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Writer's pictureEwan Worboys

In an amongst it. Brentford continue to crumble.

It was an irons hammering on a miserable Monday evening for the Bees. Brentford collapsed to a deflating 4-2 defeat verses their local London rivals and it appears fans have seen enough. The away end began to empty pass the 65th minute mark as frustrations for the travelling supporters were on full display. Brentford who were demoted to 16th in the league last weekend after Everton's appeal to reduce the point deduction was successful, are now worryingly glancing over their shoulders to those who loiter behind.


Where is it all going wrong for Brentford? After two very promising seasons in the Premier league why is it now Thomas Frank's men find themselves in a relegation scrap?


West ham who prior to this fixture weren't on the best run of form themselves having not won in six games were 2-0 up inside seven minutes at the London Stadium. It's troubling times for Brentford who are leaky at the back and lacklustre up front. Would it be harsh to say Thomas Frank may be running out of ideas, well no one knows what's going on behind the scenes but if performances continue to regress then it's hard to pin a nail on where the Bees will find themselves at the end of this campaign.



Everton who were penalized ten points for breaching financial fair play regulations saw their appeal edge them back up and above Brentford in the Premier league table. The ten points were reduced to six, meaning Everton earned a vital four points to steer themselves clear of the relegation zone. Gary Neville spoke openly on Sky Sports saying "Brentford will know that they have got to still mass another ten or fifth teen points" which does sound like a realistic achievement if they can sort their recent form out.


However, that is where the problem lies, because in relation to form Brentford have now lost 12 out of their last 15 Premier League matches. If you do the Maths, the Bees have only registered 9 out of a total 45 points in 15 games and this makes their positioning in the league far from surprising. Brentford only lost 9 games last season, they have already been defeated 15 times this campaign and there is still 12 games left to be played. This statistic sums everything up, their productivity to get results and usual spark they have to cause a shock seems all but lost.



Ex Brentford icon and current assistant manager to the Brentford B team Sam Saunders quoted in a recent interview with sky "It's going to be tough" in terms of Brentford surviving what is now a growing fear of relegation. Although Saunders believes it will be tough, he did go onto explain the situation in a greater complexity. Saunders who is a Bee through and through is optimistic that the club has both the staff and characters in the squad to overcome these troubles and revive this season to end on a high. He also mentioned about the individuals who are expected to be returning soon and how they can help as it's important to note amongst the sceptical conditions the team find themselves in, they have been hit massively by a string of long-term injuries.


In regards to injuries Saunders is spot on, the squad has never been balanced due to the constant rotation week in week out. Below is a list of the current players who are out through injuries.


  • Ben Mee - Mee is a doubt for the Chelsea game, there is still no confirmation to whether he will be fit to play

  • Ethan Pinnock - Ankle injury, expected back late March

  • Josh Dasilva has undergone knee surgery after collecting an injury in training, unfortunately Dasilva is likely to miss the rest of the season

  • Bryan Mbuemo - Ankle injury, will hopefully return around mid-March

  • Aaron Hickey - Hamstring injury, expected back around mid-May

  • Kevin Schade - Hip injury, hopefully will return in next couple of weeks or days

  • Rico Henry - Knee injury, anticipated to be ACL, will miss the rest of the season



It's a list full of first team starters for the Bees, so you can understand why this season has been so hard. Most of these players suffered their injuries in the earlier games as well, so Frank has been thrown right into the deep end to try and find a functional way of playing football.


Some fans have taken to Twitter and stated their opinion for the club to sack Thomas Frank but that would just be ludicrous. Brentford's from hasn't been great and must improve immediately however, to blame Frank for the rut Brentford are in is beyond silly. This is a manager who nearly qualified his side for Europe last season because of the depth of the players he had available to him.


Brentford are no Manchester City, they cannot field their bench and still compete with the top teams, the run they have been on this season just proves how important the figures out are to the team performing and the way Frank wants to play football. Frank won't want to be playing wingers at wing back but he has had to experiment. I believe Brentford also began the season in a functional mobile 433, whereas now they are being forced to play a disciplined defensive 352. So, there is a lot to consider and ways the season can change to head in a promising direction.



The only other concern in present time for Brentford is the cohesion of the players. There were live images of the players feuding when they conceded the second goal against West ham. Captain Christian Norgaard was seen supposedly trying to calm everyone down and telling them to keep their heads. I believe this is nothing to worry about as all teams have disagreements and Brentford did respond with a Maupay goal. Sky pundit Gael Clichy actually praised the reactions of the players as it proves they care and know their efforts are nowhere near up to standard.


It is important though that through these tough times the players and the manager stick together to try and get back on track. That can all start this weekend when the Bees face Chelsea at home. Brentford have a good record against the blues, so it has the potential to be a fierce contest. Three points would go a very long way for the Bees so they can't afford to start slow again as teams like Luton behind them will remain hungry to survive.





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