The 2022/23 season is just a week away for Brentford as the club prepare for a trip to the King Power Stadium on Sunday to face Leicester City in their curtain-raising fixture.
The excitement ahead of the new campaign is rightfully high after what can only be described as an unforgettable debut Premier League campaign for the Bees.
It was one that consisted of some soaring highs: a 4-1 thrashing of then reigning European champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, an opening day win against Arsenal in front of the first full capacity crowd at the now newly-rebranded Gtech Community Stadium, a 3-3 draw with then Premier League holders Liverpool, as well as the last-minute winners too.
That said, there were some despairing lows: injuries to key players leading to a nine-game winless run between January and February, adding to previous defeats to Norwich City and Burnley, and 4-1 defeats to Southampton and Everton in the league and FA Cup, respectively.
However, Thomas Frank's side ended the season strongly with seven wins from the remaining eleven fixtures to steer them away from the relegation dogfight and into an impressive 13th-placed finish ahead of Aston Villa, Leeds United, and Everton.
After a slow start to pre-season, failing to win against Stuttgart (2-1), Strasbourg (2-2), and Wolfsburg (4-0) during their training camp in Germany, two behind closed doors wins against Brighton & Hove Albion (0-1) and Arsenal (1-2) helped reignite their form, leading to an impressive 1-0 win at home to Copa del Rey winners Real Betis.
Everyone associated with the club will be hopeful that the squad can build on last season's foundations, but it could prove to be a difficult task with the infamous second season syndrome looming overhead looking to claim another victim.
Arrivals and departures
First Team
The board has invested well so far this summer, bringing in a much-needed right-back in the form of 2022 Golden Boy nominee Aaron Hickey, picking up free agents Ben Mee and Thomas Strakosha and breaking the club's transfer record by spending a reported £16 million plus £4 million add-ons to finally secure Keane Lewis-Potter.
Christian Eriksen, Álvaro Fernández, Jonas Lössl, Mathias Jørgensen, and Julian Jeanvier left in July when their contracts expired, while Marcus Forss (Middlesbrough) and Dominic Thompson (Blackpool) have made permanent moves.
Ellery Balcombe (Crawley Town), Nathan Young-Coombes (Wimbledon), Daniel Oyegoke (MK Dons), Mads Bidstrup (Nordsjælland), and Paris Maghoma (Wimbledon) have all left on season-long loans.
B Team
There has been a squad overhaul this summer as a number of players have either moved onto pastures new, been promoted to the first team, or been released at the end of their contracts.
Max Wilcox (Bolton Wanderers), Max Dickov (trialist), Yehor Yarmoliuk (SC Dnipro-1), Kyreece Lisbie (trialist), and Michael Olakigbe (Fulham) have been added to Neil MacFarlane's squad while Jude Russell (released), Wraynel Hercules (released), Max Haygarth (released), Lewis Gordon (released), Jaakko Oksanen (KuPS), Gustav Mogensen (Sarpsborg) and Hans Mpongo (Thróttur Vogar) have left the club.
Defensive fragilities in pre-season and the absence of Kristoffer Ajer and Ethan Pinnock
One of key issues of last season was losing important players for extended periods of time. Unfortunately for Thomas Frank, he will be without arguably his starting centre-backs for the start of the season as Kristoffer Ajer (hamstring) and Ethan Pinnock (knee) are sidelined for the foreseeable future.
Their absences has been notable in pre-season as the team conceded eight goals in three games while in Germany, six of which came from either a set-piece or a cross. In the 4-0 defeat to Wolfsburg, three of the goals came directly from corners while in the Bees' draw with Strasbourg, both of the Ligue 1 side's goals came from crosses.
The notable aerial presence of Ajer, Pinnock and Christian Nørgaard, who has been unavailable to Frank in pre-season due to a knee injury, would have made creating these sort of chances much more difficult for the opposition.
Fortunately, Nørgaard returned to action against Real Betis on Saturday and Frank has confirmed he will start on Sunday. This will help solidify Brentford's defence alongside the arrival of experienced Premier League centre-back and former Burnley captain Ben Mee.
The Christian Eriksen solution
One of the main factors behind Brentford's survival last season was the arrival of one of the greatest playmakers in Premier League history Christian Eriksen.
The Denmark international arrived in January on a six-month contract and had an instant impact, showcasing his world class passing ability in a team that had been in desperate need of a creative spark. He registered four assists and a goal during his time in TW8, contributing vital assists in wins against Burnley, Watford, and Everton.
However, his subsequent departure to Manchester United following the expiry of his contract has left a big hole to fill in the team.
The club is yet to sign a midfielder bar 18-year-old Yehor Yarmoliuk this summer, so it appears it will be an internal candidate to replace the 30-year-old.
Mathias Jensen has shown he is a quality passer of the ball during his three years at the club, but consistency has been an issue with him - in his 31 league appearances last season, albeit 13 of them were from the bench, he was only able to register one assist, which came from a corner in Brentford's 2-1 defeat to Leicester City in October.
Josh Dasilva is also in contention but to put the creative responsibility on a player that hasn't played a full competitive match since February 2021 is a huge risk. Although, if he can get consistent minutes under his belt and rediscover his form then there's no doubt that he will be a valuable asset for the team.
The head coach has named dropped Saman Ghoddos and Shandon Baptiste as creative alternatives, while reports from Di Marzio are suggesting that the club has approached Sampdoria in an attempt to sign Mikkel Damsgaard.
David Raya vs Thomas Strakosha
The final talking point ahead of the new season is who will play in between the sticks.
David Raya's long-term absence last season proved how vital the now Spanish international is to the team.
During his time on the sideline, the Bees dropped valuable points against teams in the bottom half of the table and only kept one clean sheet in 14 Premier League matches - coming in a 1-0 win at home to Everton.
Deputies Álvaro Fernández and Jonas Lössl conceded 29 goals in that period, which is an average of 2.07 goals per game. In comparison, Raya conceded 27 in 24 appearances, keeping eight clean sheets.
With Lössl (Midtjylland) and Fernández (Huesca) returning to their parent clubs, Brentford have sought to avoid having the same problem again, bringing in 19-time Albania international and 2018/19 Coppa Italia winner Thomas Strakosha on a free transfer.
Some have seen the 27-year-old's arrival as a sign of Raya's departure, but that is not the case as Raya will remain the number one heading into the new season.
Strakosha will push for a starting spot but also provides a safety net should Raya's form dip or he gets injured.
It is also worth noting that Raya has two years left on his contract and rejected the club's most recent offer in May, according to the Athletic. Don't be alarmed, though, as the same article states that Raya wants to extend.
If the two parties are unable to come to an agreement and the 26-year-old leaves next summer, then Frank now has a ready-made replacement, so signing Strakosha is a win-win scenario.
Strongest Starting XI
Raya; Hickey, Ajer, Pinnock, Henry; Dasilva, Nørgaard, Janelt; Mbeumo, Toney, Wissa.
Predicted finish - 16th
Brentford will once again be amongst the relegation battle and while I believe the club will survive, it will not be as comfortable as it was last season.
This is because the teams around the Bees are investing well.
Leeds have lost Raphinha to Barcelona and Kalvin Phillips to Manchester City, but they've invested well to improve the depth of their squad, bringing in the likes of Rasmus Kristensen, Tyler Adams, Marc Roca, and Luis Sinisterra, and it is not expected that they will be in the battle again.
Newly-promoted Nottingham Forest have also been very busy in the market, bringing in twelve players that include England internationals Dean Henderson and Jesse Lingard, Wales full-back Neco Williams and Huddersfield Town's talented midfielder Lewis O'Brien, to name a few, and will likely finish in one of the higher positions in the bottom half of the table.
Aston Villa will also do much better than their disappointing 14th-placed finish last campaign, leaving Brentford to settle with a lower position in the table.