IT HAS long been a complaint of Brentford fans that their team always blows it on the big occasion - and unfortunately the facts back them up.

The last quarter of a century has seen the Bees play in four major finals and lose them all - twice at Wembley and twice at the Millennium Stadium.

As you will read elsewhere in this supplement, Brentford have reached the Football League Trophy final twice before, losing to Wigan at Wembley in 1985 and Port Vale at Cardiff in 2001.

In addition, as is also chronicled in these pages, they have twice reached the third tier play-off final too, losing to Crewe at Wembley in 1997 and Stoke at Cardiff in 2002. Add that to heartbreaking play-off semi-final defeats by Tranmere in 1991, Huddersfield in 1995, Sheffield Wednesday in 2005 and Swansea in 2006, and it is clear that Brentford are long overdue some success on the big stage.

So why can’t they do it? Lady Luck is the usual excuse for teams with any kind of poor track record, but it simply does not wash in this instance.

Brentford cannot claim to have been unlucky in any of those finals - the sad truth is, they have failed to show up for each of them.

A Brentford side boasting perhaps one of the club’s finest midfield partnerships in Chris Kamara and Terry Hurlock failed to get going against Wigan in 1985, while the 1997 play-off final was one of the most one-sided games to be seen under the old twin towers, and Crewe should have won at a canter.

It was a good Brentford side that took on Port Vale in 2001, but having been the only Bees side to take the lead in any of those finals, they made the mistake of sitting back and trying to defend it for 80 minutes.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment was in 2002, as Steve Coppell had put together a fine Brentford side, but too many players who had been magnificent during the season just hid on the day.

So where can we look for inspiration? Well, the class of 1942 would be a good start - the only Brentford side to have won a major cup final.

At the time, the Bees were counted among the leading London clubs after three top six finishes in four years in the top flight before the Second World War broke out.

With the thirst for football still strong in the capital, despite the ongoing conflict, a London War Cup was introduced in 1941 to be played alongside the unofficial regionalised wartime leagues.

Brentford actually reached the final in the competition’s first year, but in a fashion to become familiar in later years, lost 3-2 to Reading at Stamford Bridge, despite two goals from Eddie Perry - a Doncaster Rovers player who was guesting for the Bees.

The following year, Brentford went one better and reached the final, this time to be played at Wembley, after dispatching Arsenal in the semi-finals.

A crowd of 69,972 - the biggest ever to watch a Brentford game - saw the Bees triumph 2-0 over Portsmouth, thanks to two goals from England international Leslie Smith.

Joe James, who lifted the cup (and according to legend, promptly dropped it!), was one of six players on Brentford books to start the game in the red and white stripes, along with Smith, William ‘Buster’ Brown, George Poyser, Dai Hopkins and George Wilkins.

Completing the line-up were Perry and other guests Jackson (Chelsea), McKenzie (Middlesbrough), Sneddon (Swansea) and Dougie Hunt (Sheffield Wednesday).

However, it was not the first time Brentford had played at Wembley - their first appearance under the twin towers came 12 years earlier when Clapton Orient’s new Lea Bridge ground was deemed unsuitable for league football, so they played at Wembley for a while.

And so, a Third Division South game played on November 22, 1930, became the first Football League game ever to be played at Wembley - but Brentford could not make it an occasion to remember, going down 3-0 to the forerunners of Leyton Orient.

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