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Beesotted contributor Peter Crumpler  celebrates  staying up, which he rightfully says is “good news for Bees fans in Brentford, across west London and around the world.”

Although the Premier League has its critics – rightly – across a whole range of issues from VAR to club ownership rules, I want to say how much I’m enjoying this ride in the top tier. Why wouldn’t I?

So here’s my top five reasons why Premier League survival – and thriving – is great for Brentford… without thinking (much) about the money.

We’re global. The bus stop in Hounslow is now known around the world. Take a look at when the Club posts on social media, and you’ll see responses and comments from across the globe. Football fans are admiring the Bees from bars in Boston, Bangkok and Barcelona, homes in Hungary and Helsinki, and big screens wherever the sport is enjoyed. And enjoying us in our right – not just when we take on the ‘big’ clubs.

The US Bees fan I met in Heathrow’s Terminal Four was as enthusiastic about Wissa’s goalscoring success as I was. Years of having to explain where or what Brentford is are long behind me. 

We’re local – and how. The injection of cash from the Premier League is helping to drive forward the brilliant work of the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust. The Trust is making a difference in the lives of numerous people across the area. As Thomas Frank has said: “The work that everyone at the Trust is doing for all the children and all the people they are helping is what really matters and for me they are the real heroes.”

The Trust works to support football development and sports participation; youth and community; health and wellbeing; education, employability and training; and provides other specialist support. Lives are being transformed through the Trust’s amazing programmes.

We’re welcoming to everyone. My friend, Arun, couldn’t go to his local football club when he was a boy. Because he’s of Indian heritage and didn’t feel welcome. He said: “Football grounds were not a great place for a young Asian lad.” (Today, he’s a bishop in the Church of England, but that’s another story…)

The experience was the same for Nooruddean Choudry, who’s widely-acclaimed book, ‘Inshallah United’ has just published in paperback. 

He writes: “Most of the faces you’d see at football games would be white, the whole culture around match days and congregating at a pub was white.” Going to matches “was seen as a largely white pursuit.” 

Neither of these men were talking about Brentford FC, but for decades this was the perception – and reality – about many football stadiums.

It’s great that the crowds at the GTech are getting more diverse with people of all ages and backgrounds enjoying the experience. It’s great that the Club wants to build on that and champions diversity. Football has got a way to go on fighting racism – as sadly Ivan Toney and other players can testify – but we’re on that journey together.  

We’re successful. That beautiful night under the lights in August 2021 when we outplayed Arsenal 2-0 in our first Premier League match in our new stadium was a magical, magnificent experience. And there have been many more since then. 

I’m looking ahead to more success, as we invest wisely and make the right player choices. But success is more than how we play on the pitch. It’s also about how we perform as fans, as backroom staff, as an organisation that respects the rules and plays by them. 

It’s about having a commitment to integrity, honesty and transparency in all the Club does. Close working with fans is key to that. 

We’re more Brentford. That’s about being welcoming to all, about remembering our heritage, about not taking our success for granted, or thinking that we ‘deserve’ a place at the top table. We’ve seen some big football clubs drop down through the leagues. 

It’s when we remember our past, and stay modest, that we stay true to our roots. We remember those who shook buckets and did sponsored walks so the club could survive. And look at us today.

So, another season in the Premier League – bring it on, we’re so ready for you…

Rev Peter Crumpler

Peter a lifelong Brentford FC supporter, and a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts.