Ipswich Town are back on the road this weekend as they take on Brentford in the Premier League. Alex Jones takes a look at the Bees.
The journey up
Brentford aren’t known as a Premier League club. Historically, they’ve been a side that’ve lingered towards the bottom end of the football pyramid.
Their trajectory has changed in the last 10 years or so, which is largely down to Matthew Benham. The businessman, who made his money in the gambling industry alongside Brighton owner Tony Bloom, began investing in the club in 2005. 12 years later, full control of the club was transferred to him when they were in the third tier.
Days after completing the takeover, he purchased land next to Kew Bridge train station and pledged to build a new stadium. That project was completed in 2020.
On the pitch, they secured promotion up to the Championship five years earlier and had continued to grow, largely due to their data-driven approach of signing under-valued players and selling them on for profit – widely known as a ‘moneyball’ approach. It helped them reach the Premier League in 2021, beating Swansea City in the play-off final.
The Bees have since established themselves as a top-flight side, having finished 13th, ninth and 16th in their three seasons at the level. Now, they’re looking to kick on once again.
The GTech Community Stadium is a tough place to go. This season, they’ve won three, drawn one and lost four of their opening eight games after a tough start. Those three wins have all come at home, where they boast the second-best record in the division. They’ve only lost there once since February 17th.
Life after Toney
Ivan Toney was a big part of Brentford’s success, signing from League One side Peterborough United in 2020. In his first season at the club, he bagged 31 league goals in 45 games, helping them secure a place in the Premier League for the first time in their history.
The striker took to the top flight well, registering 12 goals in his maiden campaign and 20 in his second, earning an England call-up. Things started to spiral downhill after that, as he was given an eight-month ban for betting offences that ruled him out until January 2024. When he returned, nothing quite felt the same. Whether previous links to the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United turned his head remains to be seen.
In the end, he never made that step-up to a top-end Premier League team. Instead, he moved to Saudi Arabia, joining Al-Alhi for a reported fee of £40 million at the end of August. Brentford had to find a way of surviving without him, although they managed to do just that when he was serving his suspension the season before.
Brazilian striker Igor Thiago, who was brought in from Club Brugge, seemed the most likely replacement, but he suffered a meniscus injury in his pre-season debut that ruled him out for the rest of 2024. Fellow new signing Fabio Carvalho has stepped up in his absence, while wide man Bryan Mbeumo has taken the mantle as Brentford’s star man. The 25-year-old has bagged six goals in eight games so far this season.
Thomas Frank’s ‘secret sauce’
What makes Brentford so good at what they do? They’re rarely among the biggest spenders in the division and don’t have the biggest names, but manage to punch above their weight year-on-year.
Manager Thomas Frank is aware that their use of data and statistics is important, but he’s wary of how the club uses it, prioritising another aspect that he thinks is crucial to their success.
“We use it [data] a lot, especially for the recruitment, so we have a bigger pool of players to look at,” he told the Sports Agents podcast.
“The data is one thing. When you get data, less is more. We need to be very aware of what we look into, what kind of data we use.
“I use data sometimes to tell the right narratives to the players. Let’s say xG [expected goals], shots on target, high-intensity runs or whatever. I use it for narrative, but also as an extra narrative to analyse the game.
“Why is it that we’re conceding too many goals, or that we’re so good on crosses? Let’s say we’re good on crosses – we back it up by saying that we’re one of the teams who has four players in the box for every single cross, and there’s a clear stat for that.
“Data is good, but the key ingredient in our secret sauce is the culture and the togetherness. I think that’s where we stand out in many ways.
“It’s a clear strategy, a clear alignment from top to bottom, good people working hard, the same direction every single day.
“Then the people up top do something very, very rare in football. They make good, sensible, calm decisions.
“We also have a no d***heads policy. We can only have good people, and the good news is that most people are very good. Some have just not been guided well enough.”
Fast starts and set pieces
Brentford are an innovative club who try to find new ways of winning football matches. They know that, if they can start fast and get themselves a goal ahead as quickly as possible, they can set the tone for the match.
They scored inside the opening minute in three consecutive games against Manchester City, Tottenham and West Ham. In the fourth, they scored the opener in the second minute against Wolves.
“Of course, there is planning that goes into it,” Frank said. “We have a kick-off strategy and we tweak it from game to game.
“As a mindset and philosophy, we like to get straight on the front foot and be positive. There are some margins going our way, of course, but I want to give credit to the coaching staff and the players.”
Who’s the mastermind behind this approach? None other than former Ipswich loanee Keith Andrews, who’s the set piece coach at Brentford.
Andrews looked beyond the standard options of corners and free-kicks. He targeted kick-offs, as well as throw-ins. In fact, per Twenty3 data, the Bees have recorded the highest xG from throw-ins in the Premier League since 2021/22 with 12.76. Second in the division is Arsenal, with 2.85. There’s a huge gap, which the West Londoners have exploited well.
Per Sky Sports, the approach sees centre-back Kristoffer Ajer used as a target-man from the kick-off, with four attacking players jumping on the second ball to win possession and trying to create an opportunity – matching the ‘fast and aggressive’ style of play that Brentford want to implement.
Andrews' role may seem unique, but just eight of the 20 Premier League clubs don't have a first-team set-piece coach. Brighton have two - one for defending and one for attacking, while Ipswich have Mark Hudson.
Team news
Brentford do have quite a few injury issues going into this game.
Thiago, as mentioned, is ruled out with his meniscus injury. He’s set to be joined by Aaron Hickey [hamstring], who hasn’t played a competitive game in 12 months. Fellow full-back Rico Henry [knee] has also been sidelined for an extended period of time, although both players will hope to be back in action soon.
Midfielders Mathias Jensen [calf] and Josh Dasilva [knee] are out as well, while youngster Gustavo Gomes [leg] is still waiting to make his debut after arriving from Gremio.
The big question mark for the Bees is Yoane Wissa [ankle], who’s a crucial player for them. The DR Congo international picked up a knock against Manchester City last month, but made his return off the bench in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Manchester United. He could be involved from the start this time.
Possible XI: 4-4-2: Flekken; Van den Berg, Collins, Pinnock, Ajer; Damsgaard, Norgaard, Janelt, Lewis-Potter; Mbeumo, Wissa
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