K. Freeman and K. Naughton in the PL next season?

[FMBlade1]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/56725822

Perhaps if Swansea win today! Also might mean we'll have a team to sell McBurnie and Brewster to if we need to.

Although realistically I think we'd want Brentford to go up as a team in red and white, and would be more of a threat to us in the Championship next season if they lose.

 

[Frank the tank]

Think Swansea will be weaker next season but part of me can't get behind Brentford for the pure arrogance of their fans from recent dealings
Talk about remember where you've came from

 

[FMBlade1]

Think Swansea will be weaker next season but part of me can't get behind Brentford for the pure arrogance of their fans from recent dealings
Talk about remember where you've came from

The year we went up I went to watch Brentford play Leeds (the day we beat Hull), was one of my best footballing memories so wouldn't begrudge them going up.

With that said if they do we can't be so smug anymore about Egan and JOC being Brentford rejects

 

[nopigfansintown]

Really like Griffin Park, so it'll be sad to see it go. Brentford isn't quite the romantic dream it's made out to be though: they have a mega rich owner and a scouting set up that is basically legalised cheating; it's beyond the reach of other clubs that don't have a phenomenally rich owner with an extensive interest in the gambling sector. The romance is more in a traditionally smaller club reaching the top flight.
Swansea have navigated their fall from grace incredibly well. They went shit or bust on staying in the Prem and went bust. The overheads they were carrying in the Champ resulted in all their best players being sold off every year. Despite this they've recruited extremely well and developed players for market - including an impressive bunch of academy players. They've bottomed out and rebuilt really impressively. It might seem odd on the face of it but they are the romantics choice really.

 

[bongleblade]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/56725822

Perhaps if Swansea win today! Also might mean we'll have a team to sell McBurnie and Brewster to if we need to.

Although realistically I think we'd want Brentford to go up as a team in red and white, and would be more of a threat to us in the Championship next season if they lose.

would we really want Naughton and Freeman? Both in positions we have ample cover in (bar any pending departures). Only reason we’d ever want them is the previous links to the club... I think Wilder would be more likely to go for Freeman at his new club

 

[Maidenhead]

The year we went up I went to watch Brentford play Leeds (the day we beat Hull), was one of my best footballing memories so wouldn't begrudge them going up.

With that said if they do we can't be so smug anymore about Egan and JOC being Brentford rejects

I watched that game in a pub in Hull with a hundred or so other Blades.

What a day out that was!

 

[AdamSufc1997]

You jinx

 

[Pedro Verde]

Really like Griffin Park, so it'll be sad to see it go.

Its already gone

Brentford isn't quite the romantic dream it's made out to be though: they have a mega rich owner and a scouting set up that is basically legalised cheating; it's beyond the reach of other clubs

How is a compuerised stats based scouting system cheating ?

 

[knowsnowt]

Its already gone



How is a compuerised stats based scouting system cheating ?

Because no one else has access to a compeurer.

 

[nopigfansintown]

Its already gone



How is a compuerised stats based scouting system cheating ?

It is far beyond the financial means of most football clubs including Brentford. The costs are the Brentford owners and don't feature in their accounts. It's completely different to the common or garden used by practically all clubs - hence its efficacy.
I was unaware that GP had been demolished. Walked past in maybe February March time.

 

[1066blade]

Judging by todays showing so far. Either will struggle in the Prem next year
Cant string more than two passes without giving it away.

 

[Pedro Verde]

It is far beyond the financial means of most football clubs including Brentford. The costs are the Brentford owners and don't feature in their accounts. It's completely different to the common or garden used by practically all clubs - hence its efficacy.

I would tell the EFL Im sure they might come up with a points deduction

I was unaware that GP had been demolished. Walked past in maybe February March time.

I meant as an in use Football Ground

 

[Addison]

The curse is broken. Hopefully just like waiting a long time for a bus, two come at once and another team in red and white stripes gets promoted from the play offs next season.

Glad the Arsenal of the Championship get to meet their heroes next season. The game between the two should achieve the all time record for players falling theatrically to the floor. Interesting the Brentford of 2018/19 have become a team with a number of umper lumpers over 6 foot 3 at the back and in midfield. Someone must have told Swansea there was a prize for hitting Pinnocks head the number of times they launched the ball aimlessly towards him.

For two supposed footballing teams the ball was constantly in the air something we should be mindful of when considering strengthening our back line in the coming season.

 

[nopigfansintown]

I would tell the EFL Im sure they might come up with a points deduction



I meant as an in use Football Ground

No, that's why it's "legalised" financial doping (the clue was in the word "legalised"). Even if it wasn't legalised how would you prove that a separate private entity is using its considerable resources and financial might to aid and abet a football club owned by the same person? Impossible. Another form of legalised doping is academy doping: an owner can put a billion pounds into the academy of a club with a turnover of 1 million. This could be stopped much more easily. If there's a system it will be played.

 

[BladeTillIDie]

Nope

 

[CarlMcBlade]

Think Swansea will be weaker next season but part of me can't get behind Brentford for the pure arrogance of their fans from recent dealings
Talk about remember where you've came from

All three little west London clubs have always been the same. Riding on the coattails of being in the capital. If they were anywhere else in the country, they’d be no bigger than Rochdale.

 

[Pedro Verde]

No, that's why it's "legalised" financial doping (the clue was in the word "legalised"). Even if it wasn't legalised how would you prove that a separate private entity is using its considerable resources and financial might to aid and abet a football club owned by the same person? Impossible. Another form of legalised doping is academy doping: an owner can put a billion pounds into the academy of a club with a turnover of 1 million. This could be stopped much more easily. If there's a system it will be played.

Im sure the sale of Oli Watkins would have funded whatever global top of the range jiggery pokery computerised scouting system that Brentford have put in place
With regards to an academy why would anyone put a billion pounds into funding one why wouldnt they just go out and buy the best young players like Man City and Chelsea do then loan them out
FFP and other financial regulations are not fit for purpose especially if youre a 'big club' you get away with it

 

[nopigfansintown]

Im sure the sale of Oli Watkins would have funded whatever global top of the range jiggery pokery computerised scouting system that Brentford have put in place
With regards to an academy why would anyone put a billion pounds into funding one why wouldnt they just go out and buy the best young players like Man City and Chelsea do then loan them out
FFP and other financial regulations are not fit for purpose especially if youre a 'big club' you get away with it

They're quids - in no doubt about it; but a club like Brentford has it all on to compete with the 39 million allowed losses and the parachute payments. If you add in the cost of this level of data analytics, and the turnover differential of the bigger clubs, how many millions behind would they be before a ball was kicked? 40, 50, 60 + million behind a parachute club? It'd be incredibly difficult to overcome that if they had to declare that investment in analytics as part of their 39m. The system has been rigged against teams like them, imo, but they've found a brilliant little loophole and closed the gap with smart buys and sales. Even then they've come close to falling foul of FFP rules at times.

To be fair, this is a well worn path for MB now:- he proved it would work in Denmark so the initial years when he put in a lot of his own cash for players at Brentford weren't the big gamble that it might be it another club that might choose to spend directly on players or the academy instead. He's just transferred his infrastructure and staffing at Matchbook and Smart Odds after he had already seen that it worked in FC Midtjylland. He's also increased long term revenue streams with the new stadium, and plans to do again with the mooted new Cat 1 academy. The next challenge will be wages imo. They're renowned as low payers in the Champ, but you'd think that this will be harder to sustain in the Prem. Even if they become bottom three payers in the Prem, that's a phenomenal uplift.

 

[Greystones Blade]

Low payers? I thought I read that Brentford were paying Toney £35k per week!

 

[Old Programme seller]

That’ll go up considerably now