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Beesotted’s Tim Street looks beyond  ‘second season syndrome’ reporting claptrap and underlines how promotion to the top flight doesn’t always go pear-shaped in year two.

Brentford winning a third successive Premier League game for the first time ever on Saturday was plenty to shout about, but somewhat overshadowed by the reaction of some supporters of other clubs on social media.

Tweets like this one from GOAL were met with all-knowing replies along the lines of “We’ve seen this before with Sheffield United” and predicting that second season syndrome would kick on next season for the Bees.


 

Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan chipped in on Talksport, saying: “Brentford are this season’s Sheffield United and we saw what happened there. They’ve done fantastically well, but lots of clubs have gone up and done really well in their first season.”

For me, these are just lazy reactions. It’s as if the fact that Sheffield United shone brightly in their first season before crashing and burning in their second only a couple of years ago, that’s all some people can cling to for a reference point when trying to make sense of what Brentford have achieved this season.

Never mind the fact Brentford and Sheffield United are two very different clubs in terms of footballing culture and recruitment. That’s not a slight at the Blades by the way, who I have a lot of respect for due to what they achieved against the odds in 2019-20.

Never mind the fact, also, that there’s been many more examples in recent years of clubs of a similar size and traditional league placing to Brentford thriving for long spells in the Premier League after promotion. Brighton are currently enjoying their fifth successive season, and Burnley their sixth in a row – a remarkable achievement even if they are relegated.

Bournemouth and Watford both stayed up for five years after being promoted at the end of Brentford’s first season in the Championship before succumbing two years ago, while Swansea had an impressive six-season spell in the top flight, and Wigan topped even that with a mightily admirable seven seasons at the top table.

Going back further – and perhaps up a notch in terms of size and traditional league placing, but nevertheless clubs which Brentford have knocked around with plenty in recent decades – Charlton and Portsmouth were both awe-inspiring during their seven-season stays, while Stoke and Bolton both held on for even longer.

I would argue that second season syndrome isn’t really “a thing”, and probably wouldn’t even be mentioned if not for Sheffield United’s recent exploits. It’s nothing more than an attempt to draw a cultural parallel with the music industry, where people like to talk of “second album” syndrome, saying the follow-up to the often-brilliant debut album is often the hardest.

I can see it makes a neat comparison, but the facts don’t bear it out. The Premier League next season celebrates its 30th year, and in that time, there have been just shy of 90 promotions to it. How many of those instances have ended in a second-season relegation? Only 11 – and two of them were the same club (Hull City).

As well as the Tigers, Middlesbrough, Bradford, Ipswich, West Brom, Reading, Birmingham, QPR, Huddersfield and, of course, Sheffield United have suffered so-called second season syndrome. Perhaps only half of those are even properly comparable with Brentford in terms of size, traditional league placings and where they have come from in the last 30 years of the Premier League being in existence.

Far, far more have come straight back down at the first time of asking – 39, in fact. So, almost half of promotions to the Premier League have ended in instant relegation – some suffered by far bigger clubs by the Bees. Perhaps those who have lazily typed or spoken “but what about Sheffield United?” this week should instead celebrate Brentford’s remarkable achievement in avoiding FIRST season syndrome instead.

I think the problem lies in the fact that Sheffield United performed so well in their first season after promotion rather than just scrapping to survive – nobody in the established order, after giving initial plaudits, likes an upstart actually challenging the status quo – and so the Blades’ second season struggles gave everyone a chance to nod knowingly and say “told you so”.

I would much rather a comparison with, say, Brighton, who I have always felt are a very similar club to Brentford (and not just because of the owners’ backgrounds), and who have been just a few years ahead of the Bees in their journey. The Seagulls have certainly ruffled a few feathers this season, and also had long difficult spells, just like Brentford. They’re also just about to successfully survive a fifth season in the Premier League, and I see no reason why the Bees can’t follow that same path.

The other broadside fired at Brentford this week came from a journalist who claimed that Christian Eriksen had had his fun at Brentford but now needed to move onto a bigger stage, like Spurs. Never mind the fact it was the Bees who took a gamble and offered the Dane a route back into the game. Eriksen has been linked with his former club, among others, in the press – speculation which is only set to intensify as Brentford prepare to host Spurs this weekend.

This has been discussed plenty elsewhere, so I won’t go into too much detail, but I am heartened by those “in the know” I have spoken to who have said Eriksen is definitely open to staying in TW8 next season now they have all but secured their Premier League status. I’m realistic enough to realise Eriksen may be tempted by offers elsewhere, particularly a romantic return to north London, where he shone so brightly for seven years.

But I also believe Eriksen is smart enough to know he’s on to a good thing at Brentford. Leaving aside the Danish connections for a moment, he’s somewhere where, at this stage of his career, he can be at the very centre of a hugely interesting project. He has become (no pun intended) the heartbeat of a side which has found its feet once more in the Premier League and is playing with verve and confidence, very much suited to his game. And what’s more, he looks like he’s genuinely enjoying it.

I’m confident he’ll stay, but appreciate it’s far from certain, and each fine performance both from Eriksen and the Bees will increase the chatter as to where he could go next. If he does end up going, he will leave some fantastic memories behind, and let’s hope he makes some more against his former team-mates on Saturday.

Tim Street

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