Football News: Team Review - Brentford

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Team Review - Brentford

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League Position: 7th

Ins And Outs

Ins:
Kristoffer Ajer from Celtic
Frank Onyeka from Midtjylland
Yoane Wissa from Lorient
Myles Peart-Harris from Chelsea
Alvaro Fernandez from SD Huesca (loan)
Zanka free agent

Outs:
Halil Dervisoglu to Galatasaray (loan)
Henrik Dalsgaard to Midtjylland
Luke Daniels to Middlesbrough
Emiliano Marcondes to Bournemouth
Patrik Gunnarsson to Viking (loan)
Ellery Balcombe to Burton Albion (loan)

Goalkeepers:

David Raya
Alvaro Fernandez

The emergence of Raya has shown the strength of Brentford's recruitment methods, which has allowed them to pick up and nurture players most other clubs have missed. However they do lack cover in goal, so they will be praying Raya can stay fit throughout the season.

Defenders:

Kristoffer Ajer
Ethan Pinnock
Pontus Jansson
Mads Bech Sorensen
Zanka
Julian Jeanvier
Charlie Goode
Luka Racic
Rico Henry
Dominic Thompson
Mads Roerslev Rasmussen
Fin Stevens

Right now the system they use is covering up for the deficiencies in individual ability they have at the back, though it is inevitable that officials will soon tire of Jansson's antics and he is sure to pick up some unnecessary cards towards the end of the season. Their 'gamesmanship' can only take them so far and they need to make hay while the sun shines as in time other teams will figure out their weaknesses, particularly how to get at the right side, where they lack a genuine defensive presence at wing-back. The back three is making up for that so far, but it is a makeshift solution that can only take them so far without a genuine right wing-back.

Midfielders:

Josh Dasilva
Vitaly Janelt
Frank Onyeka
Mathias Jensen
Christian Norgaard
Mads Bidstrup
Shandon Baptiste
Jan Zamburek
Saman Ghoddos
Myles Peart-Harris

Apart from Onyeka, there is a real lack of quality in this area of the team and even Onyeka is more of a workhorse than a creative influence. At the moment, hard work and physicality is making up for the lack of real class in the midfield. The difficulty they will have in the long term is maintaining the work rate and physical presence in there while also bringing in more quality. Right now they have a workmanlike platform to allow the attack freedom to play, which can work, but it only takes you so far.

Forwards:

Yoane Wissa
Tariqe Fosu
Joel Valencia
Bryan Mbeumo
Sergi Canos
Ivan Toney
Marcus Forss

The strength of this team is in the forwards. They carry a genuine goal threat, something which promoted teams usually struggle with. That should be enough to keep them in the Premier League at the end of the season.

Manager: Thomas Frank

While he did inherit an excellent set up, which was in large part responsible for the club's promotion, Frank has shown this season that he is a very capable coach with the tactical acumen to find a solution to an unbalanced squad. As we have seen many times, most recently with Sheffield United last season, the issue is with being able to get the most out of the team in the long term, once they feel settled in the Prem. Will they be able to continue to work around Canos at right wing-back, despite the Spaniard being completely unsuited to the role? They do have a chance in January to fix the gaps in the squad but the long term future will always be one of make do and mend for Frank, as the club's financial model relies on big money sales. No matter how good a coach he is, Frank can only make that work for so long before things go against him.

Conclusion:

Their excellent recruitment system, with its use of Midtjylland as a feeder club, has enabled them to finally step up to the Prem after years of falling short. Though it did take a decision to move away from an over reliance on pure stats to bringing in scouting of potential targets to add to the numerical data available to enable them to step up. Now they are finally in the 'promised land' of the top flight, after all this time chasing it, they will be looking to build on what they have. So long as they can keep unearthing goalscorers, which seems to be the club's speciality, they should be able to survive. They might need to reconsider their youth set up now they have access to the Premier League's riches. Not that the academy system is anything like ideal, but they are currently showing little sign of having found a better way, just a cheaper one. For now though, they look to be comfortable in the division and set up for an extended stay.

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Written by Tris Burke October 14 2021 13:44:35