Bees to a 2-1 defeat at St Andrew’s. Philipp Hofmann’s late goal looked to have cancelled out Jacques Maghoma’s second-half strike but Kieftenbeld capitalised on some generous defending to net in the final minute. Dean Smith’s former side Walsall then got one over their old boss, Sam Mantom’s first-half goal earned The Saddlers a 1-0 FA Cup Third Round win at Griffin Park.
The curse of Middlesbrough struck again at Griffin Park as The Teesiders reeled off a ninth straight win over The Bees thanks to a David Button own-goal which settled matters under the lights. As so often against Boro, The Bees gave as good as they got but couldn’t find a way past the meanest defence in the league. Then midway through the second-half the visitors grabbed the decisive goal, Button’s attempted punch from a corner kick diverted back into his own net to hand Aitor Karanka’s side the points. Three defeats in a row became four on a Friday night to forget at Griffin Park as promotion chasing Burnley eased to a 3-1 victory. The pre-match build-up was dominated by the news that James Tarkowski had refused to play and The Clarets took full advantage as they raced into a 3-0 half-time lead. Alan Judge pulled one back as The Bees rallied in the second-half but the visitors held on to take the three points back to Lancashire.
Head of Football Philosophy and Player Development Flemming Pedersen took over as the new Development Squad Head Coach early in 2016 with existing boss Kevin O’Connor becoming his assistant. It looked like it would be a winning start for the new management duo as Jan Holldack’s penalty gave The Bees the lead against Charlton Athletic in their U21 Premier League Cup Last 16 tie. However Mikhail Kennedy levelled midway through the second-half and Cristian Ceballos’s late goal ensured it was the South London side who progressed. The Under-18s picked up their first point in five matches as they opened the New Year with a 1-1 draw at Jersey Road against Colchester United. Kyjuon Marsh-Brown had given Jon De Souza’s side a late lead but Diaz Wright poked home with seven minutes to play as the points were shared. Pedersen was then denied his first win as Development Squad manager at a sodden St Alban’s City as Alex Jakubiak scored a contentious last minute goal to rescue a point for Watford from a 3-3 draw. Andy Gogia’s brace and a Bradley Clayton penalty had The Bees 3-1 ahead in the second-half but Jakubiak, who scored The Hornets’ first, grabbed two more late on to steal a point for Harry Kewell’s side.
On the player front in January, John Swift extended his stay from Chelsea until the end of the season while Josh Clarke returned from a successful spell in North London with Barnet. In international news, Daniel O’Shaughnessy earned his first full caps for Finland as they took on Sweden and Iceland in a mid-season training camp in Abu Dhabi. One of the most popular Brentford players in recent times was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame at the home game against Burnley. Lloyd Owusu scored 87 goals in 250 and his 25 goals fired The Bees to promotion during the 1998/99 season.