Brentford

Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Brentford are going to have to overcome our frustrating habit of throwing away points after taking the lead if we are to keep progressing this season.

The 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford, in which we took the lead for the seventh time in our eight Premier League games, means we have thrown away 11 points from winning positions this season - the league’s highest total.

Last season, we squandered 30 points after taking the lead in matches, which was again more than any other club.

It really was the proverbial game of two halves on Saturday in our second visit to Manchester in five weeks.

Both sides had spells of dominance in the first period, but United came out a different animal in the second half, and we could not cope.

At least the match saw the welcome return of Yoane Wissa - whose last appearance was across the city at Etihad Stadium, where he got injured.

And reports suggest that both Rico Henry and Igor Thiago may soon both be fit enough to return to the first-team squad.

Despite the impressive performances of Kristoffer Ajer at left-back, Henry’s return cannot come soon enough. We have missed his pace and all-round ability, and his comeback will give the side a more balanced look - and allow Ajer to play on his natural right-hand side.

As for new signing Thiago, who was injured on his debut in pre-season, he will provide more attacking options on a bench which, because of injury, is still lacking experience.

As long as the Bees can maintain our unbeaten home record, Saturday’s defeat is certainly no cause for alarm. It also means four hard away games are now out of the way.

Find more from Ian Westbrook at Beesotted podcast, external

Arsenal are plotting a move for Brentford's 25-year-old Cameroon forward Bryan Mbeumo after his impressive start to the season. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Manchester United and Brentford.

Here are some of your comments:

Man Utd fans

Marcus: This was the first match that I've enjoyed watching United play for a long time. Still a little confused by the lack of intensity in the first 15 minutes but the rest of the game was a real pleasure to watch.

Jonty: Miles better today, especially second half. Rashford worked really hard on the right and didn't sulk when filling in at full-back when Dalot made his runs. Looked like there were some tactics in play, while De Ligt and Evans were great. Martinez looked comfortable at left-back. Zirkzee looked asleep, but Rasmus played a great number nine game. Onwards and Upwards.

Terry: Second half was easily the best performance of the season. De Ligt looking like the class act we were told he is. Garnacho outstanding but good performances all over the pitch including the much maligned Casemiro and Eriksen. Question is - can they keep this up into the coming weeks?

Brentford

Kyle: We played well, but overall I think Mbeumo’s sloppy performance maybe cost a goal or two. I think Schade played well at centre forward, and we missed Wissa (until the last 20 mins or so). We also missed Jensen with his creativity. Overall, our defence was at times scrappy and made a few mistakes, but it was expected to not get all three points against Man Utd.

Jason: I took my mate Jim to his first away game and it was disappointing for all of us. United were ripe for the picking and we let them off again. I hate to say it but it could be time to look for a new manager. Come in Mr Frank, your time is up!

Mikey: Brentford need a goalkeeper not a converted full-back. When Raya left I don’t understand why Brentford didn’t just trade contracts for Ramsdale. Massive blunder.

Gary Lineker brings highlights and analysis from Saturday's Seven Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Man Utd 2-1 Brentford

• Bournemouth 2-0 Arsenal

Simon Stone at Old Trafford
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Brentford have now scored the first goal in six successive Premier League games.

They have accumulated seven points.

However, you look at it, that is quite a disappointing return.

Thomas Frank made the point after the final whistle at Old Trafford that amongst those fixtures are away games at Manchester City, Tottenham and Manchester United, so judgement on his side should not be too harsh.

That is fair.

Yet, it is not unknown for all three clubs to lose at home. Brentford won at City and Tottenham two seasons ago.

Given the high standards in the Premier League, pinching points against the bigger clubs offers insurance when you have a bad day against an opponent you should beat, which is likely to happen at some stage to a club the size of Brentford.

The biggest issue at Old Trafford was against opponents with fragile confidence, Frank's side conceded at the start of a second period that could have quickly turned negative for the hosts if they had failed to equalise.

"To concede a goal after two minutes disappoints me," Frank said afterwards. "The momentum just changed."

He needs to find a way to stop it happening.

Image source, PA Media

Thomas Frank spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Brentford's defeat against Manchester United: "I think a lot of things went right in the first half. It was a game of two halves. It was fairly even in the first half but I thought we were slightly on top. Then we go 1-0 up and go in at half-time with that result. We knew they'd come out strong. It's not good enough that we concede after two minutes in the second half. If they don't score there then we know always it becomes more difficult. That was the disappointing thing.

On United's response: "Of course I give them credit, there's always two teams on the pitch. I think we can do better, we have to play two good halves. If you want to win here you have to have two good halves. So the second half was disappointing. Credit to Manchester United, some of their players stepped up. I think Eriksen was running the show, definitely!

On Brentford's opener: "I don't know exactly where De Ligt should have been. It's a corner kick routine that we have worked on and it paid off. We don't know if it would have helped if he stayed on the pitch. It is what it is. I always think if you flip it - Manchester United would have wanted to take the corner at the other end if one of our player were off the pitch. He was bleeding so I think it was good refereeing.

On his side's display: "I think we did a lot of things right in the first half, which was very impressive. Second half was disappointing because I know what these players are capable of. That's the frustrating part."

Image source, Getty Images

Since Brentford’s first Premier League season (2021-22), the only defender with more goals in the competition than Ethan Pinnock (eight) is Gabriel Magalhaes (14). Pinnock has netted in successive appearances in the competition for the first time, with this his 99th such match.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on United's performance, external

What did you make of Brentford’s display?, external

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week eight, he takes on legendary boxing manager Kellie Maloney.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

I was at this game last season and Brentford scored early, but Scott McTominay found the net twice in stoppage time to nick a win for Manchester United when they did not deserve anything from the game.

This time? Well, Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag needs a win, with his side 14th in the table and the joint-second lowest scorers with five goals from seven league games.

Logic tells me that, while Brentford are yet to pick up an away point so far, they are the better team, and have been the better team all season.

We also know the Bees still love an early goal, so they will probably take the lead again... but I just have a gut feeling that United will edge this one again, somehow.

I can’t really tell you why, other than they have to, and also because Statman Dave said this would be 2-1 to Manchester United, so I am taking his advice. Hopefully he is better with his predictions than he is with his stats.

Kellie's prediction: I love what Brentford are doing. Thomas Frank is an excellent manager, who loves the club, but I think eventually he will get a bigger job. 1-3

Read the rest of their predictions, and have your own say here

There are seven matches that make up Saturday's Premier League action:

• Tottenham v West Ham - 12:30

• Fulham v Aston Villa

• Ipswich v Everton

• Manchester United v Brentford (listen on BBC Radio 5 Live)

• Newcastle v Brighton

• Southampton v Leicester

• Bournemouth v Arsenal - 17:30 (listen on BBC Radio 5 Live)

Kick-off 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Image source, Opta

With the October international break now firmly in the rearview mirror, Opta Analyst, external have turned their attention to the next four Premier League fixtures.

Here, they have given each team a ranking between 80 and 100 and then found the average to determine to difficulty of the schedule.

Liverpool's opening seven matches were ranked the easiest in the league, but their upcoming four are the fourth-toughest in the division. They will face Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Brighton, with an average opponent strength of 91.4 before the next international break.

Fellow early pacesetters Arsenal also have challenging fixtures, playing Bournemouth, Liverpool, Newcastle and Chelsea with an average rating of 90.7, while Manchester City's next four against Wolves, Southampton, Bournemouth and Brighton are ranked the third-easiest by Opta.

Chelsea and Brighton have the second-hardest and third-hardest runs respectively, a real test given the promising starts for their new managers Enzo Maresca and Fabian Hurzeler.

At the other end of the table, Leicester - who recently secured their first win of the season against Bournemouth - have a chance to build with the easiest run in the division. They face Southampton, Nottingham Forest, Ipswich and Manchester United.

Fellow promoted side Ipswich will hope to pick up their first win of the season during a run of games that is ranked the fifth-easiest.

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier, we asked you to identify the former Brentford player from their Premier League statistics playing for the club.

The correct answer was Sergio Reguilon.

Guess the former Brentford player from their Premier League statistics at the club:

• Which year? 2024

• National team: Spain

• Position: Defender

• Appearances: 16

• Goals: 0

Answer will be revealed at 17:00 BST

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Manchester United (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Frank confirmed that "everyone who was available for the last game is available for this one", with Christian Norgaard and Mikkel Damsgaard both fit.

• Yoane Wissa is back "training on the grass with the team" but they will have to wait on his availability for Saturday.

• The Bees boss said Rico Henry, who has been out for a year, is in a "positive place" after playing his first 45 minutes in an in-house game this week and that his "smile was very big, maybe even bigger than mine".

• On their quick goalscoring starts to games: "A fantastic story and narrative. We train and have a strategy on it, we focus on it before each game and there is a mindset to it as well... it is probably one in a billion we score three goals in under a minute and one goal just over a minute, so that is nice and we will keep trying to do that."

• United boss Erik ten Hag faces an "incredible amount of scrutiny" - Frank conceded that "when a team wins the head coach is fantastic" but if they lose then the coach is terrible: "It is never only the coach or the players or the fans or the board, it is probably a combination of things."

• On playing at Old Trafford: "I believe we can go anywhere, against any team and beat any team. But I am very aware when we go to Old Trafford, against a club like Manchester United, then they are favourites. We need to go there with the approach and mindset believing we can win. We need to come up with a game plan that optimises our chances for winning."

• He added: "I would take some luck [against United]! We will do all we can to play the perfect game as we do every week. We will do it with hard work and then if we can spice it up with a bit of luck then we try to get it over the line to get three points."

• Frank "would love to have every key player available" as it would make them "more flexible, unpredictable and perform at an even higher level" but it is an "opportunity" for other players to step up.

Catch up on all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

The data shows one player has put a real shift in for Brentford this season - he's covered the most distance and completed the most sprints for the Bees.

Can you guess who?

Find out over here

BBC Sport pundit Fara Williams will be answering your questions, giving her insight and opinion around your club.

So what would you like to ask the former England midfielder?

What can your team achieve after their start to the season? Who has been your best player so far? What does the manager's future hold?

Send in your questions here, external

Former manager Mark Warburton talks to The Football News Show about how managers can deal with mental health struggles while working at a club and what support there is available to them.

Watch The Football News Show's Mental Health special

Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Another game, another early goal – it’s just Brentford isn’t it!

When Wolves kicked off what turned into a ridiculous game on Saturday, we all thought the Bees’ run of early goals was over, despite chants from the crowd of "we’re going to score in a minute".

So when Nathan Collins’ header hit the back of the net against his former side after only 75 seconds, there was laughter as much as joy among us fans.

However, there were two things about the goal which were more important than its timing.

The first was that it led to a win, unlike the previous three rapid strikes, and secondly that it was the first Premier League goal scored by someone other than Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa this season. Three other different players also found the net later.

It paved the way for Brentford's best performance of the season, despite the Bees conceding three goals, and wrapped up a wonderful start to the campaign.

Given we have had away fixtures at Liverpool, Manchester City and Spurs in our first seven games, no fan could have hoped for much more than 10 points and progression in the Carabao Cup by this international break.

We are unbeaten at home in four games with three wins, only two fewer than in the whole of last season.

The return of Christian Norgaard massively strengthened us on Saturday and we have the likes of Rico Henry, Wissa and Igor Thiago to also come back, among others.

And with Mikkel Damsgaard and Keane Lewis-Potter finally showing the sort of form we hoped for when they signed, I am confident we will have a more comfortable season than the last one.

Find more from Ian Westbrook at Beesotted podcast, external

Image source, Getty Images

A VAR related question was put to chief football writer Phil McNulty on Monday's Q&A.

@nubiblue on 'X' asked: Is the new improved VAR working? To me it continues to favour certain clubs.

Phil answered: First of all, I don't believe VAR favours certain clubs and quite honestly, I've not noticed too much difference or huge improvement.

Maybe a little less interference but I confess I lost a lot of faith in VAR after initially being a strong advocate.

I would be happy with semi-automated offside and line technology.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Brentford and Wolves.

Here are some of your comments:

Brentford fans

Ian: Wow! It took us a little longer to score our first goal this week. Our defending at times was too narrow, allowing Wolves to attack down the flanks. Brentford look dangerous going forward. Damsgaard, Norgaard and Janelt worked tirelessly in midfield. Lewis Potter's confidence is growing every week. Happy times at the Gtech!

T.Z Bee: Strong individual performances from Damsgaard, Janelt, Mbuemo... well, pretty much all the team really. They're starting to gel as a unit too. Sepp van den Berg is proving a real asset and I love Ajer rampaging forward. I feared a really tight defensive game. I was wrong.

Mitch: Absolutely mad game - chaotic defending but a deserved win. It was really entertaining, which is surely the point.

Nige: What Thomas Franks has achieved with a limited budget and an injury-hit first team is incredible. In Thomas and Mathew we trust.

Wolves fans

Goldvein: O'Neil needs to read the riot act to a lot of these players to pack in all the showboating every time they score a goal. The lack of concentration is a big problem. His attitude is all wrong. He needs to act like a manager and not like a mate to his underachievers.

Dave: Not the best result for us but I can't fault the commitment of the players. When you score three goals away from home you expect a point at least. The fans who complain about the poor defence will be the same ones who wanted Max Kilman to be sold. Careful what you wish for, especially when calling for the manager to go.

Vinny: Dreadful, absolutely dreadful. It must be obvious to everyone that it's already a relegation battle. Time to change the manager possibly.

David: Dreadful defending again but no surprise to see us bottom of the table at this stage. It was obvious when the fixture list came out that we had by far the toughest start, and we’ve got Manchester City at home and Brighton away next. Hopefully, salvation arrives in November with home games against Crystal Palace, Southampton and Bournemouth. Let’s not panic just yet.