Thomas Frank’s fearless yet fragile Brentford bask in their home of goals
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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.
![[Thomas Frank, manager of Brentford, applauds the fans following the Premier League match against Newcastle]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/8293a9c4f4e6045449ae2ee364967af39fda43d2/0_222_3327_1996/master/3327.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
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.
With the Gtech seeing an average of five goals a game this season, it has become the Premier League’s home of attacking football. Thomas Frank’s strategy of blitzing from the kick-off, rather than settling into shape and rhythm, bears sweet fruit in unsettling opponents. His team broke a Premier League record in scoring in the opening minute of three consecutive games (against Manchester City, Tottenham and West Ham) earlier this season, almost doing so in a fourth, only for Nathan Collins to wait until the second minute against Wolves.
