Brentford's first season back in the Championship for 21 years last term was a huge success as the West London side got into the playoffs with a fifth-place finish before running out of steam in the semi-finals against Middlesbrough.
Despite the club's progress under Mark Warburton, owner Matthew Benham stuck by his visions of a club reliant on statistical analysis and it was not an ideology shared by Warburton, who would have had to give up control of transfers if he wanted to stay on as head coach.
A summer of change has followed, with unknown foreign faces arriving in the capital and a new coach from the Netherlands being entrusted with the system that many supporters have questioned, given how well the Bees did with a traditional manager in place last term.
No side in England has put this much faith in the 'moneyball' approach, and several other owners will no doubt wonder how successful the signings made by co-directors of football Phil Giles and Rasmus Ankersen will be.
In
Yoann Barbet (Chamois Niortais), Akaki Gogia (Hallescher), Jan Holldack (FC Koln), Konstantin Kerschbaumer (Admira Wacker), Ryan Williams (Morecambe), Andreas Bjelland (FC Twente), Josh McEachran (Chelsea), Philipp Hofmann (Kaiserslautern), Lasse Vibe (IFK Goteborg)
Out
Richard Lee (retired), Kevin O'Connor (retired), Alfie Mawson (Barnsley), Emmanuel Oyeleke (Exeter City), Nick Proschwitz (SC Paderborn), Tommy Smith (released), Tony Craig (Millwall), Will Grigg (Wigan Athletic), Jonathan Douglas (Ipswich Town), Stuart Dallas (Leeds United)
Last season - 5th
Manager - Marinus Dijkhuizen
© Getty Images
Who? That's what many supporters wondered when Dijkhuizen was confirmed as Warburton's successor. The Brentford board were impressed with the Dutchman's work in charge of SBV Excelsior, whom he guided to promotion to the Dutch top flight after taking over midway through the 2013-14 season.
The step up to the Eredivisie proved difficult for Dijkhuizen and the club, but they managed to just maintain their top-flight status before Dijkhuizen was approached by Brentford. With so much focus on the new philosophy, there is plenty of pressure on the owner, the co-directors of football and the players, but Dijkhuizen is likely to be the first to go if the plan sees Brentford nosedive towards the bottom of the table.
Dijkhuizen's task is to mould a squad packed with new signings to success in one of the most competitive leagues in the world. He has been hailed as "open-minded" by those above him, and he will have to be with radical plans like texting during the game set to feature throughout the season.
Key Player - Toumani Diagouraga
With a new manager and many new faces, key cogs from last year like Diagouraga will need to again be at their best if some of the foreign imports struggle to adapt to life in England.
An Anchor-man, Diagouraga won several end-of-season awards earlier this year and his no-nonsense attitude will be especially key in the backbone of what is a very different Brentford to the one of 2014-15.
© Getty Images
Possible starting lineup
Button; Yennaris, Bjelland, Dean, Bidwell; Diagouraga, Kerschbaumer, Judge; Jota, Gray, Vibe
First game: Ipswich Town (H), Full fixture list
Sports Mole says
The Bees are the biggest question mark in the league. Will their dependence on statistics and numbers translate to success on the pitch? It will be extremely hard to better last season's fifth-placed finish and a campaign adapting to the new philosophy is more likely.
Mainstays from last year like Alex Pritchard, Stuart Dallas, Jonathan Douglas and Moses Odubajo have all either left or are soon to depart and that means there is heaps of pressure on Dijkhuizen to forge a winning formula without some of last season's best players.
Still, there are plenty of quality players and, despite all the changes, the West London side should not slump down near the drop zone.
Prediction - 9th
Pascal Lemesre
