Those Brentford supporters like myself fortunate enough to be amongst the minuscule but vibrant crowd of 11,689 watching the Championship Playoff Final on 29th May 2021 left Wembley Stadium in a state of shock and euphoria, stunned and barely believing that their beloved Brentford FC had finally broken their Playoff hoodoo and reached the promised land of the Premier League 74 years after they last played in the top flight.
I know that I, figuratively – alright then – literally – bathed in tears, went down on my knees immediately after the final whistle to give thanks to a higher being for allowing us our moment in the sun after so much hurt, failure, shattered optimism and ambition.
Who amongst us will admit now to feeling at the time that this might be a one season aberration and we would soon depart the top table and return from whence we had come?
I wonder how many of us at the time of promotion in 2021 would have dared to have placed a bet on the Bees surviving – or even thriving – for the next four seasons in the Premier League and never spending a single moment in the dreaded bottom three places in the league? Not many I guess – including I suspect myself!
How little did we know and how would we have felt if we could have been granted the power to look into the future four years on and see the Bees now very much as Phil Giles has often desired as an “average Premier League team” as established in the Premier League as anyone outside the top six can possibly be and also celebrating the end of a triumphant and glorious season which saw our second top ten finish and the team still in the running for a European place at half time in our 38th and final game of the season?
Not too shabby indeed for a Bus Stop in Hounslow and a team boasting one of the smallest budgets in the division.
Before I mention some of the season highlights let’s deal with the elephant in the room. I am old enough to remember our glorious run to the semi-final of the Anglo Italian Cup in 1992/93 with memorable trips to the likes of Ascoli and Cesena and other less glamourous non-Italian destinations such as Swindon and Derby. However ersatz the competition it was still rollicking good fun to get so close to a Wembley Final; however, there was a sting in the tail. Brentford were relegated cruelly on the final day of the season by the narrowest of margins and who knows if the debilitating effects of playing an extra eight matches with a small squad contributed to our downfall?
Of course, I would have been so proud to see Brentford competing in a top European competition – even, it has to be said the booby prize of the Conference League. What an achievement that would have been and how far would we have come, but the nagging thought persists that however much we strengthened and increased the size of our squad, the constant and relentless diet of Thursday European matches in far flung parts of Europe followed by Sunday EPL matches with long haul travelling in between times and an interrupted training pattern would likely have taken a massive toll on our limited resources.
FC Heidenheim, a small regional club comparable in many ways to Brentford, were surprisingly promoted to the Bundesliga in 2023, and amazingly finished eighth in their first season, qualifying for the more prestigious UEFA Conference League. This season has seen a totally different story with the club avoiding relegation in the Playoffs by the skin of their teeth, hindered as I am sure they were by the extra matches and travelling inflicted upon their small squad by European competition. A salutary lesson for the likes of Brentford perhaps?
It is hard to overestimate just how good was Brentford’s final league position and overall performance. We finished tenth with 56 points, one place lower and three points fewer than our best ever (to date) finish in the Premier League two seasons ago.
It is illuminating to highlight a report just put together by leading sports intelligence agency Twenty First Group which conducted a financial analysis of every Premier League team and estimated how many points each club should therefore have achieved. Little wonder that Manchester United underachieved by a massive 33 points with Spurs and Southampton the next biggest underachievers. No surprise then that Nottingham Forest were the biggest achievers followed by Brentford and Brighton who were both described as “perennial overachievers” given the size – or lack of – their overall budgets.
What was so encouraging was the fact that Thomas Frank shook things up in his attempts to as he put it “add layers” to our overall performances. We no longer played a default 3-5-2 formation concentrating on a hybrid 4-3-3/4-3-2-1/4-2-4 which released our inhibitions and allowed us to switch defence into attack in a blink of an eye. We scored 66 goals – the fifth highest in the league with our front three of Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Kevin Schade notching an incredible 50 goals between them. The Bees were one of only three clubs in Europe with three players in double figures and Wissa came agonisingly close to also scoring 20 league goals alongside his best mate, Mbeumo.
Conceding 57 times at the other end wasn’t too great particularly as 35 of them came at home. Away from the Gtech we were hard to break down, conceding only 22 times in 19 games and whilst we conceded three times at Spurs and Aston Villa (PL results – Newcastle Carabao), we kept seven clean sheets on the road and defended sturdily and then cut through teams on the break.
It was a topsy turvy season, as at home this season we won seven of our first eight games and then failed to win for a bemusing eight games before winning the next two – go figure!
Our overall record at home was exceptional:
P19 W9 D4 L6 F40 A35 Pts 31
We were the great entertainers, scoring three or more goals eight times in 19 home games! We were the joint second highest home scorers but only Ipswich and Southampton conceded more than us. Amazingly we kept only one clean sheet – against Chelsea, and fans were certainly entertained with an average of 3.95 goals per game.
Away from home was a polar opposite – totally explained by the vagaries of the fixture list. We lost our first five away games – including a dismal and demoralising injury time defeat at Fulham and then drew two of our next four before metamorphizing into the best performing away team in the Premier League, winning seven of our last ten games, including a club record five in a row, drawing twice and unluckily losing at Newcastle thanks to a freak late goal. We scored five at Southampton and four at Leicester, thoroughly deserved to win at Crystal Palace, West Ham and Bournemouth and draw at Arsenal and then comfortably defeated Champions League challenging Nottingham Forest in what was probably our best and most measured performance of the season, before squeaking past Ipswich and drawing at Wolves on the final day of the season.
We cut teams open in transition with the front three capitalising on the quick, defence splitting passes of the reborn Mikkel Damsgaard who repaid us for our unwavering faith in him by becoming the player Thomas Frank knew he was and he fully merited his two Player of the Year awards after his 10 assists and mesmerising performances. He was consistently one of the finest midfielders in the league.
Damsgaard was majestic but the main reason for our success was that so many players excelled and played at a level comfortably above what they had previously achieved and let’s pay tribute to them here and now.
Mark Flekken matured into one of the best and most consistent keepers in the league making a league leading 153 saves, 28 more than his closest rival. On the surface this might seem a worrying statistic but in truth Brentford forced the opposition to shoot from distance and poor positions and averaged the lowest xG per shot faced with the average chance against Brentford worth just 0.09 xG. Flekken was calm, confident and consistent, with his accurate distribution, including two assists, playing a major role in our attacking success and being named as one of the best performing goalkeepers in Europe. As I write this there is talk of Flekken being on the radar of Bayer Leverkusen. Hopefully there is nothing in this rumour as the way Flekken plays is ideal for us and I would hate for us to have to bed in a new goalkeeper next season.
If you had known way back last August that neither Aaron Hickey nor Rico Henry would not start a single Premier League game between them all season then you would have certainly feared for our prospects but we managed quite comfortably with Mads Roerslev, excellent new signing Sepp Van Den Berg and Kristoffer Ajer filling in well at right back before the arrival of the amazing Michael Kayode on loan from Fiorentina who looked such a wonderful prospect and a real unit in the last month of the season, becoming an instantaneous crowd favourite, defending with intelligence and then roaring forward to support Mbeumo, he was responsible for one assist against Manchester United as well as contributing to our equaliser against Arsenal and two goals came from his long throws. Pretty impressive in so few appearances.
Keane Lewis-Potter was far more than a fill in at left back performing consistently excellently as both a defender and attacker. Rico made a few welcome substitute appearances but will have a real fight on his hands to win back his place last season as KLP who was often the only English player in the team was even mentioned in passing as an England international prospect. Aaron Hickey was also on the bench for the final game of the season and there will also be a fascinating battle for the right back berth now that Kayode has just signed a five-year contract with the club with an additional 12-month option.
From having no fullbacks for so long we might well now have a surfeit! Oh, and don’t forget the loyal, unobtrusive Mads Roerslev whose future is uncertain at the conclusion of his loan spell at Wolsburg and could conceivably return to Brentford.
Nathan Collins quietly developed into a wonderfully consistent defender, strong, cool, calm and collected, excellent on the ball striding forward into the opposition half, setting up Kevin Schade for his hat trick goal against Leicester with a measured through ball. He made more blocks than any other player in the league and was the only outfield player in the Premier League to play every single minute (3,420) of the season. Not bad at all, with surely a lot more to come.
Sepp Van Den Berg also settled in far quicker than many other recent signings and he and Collins became the established central defensive partnership particularly as Ethan Pinnock suffered from niggling injuries and was not often at his best – hopefully he will come back fit and ready for the new season.
Ben Mee left the club after three years of exceptional service both on and off the pitch. He had his moments last season starting six times but he wants to continue playing regularly and we cannot offer him that opportunity next season. He leaves with our gratitude and thanks.
Christian Norgaard was an inspirational captain and remained fit for almost the entire season. He was a far more mobile number six, adding a career best five goals to his defensive prowess. Mikkel Damsgaard was peerless as an attacking conduit and he overtook Mathias Jensen, another regular afflicted by injury and illness. He also played his first full season and showed determination as well as vision on the ball.
Vitaly Janelt was his normal consistent self despite a long-term heel injury that required surgery and he also played what I felt was the through ball of the season leading to Wissa’s winning goal in a 3-2 thriller against Bournemouth.
This was also a breakout season for Yehor Yarmoliuk who excelled as a double pivot in the latter part of the season giving us additional energy, bite as well as an ever-improving range of passing in our midfield.
Fabio Carvalho, another expensive preseason signing never really got going or found a position for himself given the consistent excellence of Damsgaard before a season-ending shoulder injury.
New signings often take a good while to assimilate and make their mark and I feel that he will be no different to the likes of Flekken, Damsgaard and KLP. Thomas Frank will I am sure be adding even more layers to our playing style next season and I wonder if Carvalho who is lithe and quick with an eye for goal might find himself playing alongside or even just behind Igor Thiago who suffered cruelly from injury and illness and only started one match all season. His time will surely come, ideally next season.
Talking of injuries, a word now for poor Josh Dasilva, hors de combat since last January and totally off the radar. We just hope and pray that next season will see him able to resume his career that has so cruelly been truncated, as his ability to beat a man and curl the ball irresistibly into the top corner is sorely missed. Maybe it is too much to hope for him to play at the top level again but the sight of Josh back on the grass would be such a boon to us all, and he is certainly somebody who totally deserves a change of luck.
Brentford’s point of difference last season was up front where the vaunted MWS trio of Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Kevin Schade terrified the opposition and scored 50 goals between them in the EPL. Who said that we would miss Ivan Toney? We were far more potent and easier on the eye without him, further proof of Thomas Frank’s ability to shuffle his pack and adapt and find a solution however hard we were afflicted by injuries or departures of key players.
Mbeumo totally came of age joining the departed Ivan Toney as the second Brentford player to score 20 Premier League goals in a season and also added seven assists. He even scored three goals with his right foot! He massively outperformed his expected goals tally and was widely recognised as an elite (or as Thomas Frank would say “top, top”) player.
What is currently unknown is where he will be plying his trade next season. He has given us six seasons, is still only 25 and has yet to reach his peak. Who can blame him if he wishes to test himself at a Champions League club at home or abroad. From the club’s perspective, with a maximum of two years left on his contract, they might also feel that now is the time to maximise his value. If he goes, he does so with our gratitude and thanks given the player and man he is. He is a total credit to himself, his family and the club and I only hope that if he does go, he finds as congenial an atmosphere as exists at Brentford.
Wissa too formed a deadly partnership with his teammate and best friend and scored 19 non-penalty goals including some gorgeous close range finishes worthy of a Greaves or a Lineker at their best. He could also drop short and link the play and he too will have his admirers and at nearly 29 will he want to chase the money and opportunity elsewhere or will we be determined to hold onto him at all costs?
Replacing 20 goals next season will be hard enough, but 40 might well be mission impossible.
Kevin Schade quietly went about his business, staying fit all season, playing in every game and contributing 11 goals and four assists. Who can forget his clinical hat trick against Leicester and two perfectly placed headers against Manchester United? His pace and aerial ability were breath-taking and he has the ability, strength and temperament to play an even greater role next season.
New set piece coach Keith Andrews also played his part as Brentford made history by scoring inside the first minute of three consecutive Premier League games in September. We reverted to the mean in the next game as Nathan Collins didn’t open the scoring until the 76th second!
We also scored 20 goals from set pieces, including a massive league leading seven from long throws where the likes of Ethan Pinnock, Mathias Jensen, Kevin Schade and latterly, the newly arrived Michael Kayode who could easily reach the far post and beyond. Just as importantly we reorganised at the back and only conceded five times from corner kicks but that figure includes two goals ludicrously gifted from our own corners when Liverpool and Arsenal caught us in transition with our pants down!
I have yet to mention the Brentford B team which won two trophies or the all-conquering Women’s team which also won the double. There are so many promising youngsters waiting in the wings to make their mark and some of Benjamin Arthur, Benjamin Frederick, Romelle Donovan (should he sign on a permanent basis) Tony Yogane and Iwan Morgan have every chance of making the grade at the club.
Extending the contracts of the likes of Norgaard, Hickey, KLP and Damsgaard also protects our negotiating position and demonstrates a mutual confidence and desire on the part of players and club alike to share in further progress and success.
Let’s end on another positive: The Athletic has just conducted a Premier League fan satisfaction survey and 73.4% of Brentford fans were very satisfied with how the season went – the fifth highest figure in the League. The remaining 26.1% were harder to please and were merely satisfied with last season.
Maybe we can improve upon these figures next season, which promises to be yet another one of high excitement, drama, success and pure entertainment value.
Thanks to the players, ownership, board, management, coaching and support staff and everyone else involved with the club for making the 2024/25 season such a memorable one.
Greville Waterman