The Reds could only draw 1-1 at Luton last weekend, followed by a 3-2 defeat away to Toulouse, and improvements are clearly required in their latest Premier League outing.
Some fans were getting nervous when we had only had one win in two-and-a-half months, but the truth is, we lost not one but TWO massive players for us; Ivan Toney and Rico Henry with a season-long knee injury.
Any team will struggle if you lose players so integral to the way that they play, but we have managed to adapt. The players who have stepped in, even though they may not be Toney and Henry, have done a magnificent job.
On top of that, big names like Josh Da Silva, Mikkel Damsgaard, Kevin Schade, Shandon Baptiste and Keane Lewis-Potter are also injured, so it’s not making Thomas Frank’s job any easier.
We lost to Everton but we were well and truly Dyched! We have only beaten a Sean Dyche side once in the last seven.
We also unluckily lost to Man United after being 1-0 up until the 92nd minute. Beating Burnley has been the turnaround for us. Getting the result we deserved.
Then to top that up, beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for the THIRD time in a row, then beating West Ham for the FIFTH time in a row in the Premier League, meant that our so-called worries were put behind us.
Looking back, our draw against second place Tottenham in the first game of the season, in which we were gutted that we didn’t take all three points, now looks like a great result.
Nathan Collins arrived from Wolves for a (relatively for Brentford) big price tag. A fee of £23 million is huge for us and broke our transfer record.
He had a few so-so appearances and Bees fans were wondering exactly why we splashed out on him, but in the last few matches, he has shown exactly why we have spent money on him.
In Toney’s absence, Bryan Mbeumo has gone up several levels. He has been excellent. His rapid breaking when Brentford turnover has caused plenty of problems for opposition defences.
There have been a few question marks has with Mark Flekken, the Dutch international goalkeeper who stepped into the rather large boots of David Raya.
He has made a few basic mistakes which have made Bees fans slightly nervous. And in our last match against West Ham, he was taken off at half-time (apparently he got a knock) to be replaced by Thomas Strakosha.
Simple answer: no. But then maybe! We’re in a great position that we don’t need to sell him in January. We can wait until the summer.
As fans, we all know he is going to go and we’re used to Brentford selling our key players, then buying more key signings. We’re relaxed about it.
But it’s great that we are not getting our pants pulled down any more like we used to back in the day when any club came running offering money for our players.
The reality is, Ivan owes us one, so he can’t exactly kick up a fuss if we decide we will hold onto him until summer.
