This is the time of the year when all football fans can dare to dream. Will this be the season when everything comes together and titles or cups are won, or will all of our dreams be shattered long before the leaves have fallen off the trees with nothing for us to look forward to beyond a long slog to avoid the threat of relegation?
We are all still on a massive high after a season that was surely beyond our wildest dreams with a top nine finish, just missing out on European competition, an unforgettable and fully merited double over Manchester City, the best team in Europe, a 20-goal striker in Ivan Toney, becoming the Champions of West London, defeating the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs, turning the Gtech Community Stadium into a fortress and – Oh, I nearly forgot – thrashing Manchester United 4-0 and sending them home as a demoralised mob with their tails between their legs.
That was then but this is now.
Of course we must keep alive and luxuriate in the fond memories of perhaps our best season in around 85 years, but that counts for nothing as we look ahead to the new season. It is fair to say that given last season’s achievements we are rightfully full of confidence for what lies ahead but we must guard against hubris and not take anything for granted as fans of Leicester City could surely attest!
Firstly, let’s take a look at what has changed since the end of last season. Thankfully the management and coaching staff are unchanged and we will remain under the aegis of Head Coach Thomas Frank, appointed on the 16th October 2018 and now the sixth longest serving manager/head coach in the country. His stock has never been higher with an impressive 44.8% winning percentage at the club. He was linked with several high-profile vacancies last season and perhaps we should become reconciled to the possibility, or even likelihood, that one day the offer that he cannot refuse will come to pass and we will, with regret, have to bid him farewell, so let’s enjoy him whilst we can, reassured by knowing that there will already be a succession plan in place for when that sad day arrives.
There has been some comings and goings amongst the playing staff.
Through the outdoor have gone, Pontus Jansson to Malmo, Mads Bidstrup to RB Salzburg, Halil Dervisoglu to Galatasaray, Saman Ghoddos, Joel Valencia, Alex Gilbert, Tariqe Fosu and Aaron Pressley. Pontus was an inspirational leader who particularly helped change the mindset of the club and laid the foundations for promotion. Bidstrup brought in a high fee but the tantalising thought remains that he might well have had a future at the club, however after starring last season in Denmark the player understandably at the age of 22 wanted regular first team football, something that the club could not guarantee.
Halil was just frustrating. There is a real player in there and he has scored more international goals than any Brentford player in the history of the club but it is crazy that he played a mere 12 times in his four years at the club. He clearly wanted to be anywhere but Brentford and now his wish has been granted. At least we made a profit on him given the loan fees we received but he still has much to prove.
Saman never really found a role or position in the team but could be relied upon to make a solid contribution in several positions whenever called upon and I still remember with delight his last second belly flop against Watford which earned us that crucial Mbeumo penalty winner. Valencia never looked likely to become a first teamer but at least scored a banger away at Reading. Alex Gilbert has moved to Middlesbrough for a large six figure fee and I expect him to make his mark there as he looked so elegant and a real goal threat when playing and skippering the B Team. I expect him to have a really bright future and it is evidence of just how far we have come when a player of his obvious ability could not earn a first team opportunity at the club.
Fosu too excelled in the 2021 promotion winning team but faded out of contention perhaps earlier than some supporters expected. Pressley should do well at Stevenage whose direct style should suit his game We wish them all every success in the future and thank them for their contribution.
Several B Teamers/first team squad members have also been sent out on loan and the promising Ryan Trevitt (Exeter), Matthew Cox and Tristan Crama (Bristol Rovers), Paris Maghoma (Bolton), Fin Stevens (Oxford), Ben Winterbottom (Welling) and Daniel Oyegoke (Bradford City) will all benefit from gaining crucial and valuable first team experience.
There might well be more outgoings with the Sergi Canos saga continuing as the long serving winger with his nose clearly out of joint after Brentford exercised his one-year option on his contract seeks a way out of the club. Valencia, his apparent preferred destination has yet to make an acceptable or even realistic offer for him. Charlie Goode and Mads Bech Sorensen also remain in limbo and will hopefully find good new homes where they can demonstrate their ability.
I have left David Raya until last. After four years of excellent service and with only one year left on his contract and his understandable refusal to sign an extension he clearly has no future at the club and needs to be sold, particularly as he has already been replaced. Given that he would be our first major sale since we reached the Premier League it is crucial that we sell him well and set the tone and a benchmark for the future and it is important that we are seen to obtain a new club record fee (currently £28 M + 5 in add ons) for what is one of our most valuable assets. After reported interest from Spurs and Bayern Munich, at the time of writing (Thursday morning) it seems that after much to-ing and fro-ing a deal has finally been agreed with Arsenal who will sign him as competition for Aaron Ramsdale. Nothing has been formally announced yet but it appears that this will initially be a loan with an option to buy. Not ideal for us but the indications are that this has been agreed in order to ensure that Arsenal meet their FFP requirements. We have structured similar initial loan with an option deals in the recent past for Ryan Woods, Said Benrahma and Kevin Schade which have been successfully concluded, so we can only hope that even if there is no binding obligation to buy that Raya will perform well and often enough for the option to be activated by Arsenal. As a failsafe, Raya has extended his contract for a further year so that even if the doomsday scenario comes to pass, the club will be able to sell him elsewhere at the end of the forthcoming season. Hopefully this is much ado about nothing and the transfer to Arsenal will eventually be concluded,
So let us hope that this is goodbye, good luck and thank you to David Raya who performed so brilliantly for us.
Given the strength and balance of the squad it is hardly surprising that there have not been many incomings to date. Mark Flekken has arrived from Freiburg for a £11m fee as Raya’s replacement. Understandably he took time to settle in on the US preseason tour but he looked the real deal in last Saturday’s friendly against Lille making sharp saves, dominating his area and, crucially, out Raya-ing Raya with the quality and accuracy of his clearances. We have also taken advantage of Wolves’s FFP issues by snatching Nathan Collins, a gifted young central defender from them for a club record £23m fee. As expected, Kevin Schade also completed his permanent transfer from Freiburg for a £22m fee and he celebrated with two goals in a behind closed doors friendly win over Lille. A mention too for Ethan Brierley, a phenomenally talented 19th year old midfielder, and Damsgaard lookalike, signed from Rochdale who has already made a massive impression since his recent arrival. Ji-Soo Kim is a young Korean centre half who also looks a potential star in the making. A mention too for a promising young striker, Ethan Laidlaw, recently arrived from Hibernian.
Rumours abound about moves for long-standing target Brennan Johnson with reports of massive offers being made for him. Given their FFP issues it appears likely that he and Nottingham Forest might well part company but will we be the ones to sign him remains to be seen. Why are we looking for another winger particularly when Keane Lewis-Potter has looked so sharp in preseason? Well, we all know that today’s winger can easily become tomorrow’s central striker as has been the case with Watkins and maybe Schade but we also face the prospect of losing Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa for the African Cup of Nations in early 2024.
With Ivan Toney suspended until mid-January, many fans have been surprised that no apparent replacement either temporary or long-term has arrived but how do you replace the seemingly irreplaceable? The likes of Ivan Toney do not grow on trees! We know that at some point soon – maybe even next January but certainly at the end of the season assuming that he does not extend his contract – something that appears to be a mere chimera, he will need to be sold. Hopefully he will return to action in January fit, determined and eager and score a dozen or so goals which means that we will ideally obtain his full market value when the time comes for him to leave us. In that regard I would hope that we have identified a few players with some of his skills set and perhaps we might bring one in next January and bed him in for when the maestro finally leaves us.
We won four of the five games without him last season scoring 11 times in all with both Mbeumo and Wissa seamlessly taking up the mantle with nine goals between them so we know that we can thrive without him in the short term. Schade can also fill in with Lewis-Potter also playing out wide. This means a change of style and approach, something that the Bees are accustomed to doing according to the dictates of every game and opponent. I do not think that we will struggle to score goals without him, but I am more concerned about the rest of Toney’s game and the loss of what he brings to the team. It is not just his goals. He is a massive asset in defending set pieces, he holds the ball up so well and relieves pressure on the defence and gives them the chance to take a breather.
The loss of both Raya, assuming he leaves and Toney is a massive blow but we have prepared for this situation and I expect us to cope without them.
Normally preseason provides some clues as to how the season will turn out but at the moment, I remain slightly bemused and in the dark. The US Summer Series was a massive success in terms of building the brand and growing our ever-increasing band of US supporters. It also seemed to be great fun for everyone involved. The team bonded well, enjoyed excellent training facilities and played three tough games in boiling hot conditions against top-level opposition in Fulham, Brighton and Aston Villa. The results were immaterial and the games were extremely open (far too open at times!). We created chances galore, scored an incredible goal by Josh Dasilva and conceded far too many ourselves with a massive Norgaard shaped hole in front of the defence. One major plus was the emergence of young 19-year-old winger Michael Olakigbe whose speed, dribbling ability and directness of approach were mouth-watering and bode well for the future. Could he be a potent weapon off the bench next season? Flekken and Collins were also integrated into the squad and youngster Yehor Yarmoliuk also showed that he will be a real asset in midfield.
Normally the final preseason friendly speaks volumes about the likely make-up of the team and how it will set up but this year has been different. Thomas Frank pulled a fast one on us pundits by arranging two matches against Lille on the same day and splitting the squad so that everyone received valuable minutes. A strong team beat Lille 5-1 in the morning behind closed doors with Schade and Olakigbe each scoring twice and the returning Norgaard also on the mark.
The main game ended in a 0-0 draw with Lille by far the better team until the last quarter when Jensen seized control of the midfield, Lewis-Potter sparkled down the left and several chances were squandered. Mbeumo and Onyeka who has just been awarded a contract extension, went off with injuries, neither of which looked serious and neither Josh Dasilva nor Rico Henry were risked owing to slight injury issues.
Given the way that the squad was divided it is difficult to come to hard and fast conclusions. We certainly possess numbers and strength in depth although only having four forwards until Toney’s return might give cause for alarm amongst some supporters but Kevin Schade could well have a breakout season and if so then we will all be smiling.
We have predominantly played 433 throughout the close season and it is clear that this will be the favoured formation next season, but will we revert to 352 against the top teams? We won at Spurs late last season playing 433 but it was a close-run thing until the second half. Could we possibly surprise everyone by reverting to 352 on Sunday? Doubtful, but who knows?
The objective for last season was for us to become an average Premier League team, and we certainly did so. My spies tell me that perhaps we are now looking to kick on and reach Europe, as was so nearly the case last season and do well in one of the cup competitions. Hopefully we can succeed in doing so. We must never take anything for granted as the margin between success and failure is so narrow – just remember the fate of Leicester City!. Of course, the first necessity is to ensure that we remain in the Premier League for a fourth season but if push comes to shove and given the loss, perhaps permanent in one case and short term in the other of two of our key players as well as the likely improvement of some of our rivals, I would be delighted if we can match last season’s final position.
Greville Waterman – Commissioning Editor