On the surface, there is no rivalry linking BHAFC & BrentfordFC. But for those at the top, there is extra spice when the sides meet. This is the story of a very frosty relationship between Brighton’s Tony Bloom & Brentford's Matthew Benham. BHABRE
Unlike his future boss and then competitor Tony Bloom, Matthew Benham wasn’t a born gambler. “I have never put a bet on for the fun of it,” the Brentford owner told 11 Freunde in one of his rare interviews in 2013. “I don’t like gambling. But I always liked maths and football.”
A physics graduate from Oxford University, Benham came to the world of high-stakes football betting via stints as a derivatives trader in the City of London. In the early Noughties, when the Asian market opened up to Western punters, Bloom, now the owner of Brighton and Hove Albion, hired him to work for his company, Premier Bet.football team, with Benham’s Brentford and Bloom’s Brighton due to meet on Boxing Day at the Amex Stadium.
Do not expect them to share a friendly festive drink in the directors’ box, however: Benham, 52, and Bloom, 51, no longer speak after an acrimonious split in 2004 resulted in legal proceedings. At Benham’s firm Smartodds, talk of Bloom’s Starlizard was “taboo”. Beating Brentford “is one Tony wants to win more than any”.
For those at the top, there is extra spice when the two sides meet, with the respective owners taking care to avoid the other’s company. And, while dealings between the clubs’ hierarchies are described as “cordial”, two sides with much in common — including a heavy emphasis on data and sister clubs on the continent — have often been in direct competition for players in recent years.
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