Will the Bees beat the drop…
Brentford
Last Season
The 2012/13 season ended with shattering disappointment for Brentford as they failed twice to gain promotion as a result of penalties. A missed penalty on the final day of the league season cost them automatic promotion whilst just a week later they lost a play-off penalty shoot out to Swindon. Despite that manager Uwe Rosler showed all his skill in reassembling his squad for another tilt at promotion. One that would prove finally successful. After an indifferent start to the season Brentford really hit their stride in October, A 3-1 victory at home to Colchester sparked off a 19 game unbeaten run which secured Brentford firmly in the automatic promotion places. They also survived the departure of Rosler in December when he filled the vacancy left at Wigan Athletic. Technical Director Mark Warburton stepped into the hot seat and the transition was seamless as the Bee’s continued their promotion charge. Brentford finished second in League One behind Champion’s Wolves as they secured a returned to the second tier of English football for the first time in 21 years.
The Manager
Thrown into the job unexpectedly in December of last season after Uwe Rosler left for Wigan Athletic, Mark Warburton proved to be an excellent choice of manager to guide Brentford’s promotion bid. Warburton has an interesting background having moved into business after a failed playing career. But he left his job as a trader to study football around Europe and became academy director at Watford in 2006. He moved to Brentford in 2011 where he became sporting director before stepping into the manager’s role after Rosler’s departure.
Transfers
In: Alan Judge (Blackburn Rovers), Marcos Tebar Ramiro (UD Almeria), Moses Odubajo (Leyton Orient), Andre Gray (Luton Town), Scott Hogan (Rochdale), Daniel O’Shaughnessy (FC Metz)
Loans In: Alex Pritchard (Tottenham Hotspur)
Out: Clayton Donaldson (Birmingham City), Will Grigg (MK Dons)
This Season
I think this season will be a struggle for Brentford. They play excellent football and I would love them to stay up but their squad lacks experience at Championship level. Most of their signings have very little Championship experience and the loss of Clayton Donaldson to Birmingham was a big one. That said, Griffin Park, is a tight old fashioned ground and Brentford will need to take full advantage of that if they are to stay up.
