| Is it time to follow the Brentford model? 21:53 - Jul 29 with 6638 views | pointofblue |
The key aspects to be fair should be in place at every club - a set approach to play, only signing players which fit the model and have the right character, hiring managers and coaches who will meet this model... but should we also follow the B Team model which Brentford have employed (and I think Huddersfield wee at the very least considering it too).
The argument is any shining lights of the young age bracket get picked up by big clubs whilst any which miss the first run of the net are taken from the smaller sides with a nominal fee paid. The academy system is now weighted, as is much of football, to aid the richest clubs to the detriment of the poorest ones.
Brentford, quite understandably, decided that this made an academy a difficult outlay as it wasn’t really meeting requirements, bringing through players of an adequate standard. Instead they decided to scout and sign young players released from the richer academies who met the aforementioned style of play and attitude requirements. This, accompanied with a strong scouting network abroad has brought them consistent success in the upper echelons of the Championship and they’re, again, one match from the Premier League.
As much as it pains me to say it is this approach we need to take? Widen our scouting network to encompass the top side’s Under 23 teams and look for bargains abroad? Firstly is it cheaper than trying to maintain an academy and secondly would it be more successful? Or is the academy still the way we should be approaching things, bringing players through and - as we well might with Woolfenden and Downes - look to profit on those we can keep hold of and come good? |  |
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| Is it time to follow the Brentford model? on 21:36 - Jul 30 with 920 views | Radlett_blue |
| Is it time to follow the Brentford model? on 12:06 - Jul 30 by thatdamgood89 |
You can 100% do a Brentford while also having an academy. I was in a presentation a couple of years ago about their recruitment strategy and the process they use.
A different world from Ipswich.
It's all data. data, data. Where the player will be in 12, 24 months time etc
Over the last two years, they have signed one player over 27 years of age for a reason.
Ipswich meanwhile signed 8 in the over 27 categories.
Data from here, Not a Brentford fan lol transfermarket.co.uk |
Our strategy has been haphazard because Evans doesn't have a football strategy, His idea has been to employ a seemingly competent manager & let him get on with it. Worked well with Mick, but not under his other 4 appointees. |  |
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| Is it time to follow the Brentford model? on 09:47 - Jul 31 with 855 views | C_HealyIsAPleasure |
| Is it time to follow the Brentford model? on 12:06 - Jul 30 by thatdamgood89 |
You can 100% do a Brentford while also having an academy. I was in a presentation a couple of years ago about their recruitment strategy and the process they use.
A different world from Ipswich.
It's all data. data, data. Where the player will be in 12, 24 months time etc
Over the last two years, they have signed one player over 27 years of age for a reason.
Ipswich meanwhile signed 8 in the over 27 categories.
Data from here, Not a Brentford fan lol transfermarket.co.uk |
You can’t though, the whole point is that they are very good at the data approach as they have invested significantly in it - using funds saved from not running an academy etc. Realistically there is no way we would be able to do it as effectively without huge investment which isn’t going to happen
IMO rather than trying to jump on what another club is doing and coming up with a half-a*sed version we should be focusing on implementing an Ipswich model. For me that would be continuing to focus on the academy with a clear pathway into the team (which means managers actually being committed to blooding young players properly even if it takes them time to get up to speed). That would be coupled with accepting that the best of those players will ultimately move on - and then using those funds to both sign standout players from the lower divisions (a bit like the Hurst Summer but not en masse and looking a level above) plus sprinkling in the odd experienced FA and loans. Finally ensuring we hire managers that fit with this approach and keep some sense of continuity of playing style and approach, even if it doesn’t have to be exactly the same
Alas the above would need some thought, investment in the short term and patience, so probably isn’t going to be implemented anytime soon! |  |
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| Is it time to follow the Brentford model? on 09:53 - Jul 31 with 855 views | C_HealyIsAPleasure |
| Is it time to follow the Brentford model? on 10:25 - Jul 30 by BlueBadger |
The much-vaunted Brentford Model is hugely dependent on Getting It Right in the transfer market EVERY SINGLE WINDOW, so you can keep selling big and reinvesting. One bad summer could potentially bring the whole edifice down. It's very 'eggs in one basket'. |
Not really true, they certainly tend to make a big sale or two regularly but it’s not like they are buying and selling a whole squad each Summer. Getting it wrong would set them back sure but there’s enough structure and continuity in place that it shouldn’t cripple them unless they continue to get it wrong over and over again
What will probably eventually do for it will be either:
1) getting desperate when things do go wrong and abandoning their approach in favour of the short term (oddly enough this could actually become a problem if they get promoted and try too hard to stay up)
Or
2) Other clubs following the approach diluting the market. Ultimately there will only be so many statistical bargains out there - and if lots of clubs end up chasing similar players they will no longer be bargains and the value will be lost
But even if that happens they’ve had a hell of a run, and they’d still have quite a way to fall from where they are now to be back where they have been historically [Post edited 31 Jul 2020 9:54]
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| Is it time to follow the Brentford model? on 10:02 - Jul 31 with 842 views | Herbivore |
I don't think we should scrap the academy. The bit of the Brentford model that works is their ability to pick up talented players for small fees and sell them on at a massive profit. If that was straightforward to emulate then everyone would be doing it. |  |
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| Is it time to follow the Brentford model? on 10:40 - Jul 31 with 816 views | Radlett_blue |
| Is it time to follow the Brentford model? on 10:02 - Jul 31 by Herbivore |
I don't think we should scrap the academy. The bit of the Brentford model that works is their ability to pick up talented players for small fees and sell them on at a massive profit. If that was straightforward to emulate then everyone would be doing it. |
The argument for the Brentford model is that developing other clubs' cast-offs is a more efficient way of producing talent than using an academy, given that the best prospects get picked off for peanuts. Neither us nor Brentford have unlimited resources so don't have the money to afford an academy and a full blown scouting network. I think some of us have too much of an emotional attachment to the academy & "developing our own" & arguably the Brentford model is more viable. | |
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| Is it time to follow the Brentford model? on 11:02 - Jul 31 with 803 views | Herbivore |
| Is it time to follow the Brentford model? on 10:40 - Jul 31 by Radlett_blue |
The argument for the Brentford model is that developing other clubs' cast-offs is a more efficient way of producing talent than using an academy, given that the best prospects get picked off for peanuts. Neither us nor Brentford have unlimited resources so don't have the money to afford an academy and a full blown scouting network. I think some of us have too much of an emotional attachment to the academy & "developing our own" & arguably the Brentford model is more viable. |
Think the academy costs circa £2m a year, so selling someone like Connor Wickham covered the cost of the academy for 4 years. Even losing the odd Ben Knight and Charlie Brown here and then covers a decent chunk of running costs for the year. If Downes ends up going for £4m that's another couple of years of academy costs covered as well. Over time our academy probably ends up paying for itself, that's without considering the contribution academy players make to the team whilst here. | |
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| Is it time to follow the Brentford model? on 12:42 - Jul 31 with 775 views | itfcjoe |
| Is it time to follow the Brentford model? on 10:40 - Jul 31 by Radlett_blue |
The argument for the Brentford model is that developing other clubs' cast-offs is a more efficient way of producing talent than using an academy, given that the best prospects get picked off for peanuts. Neither us nor Brentford have unlimited resources so don't have the money to afford an academy and a full blown scouting network. I think some of us have too much of an emotional attachment to the academy & "developing our own" & arguably the Brentford model is more viable. |
It's a lot easier to get cast offs in London, and on the flip side it is a lot harder to stop players leaving in London
Our academy and Brentford's are incomparable, plus they claim Chris Mepham who they sold for £15m as a B team player when he joined them at an age it was only possible to do because they had an academy at the time |  |
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