Brentford FC: Rise of the Bees

[Abij2]

View attachment 123671

Brentford have today announced the departure of manager Dean Smith from the football club. The departure, announced by mutual consent, has come as a big surprise to the Bees faithful. Smith was coming off of the back of an encouraging debut campaign at the head of the club, and fans were looking forward to seeing what he was going to produce in this upcoming season. Smith said that he decided to leave the club for “contractual reasons”, as the club was reportedly hesitant in meeting his wage demands on an improved contract. Commenting on the fan support, Smith stated “The Brentford fans are some of the most passionate that I have ever encountered in my time in football. They deserve to watch their club rise to the top and I hope that the new manager can achieve that.”
In the 2014/2015 Championship season, Brentford came remarkably close to reaching the top flight of English football. Then manager Mark Warburton led the club to a 5th​ place finish, and a coveted spot in the playoff semi-finals. Supporters of the club were hopeful for another successful season the following year, but were shocked to hear that owner Mathew Benham had decided to let Warburton leave the club at the expiration of his contract.
A tumultuous start to the 15/16 campaign saw his replacement, Marinus Dijkhuizen, depart the club less than halfway through his debut campaign. The club managed to find some stability for the remainder of season and finished in a respectable 9th​ spot in the league.
Rumors are that the club want to put someone familiar with the club in charge, and Lee Carsley appears to be the favorite for the position. Carsley was the interim manager after Dijkhuizen’s departure last season and managed to guide the Bees to some credible results during his short time in charge. Following his time in charge last season, Carsley was reported as saying “"I did not ask to be a football manager and it certainly wasn't something I put my hand up for it. I don't want the job permanently. I'm still involved with England Under-19s. It just happens that I've been asked to be a caretaker manager at my last two clubs.". This leaves supporters in doubt as to whether Carsley would even consider the job. Gary Alexander and Kevin O’Conner are also rumored to be interested in the position.
With not long to go now we are expecting an announcement from the club on their new appointment shortly.


​

 

[Tobey Mason]

Some good players there and staff. Good luck

 

[Abij2]

View attachment 123647


Brentford are delighted to announce that former striker Gary Alexander has agreed to terms with the club to become the new manager moving forward. Alexander played for the club from 2010-2012 and he managed to score 21 league goals for the club. His new contract with the club is a one year deal worth £9,500 per week. Speaking about returning to his former club Alexander said “I am absolutely delighted to be back. We have our work cut out for us this year, but if we can manage to retain a few of our key players than we should be in brilliant shape.”


View attachment 123646

View attachment 123645​

 

[Abij2]

Some good players there and staff. Good luck

Thanks!
We may need it this year, especially with Alan Judge out for a good portion of the season. Definitely a good setup at the start though.

 

[Linecoigne1998]

I've always liked Brentford as a team but especially because of their money ball technique they used to sign Gray a couple seasons ago.. Will be a very interesting save that i'll definitely follow! Good luck mate would be really interested to see how youreplicate that moneyball technique in FM

 

[Abij2]

I've always liked Brentford as a team but especially because of their money ball technique they used to sign Gray a couple seasons ago.. Will be a very interesting save that i'll definitely follow! Good luck mate would be really interested to see how youreplicate that moneyball technique in FM

Yeah attempting to replicate the money ball strategies they employ is going to be quite interesting. Haven't fully decided on any transfer rules I am going to use for this save but I am going to try to conduct my transfer business in a similar manner to how Brentford approach transfers in real life.

Anyway cheers for the reply and thanks for following the story!

 

[Abij2]

View attachment 123613
As I arrive at the club, the first thing that I see is that we have a handful of players out injured to start the season. All three players were looking set to play important roles in the squad this year, but the loss of Alan Judge will surely hit the team the hardest. Judge is the top player in our squad and to have to play without him for around 6 months will surely hit our chances at promotion this year. With Judge out for extended time, I have had no choice but to recall Jota and Gogia from their respective loan deals. Both players had no business being away from the club and I will be relying on their creativity on the wings to provide our strikers with some easy chances.

View attachment 123612

Before I start thinking ahead to scoring goals however, I need to evaluate the squad and figure out how to approach this season tactically.

Goalkeepers

View attachment 123611

We have two goalkeepers in the first team now, and it is quite clear to me who will be our number one option between the sticks this year. Daniel Bentley. Bentley is recent acquisition for the club, only joining from Southend earlier in the summer window. He looks like a reliable goalkeeper and should do a fine job replacing David Button. As he is only 23 years old he will hopefully be our first choice for some time.
I unfortunately do not see much of a future at the club for young Jack Bonham. At 22 years of age he could still improve a decent but, but he will always be miles behind the quality that Bentley will provide us. Bonham will probably remain at Griffin Park for a season or two at most, but purely in a backup roll.

Right Fullback

View attachment 123609
We have several players capable of playing at the right fullback position, but only a handful of them are best utilized here. Ryan Woods is more often than not going to be commanding our midfield, and Josh Clarke is much more comfortable further up the wing. While these two may not often be utilized here, it is reassuring to see that we have solid depth at this position.
Maxime Colin looks set to be first choice at fullback this season, and the 24-year-old Frenchman looks like a handy player indeed. A very well rounded player, we may struggle to hold on to him if he has the kind of year I am predicting for him.
Nico Yennaris is our primary backup at this position. A versatile player, Yennaris will make appearances at both the fullback position and in the midfield. While he may not be our number one option anywhere at this point, I do see a future for him at this club and he will get his fair share of chances this year.
Alan McCormack is another quite versatile player, but his age is beginning to show through. The 32 year old Englishman has been with the club for several years now, but he will almost certainly be departing after this season.

Central Defenders

View attachment 123607
Quite honestly we lack depth in this department. With only four players capable of playing in this position, I will need to bring in reinforcements pronto. The options we do have are quite good, however we will begin the season short-staffed as Yoann Barbet is out for up to 3 months, and Andreas Bjelland looks likely to be our primary left back to start the season.
Our first choice pairing at the back will be Bjelland and Harlee Dean. Both have decent attributes in all the right places to make sure that we remain tight at the back. Bjelland has done remarkably well to recover from a serious knee injury, and I just hope that the medical staff can keep him healthy for the whole season. Harlee Dean has already been named the Brentford captain at age 24, and the Englishman will be a key player for me for years to come.
Yoann Barbet and John Egan are both young as well, as they are both 23 years old. They both look set to have respectable careers at the club, and I am going to make sure that they get plenty of chances to keep their morale up.
Left Fullback

View attachment 123606
Rico Henry is our unquestioned star at this position, as the 18-year-old wonderkid should wreak havoc on opponents as he bombs forward down the left wing. His defensive attributes do leave much to be desired however, and I will make sure the training staff get him working on that. His current injury is a huge blow to my plans, as we must make do without him for over 4 months.
Depth is a big concern here as Bjelland is more comfortable in a more central role. Callum Elder, on loan from Leicester City, will get some chances here but he does not look ready for this level of football. Another area that we need reinforcements, but only in the short term.


​

 

[Abij2]

View attachment 123589

Defensive Midfield

View attachment 123593
A decent selection of options here, but only Josh McEachran and Nico Yennaris are natural in the holding midfield. McEachran will be our starter here if we end up playing with someone in this position, but he will face a serious challenge from Yennaris for the role.
McEachran is one of the most interesting players in the squad. The former Chelsea youth product dropped down to Brentford last year to revitalize his career. Personally I would like to play him slightly higher up the pitch, but for now his best chance at playing time will be in the defensive midfield role.

Central Midfield

View attachment 123592
Plenty of options for me to choose from here, and I am absolutely delighted by the quality of some of the options available here. Alan Judge and Ryan Woods are the two best options available to us, but with Judge set to miss extended time some of our rotational options will see plenty of chances in the first half of the season.
Lewis Macleod is my current choice to partner Woods at this point. Macleod, a 22 year old from Scotland, could be an important player for us this season. With the ability to score from anywhere (16 long shots) putting him on the pitch will add another element to our attack.
Most of our options here seem quite solid, but Holldack and McCormack do not have a future at this club. Holldack in particular I want gone during this window, as he will never be of the quality required to play at this club.

Wingers

View attachment 123591
A solid batch of wingers means that I will have no choice but utilizing a wide formation this season. Jota and Gogia will start the season out as my first choice attackers, but they face challengers in Sullay Kaikai and Lasse Vibe.
Kaikai, on loan from Crystal Palace, will probably be our first winger off of the bench this year, and he has a very good chance at ending the season a member of the first 11.
Lasse Vibe will mostly play up front, but it certainly is nice to have the option to move him out to the wings.
Josh Clarke will likely depart on loan as he needs game time to reach his potential. Sam Saunders will remain at the club but will occupy solely a backup role.

Strikers

View attachment 123590
A decent selection of forwards gives me three names that will compete mainly at the striker position.
Scott Hogan looks to cement his place as my first choice as he finished last season in excellent form. Hogan looks like he could bang in the goals for us this year, and he combines his quality finishing skills with some amazing pace.
Lasse Vibe is not far behind him though, and the Dane is looking to build on a solid season last year. Vibe looks to be more of a deep lying/ defensive forward, and he would work brilliantly in combination with Hogan if we play with two up front.
Our third option is Phillip Hofmann. The young German reminds me a lot of how I operated during my playing days, as the lad is unstoppable when played in a target man role. Philipp may be starting the season on the bench but he will get plenty of opportunities and will be a valuable piece of any success we may have this year.



Now that the save is finally all setup I can finally get to playing. I am planning on doing monthly updates, so I may not get through with the first month of the game until tomorrow. If you have any suggestions for the story regarding transfer rules, or presentation, please let me know. Thanks for reading.
​

 

[Abij2]

View attachment 123576


Brilliant. I had already announced to the team that Akaki Gogia would be recalled from his loan to rejoin the squad for the season. It turns out my assistant had forgotten to mention to me that there was a future fee involved in his loan contract. Anyway, we will have to move forward without Gogia, and I am almost 100% sure that Dresden will activate the £430,000 future fee for him. I was hoping to be able to use him for the next several seasons as we built ourselves into a Premier League club, but it looks like I will be giving Kaikai more opportunities than originally expected.

View attachment 123575

The team has performed okay throughout preseason, and I am delighted with the work of our back 4. Offensively we have much to improve on, and hopefully the team will be able to start off strong against Huddersfield. Jota impressed me with his performances this season, as his 3 goals scored led our preseason charts. Hopefully he can continue this form into the regular season, as he is clearly the most creative player in our team at the moment.


Transfer wise we did not make too much business as I am pleased with most the squad at hand. We managed to bring in an extra central defender, 30-year-old Nikolay Bodurov. Bodurov will struggle to cement himself as a first-choice defender, but he will be given plenty of chances as my young back line is certainly lacking in experience. I also managed to bring in some more staff members to help make sure that club affairs are run as smoothly as possible. The new staff members are headlined by former Manchester United great Paul Scholes who has finally quit his punditry job to return to the world of football.

View attachment 123573

Taking a look at our schedule to kick off the regular season, I see that we start off the year with 6 games to play in the first month. I make my debut at Huddersfield, and I think that we have a good chance at stealing a victory from the hosts. Reasonably, we should be taking at least 9 points from these fixtures, although I am hoping to see at least 10 points earned. We also should be advancing into the next round of the Cup, as Portsmouth does not have the quality to challenge us. I am planning on rotating heavily for the majority of cup games this year, but it never hurts to progress as far as possible.

View attachment 123574​

 

[Abij2]

View attachment 123319


View attachment 123317


Big injury blow just before the Huddersfield match, as Sullay Kaikai is reportedly out for over a month with an ankle injury.

View attachment 123318

We did manage to bring in Mikkel Duelund in on loan, and with Kaikai out to start the year it looks like the young Dane will be getting plenty of opportunities in our first team.


Our captain Harlee Dean is being chased by Everton, but I have told him that he is indispensable to the club and a huge transfer fee would be required for him to leave.

Tactically we have two main tactics that I am planning on having the team operate in this season. Based on the squad’s strengths, we will primarily be playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation. This should allow us to put plenty of pressure on the opposition’s defense, while also maintaining a solid base at the back. We will also be playing a 4-3-3 with a defensive midfielder on occasion, as there will be plenty of games where we will need increased stability at the back.

View attachment 123316

Brentford at Huddersfield : Bentley, Colin, Dean, Bjelland, Elder, McEachran, Woods, Jota, Sawyers, Duelund, Vibe
What a way to start my managerial career, as a brilliant team performance results in 3 points. Duelund scored an absolute screamer on his debut, but it was Sawyers who picks up the MOTM in my book, as he was excellent every time he touched the ball. We had a slight problem with maintaining possession today, but with a few tweaks to the tactic we should have that straightened out.

Brentford at Portsmouth (Cup)

View attachment 123315

Not the performance I expected today, but Hoffmann managed to give us the win today with goals in the 91st​ and 92nd​ minute. Expect to see him starting in the next few fixtures. It was good to get to catchup with a club favorite in Mark Warburton, who stopped by my office after the match to enquire about the availability of Nico Yennaris.


Brentford v. Ipswich

View attachment 123314

Terrible performance, as we didn’t create any chances. Hoffmann was left with little to no service as we didn’t have any ideas going forward. We have to recover quickly, with only a few days before we face Nottingham Forest.

------------

Decided to break the first month up into two parts as with the 2nd round of the cup we ended up having 7 games in the month.
​