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Brentford F.C. has not been too common of a name in the Premier League table. That's hardly surprising when one considers that they haven't played in the top flight division of English football since 1947!
The Bees were relegated to the fourth division in 1998. Following plenty of ups and downs, they were able to make their way to League 1 after the 2004-05 season. A decade later, they made it to The Championship. And finally, after seven years of trying, they were promoted to the Premier League in 2021.
With analytical and passionate leadership steering the ship, it's been quite a journey for a club that promises to soar to even greater heights in the years to come.
Keeping that in mind, let's look at five things that could make Brentford a strong contender in the midfield battle.
#1 Ivan Toney
25-year-old Ivan Toney was one of Brentford's most outstanding players last season and he played a huge role in their Premier League promotion. The Englishman was the top scorer in the Championship with 31 goals, also breaking the record for most goals scored in a single season.
Aside from finding the net on plenty of occasions, he even dropped back and made plays for his teammates, adding 10 assists to his name. Brentford manager Thomas Frank has also played an important role in his development. His fans will be relieved by the fact that he still has four years left on his contract. Tony will surely be an important player for them in the upcoming Premier League season.
#2 Brentford's manager Thomas Frank
Thomas Frank played a key role in fulfilling Brentford fans' lifelong dream of competing in the top flight.
Frank's men had a pretty decent start to the season. They sat 11th in the table on October 24 when they went on a 21-game unbeaten run. That helped them clinch third place in the Championship.
Frank's tactics
Frank opted for a 4-3-3 formation for his first-choice in 2020-21 but an injury to Rico Henry in February saw him switch to 3-5-2. In both these setups, the 47-year-old aims to create a central overload and then release the winger in a 1v1 situation. Brentford plays high-paced football, with an attack-minded, possession-based and high-pressing style.
Brentford even had the best championship xGA of 42.26 and the original xGA of 42, which is quite impressive. By comparison, Watford had an xGA of 46.32 and an original xGA of 30. This speaks for their composed and well-shaped defense.
#3 Brentford owner Matthew Benham
Matthew Benham used to be a football gambler, with strong analytical skills and a deep understanding of sports data. He made a considerable amount of money and even started his own betting syndicate - Smartodds.
In 2007, Benham provided a loan of $700,000 to his favorite childhood club, and in 2012, became its owner. He then aimed to improve the club by using his analytical skills and statistical knowledge. To that end, he invested $10 million in a small Danish outfit, FC Midtjylland, and used it to successfully put his ideas into play. He went on to buy the club and employed the same tactics for Brentford as well.
Over the years, Benham has invested around $100 million into the running of the club and it's now worth $300 million. And should they manage to stay on in the Premier League for another season, that will go up to $400 million. This is how he changed the fate of his boyhood club, whose rise was powered by enormous knowledge of data analytics and sports gambling.
#4 A unique transfer approach
Rasmus Ankersen is a key figure in the success enjoyed by Brentford. He was appointed co-sporting director along with Phil Giles in the summer of 2015. Along with Brenham's data analytics knowledge, they gained a reputation for identifying young, unidentified but talented players. They would then go on to develop them before selling them at massive profits.
One such player is Ollie Watkins, who joined the Championship side in the summer of 2017 on a four-year contract for a reported fee of $2.48 million. He played a total of 132 Championship games for the Bees and scored 45 goals. In 2020, he joined Aston Villa for a then club record $38.59 million fee. After joining the Lions, he was reunited with Dean Smith, who served at Brentford from 2015 to 2018.
Ivan Toney was bought for $6.89 million - around $13.78 million with add-ons - and the current market value of the striker is $30.32 million. This is how they stand to make considerable profits via the transfer market and continue to increase their club value.
#5 New signings
Kristoffer Ajer is a Norwegian player from Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. The 23-year-old won the Scottish Premiership, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup with Celtic in 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. He has signed a five-year deal with the newly-promoted side for an initial $18.61 million.
Elaborating on the club's expectations from Ajer, Thomas Frank said:
"He is a player at a good age and we think he will come straight in and be ready to perform in the Premier League. But he also fits the way we want to recruit players and work with them. He can develop as a player and both Brentford FC and Kris can move to a higher level in the coming years."
Brentford FC recently signed West London-born Myles Peart-Harris on a long-term deal from Chelsea.
The 18-year-old was keen to move on from Chelsea in search of first-team minutes as he still had a year left on his contract.
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