Phil SumblerI have to say that I am a Jake Bidwell fan. I think he has put in some very strong performances this season and provides a fantastic overlap at the moment for us on the left hand side which has proven in recent weeks to propel us to the play offs and possibly 90 minutes from a second Championship play-off final.
Whether the move to three at the back was forced or a moment of tactical genius it doesn’t matter because history will be littered with things that made a huge difference in a promotion push and the form of Bidwell and Connor Roberts could well be one of them.
Bidwell will be looking to help his side finish the job at Brentford to reach that final – a return to his former club for the last ever game at Griffin Park. The full back made more than 200 appearances for the Bees in a five year spell at the club before moving onto QPR and then – last summer – to Swansea to join up with Steve Cooper.
“I will be going there to get the job done with Swansea,” Bidwell said.
“Obviously it is a bit surreal playing in the last game at Griffin Park but for me I am there with Swansea.
“I am there to do a job with Swansea and that is all my focus will be to go and get a result.”
“From a personal point of view hopefully it will be another good memory for me on that ground,
“It’s strange the way football turns out sometimes but as I say I am going to do my best. There will certainly be no emotion involved.
“Of course there are a lot of people there behind the scenes, the backroom staff I have a lot of respect for, Matthew Benham, the owner, people like that.
“But I am there as a Swansea player, I am there to help them get a result. That is all Wednesday night is going to be about.”
A promotion to the Premier League would seal a perfect position for Bidwell who was an Everton academy player when he joined Brentford and he admits that playing at the top level is part of his footballing dream
“Obviously when you leave an academy, the idea is to work your way back up. Every player’s dream is to get back to the Premier League,” he said.
“These opportunities don’t come around very often. I will be looking to make the most of that on Wednesday night and hopefully take a step closer to reaching that.”
Oddschecker gives Brentford as odds on favourites to win the 2nd leg, 4/6, with a draw 3/1, Swansea win 9/2. The odds for qualification are exactly even at 10/11.
But … all the money is going on Swansea to qualify. Make of that what you will.
BTW, I never bet but I place more faith in bookies views than pundits. They are staking their actual money.