Any new start is going to come with challenges, but when it’s your first time that’s an Everest to climb. I’ve been finding that myself this month as I start a new job and am taking my first go at being the top Manager, where the buck stops.
It’s been an all consuming challenge for me, but it’s child’s play compared to the challenge taken on by Keith Andrews when he stepped up from set-piece coach to take over as Brentford Head Coach.
Not only is this his first Head coach role but it’s also at a team that was gutted over the summer losing not just Thomas Frank, who got them promoted to the top tier for the first time in 75 years, but also the majority of his fellow coaching staff and the spine of the players that took the team to 10th last season.
The players we lost include: First choice goalkeeper Mark Flekken, Defensive bastion Ben Mee (Meeeeeeeeee!), Midfield fulcrum and team captain Christian Norgaard and Attacking talisman Bryan Mbeumo, who was also our top scorer last season.
With Yoane Wissa also currently agitating for a move to Tyneside, it’s fair to say that it’s been a season of turmoil on and off the pitch that would be difficult for the most experienced Manager to deal with and here Keith Andrews is having to sort it out with no experience.
He’s done a brilliant job, bringing in Caoimhin Kelleher from Liverpool as our number 1 between the sticks and tempting the experienced former England captain Jordan Henderson back to English shores to add steel to our midfield.
The returns from long-term injury of both Aaron Hickey, after over 500 days on the treatment table, and Rico Henry bring an offensive threat on the wings and much needed confidence in defence, whilst also releasing Keane Lewis-Potter into his more natural attacking winger role.
Up front the recovery of Igor Thiago from injury, that kept him out of most of his debut season, makes it feel like a new signing to replace the loss of Mbuemo and left Keith with replacements in every area that now needed melding into a team that can win at the elite level.
At half time on the banks of the Trent things looked exceedingly bleak, with 3 goals conceded that were each softer than the last and the first was already softer than the squdgiest marshmallow ever made.
However, the second half was a vast improvement with Igor Thiago even scoring a consolation from 12 yards, leaving the team with a positive to end the game on and use to propel them forward into the first home game of Keith’s management career, against Europa League qualifiers Aston Villa.
Signing Dango Ouattara from Bournemouth, for a club record £42.5m, to bolster The Bees attacking options was to pay off handsomely as the Burkinabe slotted home the winner just 12 minutes into his debut.
With a win now under his belt in the Premier League Keith led his team down to the beach for a midweek League Cup tie against Bournemouth with soaring confidence and it shone through in a defiant display of defensive excellence and clinical finishing, winning 2-0 despite having just 34.5% possession and managing just 2 shots on target.
A shots on target conversion rate of 100% and back to back clean sheets in your 3rd competitive match in charge is an incredible record for a manager at any level and even more so in the biggest and best professional league of the world’s most popular sport.
Having seen this transformation in such a short timescale, a mere 10 days from game 1 to game 3, and hearing the insightful understanding Keith Andrews displayed of his team’s strengths and weaknesses during his press conference after the Forest game I’m feeling exceedingly confident in Brentford’s hopes for the season and that I’ve made the right call in committing to an 8 hour round trip to Wearside to see my team in action.
Whether I’m making the right decision there will be seen on my first day in my new store the day after returning from Wearside, but no matter the outcome on my own ability to remain awake it will be worth the travel to see how much further The Buzzing Bees have improved this week.
Come on Brentford!!!!
This was written before I took the tip to Wearside and saw The Bees in action against Sunderland, a blog about which will be coming soon but has been delayed by both work commitments and how painful the experience is to relive.
The Football tourist 