When the curtain rose on the 2025/26 campaign, little about Brentford’s prospects screamed promise.
In a summer of upheaval the club said farewell to manager Thomas Frank – seven years at the helm, now off to Tottenham – and shipped out a clutch of key performers.
Bryan Mbeumo departed in a £71 million move to Manchester United and both Yoane Wissa and captain Christian Norgaard left for new pastures.
On paper, the Bees looked destined for a battle to retain top-flight status, rather than mid-table consolidation.
And yet, after 11 league games, Brentford sit comfortably in the middle of the pack, 12th at this stage and riding a run of five victories from their last seven games across all competitions.
They have already scored some hugely impressive wins against the so-called big clubs, too.
Key wins such as last weekend’s 3-1 home victory over Newcastle and a 2-0 away triumph at West Ham signal more than survival. Liverpool and Manchester United also number among their big-club scalps.
This is a team that isn’t just surviving but quietly asserting itself.
So how has this transformation from low expectations to impressive over-performance taken place? The answers lie partly in measured recruitment, partly in internal continuity and largely in a culture of calm rather than panic.
In the summer window, Brentford made a headline-making addition by securing Dango Ouattara from Bournemouth for a club-record fee of £42.5 million. This signing was clearly designed to compensate for the loss of Mbeumo’s dynamism out wide.
While the outgoing sum may have raised eyebrows, the incoming replacement was not a gamble but a tactical fit. Ouattara’s debut was telling – scoring on his first start as Brentford upset Aston Villa.
Meanwhile, the club tapped into experience by bringing in Jordan Henderson – the former Liverpool captain and Champions League winner – on a free transfer to replace the leadership vacuum left by Norgaard’s departure.
Henderson may not have the press-headline glamour of a youthful star but his value is underscored by what he brings: leadership, structure and a steady hand in midfield in what could have been a transition year.
Yet this story is not simply one of splashing cash after receiving a major windfall in the transfer market. A number of previously acquired players have stepped up in unusually significant fashion.
For example, German forward Kevin Schade – signed from Freiburg in 2023 for around £22 million after an initial loan spell – has put injury woes behind him and emerged as a lead figure in the attack.
Brazilian striker Igor Thiago – a £30 million signing from Club Brugge in 2024 – has overcome a knee injury that held back his debut campaign to explode this season, registering eight league goals in 11 appearances.
These are the kinds of returns that elevate a club from ‘safe’ to ‘solid’.
Then there is the story of the man entrusted to hold the ship steady.
Keith Andrews was promoted from set-piece coach to head coach in what marks his first senior managerial appointment. Replacing a manager as respected and experienced as Frank with a rookie was a risk, but Andrews’ early results have justified Brentford’s trust in him.
A first win against Aston Villa, courtesy of Ouattara’s goal, in the second weekend of the season set the tone for an attacking, confident side.
It helps that the club’s internal infrastructure – recruitment, analytics, sport-science and development pathways – appear to have functioned seamlessly despite the turnover.
The departures of Frank, Mbeumo, Norgaard and Wissa might have destabilised another club. For Brentford, the transition looks more like a well-executed passing of the baton rather than a panic-buying spree.
They were not panicked into high-risk, high-cost splurges (beyond the Ouattara deal) but rather sought to complement their core with smart acquisitions and trusted younger players who have already been in the system.
Stalwarts such as Mikkel Damsgaard and Nathan Collins continue to deliver — Damsgaard with creativity from midfield, Collins as captain at the back. These players offer baseline stability as the newcomers integrate around them.
The combination of continuity and evolution appears to be doing the job.
And perhaps the most telling ingredient is mindset.
In pre-season, many predictions tipped Brentford to struggle. The loss of so many key figures would have seemed an insurmountable challenge for many mid-table clubs. Polls, pundits and statistical models all pointed towards a relegation scrap.
But the Bees have refused to buy into that narrative. Instead, they have quietly forged a season on their own terms.
The big-game results only reinforce that. That home win against Manchester United, the attacking swagger against Liverpool, the composure away from home – these are not indicative of a side simply aiming to avoid the drop, but of a club with aspiration, even if it remains modest.
The fact that they sit safe, smiling and looking upward at this stage of the season is, in itself, something of a small triumph.
Brentford’s ability to navigate what could easily have been a destabilising summer – manager change, major outgoing transfer deals, departures of key players – is a success built on infrastructure, forward planning and calm.
They are not spending wildly, they are not rebuilding dramatically, they are not panicking. They are doing what they traditionally have done: scan the market sensibly, develop young players, build a culture and let the structure carry the load.
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