Sam Saunders interview: Brentford's rise is a testament to good people and cool heads | OneFootball

Bees academy continues to enjoy a meteoric rise to prominence, all in the memory of former technical director, Robert Rowan

Brentford have come a long way since Sam Saunders stepped out for the final time at the now derelict Griffin Park.

Take the building where he used to eat, change and train as a player, which is now purpose-built to host the world’s media, and you begin to appreciate the journey this modest west London club have been on since Saunders departed for Wycombe Wanderers in January 2017.

Brentford, pushing for Europe after half a decade in the Premier League, have gone global - backed by Hollywood royalty and a fervent contingent of overseas fans - but none of this is by accident.

“Brentford never do anything by luck or by chance,” Saunders, who is head coach of Brentford’s B team, tells Standard Sport.

When Saunders left for Wycombe, Brentford were just one year into a radical plan to overhaul their approach to academy football.

It's not been something that's happened by just chucking loads of money at it ... it's been [progress] year by year, step by step

Sam Saunders

They took the controversial decision to close the club’s academy in 2016 due to high costs and low player progression.

Instead, focusing their resources on getting promoted from the Championship, while developing players aged 17-21 who were better equipped to quickly step up to the first team.

Having secured their top-flight status for the first time in 74 years, following a play-off victory over Swansea City in 2021. Brentford then reopened their academy to meet Premier League requirements in 2022.

In the following four years, Brentford’s academy has gone from category four to category one status. They are now among the elite academies in England and have reached the status faster than any other club in the country.

“It's not been something that's happened by just chucking loads of money at it,” Saunders continues.

“It's been something that's been year by year, step by step, gradually. It's been a real pleasure and a privilege to witness the journey the club's been on since getting promoted from League One to League Two, watching that, then watching from League One to the Championship and then stabilising and watching that again, going from the Championship to the Premier League and now pushing for European football.

“It's just amazing to see where the club's gone, and it just proves good ownership, good leadership, good strategy, cool heads, decent planning and good people, what you can achieve.”

Brentford’s success at academy level is a testament to the work of the club’s former technical director, Robert Rowan, who oversaw the strategic direction of Brentford B and the transition away from the traditional academy model.

When Rowan suffered a fatal cardiomyopathy episode in November 2018 at the age of 28, the club were rocked, with then-first-team manager, Thomas Frank, describing the Scot as an “infectious personality” and a “huge loss”.

Sam Saunders

Pro Sports Images

Since Rowan’s sudden passing, Brentford have worked tirelessly to continue his legacy, and it is a point of immense pride that graduates from the B team have made over 500 first-team appearances a decade on from Rowan bringing the initiative into existence.

The Robert Rowan Performance Centre stands at the far end of Brentford’s Jersey Road training ground, a permanent reminder of the work he helped set in motion.

Meanwhile, the Robert Rowan Invitational takes place each year to commemorate his loss and raise funds for the Heart of West London. A partnership aimed at raising awareness of cardiac health issues, particularly in young people.

It is a sign of the club’s progress and notoriety that Saunders will lead the B team out against Paris Saint-Germain at the Gtech Community Stadium next Monday for the fourth edition of the Robert Rowan Invitational.

Brentford’s academy project has now come full circle, and Saunders says it is a credit to the likes of Rowan and former academy director, Stephen Torpey, who departed for Manchester United last August, that the club have handled the transition so smoothly.

“It is an incredible achievement, which people who started that journey are now not with the club and people that have come in have picked up the baton.”

“We're a Premier League club, we're not a League One club anymore, where we're getting our best players taken off us.

“I think now we can develop our players and create a pathway for them within the building. It's going to take a period of time. But I'm sure that with the strategy in place, with the coaching in place, with the academy leadership team in place, that will happen.”