I’m giving an honest effort to get into Premier Leaguesoccerfootball.
I’m going to become a hooligan."
Then I forget that soccer exists.
It happens year after year.
I called myself a Tottenham fan for a while, but I could never get behind them.
Harry Kane just didn’t move the needle enough for me.
Brentford’s owner is named Matthew Benham.
All growing up, Benham was a Brentford supporter.
He graduated from Oxford University in 1989 and made a career in finance working for Bank of America.
Clearly he was awesome at it, because the business made him a shit load of money.
Fast forward to 2007.
Brentford FC was having serious financial issues.
As part of the agreement, the supporters were supposed to repay the loan in 2012.
If they declined, Benham would have the opportunity to purchase the team outright.
And that’s exactly what happened.
That’s a nice feel good story in it’s own right.
There’s nothing sadder than when a city loses their professional sports team.
But things get WAY better from there.
One thing that made me laugh is that he relied heavily on a statistic called ‘expected goals’.
I’m not sure why I find it so funny.
It just seems like if there’s a stat called ‘expected goals’, should everybody be using that?
I mean, that’s the whole point right?
Especially after Brentford started having so much success with it.
That’s makes me think I could be a successful owner.
Just pick the players who are gonna score the most goals.
They went from League Two, to League One, and qualified for The Championship league in 2014.
Brentford FC’s estimated net worth currently sits at $400 million.
What a ride that must be for a fan.
That could never happen in American sports.
Every team, no matter how small, has a chance to rise to the top.
But this Benham guy might have him beat.
So basically, Brentford FC is built on gambling algorithms.
It’s unclear what exactly the allegations are.
Idon’t thinkit has anything to do with shaving points (maybe I’m wrong).
The allegations were likely a big part of what kept Toney off England’s World Cup team.
That has to be tough.
To have these algorithms that are proven to work and he can’t even use them.
It must kill him when he sees a line that he knows is off.
That has to be hard to resist.
He must miss the old days from time to time.
Brentford currently sits 8th place in the Premier League.
I watched them play a 0-0 draw against Leeds United on Sunday morning.
That was a little discouraging to hear.
It’s very possible I’m buying into the Brentford Bees at their very peak.
Especially if their star striker is facing a hefty ban.
But the story of how the Bees made the Premier League was enough for me to jump on board.
You gotta love an underdog story.
Also, the Bees are a pretty fun nickname.
And from what I’ve seen, their fans are incredible.
