Things Others Say About Brentford FC (6 Viewers)

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

www.thetimes.com

Want to play for Brentford? You’d better be nice to restaurant owners

Premier League’s kings of recruitment seek character references from unusual places before blowing stars away with meticulous analysis and story of their rise
www.thetimes.com www.thetimes.com

Want to play for Brentford? You’d better be nice to restaurant owners​

Premier League’s kings of recruitment seek character references from unusual places before blowing stars away with meticulous analysis and story of their rise​


Mamadou Sangare of Brentford heads the ball during a Premier League match.
Sangaré could have joined a Champions League club when he left Lens last summer but instead chose Brentford
Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Joe Harston

Joe Harston
Friday September 11 2026, 7.45am BST, The Times


In a meeting held on Zoom due to Covid travel restrictions, a 22-year-old Vitaly Janelt watched on flattered and surprised as Brentford’s head of recruitment, Lee Dykes, laid bare just how much the club — in the Championship at the time — knew about him.
Playing for Bochum in the Bundesliga 2, Janelt had been on Brentford’s radar for several years having been initially scouted while playing in the Germany youth set-up.

The midfielder played under six managers in his 3½ years at Bochum, and by the time Brentford made contact, his minutes were limited — much to the west London club’s amazement. However, this gave them the chance to take their research the extra mile, by finding out how he reacted to a lack of game time; would his attitude be suitable? Dykes even tracked down the owner of Janelt’s favourite restaurant to get an assessment of his character.
Lee Dykes in a black long-sleeved shirt with the Carlisle United Football Club logo.
Head of recruitment Dykes puts years of scouting into identifying the right players to targetBrentford fc
The level of detail in their analysis acted as a huge pull for Janelt to join the club that summer. In fact, Dykes says he has never spoken to a player as set on joining Brentford as Janelt. His role in their promotion that season and subsequently establishing themselves in the top flight is regarded as a classic success story for the club’s recruitment strategy.
Years of scouting and a modest £500,000 transfer fee for a player who was initially brought in to deputise for Christian Norgaard has evolved into Janelt, now 28, becoming one of the squad’s most influential players — first under Thomas Frank and now Keith Andrews.
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Six years on, the £41million club-record fee Brentford paid Lens for Mamadou Sangaré this summer dwarfs their transfer outlay from 2020, but the 24-year-old is already being viewed as another gem unearthed by the club. Though the fees have changed, the methods Brentford use to recruit players remain as meticulous as ever.

The numbers used in their data-driven scouting stem from Smartodds, the sports statistics research company founded by Brentford’s owner Matthew Benham, and where the club’s director of football, Phil Giles, was the head of quantitative research. Sangaré initially appeared on the club’s radar while playing in Austria. Igor Thiago, the striker who scored 22 Premier League goals last season, was playing in Bulgaria when Brentford started tracking him.
Matthew Benham, owner of Brentford, and Thomas Frank, manager of Brentford, interact after a Premier League match.
Brentford owner Benham, pictured with Frank, founded the sports statistics company Smartodds whose data informs the club’s approach to signing players.

Yet while the data is key, being able to use it to convince the players they identify to join the club is another thing altogether. Sources close to several players who were signed by Brentford at a young age recount similar stories of meeting senior figures at the club, such as Dykes, and being flattered but also blown away by the intricate detail of their research, producing data and footage of the player that spanned several years.

The club compile audio-visual presentations for prospective signings. They often meet in hotels in scenic nearby locations such as Syon Park, and in great depth show the player strengths and development areas of their game, the way that Brentford play and, most importantly, how those two elements can work together.

One player’s agent described their meeting with the club as “eye-opening” for his client, teaching him about aspects of his game he had not previously considered and saying it is rare to see a presentation of this kind be so polished.
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Dykes — who was made technical director in 2022 — is crucial in this part of the process. It is said his ability to add a personal touch among the heaps of data that helped get the player to the table in the first place goes a long way to convincing them that Brentford’s small training ground in Hounslow is where they can develop into a Premier League star.
Brentford have become particularly skilled at selling the club’s story — their rise from the lower divisions to the top flight. Players come out of meetings with a picture of a warm, welcoming environment where all of the players and staff know each other. This, and the geographical pull of being based in London, are natural incentives for younger players.

Igor Thiago of Brentford shoots at goal, leading to an own goal from Djordje Petrovic of Bournemouth.
Thiago scored 22 goals in his first Premier League season and could one day join the likes of Mbeumo in being sold on for a big profit.

Part of Brentford’s story is their ability to develop players and sell them for huge sums. Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa were signed for combined transfer fees in the region of £20million and sold for more than £150million. They are not shy about highlighting this track record with young talent and comfortable with their reputation as a “selling club”, a phrase that Frank would use regularly.
The prospect of being sold to Manchester United for £65million six years down the line, as Mbeumo was, is typically enticing for players — although Brentford’s desire to keep their wage bill under control means not everyone has fallen for their charms; they have missed out on Eberechi Eze, Mykhailo Mudryk and Michael Olise over the years.

“[Making] the decision purely around finances is one that I would never recommend for a player personally, certainly at that stage of his career,” Andrews said of Sangaré’s other options. “That just comes naturally if you’re successful and you pick the right club. That club isn’t always us, for certain individuals, but for Mamadou and the way he goes about his business, you meet him and you speak to him, you can see pretty quickly and feel pretty quickly if someone slots into what we are.”

What is most surprising about Sangaré’s arrival though, is that he would have been known to many top European clubs. Lens finished second in Ligue 1 last season and he was named in the French top flight’s team of the season. The question is not so much about how Brentford found him but why he walked away from Champions League football to play for them.

Judging by Andrews’ comments, it would appear the club’s hard work and characteristic charm has worked once again. This time, it could bring even greater rewards.
 

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

Untouchable said:
It should also be a must read for the social media morons who continually talk down our recruitment team.
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Those who's key skill is picking their FM team every season... the real experts :rolleyes:.
 

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

1789381701339.pngWe are the Foggy Albion of the Premier League!
 

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

Jay Bee said:
A few amusing bits in this exchange even though of course some if it is tongue in cheek. The idea of Reading fans thinking we have famous players is very odd tbh

View: https://x.com/Dubstep1988/status/2099830925508960463


View: https://x.com/Dubstep1988/status/2099841833882866124
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If this was 2008ish when our positional divisions were reversed we’d have been saying exactly the same thing, we were in the same leagues together more or less for 40+ years.

That’s not to say that it isn’t highly enjoyable flambéing and boiling the piss of the likes of Reading and others.
 

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

Friji said:

View: https://x.com/ronniemac93/status/2099778280983248980


Feel free to give this guy some stick...
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To be honest to the other normal level headed Reading fans all I’ve heard on the way back to the train station were only compliments from Reading fans talking between them: “Their wingers are so good” “they only needed 3 passes and we were in danger” “you can clearly see the gap of quality”
 

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

malkay said:
Should open to 54m10s... The bitterness from supporters of two teams that look to be in a relegation scrap is palpable
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No offence, Malkay, but the best way of deal with two brain-dead irrelevances like those is to ignore them. And I can say that confidently after the benefit of listening for nearly three minutes to their inane ramblings.
 

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

Gawain said:
No offence, Malkay, but the best way of deal with two brain-dead irrelevances like those is to ignore them. And I can say that confidently after the benefit of listening for nearly three minutes to their inane ramblings.
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You lasted that long?!
 

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

Great Stat from OPTA


2.71 - Brentford have played seven Premier League games on a Friday and won six of them (D1). Their points-per-game average of 2.71 on Fridays is the best of any side to play 3+ matches on a specific day of the week in the competition’s history. (There was a lot of football before 1992 though)
 

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

SmiffyBee said:
Great Stat from OPTA


2.71 - Brentford have played seven Premier League games on a Friday and won six of them (D1). Their points-per-game average of 2.71 on Fridays is the best of any side to play 3+ matches on a specific day of the week in the competition’s history. (There was a lot of football before 1992 though)
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Despite meaning a 01:00am arrival home, absolutely love our 8:00pm Friday night games!!!❤️
Best day/kick off time of the all!!!😍
 

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

Lionel Bart-At said:
Get back to bed, you wally! 😂
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Up early as he’s got several pages of stats to update: Goals scored / conceded from set pieces. Can we play you every week, or not. Points / position tracker. Late goals that didn’t impact the game…😂
We thank you for your service badger. No rush, but have the updated reports on my desk by 9am 😉
 

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

For my sins, I know quite a few Chelsea fans and have done since before the old King died, so this week I've had quite a few messages from them and a couple of chats.

Not heard anything since 8 pm last evening...
 

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

the birds and the bees said:
:)
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This 1 minute video perferctly sums up the arrogance and entitlement of fans of the big 6. 'I've been watching this club for 20 years' Wow - so just after the ruskie took over........you've had it so hard mate.

'We deserve and expect the best from Chelsea' on what level have the deserved anything? The first of the big money clubs, Nothing but contempt for them,
 

Things Others Say About Brentford FC

jlove said:
For my sins, I know quite a few Chelsea fans and have done since before the old King died, so this week I've had quite a few messages from them and a couple of chats.

Not heard anything since 8 pm last evening...
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One of my daughters couldn’t make it last night so in her place I took my best school friend from the mid 70s. He’s had a Chelsea season ticket for 30 years but he came to Griffin Park a few times with me back in the 70s. To give him his due, he jumped up and cheered every time we scored, but I strongly suspect he’ll be in with his therapist later today. 😅
 
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