Over the years, Beesotted has recorded more than a thousand podcasts and hundreds of videos following Brentford through the highs, the lows, the madness and the massive changes that have taken the club from the lower leagues to the Premier League.
Brentford are having a pretty good time of it at the moment. So we thought this was a good opportunity to dig back into the archive and go back to where the journey really started.
Beesotted Reloaded brings back some of our original podcasts and videos which we feel are well worth another listen or watch – not with the benefit of hindsight, but as they actually happened.
The podcasts can all be found in order on the Beesotted Reloaded player above
Some of these podcasts are now also available in video form and can be watched on Apple Podcasts. All of them are also available to listen to in audio on all good podcast platforms. Links can be found in the chart below
And for our next Beesotted Reloaded collection, we’re going back to check out The Years That Shaped Brentford.
From the heartbreak of that Doncaster match to finally winning promotion. Getting the green light for a new stadium. Managers coming and going. A clash of footballing philosophies. A radical new approach to recruitment and player development. The creation of the B Team. And eventually the appointment of a certain Thomas Frank.
These were six incredible years that transformed Brentford from a League One club dreaming of the Championship into a club beginning to seriously believe the Premier League was possible.
And the great thing is that Beesotted was there, recording it as it happened.
You can find all eleven podcasts and videos documenting this incredible era below in the Years That Shaped Brentford
From Doncaster heartbreak to the Premier League dream
Podcast 1: Beesotted Reloaded: April 2013 – Brentford v Doncaster. The Heartbreak that Shaped The Bees (video podcast)
We start in April 2013.
Griffin Park. Brentford v Doncaster. Last game of the season. Win and the Bees are promoted.
Then came that penalty.
Marcello Trotta hit the bar and, seconds later, Doncaster raced up the other end and scored. Instead of celebrating promotion, Brentford were heading into the play-offs – where we would eventually lose to Yeovil at Wembley.
At the time it was absolutely devastating.
Looking back now, you could argue it was also the start of the journey that shaped the Brentford we know today.
Just days later we sat down with Uwe Rösler. While everyone else was still licking their wounds, Uwe was telling Bees fans to stay positive and talking about his belief that Brentford could one day become “the new Man City.”
Podcast 2: Beesotted Reloaded: May 2013 – Bees Manager Uwe Rosler Urges Fans to Stay Positive (video podcast)
It sounded pretty ambitious in May 2013.
It sounds slightly different now.
A new stadium. A departing manager. And finally promotion.
Podcast 3: Beesotted Reloaded: December 2013 – New Stadium Green Light as Rösler Exit Rumours Rock the Bees (video podcast)
By December 2013, Brentford were flying again.
But one of the biggest moments in the club’s history was taking place away from Griffin Park.
Beesotted went down to Hounslow Civic Centre with Bees fans as councillors voted on plans for Brentford’s new stadium at Lionel Road.
The decision was yes.
Brentford finally had the green light for a new home.
But in typical Brentford fashion, we couldn’t just enjoy the moment. On the very same night, rumours were flying around that Rösler was being poached by Wigan.
The rumours were true.
A few months later, under new manager Mark Warburton, Brentford finally finished the job.
Preston came to Griffin Park in April 2014 and what started as another important League One match ended with Brentford unexpectedly celebrating promotion after results elsewhere went our way
Podcast 4: Beesotted Reloaded: April 2014 – The Day Brentford Unexpectedly Won Promotion to the Championship (video podcast)
Our video from that day captures something that feels a world away from Premier League football – players, staff and owner Matthew Benham celebrating and chatting with supporters in the pub afterwards.
As we said at the time:
“Wouldn’t happen in the Premier League…”
Little did we know.
Brentford start doing things differently
Promotion was only the beginning.
Brentford were flying in their first Championship season when, in February 2015, it was announced that Warburton would be leaving at the end of the campaign.
We sat down exclusively with Mark Warburton and David Weir to hear directly from them about why they were leaving, their differences in footballing philosophy with the owner and where they believed Brentford should go next.
Podcast No 5: Beesotted Reloaded: February 2015 – Exclusive Interview: Mark Warburton & David Weir Explain Their Brentford Exit (video podcast)
It was a massive moment.
The club had to decide whether to stick with what had already brought incredible success or fully commit to Matthew Benham’s very different vision of how a football club could operate.
A year later, in March 2016, we sat down with Benham himself
He talked openly about mistakes, recruitment, lessons learned and where he believed Brentford could go
Podcast No 6: Beesotted Reloaded: March 2016 – Matthew Benham Exclusive: The Vision for Brentford’s Future (Benham discussion starts around 20 mins 30 secs in)
Listening back now is fascinating because many of the ideas that would eventually become associated with Brentford were still being worked out in real time.
Then came another radical move.
Brentford closed the traditional academy and created the B Team.
In 2017, Beesotted spent a day with the B Team and spoke to Rob Rowan, Kevin O’Connor and Dean Smith about what Brentford were trying to build.
Podcast No 7: Beesotted Reloaded: 2017 – Rob Rowan Explains Brentford’s B Team Revolution
Could this strange new experiment actually produce first-team footballers?
It’s also particularly special to hear Rob talking so passionately about the project. He played a huge role in developing the B Team and its vision before being tragically taken from us far too young in 2018.
His influence on Brentford lives on.
Enter Thomas Frank
Then, in October 2018, everything changed again.
Dean Smith left for Aston Villa.
Brentford promoted his assistant.
Thomas Frank was the new Head Coach.
Within 24 hours, the Beesotted crew were in the virtual boozer trying to work out what it all meant.
Podcast No 8: Beesotted Reloaded: October 2018 – Enter Thomas Frank
Was promoting from within the right decision? What would Frank change? And where was Brentford heading next?
That’s the beauty of listening back to these podcasts.
Nobody knew.
There was no Premier League Brentford. No years of Thomas Frank success to influence what we thought.
It was just a group of Bees fans reacting to what was happening at that exact moment.
A year later, in November 2019, Thomas himself joined us down the Red Lion in Barnes for Frank Talking.
And he really did talk.
Across two podcasts we got into tactics, formations, recruitment, set pieces, mistakes, scouting, xG, the “Justice League”, the B Team, players who had worked, players who hadn’t and the Brentford model itself
Podcast No 9: Beesotted Reloaded: November 2019 – Frank Talking Part 1: Thomas Frank Joins Us Down the Pub
Podcast No 10: Beesotted Reloaded: November 2019 – Frank Talking Part 2: Thomas Frank on the Brentford Model
We even asked him how it felt hearing opposition supporters singing:
“You’re getting sacked in the morning.”
Thomas was just over a year into the job.
Brentford were still in the Championship.
None of us knew where the journey was going to end up
And recapping that whole incredible period, the Beesotted crew got together for the 1000th podcast to discuss Brentford’s metamorphasis
Podcast No 11: Beesotted Reloaded: The Dean Smith Years – How Brentford Found Their Way After Warburton (Beesotted Podcast Episode 1000
Beesotted Reloaded: The Years That Shaped Brentford
| # | Date | Podcast | Original # | Listen | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 2013 | Brentford v Doncaster – The Heartbreak That Shaped the Bees | — | Listen on Acast | Watch on Apple Podcasts |
| 2 | May 2013 | Uwe Rösler’s Rallying Cry: Brentford Can Become the New Man City | — | Listen on Acast | Watch on Apple Podcasts |
| 3 | Dec 2013 | New Stadium Green Light as Rösler Exit Rumours Rock the Bees | — | Listen on Acast | Watch on Apple Podcasts |
| 4 | Apr 2014 | The Day Brentford Unexpectedly Won Promotion to the Championship | — | Listen on Acast | Watch on Apple Podcasts |
| 5 | Feb 2015 | Exclusive: Warburton & Weir on Why They’re Leaving Brentford | — | Listen on Acast | Watch on Apple Podcasts |
| 6 | Mar 2016 | Matthew Benham Exclusive: The Vision for Brentford’s Future | 172 | Listen on Acast | — |
| 7 | 2017 | Rob Rowan Explains Brentford’s B Team Revolution | 270 | Listen on Acast | — |
| 8 | Oct 2018 | Enter Thomas Frank | 456 | Listen on Acast | — |
| 9 | Nov 2019 | Frank Talking Part 1: Thomas Frank Joins Us Down the Pub | 582 | Listen on Acast | — |
| 10 | Nov 2019 | Frank Talking Part 2: Thomas Frank on the Brentford Model | 584 | Listen on Acast | — |
| 11 | Retrospective | The Dean Smith Years – How Brentford Found Their Way After Warburton | 1000 | Listen on Acast | — |
The Years That Shaped Brentford
That’s what makes digging through the Beesotted archive so much fun.
These aren’t people looking back years later and explaining how Brentford became successful.
These are the conversations we were having while it was actually happening.
The Doncaster heartbreak. Rösler’s ambition. Lionel Road. Promotion. Warburton’s departure. Benham’s vision. Rob Rowan and the B Team. Dean Smith. And the appointment and early years of Thomas Frank.
Decisions were being made. Some worked immediately. Some didn’t. Some looked risky. Some probably looked completely bonkers.
Nobody knew Brentford would eventually establish themselves in the Premier League.
But listening back, you can hear many of the pieces gradually falling into place.
Eleven shows talking through some incredile moments from seven extraordinary years.
No hindsight. No rewriting history. Just Brentford’s story as it happened.
Welcome to Beesotted Reloaded: The Years That Shaped Brentford
