What is their financial situation?

The timing of the coronavirus crisis makes Brentford one of the more interesting case studies in the Football League. Primarily, this is because they were set to leave Griffin Park and move into their new stadium at Lionel Road at the end of this season.

Construction of the new stadium has been paused, apart from essential safety work, and it is unclear when it will be completed. Telegraph Sport understands there is hope that the lost time can be regained once construction restarts, and the project is a long way down the line, but this will become increasingly unlikely as the lockdown continues.

In terms of their business model, Brentford have long been limited in revenue because Griffin Park is small. As a result, their business has been heavily supplemented by their work in the transfer market, where they are one of the most shrewd operators in the English game. The impact of the crisis on the market, which is widely expected to shrink in value, could be hugely important.

Brentford’s latest accounts show that their owner, Matthew Benham, has committed at least £114 million to the club, including about £34m in relation to the new stadium. Benham is the owner of Smartodds, which provides research and modelling services to sports gamblers.

Without live sport, the gambling industry has been hard hit. Michael Dugher, the chief executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, said last week that “levels of gambling have plummeted” because of the pandemic.

What are they doing to mitigate the financial impact of coronavirus?

Given their reputation, it was little surprise that Brentford were among the first clubs to reach an agreement with their players over pay. The club said the players have “agreed to defer a significant proportion of their wages” until football resumes, and Telegraph Sport understands that payments will be capped at about £5,000 a week.

In an open letter last week, chief executive Jon Varney wrote: “It is no great secret any club’s most significant expenditure is on player wages and we are no exception.”

A number of non-playing staff have been furloughed, with Varney saying they are “simply unable to carry out their day-to-day duties”.

What is their best-case scenario?

Brentford could soon find themselves in the unusual situation of having two functional stadiums. Documents seen by Telegraph Sport show that the demolition of Griffin Park cannot begin until the construction of a new stadium has been completed and a safety certificate has been awarded.

Brentford will be unable to host test events, but this would not prevent them from playing matches behind closed doors if required. In terms of first-team facilities, they would then have the training ground, Griffin Park and the new stadium as areas from which to operate.

The club has sold more than 6,000 season tickets for next year, including about 1,000 premium season tickets, which will be crucial to increasing their revenues. In a best-case scenario, the sales of these tickets will not be drastically impacted by the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus crisis.

It helps, at least a little bit, that this season has already provided record revenues from sales of replica kits.

What is their worst-case scenario?

In the words of Phil Giles, the co-director of football, player trading is “especially important” at Brentford. “Our commercial revenues now, where we are with Griffin Park, means no opportunity to make money,” he told Telegraph Sport earlier this year.

In its simplest terms, Brentford’s success in the transfer market comes from their ability to buy low (identifying undervalued talent) and sell high (cashing in on their top players). The system is self-sustainable, but a drastic collapse of the transfer market would have an obvious impact. They may be able to buy even cheaper, but the value of their top players would also decrease.

Depending on which estimates you listen to, a player like top scorer Ollie Watkins could be worth half of what he was worth in January. Wages and running costs will need covering, and they will not shrink in proportion to player value, as determined by a weakened market.

Varney has described Brentford as being in the “relegation zone in terms of our commercial income” and a primary part of his role as chief executive is to attract the sponsorships and partnerships that would boost club revenues. A wider economic collapse, clearly, does not help his cause. Meanwhile, Concerns over Benham’s Smartodds business will not go away until live sport returns.