“There’s not many teams who can come to Villa Park with the season they have had and turn it around…” While Thomas Frank’s side may have stunned the home faithful by overturning a 2-0 deficit to be on the cusp of victory, the 3-3 draw at Aston Villa in many ways typified Brentford’s season. Defensive lapses have been a continual problem and once again reared their ugly head with two of the three goals conceded being characterised by instances of misjudgement.  For Villa’s equaliser, Brentford’s centre-backs failed to get close enough to Ollie Watkins while for the second, collective hesit ..read more

Injuries, suspensions, a disastrously difficult stretch of late, as well as perhaps a bit of complacency, have all contributed to a Brentford decline this season.  After two remarkable Premier League campaigns that exceeded every expectation, it was hoped the Bees would be able to kick on from the previous campaign’s comfortable top 10 finish. But, at the end of the day, the Premier League doesn’t care what issues a club may face, with the stark reality being that Thomas Frank’s side are just five points above the perilous drop zone. Brentford are currently 15th in the table having claime ..read more

The past month has been cruel on Brentford with Thomas Frank’s side facing World Champions Manchester City twice alongside games against Tottenham and Liverpool. Sandwiched in between has been the Bees’ solitary Premier League win away to Wolves, leaving them five points above the drop zone in 14th place. Yet despite four defeats in the past five, Brentford have shown enough to hurt their opposition ahead of what is expected to be a much kinder run of fixtures over the course of the next month. While Brentford’s inability to go onto win a game after opening the scoring has been well documented ..read more

While Neal Maupay’s opener would eventually prove to be in vain against Manchester City, it nonetheless pointed to a worrying trend for Brentford this season. In their opening two Premier League campaigns, the Bees have scored the first goal 30 times with their record in those games near perfect with just one loss, against Newcastle United, towards the end of the 2022/23 season. However, a quite extraordinary record of 23 wins, six draws, and one loss has been in stark contrast to this season’s current statistical outcome when Brentford have opened the scoring. Thomas Frank’s side have grabbed ..read more

While Brentford fans may not have been overly thrilled with Ollie Watkins’ late winner for Aston Villa in their most recent meeting, it is undeniable the former Bees’ precocious talent has turned into a world-class striker. Arriving at Griffin Park from Exeter in 2017 as a young winger with immense potential, Watkins left as a prolific goalscorer, scoring 26 goals during a 2019-20 campaign that saw Brentford agonisingly miss out on Premier League promotion.  Although possessing incredible pace and deceptive strength, Bees boss Thomas Frank highlighted what really makes the 27-year-old sta ..read more

One win in seven league games may not be the greatest start to the season, but it’s arguably the best Brentford could hope for under the current circumstances.  Ivan Toney’s absence has been much-publicised but what the Bees could not legislate for is the injury losses to a number of other key players in the early months of the campaign. The under-rated Rico Henry will miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury, Kevin Schade has been declared out for “months” while Josh Dasilva is experiencing another spell on the sidelines in what is fast becoming a stuttering career. Although they a ..read more

Although many pundits predicted Brentford would suffer the curse of ‘second season syndrome’, Thomas Frank’s side not only rewrote the script this season but tore it up. Vying for European football until the final day, being the only team to beat champions Manchester City both home and away and finishing ninth in the table, is an unbelievable achievement that cannot be understated. And that’s considering the club have one of the smallest budgets in the Premier League while also losing Christian Eriksen to Manchester United in the run-up to the new campaign after he inspired the side to safety ..read more

As clubs up and down the country publish their latest financial statements by the end of March, the figures offer an intriguing snapshot into how well-run (or not) they are.  While the financial year for English clubs ends on June 30th, these accounts incorporate the 2021/22 campaign – the first full season not to be affected by coronavirus.  The impact of the pandemic continues to be felt throughout the leagues and are reflected in the reports with EFL clubs in particular still struggling. With so much to unpick, Andrew Smith (@andrewsmith819) caught up with Kieran Maguire, a lectur ..read more

Following a lacklustre display against Leicester City, the international break may have arrived at the perfect time for Brentford. Sitting eighth in the table, the three games before the interlude could be viewed as a minor ‘blip’ in what has otherwise been a hugely successful season. Having seen their 12-match unbeaten run ended by a resurgent Everton, the 1-1 draw at home to Leicester followed a comfortable 2-0 victory at bottom of the table Southampton. Four points from a possible nine is not necessarily a bad return in isolation but considering Brentford harbour European hopes, it feels a ..read more

Much of the Brentford talk heading into the January transfer window was the situation surrounding Ivan Toney following FA charges over alleged breaches of betting rules. And despite a hefty ban still looming large over the player, the cloud of uncertainty seems a little less concerning due to the sides’ impressive form over the past month. Following the World Cup return, the Bees have amassed an impressive 11 points from their last five games, currently sitting eighth in the table and 13 points away from the relegation places. Thomas Frank’s side have also had a glimpse of what life could be l ..read more