Brentford endured a miserable end to the 2012/13 League One season, conceding to Doncaster in the dying moments of the final league game having seen a Marcelo Trotta penalty hit the crossbar just seconds before to miss out on automatic promotion. They would go on to reach the Play-Off Final at Wembley, but were narrowly edged out 2-1 by Yeovil Town.
Yet the Bees recovered remarkably well from such disappointment to seal promotion to the Championship last time around with a second place finish despite losing manager Uwe Rösler to Wigan Athletic in December.
In fact, Brentford lost just four games in five months following the German’s departure, sealing the final automatic promotion spot eight points ahead of the chasing pack. Rosler’s successor Mark Warburton has recently signed a one-year extension with the club as he sets about the task of preparing for Brentford’s first season in the second tier since 1992/93.
Their biggest signing has seen Leyton Orient’s Moses Odubajo, join on a three-year deal for a club record fee of £1m. The winger scored 12 goals last season, including the opener in the League One Play-Off Final against Rotherham.
Brentford’s business has not been limited to these shores, with the capture of Spanish midfielder Marcos Tebar from AlmerÃa after the 28-year-old terminated his contract having made 25 appearances in La Liga last season. Spurs winger Alex Pritchard has also signed on a season-long loan after impressing during a similar deal with Swindon Town last season.
Brentford may have lost striker Clayton Donaldson to Birmingham City, but they have added to their attacking options with the signing of Andre Gray, last season’s joint top scorer in the Conference with 30 goals, from Luton Town. They have also recruited Alan Judge on a permanent deal from Blackburn, after the 25-year-old scored seven goals during a loan spell last season.
Barnet’s last encounter with Brentford came in the 2011/12 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Southern area semi-final, which saw both sides draw 0-0 after extra time meaning that the tie had to be settled on penalties. Barnet went through after scoring all of their penalties in a 5-3 win, but would miss out on a date at Wembley after losing 2-1 on aggregate to Swindon.
