Three things we learned as Brentford begin season with disaster display | OneFootball

A nightmare start for Keith Andrews as big money signings and his skipper struggle

Brentford were comprehensively beaten 3-1 by Nottingham Forest at the City Ground as Keith Andrews suffered a nightmare start to his managerial career.

Brentford, whose preparations for the new season have been clouded by uncertainty, were punished for a slow start as Chris Wood prodded home inside five minutes.

Debutant Dan Ndoye doubled Forest’s lead, heading home from Morgan Gibbs-White’s inviting cross, before a composed finish from Wood shortly after put Forest 3-0 up before half-time.

Igor Thiago grabbed a consolation back from the penalty spot, his first competitive goal in a Brentford shirt, but the Bees were unable to conjure up any more chances of note on an afternoon where they were comfortably second best.

Here, Sam Tabuteau assesses the action...

Mike Egerton/PA Wire

Carvalho looks lost

Keith Andrews spoke glowingly about Fabio Carvalho in his pre-match comments.

Sympathetic was the Brentford head coach to the 22-year-old’s plight last season. Carvalho started just three league games following his £27.5million move to west London before a dislocated shoulder saw him miss the final three months of the season.

That was all quickly forgotten against Forest, though, as Carvalho was easily marshalled out of a game Brentford had no authority over. In a defining season for the young midfielder, he gave little cause for optimism.

Carvalho looked lost amidst a frantic Forest start. Deployed on the left-hand side of Brentford’s attack, he drifted across the frontline, but ultimately drifted from the game.

Andrews had praised Carvalho for playing with personality throughout pre-season, but he looked a shell of himself as Brentford kick-started their campaign with a harrowing display on the banks of the river Trent.

There were moments for Carvalho, a nifty and technical operator on his day, such as when he wriggled free from pressure to deliver a dangerous cross early in the second half. However, as with so much of Brentford’s play, these flashes of thrust and creativity were too few and far between.

Even the corner that led to the award of a Brentford penalty came following a succession of dismal attempts from Carvalho to beat the first man.

Carvalho has the ear of Andrews, who developed a close relationship with the former Liverpool man in his role as set-piece coach last season. However, given the club record arrival of Dango Ouattara from Bournemouth, a seemingly free run in the side under Andrews is not guaranteed.

Carvalho will hope a productive pre-season hasn’t been in vain.

A damning debut for Milambo

Antoni Milambo arrived at Brentford to much acclaim this summer, following a breakthrough season at Feyenoord.

Heading into a campaign where Brentford have a lot of questions to answer, though, it seems unfair to hold the 20-year-old up as the solution to a mounting list of problems.

Milambo, who signed for a fee that could reach £20million, endured a testing introduction to life in the Premier League as Forest ran rampant at the City Ground.

The hosts raced into an early lead as Chris Wood reacted quickest to fire home from a corner after four minutes, and from there Forest dominated, adding two more goals on the stroke of half-time, as Brentford’s midfield struggled to find any foothold - by half-time Brentford had averaged just 43% possession.

Viewed as a No8 by Andrews due to his ability to drive with the ball, Milambo hardly had a touch before being replaced at half-time for Kevin Schade.

Much of Brentford’s issues against Forest started in midfield, and while Milambo was not the only one culpable of making mistakes, he will need to show more.

This was as harsh an introduction to life in the Premier League as one player can expect, and Andrews will need to be careful not to let this display define the youngster's season, even at this early stage.

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Much more needed from captain Collins

The decision to name centre-back Nathan Collins as Brentford captain was roundly deemed a sensible one, given his dependability and experience as captain of Ireland, and rightly so.

Andrews, though, will need to see a lot more from Collins if Brentford are to put a damning opening performance behind them.

Collins was by no means the only player for Brentford to drop far below their normal standards, but the 24-year-old is now expected to be the one to raise the levels when his side are on the ropes.

That didn’t happen against Forest, though, as after a fast start from the hosts, Brentford were unable to stem the flow of Forest pressure and conceded twice on the cusp of half-time.

Collins, albeit surrounded by a litany of mistakes, couldn’t establish any sense of control as Brentford were pulled apart, his relative inexperience in a leadership capacity on full display.

A petulant push as the game edged towards full-time summed up a frustrating personal performance from Collins, who let his emotions get the better of him when he should have been a figurehead for those around him, a lightning rod of inspiration amid a dark day for Brentford.