Thomas Frank’s fearless yet fragile Brentford bask in their home of goals
Bees’ stunning home record is the result of a meticulous attack strategy that is sometimes their undoing on the road
As fearsome fortresses hosting a bastion of invincibility go, the Gtech Community Stadium is unassuming. Anyone driving past as the A4 becomes the M4 is liable to miss it completely, tucked away among high-rise des-res flats. Its family vibe is hardly Galatasaray’s old Ali Sami Yen either, the team kick off to the not exactly fearsome rabble-rouser Hey Jude and that word “community” is very much to the fore in the PA announcements.
And yet Brentford, the former “bus stop in Hounslow”, have the best home record in this season’s Premier League. Only West Ham, on 28 September, have taken a point, seven teams departing beaten. That the Bees’ away record is an inverse mirror image, their sole point coming at Everton with a 0-0 draw on 23 November, is another story, though probably occurs for much the same reason: all-out attack.
