Brentford finished the last season 22/23 in 9th place and spent a productive season with unbelievable results against giant clubs. They got one win each over Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham, and two wins in two games against the defending champions Manchester City. They are truly “bees” that suck up points from other clubs. How can Brentford fight well against big clubs? It is because of the efficiency-oriented soccer that coach Thomas Frank sticks with.
Generally, Basically, Brentford forms a 5–2–3 when playing against clubs that are assumed stronger than them and starts with a 4–3–3 when playing against clubs that are assumed weaker than them. These two systems are used differently depending on the clubs they are playing against. Goalkeeper Flakken, who has a reputation for kicking ability as well as Raya, joined from Freiburg. In addition, Nathan Collins joined from Wolverhampton, rejuvenating the defense.
Set-piece is one of the essential elements of their soccer. Most of the team’s goals come from set pieces, and the pattern varies. They scored a total of 19 goals from set pieces throughout the last season (22–23). This ranks first in the overall Premier League in set-piece goals scored last season. Since they scored 59 total goals last season, this means that about 30 percent of their goals came from set pieces. They are confident to set-piece, and all fouls earned in the opponent’s area, even if it is near the center line, is a free kick with both center backs participating. And the biggest weapon is the long throw. They push into the opponent’s area, and when a ball is out of touchlines, Jensen throws a long throw into the penalty area. Again, both center-backs participate in the set-piece, center-backs such as Pinnock or Ben Mee position in the near zone in front of the goal. They are led by Bernard Cueva, a coach specializing in set-pieces, who researches the opponent’s weaknesses in advance and draws out set-pieces patterns from a drawer to execute them. In other words, they take set pieces differently in every game. Set-piece patterns are still being updated, and opponents struggle to counter them because of large numbers of patterns.
However, their set-piece has distinct characteristics. It is very rare to attempt a heading shoot directly from a corner kick or free kick, mostly a player on the near side slightly touches the ball with a head from a corner kick, and a player on the far side pushes the ball to the goal.
Why do they stick to this set-piece? The reason is very simple. If they simply attempt a heading shot from a corner kick, the ball is in the air for approximately 2 seconds from the time the kicker kicks the ball to the header. During those 2 seconds, the opposing defense and goalkeeper can predict the trajectory of the ball and prepare to fisting or clearing. However, if the ball is deflected by a player at the near post, the trajectory and speed of the ball change at the moment, forcing the goalkeeper and defenders to make a split-second decision and take action, even if they are preparing inside the penalty area. This set piece can also be a trajectory of the ball that is physically impossible to react to. In short, deflecting the ball at the near side allows the unpredictable ball to be distributed near the goal. This often results in the ball being distributed in front of an athletic player waiting on the far side, such as Ivan Tony or Wissa, to score.
Risk Management is the most important aspect for Brentford. Their number one priority is to avoid conceding goals, and they normally avoid plays that could lead to lost balls, they do not take risky ways in build-up and pressing.
This is also evident in the use of players, as coach Frank tends to pick up players who show dedication, pressing back, and strength at duels. In building up, he avoids forcing passing on the defensive line and avoiding long balls without intention, always opting for certainty (to avoid getting short counters). Basically, players position widely on the pitch, get into the opponent’s area with long balls, pass the ball on the defensive line, including anchor Noagaard, and take time to find the right moment to put in a quality ball. When they carry the ball in the penalty area, a cross is thrown into the vital area from the side as if set-piece by Jensen and a player on the side.
Just because it is risky does not mean they do not press. The team presses strongly when the opponent builds up. Central midfielder Janelt often moves up a row to forward and pressing in a 4–4–2 man-to-man style, or sometimes with anchor Noagaard marking the opposing anchor. However, when pushed into their own area, they form a solid 4–5–1 block and fill the space in the middle. In this way, they manage risk and are careful in attack and defense, keeping the game clean sheet and scoring 1 goal at their best weapon set-pieces. This is their ideal game.
You cannot see the cutting-edge tactics of today’s soccer such as Arsenal and Manchester City in the Brentford game, however, we must remember that tactics are only a means to winning. In soccer where results are everything, their soccer scoring a goal at a set piece, forming a block, and defending it well sounds outdated and goes against the current times. But their soccer is rational and efficient in contradiction to beautiful soccer.
Brentford is in the Premier League, but to be honest, it is not as well funded as other clubs. It is fair to say that it is the ability of manager Thomas Frank to finish in the middle of the Premier League standings with limited resources and players. Thomas Frank is quite good at coaching players over time and instilling his philosophy and has produced a number of star players, including Watkins in Aston Villa or Benrahama in West Ham.
Yoan Wissa is one of them. Last season, he was a reserve for Ivan Toney, often starting from the middle of the game, but after Toney was suspended at the end of the season due to a gambling scandal, Wissa took over his role. Last season, Tony scored a total of 20 goals, it seemed inevitable that his suspension would cause the team to suffer, but thanks to Wissa’s contribution, the team won all 3 last games until the last game of the season. As a result, the team finished the season in 9th place, above the middle of the table.
When Wissa joined the team, he seemed to be more suited to playing as a winger because of his extraordinary running ability, however, now he is clearly scoring more goals by using his athletic ability, such as when he pushes a deflected ball from a set piece like Tony. Whether his conversion to striker was in coach Franck’s vision from the beginning or whether found his aptitude throughout the season, either way, it has proven his ability to coach players to take advantage of their characteristics. In a pre-season interview, he also mentioned that he expects further development from the young players, Hickey, Damsgaard, Schade, and Luis Potter, so it will be remarkable to see how they fit in and what kind of growth they show.
In the first year of promotion to the Premier League, the 21–22 season, the team finished 13th. Last season the 22–23 season, their second year in the Premier League, they finished 9th. They are slowly climbing up the rankings, and their goal this season must be to get a ticket to the European competition. But as well as them, there are already several dark horses that stand out in the premier league, with Newcastle qualifying for the Champions League and Brighton in the Europa League. Brentford’s advantage over these teams is that they have extremely good records against big clubs. In other words, they have a good chance of qualifying for European competition as long as they do not lose their points to clubs that are low in the table.
Thank you for reading.
Koyo