Football Season Guide

Coach Thomas Frank led Brentford to a remarkable debut Premier League season, with the Bees finishing 13th against all odds and the Dane being nominated for the Premier League's Manager of the Season award. He kept his team out of trouble all season and even managed to grab a couple of eye-whopping results, beating Chelsea 4-1 at Stamford Bridge and drawing 3-3 with Liverpool on home soil. The team received a huge boost with the arrival of Christian Eriksen, who made an immediate impact after joining on January. However, Eriksen departed Brentford to join Manchester United this summer. The Bees signed talented winger Keane Lewis-Potter to beef up their attack, but most importantly their strengthened their defence with the arrivals of Bologna left-back Aaron Hickey and Burnley solid centre-back Ben Mee. They also signed experienced goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha, who started in goal for various seasons at Serie A side Lazio. Brentford play entertaining football, with their main strength being their ability to adapt to their rivals by playing a back-three, back-four or back-five and being tactically sound when needed. Brentford were dealt a huge blow with Eriksen’s departure. The Bees had successfully adapted their game plan to suit Eriksen’s style of play and their decision to do so worked wonders. With Premier League second season syndrome looming, Brentford may need to find a new leader in their bid to secure safety.