Saturday evening sees Brentford facing another trial by television following Monday’s fine win at the taxpayer funded Olympic Stadium in East London. Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham team given an absolute tonking in a game that, somehow, ‘only’ finished 2-0.
The Bees were magnificent. The opposition, less so. Those failings are hardly the fault of Keith Andrews, whose ruthless team set an all-time Brentford record at this level with 15 shots (out of a total 22) registered in the first half alone.
Only marginal VAR denying Thiago a second minute after his opener, trembling crossbars and, if we’re being honest, some wasteful finishing keeping the final score even vaguely respectable. Make no mistake – it was so dominant a performance I’m surprised Keith didn’t name a kitchen sink on the bench, given he threw just about everything else at the hapless Hammers.
It was a far cry from the timid approach shown in the Manchester City game, and now we have a similar challenge to address. Liverpool is next up.
Things don’t get much tougher than a visit from the current Premier League champions. Just a few weeks ago, it looked as if Arne Slot’s team had picked up where they left off. The Reds are winning the first five games in a row at the start of this new campaign before hitting the buffers in some style. A falling apart of Leeds United proportions saw them lose the next four on the bounce. A sequence that includes three successive defeats in the Prem.
It was a run only arrested on Wednesday evening in Frankfurt with Eintracht humped 5-1 in the European League stage of the Champions League.
Now Keith has a massive decision to make. Stick or twist? Go for the jugular or play it safe? Continue with unexpected left-back Kris Ajer or move him into the middle as part of a back three? Does he show the same faith that the fans have in the team and go 4-3-3 or adopt a more cautious setup?
Moreso, given Liverpool have shown they are fallible. If anything, their colossal investment over the summer coming back to bite them as getting the balance right proves somewhat of a challenge.
Who’d be a head coach? I’m sure I wasn’t alone in being surprised (that’s the polite term) when the team to face West Ham was named. Two left-backs, err, left back on the bench whilst right footer Kris was drafted in to cover for the injured Aaron Hickey.
It looked like a crazy call, on paper, but it worked like a dream. Tough tackling and not a foot wrong. Keith’s masterplan is bang on, and now leaving him the nicest of headaches for Liverpool. He did it against Jarrod Bowen – can he do the same when Mo Salah, rested for that game in Germany, surely returns on the Liverpool right?
Whomever starts there, overall formation remains key. Personally speaking, I’m no fan of the current incarnation of Brentford’s three centre-back setup. It frustrates with a passion normally reserved only for Mrs Browns Boys, coffee shops that sell eXpresso or use made-up ‘size words’, the England supporters’ band, the Star Wars day ‘joke’, surveys that rate Daniel Craig or Sean Connery as a better ‘Bond’ than Roger Moore, etc.
Playing this way feels like a negative setup that invites the opposition forwards, leaves the midfield outnumbered, and cedes possession. Keith has won three out of eight games in the league, and they’ve all come with four rather than five at the back. There would seem to be a pattern to success.
Football games are there to be won rather than ‘not lost’. We’re at home. We’re playing well when given freedom. Sure, Liverpool are good, but they are on a wobble. Don’t give them a way in. Go for the throat as we did against Manchester United. Play to our strengths rather than worry about theirs. Kick them whilst they are down.
It all hinges on being able to create the opportunities for Igor Thiago – he’s strong as an ox and will bury chances when given the opportunity, but he does need to be brought in to the game rather than offered an ad-hoc glimpse of the ball. Don’t forget that he’s third in the Premier League goal scorers table at present.
A player who can find the back of the net is a massive advantage to be exploited. Whether through Jordan’s long passes or Kayode and Damsgaard, there is enough creativity to get the ball into his danger zone.
There’s also the fact that – and this is all relative, of course – Virgil van Dijk seems to be below his illustrious best. Is he turning into Harry Maguire? Gets the odd goal but generally can be relied upon to mess it up at least once a game. Seeing him and Thiago coming together could be an intriguing duel.
Again, it’s easy to pick the team and tactics from the sidelines. Easy to say who should start when sat at home or in the pub. Equally though, we all know how the fans respond to positivity and attacking football.
Perhaps it is as much a case of being spoiled over recent years with goals flowing like water from a tap, but look at the difference that set up and approach has made in the last few games. Two wins out of the last three played, with Manchester United and West Ham being blown off the park, but the white flag was shown to Manchester City. I know which way I’d go, albeit if Aaron Hickey is fit, then good luck to Keith unwinding that one.
With Manchester United hosting Brighton before the game at the Gtech kicks off, victory for the Red Devils will see them overtake Liverpool in the league table. Imagine saying that at the start of October. Then again, imagine how that’s going to mess with the heads of their support before Brentford get the chance to get their teeth into them.
This could be an awful lot of fun. Bring it on.
