Is the Top 10 a Realistic Aim for Brentford FC?

Brentford have enjoyed a wildly successful start to their Premier League campaign, which is something they have been working towards for many years. Their long-term focus, building up a squad that can compete and the style of their play have all been given early praise by both managers and fans of other Premier League teams.

The sky is the limit over the course of the next few years, but what about this season? What are realistic aims for this team, newly promoted from the Championship into the top tier of English football? Many believe they can do well, and that includes the oddsmakers, who are pricing them up to do better than others in the same position.

Bookmakers have been fairly quick off the mark to realise the qualities that Brentford have, and the fact they could outplay their fellow promoted clubs. Of the three teams promoted from the Championship last season, Brentford have the shortest odds to finish inside the top half with odds averaging around 7/2 among the popular options, as listed in the top betting sites. Norwich are strong favourites for relegation, Watford are expected to be down there, and Brentford are fancied to keep away from it. Odds will change throughout the season but if Brentford keep going the way they are, their odds for the top half will shorten, and their odds for relegation will lengthen.

One of the aspects about the Premier League this season that may help Brentford is the number of teams that are expected to struggle and be in the bottom half. Those teams could well end up being very bunched up together and getting up into the top half may be a case of just a few points. Getting these from the big games, such as the draw against Liverpool, will certainly boost their chances.

The Keys to a Top Half Finish

There are two main keys to a top-half finish and if Brentford can ensure these two remain for the full season, they are in with a chance of overachieving and shocking a lot of people.

First, this team needs to believe they are in the right league and deserve their chance to be here. Without that, either relegation or a spell of threatening to be a yo-yo team between the top two leagues is far more likely. This is something that teams such as Fulham and Norwich have struggled with in the past. Brentford can’t afford to slip into the same way of thinking.

Secondly, Brentford need to keep scoring goals. Their first five league games resulted in five goals, two of those have come from Ivan Toney, the man charged with being the top goalscorer here. Toney scored 31 goals in the Championship last season, and if you look over the years, Brentford have a long history of developing big scorers who have gone on to have success in the Premier League. Ollie Watkins was the man before Toney and Neal Maupay came before him. These players have been sold in the past to allow them to achieve their Premier League dream, but Toney has the chance to live that here, and his goals are going to be key this season.