Brentford v Chelsea rivalry: Moneyball v loadsa money

The Premier League has a new West London derby to sink their teeth into this weekend as Chelsea travel to take on top flight newcomers Brentford.

With the clubs just a stone’s throw away from each other there’s an obvious geographical link between them, but in truth the London rivals are miles apart when it comes to most other things.

From the profiles of Matthew Benham and Roman Abramovich to the clubs’ different transfer policies, the Bees and the Blues are pretty much polar opposites in terms of how they operate meaning Saturday’s clash will be the ultimate head-to-head.

talkSPORT will bring you this derby exclusively live and here we take a look at the profiles between the Premier League’s newest rivals…

Brentford v Chelsea: Owner profiles

Brentford owner Benham is the definition of local boy-done-good.

The Bees’ supporter came to the club’s rescue in 2009 with the initial offer to invest significant sums over a five-year period to help the then League One club out of their financial predicament.

However, after just two years of involvement Benham had invested around £20million with fans holding a meeting to ask him to purchase the club outright, something that he did.

Starting his career in banking, Benham joined a sports gambling company where he used analytics to develop predictive gambling models, something which has formed the foundation of Brentford’s business model in recent years.

For Abramovich, the journey to becoming one of the world’s most richest people is slightly different.

After venturing into the business world during his days in the military, the Russian moved into the world of trading before investing significant sums in the oil business.

He then bought Chelsea from Ken Bates and at one point his ventures made Abramovich the second richest person in the UK.

Under the Russian’s leadership the club have since established themselves as one of the world’s biggest and most successful football teams with two Champions Leagues, two Europa Leagues and five Premier League titles to their name.

Brentford v Chelsea: Transfer strategy

Brentford are renowned for having one of the most unique approaches to recruitment in world football.

The club use a statistical approach, nicknamed ‘Moneyball’, which is based on the analysis of several key metrics for each position.

In essence, the Bees purchase players who have lower valuations than their statistical ability deserve, using the players to improve the team before selling them on for a fee that is above market value.

Recent examples of this proving effective are Ollie Watkins who joined the club from Exeter City for £1.8million before being sold to Aston Villa for a fee in excess of £28million just three years later.

The profit made is then reinvested into the squad to ensure Brentford’s first team is consistently strengthened while crucially being self-sufficient.

Chelsea take a different approach.

Since Abramovich took charge, the West London side have been no stranger to making big-money signings in order to consistently challenge for trophies and league titles.

In recent years the club have splashed out vast sums on the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz and Kepa Arrizabalaga.

They have also put an added emphasis on signing players who will, at the very least, maintain their value over the duration of their contracts – something that hasn’t always been the case with the likes of Juan Sebastian Veron and Andriy Shevchenko.

That said Chelsea have used their youth academy to real financial benefit with recent examples such as Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham leaving the club for significant fees which were then used to fund big-money deals.

Brentford v Chelsea: Premier League ambitions

While the two West London rivals have vastly different business models, this is largely down to their differing ambitions in the Premier League.

Brentford are a club who simply can’t afford to match Chelsea when it comes to transfer fees and player wages meaning that the emphasis for Thomas Frank’s side has to be on wise investments.

Buying players on the cheap and selling them for a significant profit sounds easy in practice, but it’s the depth and detail of the club’s statistical analysis which minimises risk and ensures that their dealings prove profitable more often than not.

Brentford’s target this season is simply to avoid relegation to the Championship.

Given their impressive record of improving each season over recent years, you certainly wouldn’t bet against them continuing that upward trajectory and establishing themselves in the top flight.

Chelsea, meanwhile, will always have their focus on maintaining their position near the top of the footballing pyramid.

The Blues are European champions right now and so the pressure is on Abramovich and co to continue investing in order to preserve their position, otherwise they risk being overtaken but Europe’s elite.

On a domestic front it’s clear to see what Chelsea’s target is.

Manchester City and Liverpool have dominated the Premier League in recent years, while the likes of Manchester United are also investing heavily as they hunt the title.

If Chelsea want to be the best then they need to find a way of attracting top players, something that doesn’t come cheap.

Brentford and Chelsea may be in hugely differing places in terms of economics and backing right now but with both sides on an upward trend, Saturday’s West London derby should be an eye-catching encounter.