The Premier League is about to kick off, and Lewis ‘Sherlock’ Holmes is once again cocking a snook at the apparent experts.

Everything about football is big business. Even in the lower leagues, the cash sloshing around can be staggering. At football’s glitzy top table, there is an entire industry dedicated to simply having a few opinions. These opinions are usually dressed up as expert analysis but every year that analysis becomes a little more frantic, to the point that I reckon my dog knows more about the Premier League than some of this mob.

Being savvy fans, you will have already clocked that nonsense of a title. Sixth season syndrome isn’t a thing. The actual phrase is second syndrome season, referring to a team reverting to the norm and succumbing to relegation after a very successful first season. Our pals over the pond call it a sophomore slump. It’s actually a bit of a myth in the Premier League, happening only eleven times in thirty-four seasons, with Sheffield United being the most recent victims back in 2021.

Brentford finished last season at our joint-highest Premier League position ever. We were a header away from European football on the last day of the season; in fact, if several frustrating draws had been seen out to wins, it would’ve been moot long before that trip to Liverpool.

Yes, last season’s form can carry over into the new one. But that’s one of a hundred different variables that may play a part, although again, is not something that causes a huge negative effect very often. Consistency and unity off the pitch and amongst the squad is just as important – I’d argue maybe even more so.

After Arsenal, Brentford are probably the most settled side in the Premier League. Everyone else is dealing with churn and change to varying degrees. We’ve lost Jurassic Jordan Henderson; an undoubted source of leadership in the dressing room, a less than integral player out on the pitch when we got to the business end of things.

Yet we’re still seeing the same old lazy dismissals of Brentford among the bovine pundit hordes. First up, to the surprise of no one, it’s TalkSport. Now, anyone with a passing interest in football knows that TalkSport are agitmongers of the highest order, existing purely to rile as many people as possible. They peddle uncut ragebait, and should be ignored whenever humanely possible – the cheap hit just isn’t worth the comedown.

I’m not talking about Rory Jennings, the Dobby the House Elf of sports broadcasting. A young man so spectacularly insecure that he punts out pungent opinion in the vain hope it’ll get people talking about him (and yet here I am, talking about him). Nor am I talking about Andy Jacobs, a fella who at times has seemed almost obsessed with Brentford; or Gabby Agbonlahor, a man whose tongue is hung in the middle so he can spout twice as many tepid takes. Nope, it’s none of them. It’s the actual journalists this time!

TalkSport’s predictions for Brentford have us finishing 17th. This seems to largely be based on the fact that Hendo has left, Keith Andrews and Igor Thiago can’t do it again, and we’ll be relying on Callum Wilson (one option, not the option as we all know). There is no mention of record signing Mamadou Sangaré, no mention of our returning long-term injured players, and no mention of the fact that we’ve been a model for settled consistency this summer.

FourFourTwo and ESPN both have us finishing 10th, The Athletic 11th (below Newcastle who are in the same pickle we were last summer when everyone predicted relegation). The Racing Post puts us 13th, as does Jeff Stelling in the Mirror. Only the Guardian backs us to go one better than last season, predicting 8th place.

There’s a fair bit of ‘second season syndrome’ talk around Andrews and Thiago, which has awoken my inner pedant. And Bees fans who’ve argued with me on socials will know that being pedantic is basically my superpower. Second season syndrome is not applied to individuals within a successful team – it affects the collective. Don’t give me any nonsense about Michu either; if you’re citing one player from over a decade ago, then it just ain’t a thing.

What’s really weird about all this second season chat is that Leeds United, a team who are actually going into their second season in the Prem and are prime candidates for a dose, are widely tipped to bother the top half the table, while little old Brentford – five seasons in and purring along – are roundly ignored even after last season’s success. It’s bizarro world in the pursuit of clicks, as the apparent experts invert a concept in the face of actual facts. Never change, lads.

What it does mean, though, is that Brentford are right where they work best: under the radar.

If you’re familiar with my past Beesotted contributions, you’ll know that I absolutely love it when we’re under the radar. I know the perceived lack of respect winds a lot of Bees faithful up, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s something quite wonderful about continually confounding expectations; it’s the epitome of being an underdog and way more fun than being predictable.

I wasn’t comfortable with all that scrutiny last summer. I like my transfer windows to be of the Bjork variety – Oh, So Quiet. This summer has been much more like it. While everyone was distracted by the World Cup, Phil Giles has gone out and quietly addressed the gaps in our squad. A marquee signing brought in to shore up the midfield gaps; proven Premier League experience up front; promising youth added to the backline.

These new players come into a settled dressing room, adding to a collective of players who should be loaded with nous after a battling performance last season. While everyone around us is dealing with uncertainty, the only uncertainty down at Kew Bridge is how high could we finish?

The general vibe around Brentford, from the boardroom to the boozers, is one of serenity. It reminds me a little of 2013, when we came so close to escaping League One only to miss out in one of the cruellest endings to a game ever. That summer was one of relative calm too; we added judiciously to the existing squad – hello, Alan McCormack, my favourite Brentford player ever! – and went on to go that one step further.

Yes, injuries can play a part. There’s no accounting for luck, both good and bad. You only have to look at the pre-season games, though, to see that Keith Andrews means business. Eleven goals across two games against European opposition. I know a lot of people like to see a rigorous test before the season proper; I’d counter that a confidence boosting rout can be just as beneficial.

And that Frankfurt game was certainly the latter; a Brentford frontline hasn’t looked that fluid and beautiful since the halcyon days of the BMW. Everything seems like it’s clicking into place to be one of the big success stories this season. I mean, even the kit designers have pulled their fingers out and delivered three beautiful options, with not a chocolate and gold monstrosity in sight.

Saturday brings Spurs, arguably the most churned up Prem outfit and the antithesis to where we are, to the Gtech. They’ll be expecting a win – we would too if we’d spent the GDP of a small country on summer reinforcements. But you don’t just wang all that money and get a settled, happy football club overnight. There’s immense pressure on Spurs, whereas the plucky Bees are comparatively footloose and fancy free. We have the chance to deliver an emphatic statement on Saturday, and I’m chomping at the bit.

Up the f***in’ Bees!

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock writes about Brentford – and much more – on Substack. Check his work out here: theledgebeyondtheedge.substack.com