What is Brentford? The pros and cons heading into an uncertain 2024/25 season

FROM THE GTECH COMMUNITY STADIUM – Much of the attention surrounding Brentford over the past 12 months has squared on Ivan Toney.

And, yes, here he is entering the first phase of the extensive clip in a team-by-team format.

This was the basic and passing story behind their unremarkable 2023/24 season, which ended in 16th place in the Premier League. It almost makes outsiders forget that they were just a few points short of qualifying for Europe last year.

That was modern Brentford at their peak. A forward-thinking club, punching above its weight, almost achieved a continental football dream – 59 points was no joke.

Thomas Frank and his men tried to build on any progress they had made last season, with Toney banned for the first half due to betting charges and goalkeeper David Raya heading to Arsenal. The big signings, namely defender Nathan Collins and Mark Flekken's replacement Raya, have taken a while to get going.

The spanner in the works was the injury crisis that hung over this beautiful piece of west London like a storm cloud. It seemed that no one had survived and Frank had to turn his team around week after week, coming together now more of a luxury than their strength. His plans to use a progressive style like their days in the Championship became difficult.

Even going into 2024/25, Brentford could be forced to change their strategy in relation to Toney, who has 12 months left on his contract. The club's record scorer, Igor Thiago, is unlikely to play again until December after injuring his knee in a friendly against AFC Wimbledon.

And so whether they like it or not, the new season may be one of gathering bees. Sit back and regroup, look for small signs of improvement, hopefully the injury legend will be kinder this year. Waiting for the first successful marquee signing as Christian Eriksen may continue.

That may seem bad, but it doesn't mean it's right it's bad. With Brentford on an eight-game winless run in their first Premier League campaign of 2021/22, Frank insisted it will take years for the club to establish themselves in the top flight, confident in possession as they did in the second. category. From within Brentford, not being relegated is a huge achievement to be proud of.

Progress is not linear, either. When Brentford were promoted from the Championship in 2014, they qualified for the play-offs at the first attempt. It will take them another five years to get back to that point, another 12 months to achieve their dream of getting into the Premier League. That half decade or so was spent treading water and waiting for the stars to align.

So what does this mean for current Brentford?

At the very least, it feels like a chance to make an over-the-top in 2023/24, if their last friendly of the summer, a 4-4 draw with Wolfsburg, is anything to go by.

The Bees have taken mixed forms in their final 90 minutes of pre-season. Sometimes they were 4-3-3, sometimes 4-4-2, sometimes 3-5-2. It was a volatile and fluid squad with eight players from the club's first Premier League campaign, but one that has been consistent with their Championship image of late.

All three of Toney's unnamed strikers – Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Kevin Schade – have been among the goals and have had the pleasure of tearing apart their Bundesliga opposition. That was the hope last season before Schade and Mbeumo went down with long-term injuries. There is a feeling that they want to correct some mistakes of the past year.

And after all this, Toney may not leave Brentford for at least a few more months. Time left for his last dance, which coincides with his Euro 2024 cameo. Bees don't make outdoor splashes, but that may not matter.

READ THE LATEST FEATURES AND ANALYSIS FROM 90MIN