Brentford next manager odds
Who is Brentford's manager?
Thomas Frank, the head coach of Greater London club Brentford, was born in Frederiksværk, Denmark in 1973. He enjoyed a brief a career as a player, turning out for his hometown club Frederiksværk BK before retiring and venturing into the world of management.
Again, he would stay at Frederiksværk BK where he would take charge of the club's youth department. He remained there for three years before moving on to another Danish outfit, Hvidovre IF, again in a youth position. This position, although relatively early in Frank's career, has so far been the longest he has remained at a single club - he stayed for six years, from 1998-2004 before moving to Danish 2nd Division Boldklubben af 1893, a Copenhagen outfit. His time at Boldklubben was brief however, he stayed for less than a year.
After a very brief sabbatical, Frank would return to youth management, this time with Lyngby. Lyngby was Frank's most prestigious position at the time and this got him recognised on the national stage. The Danish Football Association recognised Frank's gifts and asked him to join the national team setup, at first as manager of the under 16s team. He would stay with the under 16s for 3 seasons before being promoted to the next age bracket, the under 17s. With the under 17s Frank enjoyed tremendous success, he took the youngsters to the European Championships, a competition the Danish had been absent from in the previous two tournaments. Frank's under 17s reached the penultimate round of the competition before losing out to an impressive Germany side. Two years after the European Championship success, Frank took his team to the under 17s World Cup, the first time the Danish side had reached the competition. Again, Frank would be promoted to a higher age bracket, this time skipping an age group and moving to the under 19s - his success at this level did not match his previous efforts, however, he was unable to qualify for the European Championships in his one year stint with them.
The under 19s venture would prove to be Frank's last job at international level. Later that year, he would make the step up to senior management for the first time. He remained in his native Denmark and joined Brøndby for the start of the 2013/14 season. Frank was immediately successful with the club, finishing in third place, a feat which was enough to qualify for the Europa League. The following season, Frank's side again managed to qualify for the European competition, this time finishing one place lower in fourth. Despite his relative success, however, Frank was forced to leave his role with the club following interior turmoil - the chairman was heavily critical of Frank in private, culminating in him voicing his frustrations on an internet message board. The drama that ensued meant that Frank felt that his position was untenable, he left the club with immediate effect.
Nine months later, Frank would return to work. This would be his first career move away from Denmark, Brentford F.C lured him away from his homeland to become the head coach with Richard O'Kelly at the London club. O'Kelly would eventually leave the club to become Dean Smith's assistant manager at Aston Villa, but Frank would remain.
In October 2018, Frank was made the official manager of Brentford on a permanent basis - it is by far the most senior position the Dane has ever held. Throughout his short reign, Brentford have played fluid and attacking football which has gained them many admirers in the footballing community and earned him a Championship Manager of the Month Award. Although they finished mid-table last season, many pundits expect Brentford to pose a real threat to their competitors in the division in the 19/20 campaign.
Frank has made a number of impressive addition to the Bees' squad, most notably Pontus Jansson from Leeds, the defender who was at the heart of so much of the Yorkshire clubs' triumphs last season. They have also brought in Spanis goalkeeper David Raya from Blackburn Rovers. The stopper is still young and many fans fully expect him to develop into a Premier League standard player in the next few years. This bodes well for the Bees as they harbour definite Premier League ambitions. Frank's enthusiasm, experience with young players and style of football means that they have a strong chance of reaching this Promised Land.
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