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Brentford have the best chance in their storied history to reach the promised land of the Premier League, and have done so on a limited budget. Without boasting the funds of a club like Leeds, West Brom or even their rivals Fulham, they have managed to quietly assemble an impressive and enjoyable team to watch, both for the neutral and the paying crowds of Griffin Park. With their move to the new stadium mere months away after years of preparation, and a thrilling end to the Championship season looming, could this finally be the year Brentford do it?

Quietly Building an Empire? Picture: @thebfcdrone

Wolves, Aston Villa and Fulham amongst other clubs in the past have utilised their wealthy owners and spent big in order to escape what is arguably the most competitive league in world football, but Brentford have adopted a more modern and intelligent strategy. Using their Scandinavian connections, they have recently signed players both for their First Team and development squads for cut prices, including current first teamers Christian Nørgaard and Mathias Jensen, who are already proving their worth. In their B team, they have developed players such as Mads Bech Sorensen and Marcus Forss, both of which already proving to be impressive players in first team football.

A key part of why Brentford are so successful is down to the hard work of the Late Robert Rowan, the Technical Director at Brentford. Rowan joined the club in 2014, as they were transitioning into being a formidable Championship club. He was vital to the Brentford B team, and his work allowed the club to develop players such as Chris Mepham, who has gone on to play in the Premier League, amongst other impressive youngsters. Even from the outside, it was clear to see that Robert Rowan was well loved and incredibly popular at the club.

Brentford have a board in Rowan’s name dedicated to recognising first team debutants from the B-Team.

As well as developing players internally, Brentford also boast an impressive scouting system. Particularly in France, where players such as Neal Maupay, Said Benrahma and Bryan Mbuemo have been scouted despite relative anonymity outside of their clubs. In a recent Get French Football News article, the Brentford scout in France Brendan MacFarlane discussed how he searches throughout France’s top divisions to find players, and says that Ligue 2 in particular is competitive and “Serves as a perfect development league” due to the travelling the teams have to do, and their impressive tactical understanding. These players are cherry picked by the club, and extensively researched on. The article goes on to say that one of the reasons why Neal Maupay joined the Bees was that he felt the club knew him before he had signed due to their research, and Bryan Mbuemo noted that the club are very accommodating and welcoming.

Often Brentford are criticised for selling their impressive assets. From Andre Gray to Ezri Konsa, the Bees often develop talent until they attract interest from Premier league clubs. Similarly in a sense to Southampton’s model, many have wondered when the so-called bubble will burst. That hasn’t happened.

Due to the esteemed scouting, Brentford have managed to replace their talent with relative ease, and without facing relegation. After receiving an estimated £12 million from Andre Gray’s transfer to Burnley, they then purchased Scott Hogan and Jota, who again were sold on for an impressive profit. The same goes for Neal Maupay, who had a fantastic 2018/19 season before Brighton paid the £20 million price tag demanded by the London club. Now with the partnership of Said Benrahma, Bryan Mbuemo and Ollie Watkins, affectionately nicknamed “BMW”, having the most goals of any attack in the league (as of 17/1/20) it looks like the risk has paid off once again, and this time may result in promotion to the richest league in the world.

An estimation of the profits of Brentford over the years.

So can it happen? Brentford are a joy to watch and are picking up points without any signs of stopping, whilst maintaining a strong core and consistent developmental squad. The question now is whether Brentford can reach the top flight for the first time since before the Second World War, and hit the ground running in a stadium worthy of Premier League status.

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