The Brentford Saga

[CakeWalker]

-
GAME SEVENTEEN

Brentford's trip to Molineux would see Kevin Schade and David Raya return to the the starting lineup, whilst Ivan Toney who had been out injured returned to the bench after being sidelined with a sprained near for the last month. The Bees were hoping to maintain their unbeaten run having not lost in the last four games.

Bench: Strakosha [GK], Damsgaard, Pinnock, Janelt, Dasilva, Mbeumo & Toney

| Wolves 1 - 0 Brentford |
- Wolves hit the crossbar, but the ball bounces back in the path of Mouthinho (Wolves' Captain) for an easy header into an empty net. [22min]

- Bentley pulls off a stunning save to deny a certain goal from Schade, with the former Brentford keeper showing perhaps why his former team would regret not keeping him in the team. [32min]

| Half Time 1-0 |
Brentford had more attacking ball, but just not turning chances into goals.

- Wissa off - Mbeumo off (RW) | Rodriguez off - Dasilva on [61min]

| Wolves 1 - 1 Brentford |
- Schade sprints down the pitch and draws in the keeper, before passing backward and cross the box to Mbuemo for an easy tap in. [65min]

- Norgaard off - Janelt | Jensen off - Damsgaard on [73min]

- Hernandez off - Toney on (Returns from injury) | Formation turns in a 4-5-1 Attack formation. [80min]

| Wolves 1 - 2 Brentford |
- Toney score an easy goal from a pass from Dasilva in injury time off the bench. [91min]

| Wolves 1 -3 Brentford |
- Schade crosses the ball in, with Damsgaard just have to direct the ball forward just about a metre off the line. [94min]

| Full Time Wolves 1 -3 Brentford |
Two goals in injury time prove to be the difference, in what originally looked like it might have been draw for the Bees. Brentford now undefeated in five match and have really turned their fortunes around.

+ + + + +

Lee Kang-In currently of Mallorca would be approached by Brentford, with the 21yr old South Korean potentially joined the Bees after the Spanish side accepted a £13m + Jansson in a player exchanges. However, the deal would fail as they wouldn't come to an agreement on wages.

Italian hot prospect Giordano set to join Swiss side BSC Young Boys on a six month deal at the start of the January, with the 17yr old having scored on his pro debut against Leeds United.​

 

[CakeWalker]

GAME EIGHTEEN

Tottenham's visit to the Gtech would see Brentford experiment with a new formation, playing a 4-3-3 with a False 9. Toney's return from injury would see him drop in a CF role, with Schade and Damsgaard taking role as attacking wingers to add the Bees more speed on the flank. This would allow for the side to drop to just four defenders with Henry and Hickey taking on more traditional defensive roles.

Kevin Schade was becoming an ever regular member of the starting eleven for Brentford as of late, that even the likes of Hernandez and Wissa found themselves found themselves placed on the bench behind the young German talent. Schade would comment ahead of the contest, that he hoped that Brentford would opt to turn his loan into a permanent one and that he was really enjoying plying his trade in West London.

Bench: Strakosha [GK], Hernandez, Wissa, Pinnock, Roerslev, Janet & Dasilva

| Brentford 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur |
- Henry runs down the wing and crosses the ball in to Toney, who smashes it into net first time on the volley, just to the right of the keeper. [37min]

| Half Time 1-0 |
- A very close first half, with Toney looking great back from injury and firing all full cylinders. Both sides have six shots at goal each.

| Brentford 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur |
- Spurs finally break through and score a goal of their own as Hojbjerg score with a cheeky back heel that catches Raya off guard.
Henry off - Roerslev on | Ajer off - Pinnock on [63min]

- Schade receives a yellow card after a tough tackle on Son, that could easily have been a red. Thomas Frank decides to substitute Schade not willing to risk going down to ten men.
Schade off - Wissa on [66min]

- Rodriguez off - Dasilva on [77]

| Full Time Brentford 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur |
Hard fought draw between two teams playing a high intensity battle and it is clear that Brentford are really progressing to be a potential real threat this season, and have put their poor run very much to bed.

+ + + + +

Jerome Boateng who had spent a majority of his career for Bayern Munich, but had joined French team Olympique Lyonnais last season. The senior defender was being targeted by Brentford, and with a transfer offer of £2.25 being accepted it seemed that the former German International may be bound for Brentford. It would be announced that contractual talks wouldn't be attempted until the opening of the transfer window, with it likely that sales of current players were needed in order for capital to be available to secure Jerome's services. ​

 

[CakeWalker]

GAME NINETEEN

The trip to St. Mary's would mark the mid-point of the season, with Brentford at this point having played everyone apart from Southampton in the league. The Bees would once again decide to use the 4-3-3 False 9 formation, with it seeming to offer some depth to the attacking driven team that enjoyed having five defenders towards the back.

Bench: Strakosha [GK], Hernandez, Wissa, Pinnock, Roerslev, Janet & Jansson

| Southampton 1-0 Brentford |
- Soton scores first on the break, from a cross and the ball is hit first time by Onuachu to take the lead [34min]

| Half Time 1-0 |
The game is close, but Southampton seem to have an answer for everything that Brentford bring to the table.

- Schade tackled in the box for penalty, Toney hits the penalty right in the middle and it is saved by the keeper. [53min]

| Southampton 2-0 Brentford |
- Ajer makes a terrible back pass and it is intercepted by Onuachu who has complete control of the situation and scores past a caught out Raya for his second of the game. [64min]

- Damsgaardd off - Wissa on | Hickey off - Roerslev on [65min]

- Schade off - Hernandez on | Rodriguez off - Janelt on [83min]

Southampton 2-1 Brentford
Toney scores with a great first time hit after a great a pass from Hernandez. [88min]

| Southampton 2-2 Brentford |
Jensen scores in injury with a beautiful goal that Southampton's keeper manages to get his fingers tip to, but the ball carries on travelling into the net. [93min]

| Full Time Southampton 2-2 Brentford |
Brentford draw their second game in a row, but show true resilience and their famous never give up attitude that prompts the fans to hum the theme for 'The Great Escape' at the end of the game.

+ + + + +

Jensen would comment that scoring a goal that stopped your team from losing a game was always a great feeling. The Dane would further comment that he felt that the direction of the club continued to be up and up and that although there was still another nineteen games to go if they kept pushing themselves up the table perhaps they could be the first ever Brentford team to play in Europe if they did things right. ​

 

[CakeWalker]

GAME TWENTY

The first time these two West London rivals had met, it had ended in a goalless draw between both side at Craven Cottage with David Raya having played a massive part in preventing 'The Whites' from taking the win. This time round, Brentford would come into the contest with a very different mindset and were on a great run of form.

Ben Mee who was still in his first season with the club would comment ahead of the game that after speaking with some of the home faithful he understood that there were a number of rivals that Brentford had, but Fulham and QPR were very much the two teams that the club always wanted to beat. Mee would state that he really got behind the passion of the fans and that this time round he intended on being a crucial factor in taking all three points from Fulham.

Bench: Strakosha [GK], Hernandez, Wissa, Pinnock, Roerslev, Janet & Jansson

| Brentford 0-1 Fulham |
- Fulham score a wonder goal from Vinicius from 30 yards out that left Raya stunned as he was at full stretch, but unable to do anything as the ball goes in the top bins. [35min]

| Half Time 0-1 |
It is a tough first half for Brentford, with the jeers and the taunts from the away close to obnoxious.
Norgaard off - Pinnock on [CDM]

| Brentford 1-1 Fulham |
- Toney takes his time and smashes the ball into side of the net, that leaves the goalie on his ass unable to even move in time. The goal is Toney's 10th goal of the season in the Premier League. [54min]

- Jensen off - Dasilva on | Ajer off - Janelt on [ Henry off - Roerslev on [65min]

| Brentford 2-1 Fulham |
- Ben Mee gets high at the front post and scores a great header that floats over the keeper and goes into the far corner of the goal and ends up being Mee's first goal for the club and it couldn't come at a more important time. [66min]

- Toney off - Wissa on [76min]

| Brentford 3-1 Fulham |
- Wissa passes to Schade into the box, with the German youngest using his raw power beat the keeper and push Brentford further ahead. [85min]

| Brentford 4-1 Fulham |
- Damsgaard counters and rather than being greedy and shoot, just passes to Wissa who slams it into an open goal. [93min]

| Full Time Brentford 4-1 Fulham |
Schade is nominated as Man of the Match, and the victory means that the club claimed four points over their rivals.

+ + + + +

Thomas Frank would not hide his delight at having claimed a famous victory of Fulham, which evoked memories of the club famous 4-1 victory away from home in Brentford's first season in the Championship in the 2014/15 season. The victory would also mark an eight match unbeaten run for the Bees that continued to look strong. Frank would be very open, that realistically relegation was no longer something he was worrying about and was already planning for the next season and that as soon as the transfer window opened not only would he be potentially signed a few new players into the squad, but also signing people whose contracts were coming to an end and would be able to join the club at the end of the season as free agents. One journalist would refer to Thomas as "Frugal Frank" which started to trend as a hashtag on various social media platforms.​

 

[CakeWalker]

JANUARY UPDATE #1

After three and a half years with Brentford and helping them earn their place in the Premier League, Bryan Mbeumo departs the club and join Newcastle United for a fee of £11m. Mbeumo had become very popular with the fans, and it was clear that he was going to be missed but as of late had been struggling to get regular first time football.

Zanka also departs the club just two years with the team and although he proved himself as a reliable defender, often found himself not even part of the matchday squad and instead heads to Spain joining his new team Valencia.

The following players would depart the club to begin their loan spells:
- Giordano leaves to join BSC Young Boys till the end of the season
- Finn Stevens leaves to join Dusseldorf till the end of the season
- Lewis-Potter joins Villa till end of the season
- Young-Coombes leaves to join Alanyaspor on two year loan
- Romo leaves to join Dortmund on a two year loan
- Yarmoliuk leaves to join Cagliari on two year loan
Oyegoke leaves to join Cosenza on two year loan

These departures would result in a total of nineteen player being out on loan, with another twenty-four player part of the active squad. From an accountant's point of view it was clear that there was a large volume of players on Brentford's book and sooner or later a number of cuts were going to have to be made whether it was via selling player or simply releasing them from their contracts.

Thomas Frank says the most important day to get deals done for a club is the first day of the transfer window and would inform the press that he is looking to complete and finalize three deals on the 1st January, as well as gave talks with players who will become free agents at the end of the season. Frank says that despite the fact that the club are playing Leicester City today, he will be working all night in order to finalize a number of deals as soon as possible. ​

 

[CakeWalker]

GAME TWENTY-ONE

The last time these two teams meant, Leicester City claimed a 3-3 draw in the dying embers of the game with Santos scoring an equalizer in the last play of the game. It was therefore not surprising that the Bees were really motivated to win the reverse fixture. Josh Dasilva would replace Schade on the RW, whilst Toney would be rest with Hernandez being brought into the team. The Mexican would see himself moved from a CF position, into a ST role with Brentford playing a more traditional 4-3-3 formation.

New signing Jerome Boateng (77) would start the game, with Ben Mee dropped to the bench. It would be confirmed that the German International had signed a two year deal and would wear the #13 for the season (the shirt number previously held by Zanka).

Another signing that would be unveiled and placed directly onto the bench would be LB Jesus Gallardo (75), with the player being versatile and also able to play as both a LM & LW. It would be confirmed that the Bees had paid £4m for the Mexican who had been playing for Napoli and that originally the Italian club had been interested in a direct swap for Frank Onyeka, but the Bees had no interesting in losing the Nigerian CDM. The signing would mean that Gallardo was the fourth Mexican to join Brentford, with it being seen that he was brought in to offer cover and potentially even future competition for Rico Henry. JG had been assigned the #18 jersey number.

Brentford would also sign Portuguese Goalkeeper Claudio Ramos (74) from Porto for a fee of £1.25 and would be very open that Ramos was being brought in to act as a backup keeper and would be placed on the bench for the game. His inclusion would suggest that Thomas Strakosha was no longer part of Frank's long-term plans. Claudio would be given the #34 Jersey. It was noticed that Jansson, Ghoddos and Roerslev were all not present in the matchday squad.

Bench: Ramos [GK], Wissa, Onyeka, Mee, Schade, Janelt & Gallardo


| Leicester City 0-1 Brentford |
- Keeper makes a terrible pass from a goal kick and passes it straight to Hernandez, who scores the easiest goal of his entire career, with a move straight off the training ground. [45+2min]

| Half Time 0-1 |
An even match, with one mistake being the difference maker. Ilan Meslier will want to forget that mistake for the rest of his career.

- Boateng off - Mee on | Henry off - Gallardo on [Gallardo makes his debut for the club. [60min]

- Norgaard off - Onyeka on | Ajer off - Pinnock on | Hernandez off - Wissa on [87min]

| Full Time Leicester City 0-1 Brentford |
A really tight game with both teams have the same amount of the ball, with the difference being the mistake. Hickey MOTM 7.7

+ + + + +

Hernandez would be very open that in football it didn't matter how you scored or how easy it was, all history remembered was that if you scored a goal or if you didn't. "Chicharito" would express some slight frustration of not getting as much game time as he was hoping for when he joined the club, but would also state that he hadn't netted as many goals as he would of liked and that when a young sensation like Schade was running like a greyhound at the races and scoring goals, so it wasn't surprising that he was being forced to watch from the sidelines. Hernandez would confirm that he hadn't signed with the club to retire and get paid for it, and hoped to remain a key member of the squad for as long as possible.​

 

[CakeWalker]

JANUARY UPDATE #2

Brentford decide to pay £4.25m for Schade (71) and use his loan to buy option a whole six months earlier than needed, but with a clear desire to make sure the young talent feels valued and becomes an official member of their team as soon as possible. Contractually Kevin signs a four year contract on a rotation basis at £11.5k per week, but with Schade having scored five goals and having a total of 5 assists during the loan for many fans Schade is already seen as an integral member of the squad.

It is confirmed that Brentford have come to an agreement with Adam Forshaw (currently at Leeds United) that the CDM (73) will join Brentford at the end of the season upon the conclusion of his contract with Leeds and join the Bees on a three year deal. This will mean that Forshaw will play for Brentford for a second spell having previously played for the club between 2011-2014 when the team were still in League One.

Another free agent at the end of season would also be announced, with Finnish star Teemu Pukki (75) agreeing to join Brentford in the summer after five years playing for Norwich City adding some further experience to the forward. Some member of the media would suggests that these were the sort of signings you would expect from a manager worried about being relegated. However, these comments would be dismissed by other who would make the case that both men offered strong backup options for next season without having to rely on any unproven young talent, especially considering the fact that Brentford currently had 19 player out on loan - with some of these player being away from the club for a two year period.

Although it was no surprise, it seemed as if Pontus Jansson's time with the club was coming to an end. The last time the Swedish defender had started for the side had been during the shocking 8-3 loss to Arsenal. Although Pontus wasn't blamed exclusively, Ajer had gone on to be used more regularly and now with the signing of Jerome Boateng it was clear he had become surplus to requirement. This had led to the club accepting a £2.65m offer from Valencia, with it confirmed he had departed the club and would actually be reunited with another form Bees in Zanka.

It would be circulated as a rumour, but later be confirmed by the club that FC Barcelona had approached the club with the intention of purchasing Ivan Toney. However, the club would state that the £24m that had been offered had been taken as an insult and that they would only consider real offers for their star player and low value estimations would simply be ignored.

​

Position​	P​	W​	D​	L​	GF​	GA​	GD​	PTS​
1. Man City​	21​	16​	2​	3​	47​	20​	27​	50​
2. Liverpool​	21​	15​	3​	3​	43​	18​	25​	48​
3. Chelsea​	21​	12​	5​	4​	42​	27​	15​	41​
4. Manchester United​	21​	11​	6​	4​	42​	28​	14​	39​
5. Brentford​	21​	10​	6​	5​	51​	42​	9​	36​

Brentford's improved form that resulted in them jumping back up the table and now find themselves fifth in the league, and finishing third was still a very reasonable aim. Points were made that Brentford were more than capable of faltering again, especially if they played in the same manner to the established teams that they had dropped points to in the first place once again. An alternative point was made that the most amount of points a team had earned and still been relegate from the Premier League (in a 38 game season) had been West Ham in 2002-03 when they had finished 18th with 42 points. The case was that as long as Brentford earned themselves seven more points, then surely they would have prevented any chances of suffering from second season syndrome and secure their place in the league for a third year in a row.​

 

[CakeWalker]

FA CUP THIRD ROUND

It would be confirmed that in the third round of the FA Cup, that Brentford would travel away to Loftus Road to face their biggest and most bitter rivals Queen's Park Rangers with their no love lost between either side and what had turned into a bitter feud after QPR had attempted to buy Brentford's ground in 1967 which would have caused the Bees to go out of business. The dislike that Brentford fans held for QPR had only grown with time and even those who hadn't been born in the 60s or even knew people during the time, had come anywhere near close to stop hating their West London rivals.

Thomas Frank would use the 5-3-2 formation for the game, with Trevitt and Crama returning to the starting lineup for the first time since the Carabao Cup, with Gilbert finding a place on the bench. Wissa would be made captain, whilst Ramos would make his debut for the club in-between the sticks. Ghoddos who was rumoured to be leaving the club after having less than six months left on his contract would be playing up front.

Josh Dasilva would be one of five players involved in the matchday squad that had lost to QPR in the last game between both clubs in February 2021. Josh would be very open in stating that beating Fulham had been important to the club, but getting a victory over QPR and knocking them out of the cup would make or break their season and he wasn't going to allow for the fans that had put so much faith in him and the rest of the squad to become the butt of jokes until the side next faced each other again and promised that West London was red and not blue.

Bench: Strakoska [GK], Damsgaard, Boateng, Jensen, Schade, Norgaard & Gilbert

| QPR 0-0 Brentford |
- Onyeka gets yellow card for tough tackle to Ilais Chair on the edge of the box giving Rangers freekick, that almost leaves to a scuffle between both teams. [21min]

| QPR 0-0 Brentford |
- On the break Gallardo almost scores, but the LB hits the left post. [35min]

| QPR 0-0 Brentford |
- Pinnock fouls Jamal Lowe in the box, and get a yellow card whilst QPR are awarded a penalty. [40min]

| QPR 1-0 Brentford |
- Roberts scores the penalty as Ramos dives the wrong direction, and the QPR fans are loving beating their rivals with their fans making a lot of noise. [41min]

- Field off the pitch after being injury following a run in with Dasilva, with Dozzel coming on. [43min]

| Half Tine 1-0 |
The rivalry between both teams is intense and extra steward and police arrive at the ground at the break with trouble being expected after the game.

| QPR 2-0 Brentford |
- Roberts scores an easy second and catch Brentford off guard, with the fans going crazy in the home ends [50min]

- Ghoddos off - Gilbert on | Crama off - Boateng on [59mim]

- Balogun (QPR) shown yellow for a dirty tackle on Gilbert. [63min]

- Wissa off - Schade on | Dasilva off - Damsgaard on [70min]

| QPR 2-1 Brentford |
- Schade speeds down the right wing and passes at the last minute to Gilbert to draw in the keeper and shows real class with the assist. [73min]

- Dykes (QPR) shown a yellow card for bad challenge. [76min]

| QPR 2-2 Brentford |
- Gilbert scores a second and rockets in a pass with the left foot to bring the scores level. [82min]

| Full Time QPR 2-2 Brentford |
QPR force their rivals to really work in the match, and fans are left wondering if the reserves was the best option to face QPR.
QPR 6 shots - 19 Brentford. Gilbert earns a MOTM rating of 8.1, despite only coming on in the second half of the game.

+ + + + +

The game would have been Alex Gilbert's third appearance for the club having played in the FA Cup twice before the Bees when the club was in the Championship. The two goals would be the first of his processional career and to get them against the team's biggest rivals had already earned himself in folklore. Gilbert in post-match interview would be very open that when he had left West Brom's youth setup in 2020 and joined the Bees it hadn't taken him too long to realize how much the fans didn't like QPR and so getting two goals against them and keeping the Bees in the cup had been a special moment and there was nothing he wanted more than to be part of the team that would knock QPHAHA out of the cup.

​

 

[CakeWalker]

JANUARY UPDATE #3

There had been a potential transfer departure of the Swedish born Iranian international Saman Ghoddos to MLS side Los Angeles FC, but instead it would emerge that Ghoddos had instead come to an agreement with Saudi Arabian side Al Shabab that would see him join them at the end of the season. After four years with the club, Saman would be candid that he had enjoyed playing in England and definitely felt it had helped him secure a position in the Iranian national team, but that he had been unable to get enough regular football and needed to move, but would continue to give his all until the very last day of employment.

In news that many would find surprising, it would be announced that peripheral Roma squad player Stephan El Shaaraway RW (77) would join Brentford in the summer as a free agent. This future signing would generate a lot of buzz, with El Shaarway having struggled with injuries throughout his career but if he managed to find form would be a really great addition to the Brentford lineup. The question now was growing though, who was now surplus to requirement?​

 

[CakeWalker]

FA CUP THIRD ROUND REPLAY

Brentford Assistant Manager Claus Norgaard would express his sheer frustration with the FA for allowing to be walked over by the TV Network, with Brentford and QPR forced to play each other only four days later - with the reason being Brentford's matches couldn't be moved around because of some of their opponents have European commitments that couldn't be changed. For this reason it wasn't surprising that there were some clear changes to the formation with a number of play not having had enough time to rest and recover. The team would move to a 3-5-2 formation, with it being the first time the Bees had so few defenders at the back and so their certainly a level of frustration present within the Brentford setup.

Bench: Strakosha [GK], Damsgaard, Boateng, Toney, Hickey, Norgaard & Jensen

| Brentford 0-0 QPR |
- Dykes (QPR) injured and forced to leave the field injury - replaced by Chair. [9min]

| Brentford 1-0 QPR |
- Schade crosses in the ball and Gilbert smacks it into the net, meaning he has scored once again against QPR and the third time in less than five days. [21min]

- Dasilva yellow card for an earlier challenge on Roberts. [36min]

| Half Time 1-0 |
A tough and tight game between both teams, with it having an old school derby vibe.
Rodriguez off - Norgaard on

- Wissa off - Damsgaard on | Schade off - Hickey on (RM) [56min]

| Brentford 1-1 QPR |
QPR score with powerful shot from Chair that leaves Ramos helpless and unable to even move from the spot he was standing in. [59min]

Chair fouled by Janelt, who gets yellow card in a tough challenge. [62min]

| Brentford 1-2 QPR |
- Wilcox scores a second, by being on the far post without a defender in sight and catches Brentford sleeping. [71min]

| Brentford 2-2 QPR |
- Hickey shoots and it is parried by the keeper, with Ghoddos tapping in the ball with ease to bring the home side back into the game. [76min]

| Brentford 3-2 QPR |
- Dasilva passes the ball to Hickey who side-foots the ball in take the lead. [89min]

- Janelt get a second yellow and gets sent off for a tackle on Chair, that stops a potential goal scoring opportunity. [91min]

| Full Time Brentford 3-2 QPR |
Two tough games, with both sides very close and Brentford forced to to play hard to beat their rivals.

+ + + + +

Brentford fans would celebrate the victory and make a large amount of noise about in the Gtech, with the sounds being heard in all the neighbouring areas with the post-match celebration for Bees fans going long in to the night. So much so that Brentford fans probably didn't even know that they would be no playing Bristol City in the 4th Round.​

 

[CakeWalker]

GAME TWENTY-TWO

Prior to the game at the Gtech some more team business would be finalized. Swedish Academy Dennis Olsson CF (61) would be promoted to the first team and be the second player of the season to leave the Brentford Junior ranks. Olsson would be joined by Mads Bidstrup (73) with the CDM returning from FC Nordsjaelland with his loan spell being ended early by Thomas Frank with it being expected that the young Danish talent would be included in first team action and would be placed immediately on the bench of the matchday squad as Brentford would return to using the 4-3-3 False 9 to face Newcastle.

Bench: Ramos [GK], Hernandez, Wissa, Boateng, Onyeka, Bidstrup & Gallardo

| Brentford 1-0 Newcastle |
Toney is found in space by Jensen with a sumptuous pass, and he smashes the ball into the bottom left corner that leaves Pope helpless. [8min]

| Brentford 1-1 Newcastle |
- Joelinton scores from the corner, with Raya unable to do anything to stop it from going in. [21min]

| Brentford 2-1 Newcastle |
- Schade scores almost straight away after charging down the wing, and just cuts into the middle of the park and scores himself without relying on finding someone to pass to. [24min]

| Half Time 2-1 |
Brentford continue to play strong and attractive football.

- Ajer gives away a penalty for a sloppy tackle on Isak. [59min]

| Brentford 2-2 Newcastle |
- Isak scores the penalty with Raya going the wrong way. [60min]

- Hickey off - Gallardo on | Jensen off - Bidstrup on | Schade off - Wissa on [62min]

| Brentford 3-2 Newcastle |
- Toney finds Bidstrup who beats the offside trap and drill a shot past the keeper to score, on his first match after returning from loan. [70min]

| Brentford 3-3 Newcastle |
- Guimaraes scores against the run of play to level the match.
Toney off - Hernandez off | Norgaard off - Onyeka on [79min.]

- Mbeumo (Newcastle) comes off the bench against his old club, and the fans give him around of applause [87min]

| Full Time Brentford 3-3 Newcastle |
A high intensity draw between both teams, with Brentford now going ten games with having lost a game in the EPL.

+ + + + +

Charles Aranguiz (77) who is currently a CM for Bayer Leverkusen would be announced as yet another player whose services the club had managed to claim on a free transfer, with the Chilean set to join the Bees for two years in the summer with Thomas Frank's nickname of 'Frugal Frank' trending on social media sites for the second day of the transfer window.​

 

[CakeWalker]

GAME TWENTY-THREE

Thomas Frank formation tinkering continues, with a formation of 5-2-1-2 that he refers to the new formation as the "45D". The team continues to use five at the back, but employ a CAM rather than a CDM. Its noted that the False 9, was leaving Toney too deep and not allowing for the wingbacks to focus crosses into the box. Rodriguez, Mee and Henry are rested - with Gallardo and Wissa starting. Bidstrup features on the bench again, whilst young talent Olsson (CF) also is selected in match day squad for first time. Top scoring team Brentford vs. Worst defence Palace is noted, and that the Bees beat Palace 4-0 in the reverse fixture.

Bench: Ramos [GK], Hernandez, Janelt. Dasilva, Onyeka, Bidstrup & Olsson

| Crystal Palace 0-1 Brentford |
- Gallardo crosses the ball in and Schade almost goes horizontal to scissor kick the ball into the back of the net via a near perfect volley. [15min]

| Crystal Palace 0-2 Brentford |
- Toney scores a great goal, after a pass from Wissa beats the keeper at his near post in a perfectly placed shot with it being hard to even get past the keeper from his position. [29min]

| Crystal Palace 0-3 Brentford |
- Schade tricks the keeper with a dummy kick, before slamming it into the side at the end of the half. [45+2min]

| Half Time 0-3 |
Ajer off - Janelt on (CB) - Janelt a very versatile player and a great member of the team coming off the bench most games.

| Crystal Palace 0-4 Brentford |
- Wissa charges into the box but rather than shoots, backheels the ball back towards the D with Norgaard smashes into the low right hand corner with a captain’s finish and his first goal of the season. Show potential of being further up the filed instead of in CDM. [50min]

- Wissa off - Dasilva on (CAM) | Jensen off - Onyeka on (CM) [60min]

- Norgaard off - Bidstrup on [71min]

| Crystal Palace 0-5 Brentford |
- Schade breaks after a corner and sprints down the pitch, and pulls the keeper towards him before changing to his left foot and curling it low and around the keeper for this third of the game. Ends up being his last touch of the game as he is called towards the sidelines..

Schade off - Olsson on | The Swedish Academy graduate makes his debut for the Bees. [80min]

| Full Time Crystal Palace 0-5 Brentford |
Brentford dominated the game, with Schade really impressing with a hat trick in the game.

+ + + + +

Norgaard speaks to the press that he expects Bidstrup to start in the next few games, and that Mads has shown really improvement since returning from his loan spell. The Brentford Captain would make the point that there was many benefits for a player to go out on loan, and Mads had returned with passion and hunger that was infectious and he looked forward to playing alongside the youngster in the weeks to come.​

 

[CakeWalker]

FA CUP FOURTH ROUND

The 5-3-2 formation is optioned for the cup once again, with Bidstrup taking on the role of captain for the clash. With the only noticeable first team player involved in the squad being Ethan Pinnock. Franks reveals that he wants to see the 2nd XI get a lot lot of goals and that advancing in the Cup is the only result that would be acceptable and without being rude about his opponents, really felt there was a large gulf between both teams. Gilbert returns to the side having scored three goals over both matches against QPR in the last round.

Bench: Strakosha [GK], Olsson, Hernandez, Wissa, Schade, Mee & Dasilva

| Bristol City 0-1 Brentford |
- Trevitt scores an amazing goal from the Bees, by finding the bottom right by hitting just inside the area to give the Bees the lead in stunning fashion. [13min]

| Bristol City 0-2 Brentford |
- After a quick one-two, Damsgaard drops the shoulder and smashes in a second goal in quick succession. [15min]

| Bristol City 0-3 Brentford |
- Gilbert dribbles aroind the entire defence before plucking the ball into the net with a crisp goal. [33min]

| Bristol City 0-4 Brentford |
- Roerslev crosses in the ball with Trevitt heading it in for an easy goal that left the keeper helpless. [38min]

| Half Time 0-4 |
Pinnock off - Mee on | Damsgaard off - Olsson on

| Bristol City 0-5 Brentford |
- Janelt sends a corner in and its headered in cleanly by Ghoddos who climbs over two defenders and impresses by getting considerably high in the air he makes the connection. [60min]

| Bristol City 0-6 Brentford |
- Gilbert sends a through-ball to Olsson who scores his first senior goal for Brentford with pure power. [62min]

- Janelt tackles Conway as the last man and gets a straight red card, with the challenge not needed considering the score line. [69min]

- Bidstrupp off | Dasilva on [70min]

| Bristol City 0-7 Brentford |
- A one-two connection between Trevitt and Gilbert, sees Gilbert score yet another goal in the cup. Now five goals in the cup, in just three games. [74min]

| Bristol City 0-8 Brentford |
- Olsson is strong with the ball and draws defenders towards him, before passing to Gilbert who smashes the ball to complete his hat trick. [88min]

| Bristol City 0-9 Brentford |
- Onyeka scores a rare goal with diagonal precision to add a ninth to the goal tally. [94min]

| Full Time Bristol City 0-9 Brentford |
Clinical performance with their being a massive gulf between both teams.

+ + + + +

Nigel Pearson (Bristol City's manager) would be quite vocal after the game that his side had been left embarrassed by a team of substitutes and benchwarmers and that he don't think he would ever live the shame of this defeat down. Pearson though would congratulate Thomas Frank on creating a superior team and hoped they collected the scalps of a few of the bigger and more established teams this season.​

 

[CakeWalker]

GAME TWENTY-FOUR

It hadn't been too long since both team's had lost played each other, with the reverse fixture at St. Mary's having ended in a draw with Jensen scoring a last minute equalizer to earn Brentford a point. The "45 D" formation would be used once again with Rodriguez and Mee returning to the matchday squad, whilst Janelt would find himself banned due to his red card from the cup game. Based on the style of both teams, this was expected to be another close game.

Bench: Ramos [GK], Hernandez, Rodriguez. Dasilva, Onyeka, Bidstrup & Mee

| Half Time Brentford 0-0 Southampton |
Both teams have exchanged chances, but neither set of strikes have really hit a shot with enough oomph for a goal to be scored. The memorable chances was perhaps a shot from Hickey that was tipped off the bar, as shown in replays during the break.

Wissa off - Rodriguez on (CAM)

| Brentford 1-0 Southampton |
- A perfect cross by Gallardo lands at Rodriguez feet as he only has to connect with the ball on the half volley to put Brentford ahead with perfect link up between both Mexican players.
[50min]

- Hickey off - Onyeka on (RWB) | Jensen off - Bidstrup on [61min]

- Thomas Frank decides to make an alteration and change both the strikers with his final changes of the games.
Toney off - Hernandez on | Schade off - Dasilva on [70min]

- Caleta-Car (Southampton) is shown a second yellow card for a hard tackle from behind on Hernandez and is sent off. [83min]

| Full Time Brentford 1-0 Southampton |
A very tight game, that saw Soton hold their shape even with a man sent off. Brentford are left frustrated and yet still leave with all three points.
​

 

[CakeWalker]

GAME TWENTY-FIVE

Brentford ahead of the Emirates had a point to prove, with their 8-3 loss at the Gtech earlier in the season had been one the lowest point's in the club recent history. Now however, the team was firing on all cylinders and if there was ever a time to even the odd it was now. The Bees were on a thirteen match unbeaten run and with their "45 D" formation proving itself to be a winning formula Brentford were hoping to repeat what they had done in their first season in the Premiership by getting a victory over the Gunners. With Arsenal a total of eleven points Brentford, the advantage was surely in that of the visitors. Ben Mee would return to the CB line, with it being apparent that the best combination was Mee, Ajer and Pinnock at the back - although Boateng had proven himself as a great asset in offering coverage and a second option for Frank his joining the club.

Bench: Ramos [GK], Hernandez, Damsgaard, Boateng, Onyeka, Dasilva & Janelt

| Arsenal 1-0 Brentford |
- Arsenal score from a corner, with Pau getting high on the far post and leaving Raya little chance of stopping the ball. [16min]

| Arsenal 2-0 Brentford |
- Arsenal score a second with great triangle passing in the Bees half before Thomas Partey smashes a second in for the Gunners. [25min]

| Arsenal 2-1 Brentford |
- A corner from Jensen goes to Schade who closer to the near post, but connect with a floating header that ends up going out of Ramsdale's reach and towards the other side of the goal for the German's 10th goal of the season. [44min]

| Half Time 2-1 |
- Schade off - Damsgaard on (with Schade looking like he might have hurt himself, and is subbed off just in case it is more than a knock).

- Hickey off - Onyeka on | Henry off - Janelt on [65min]

- Ajer carded with a yellow for a bad tackle on Jesus
Ajer off - Boateng on [79min]

- Jensen off - Dasilva on [89min]

| Full Time Arsenal 2-1 Brentford |
Brentford unbeaten run finally comes to an end, and the club lose to Arsenal for the third time this season - although the level of improvement is clear having only lost by a one goal margin

+ + + + +

Jerome Boateng would be open about his time since joining Brentford and would admit that until the team had been promoted he had never heard of the club, but that joining the Bees had offered him a new challenge in the latter stages of his career. He would be frank that losing to Arsenal and seeing the side's unbeaten run had been disappointing for the squad but there seemed a real belief within the dressing room that qualifying for Europe could be a real possibility. Boateng would offer high praises for young talent Kevin Schade for scoring ten goals in the EPL already in his first season, and that he high hopes that Kevin could prove to be future talisman for the International side in years to come.​