The Beesotted Brentford Pride of West London Podcast

Billy Grant and Matt Allard Beesotted caught up football analyst Ted Knutson from Statsbomb - touching base on a number of issues relating to Brentford and The Championship post Playoff Final 
A really interesting chat which opened with the question - in the analysts’ eyes, was Brentford’s season seen as successful - despite the playoff final loss. And ultimately where did it go wrong?
We also discussed 

• Isn’t stats all nonsense? Surely it’s about whoever scores the most goals. Or is it?
• Luck in footballing terms
• The difference between Dean Smith and Thomas Frank’s term as manager at Brentford
• Defensive midfield. How important is Norgaard? And do we need a Douglas or Toumani type player in the side
• Fan rationality (or irrationality)
• How did Fulham outmanoeuvre Brentford in the playoff final? Didn’t Brentford choke? Or were Fulham good?
• Could Fulham have executed the same gameplay if Mitrovic was playing?
• If Brentford’s ‘magical players’ are not performing, does our whole gameplay fall down?
• How did the Barnsley and Stoke game fit into the bigger scheme of things? 
• What about the early matches like Birmingham and Charlton where Brentford should have won?
• Spreadsheet w@nkers - Brentford previously finished lower than predicted by the statisticians. This season they finished higher/on par. What was the difference?
• This season we bought experienced players. How much difference has that made to the team? Do we need to buy more experience?
• Have set pieces improved for Brentford this season? In what way?
• The Warburton era - where did w stand in terms of set pieces. What position would we have been if w just improved set pieces alone?
• Why did Brentford lose a quarter of their games 1-0 this season?
• Has having no fans in the stadium helped Brentford?
• Do Brentford need to bring in different types of players to combat teams clogging the defence and midfield and stopping their creative play?
• Do Brentford need to become better at the dark arts and sh!thousing?
• The future. Who will go? How will Brentford fare after selling three or four key players this summer
• How good are Brentford at finding centre backs (this was recorded before the signing of Goode)?
• Why did Jack O’Connell pass us by? Why did we let him go after signing him through our stats analysis?
• What type of players do we need to buy in the closed season?
• What does Brentford need to improve on in the closed season?
• We may have failed this season. But is the Premier League an inevitability for Brentford

0 min - Intro. Who is Ted Knutson? What has he done? What is the benefit of using Stats in football?
7 m 10 sec - Has Brentford’s season been successful. And where did it go wrong? Did Brentford choke? Luck. Brentford and midfield. Fan rationality 
17m 10 - Was it Brentford who choked or did Fulham play the game of their lives? Mitrovic. Skilful players. Barnsley and Stoke. More luck. Spreadsheet wankers. Experienced players
33m 58 sec - Set pieces for Brentford throughout the ages. Long throws. Corners. Set piece coaches. Brentford losing 1-0 for more than quarter of their matches. No fans in the stadia. Plan A and plan B. Do Brentford need different players to execute plan B? Sh!thousing. Do Brentford need to be better at it?
45m 33 sec - The Future and Brentford. Which players will we lose close season? Centre backs and Brentford. Where do players like Canos and Marcondes fit into the future? Who should we sign? What areas do we need to strengthen next season? Will Brentford eventually get to the Premier League?
59m 19 sec END

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With the pain of losing the Championship Playoff Final subsided somewhat, the Beesotted crew of Billy Grant, Dave Lane, Matt Allard and Jo Whelan assembled in court - the old Brentford Magistrates Court aka Verdict Cafe to be precise - to mull over the past few weeks and reflect on an exciting but ultimately disappointing ending to their promotion campaign. 
We harked back to the playoff final at Wembley to hear what Brentford fans had to say in the pub immediately after the Fulham match.
And in full reflective mode, the crew called upon a load of football experts to throw their tuppence worth into the pot as to why they felt Brentford failed to make the step up to the so-called ‘promised land’ - otherwise known as the Premier League. 
Caroline Barker from Sky Sports. Ryan Dylkes from the Second Tier Podcast. Ex Brentford player Marcus Bean all give us their thoughts on Brentford’s performance at the Playoff Final and how they see the team progressing next season.
 
 We also chatted to numbers man Ted Knutson from analytics company Statsbomb who gives a statisticians view on the playoff final as well as a few thoughts on the future of Brentford under the current regime (this a clip from an interview with Ted which will go live on PrideOfWest.London around Thursday 20th Aug)
Plus we review all nine of Brentford’s playoff losses - from Tranmere through to Huddersfield, Stoke, Boro and Yeovil - and ask the question “Where does the Fulham final fit in with regards Brentford’s worst and least worst playoff loss?”
 
And on a positive note, we look forward to the forthcoming season and throw some encouraging thoughts into the proverbial Brentford pot. 

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The clock is clicking to The Championship Playoff Final at Wembley.

And with no fans allowed at the Final, we thought it would be interesting to take a mosey down Wembley Way to record a big match preview with Sammy and Jack from Fulhamish podcast.

Will Mitrovic and Kebano start?
Is Parker in fear of his job?
Who's cup final is this now?
Where exactly does the jam go on a sponge cake?
What would be going through fans' heads if the playoff final came down to one final penalty kick?

Plus loads more questions

You can also catch the FULL Fulham v Brentford Championship Playoff Final Preview interview with Dave Laney Lane, Matt The Allard Allard and Lord Lou Can Boyd right here https://pod.fo/e/248b0

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A storming performance at Griffin Park saw Brentford come from one goal behind from the away leg to score three against Swansea. A worrying mistake from Pontus Jansson saw Swansea get a goal back and gave the Bees some nervy moments. But the game was never really in doubt as Brentford booked a place in the Championship Playoff semi-final
Billy TheBee Grant, Dave Laney Lane, Matt The Allard Allard and Lord Loud Can Boyd looked back on the Swansea match and reminisced on the memories as fans converged on Griffin Park for what was the final ever match at the stadium. 
Billy also hooked up with Sammy and Jack from Fulhamish Podcast for a beer on Wembley way to find out what is going down in the Fulham camp (check out the full Wembley Way interview at http://PrideOfWest.London)
Plus the Beesotted crew looked forward to a ninth playoff appearance for Brentford - this time with not a fan in sight. And asked the question - who’s cup final is this?

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Brentford needed to get back on track with a result at Swansea in the Playoff semi final. 

But a refereeing horror show  By Keith Stroud saw Rico Henry sent off. A decision that turned the game as Swansea went out 1-0 winners

We spoke to gutted fans down the pub after the match 

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Brentford are in the playoffs - their ninth playoff appearance 

After a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Barnsley - with the Bees needing a win to gain automatic promotion - Brentford are back to exactly where they expected to be when the season restarted after lockdown
A glass-half full Billy The Bee Grant, Dave Laney Lane and Jim Gooseman Levack pored over the positives from the season to date - whilst analysing what type of frame of mind the players must be in going into the match on Sunday
Plus Tom from Total Swans TV gives his thoughts on the forthcoming Swansea match at the weekend

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Its all over. Brentford are in the playoffs

We spoke to fans in the pub after the match 


#brentfordfc #wba 

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It's the final day of the season. And as predicted, it's gone down to the wire

Brentford need to win (realistically) to stand any chance of promotion to the Premier League. But it's not in their hands. Because they also are relying on West Brom not winning. 

A draw would suffice if West Brom lost. A loss could open the door for Fulham to tuck in via the back door. 

Billy Grant and Dave Lane pontificated over what could have been last weekend. Brentford losing to relegation-threatened Stoke City when a draw or a win would have kept them in the promotion driving seat. 

Thomas Frank gives his thoughts on the Stoke defeat and Barnsley match

They also looked forward to the Wednesdays crunch matches. 

Paul Finney from the QPR podcast 'Open all Rs' give his thoughts on whether or not Brentford's West London rivals will be bothered to turn up again West Brom on Wednesday. 

Plus Joe from Red All Over gives us the lowdown on Barnsley who need three points to avoid relegation to Division One. 

Plus Brentford fans give their honest views on how they think the season is going to pan out for the Bees

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The unbeaten record is over. A single goal from Stoke saw them take all three points to put West Brom in the automatic promotion driving seat

We spoke to fans in the pub after the match

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Brentford go into this weekend one point behind 2nd place West Bromwich Albion. 

The Baggies play Huddersfield on Friday night whilst Brentford play Barnsley on Saturday. It's D-Day for The Bees as they look to keep the pressure on West Brom. 

Billy Grant, Dave Lane and Liberal Nick sat in the virtual joint and pondered the fixtures: 

🔵⚪️West Brom v Fulham last Tuesday
🐝⚪️Brentford v Preston last Wednesday
🔵Huddersfield v West Brom on Friday
🔴Stoke v Brentford on Saturday

They analyse how the forthcoming fixtures will affect the top of the table

Richard from Huddersfield Podcast 'And He Takes That Chance' gives his thoughts about The Terriers taking points off West Brom at the weekend

Plus Ben from The YYY Files podcast gives us the lowdown on Stoke City

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