Brentford are Premier League darlings like Brighton, except no one is trying to pick them apart

Brentford 3-0 Southampton (Mee 41′, Mbeumo 44′, Jensen 80′)

GTECH COMMUNITY STADIUM — The greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world he didn’t exist. That iconic line, from the unassuming mouth of the disguised devil incarnate in the 1995 classic film “The Usual Suspects”, came to mind on a deceptively chilly afternoon in west London.

Perhaps Brentford’s greatest trick is convincing the Premier League that their brilliance doesn’t exist. You know the Bees – that family-friendly, feel-good story, fearlessly punching upwards. It’s all fun and games until they smack you in the jaw.

In this comprehensive win over an admittedly feeble Southampton, Brentford were once again accomplished and comfortable, never ostentatious but ruthlessly effective. A Ben Mee bullet header rapidly morphed into Bryan Mbeumo sweeping home a devastating counter-attack. Just as Southampton threatened to produce something, Mathias Jensen reminded them of the gulf between these two sides.

Brighton, who Thomas Frank’s side trail by a point, are the conspicuous darling of the Premier League, a plucky upstart willing to identify and nurture world-beating talent, then pass it on for healthy compensation.

Yet Brentford lack superstars, or an aesthetic treat of a tactical system. There is no international auction for their central midfield, no litany of features on their intricate global scouting system.

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The widespread belief appears to be that most of these players are stretching the outer limits of their potential in a system built for their strengths, that eventually it’ll all go Championship-wards. Won’t it?

Pre-match, Nathan Jones pointed to “continuity” as Brentford’s great strength. Of the Bees’ starting XI today, five of the players who started the 2021 Championship play-off final were still in the line-up, with today’s captain Christian Norgaard a Wembley substitute.

But continuity for any length of time is fragile in modern football, and what happens when this merry gang of outlaws disband will be as much guesswork as it is a science. They have the lowest expenditure of any side still in the Premier League since their promotion, operating with a one in, one out door policy.

Most of this side appears to be an interdependent ecosystem. Without Jensen’s right foot to feed on, Ivan Toney’s goals may be forced into extinction. Without David Raya silently yet surely providing an essential diet of long balls and spectacular saves, Ethan Pinnock may not see next Christmas.

This Brentford side are still the first generation of Premier League Bees. The stumbling block will come when Toney, or Norgaard or Jensen, or Raya, need replacing. By the laws of statistics, defying infinitesimal odds becomes less likely every time you attempt it.

Southampton will tell you it is difficult to plan for a future in the Premier League if there is a very real danger that future will cease to exist. Jones’ side increasingly appear as though they will not have the luxury of a full rebuild, that the futures of some incredibly exciting young talents may be stunted by a potential slew of Championship seasons at St Mary’s.

After his own fans serenaded him with “Nathan Jones, your football is s___”, the Saints boss was bullish post-game that he will now live and die by his own philosophy. He believes he has compromised up to this point, that now he must stick to the ideas that built his career.

This will likely concern fans, who were not enthralled at his appointment and are less convinced than ever as their side have lost eight of their last nine league games.

Meanwhile, Brentford are now nine league games unbeaten and have conceded just once in their last five league games. It won’t last forever, but might last longer than any of us anticipate.

Bees fans will continue to dance to Hey Jude and Freed From Desire after every win as if is a cup final, and no media titan will berate them live on air, because, well, it’s Brentford. They’re the proverbial elephant stuck up a tree, with no indication how it found its way there but great surety it will eventually be earthbound once more.

However, with every seemingly insignificant, inconsequential win, every match like this where expectation simply becomes reality, that elephant becomes just a little better suited to arboreal life.

Soon, it may even learn to hang upside down when it sleeps.

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