“We need two hands and ten fingers to lift the trophy, so yes we make ten attempts on this journey — Thomas Frank.”
Brentford sealed the Premier League ticket for the first time after nine failed attempts in the Championship-play-off. The Bees successfully win against Swansea City by Ivan Toney penalty and Marcondes brilliant finish in the final. After the match, the Brentford manager, Thomas Frank, praises his player after getting past the hurdles in the last few years.
Thomas Frank has a close and intimate relationship with his player, and by doing this, he can manage to get the best of his players. Since he took over the manager role on 9 December 2016, he never has a significant clash with his player, and success emphasizes the concept of mutual respect.
Frank career in Brentford is not smooth. He has a challenging track in his three months in charge at the club. However, the board still gave him full support. The Brentford board choose Frank as a first-team coach and club manager in an unfamiliar fashion. After doing preliminary research on his managerial career, the board asked Brøndby supporter regarding the character and personality of their manager from social media platform. After getting positive feedback regarding the manager, the club decides to appoint him as the new manager of Brentford Football Club. All Frank’s characters make board believe he is the best man to lead Brentford to glory, even in the most challenging times.
The recruitment strategy became the key to their success on promoted to the Premier League. The Brentford failure last season’s meant they had to sell some of their key players, such as Olli Watkins and Said Benrahma, to raise fresh money to cover club expenses. The vision and patience from the club gave them the sweetest fruit of success.
“Thomas Frank lost eight of his first ten games as Brentford head coach. We didn’t panic and now things are going a lot better. It’s about knowing when to stick to the plan and when to drive change. We have a much more rational and objective approach than the classic emotional approach in football.”
The Brentford success is more than just the Thomas Frank success as a manager but how the club board understand the football industry and successfully implemented the most delicate transfer strategy. Ankersen, Brentford’s charismatic co-director of football, reckons most companies spend two per cent of their time recruiting and 75 per cent managing their recruitment mistakes. Most of his days are spent ensuring he does not fall into that trap. The key is to identify undervalued talent in the market, develop them, and then sell them for profit, gradually building more value into the squad and progressively increasing the level of the team.
Flamengo refused to pay the original Ronaldo’s bus fare to get him to a second trial, and he was named the world’s greatest footballer three times. Michael Jordan was kicked out of his college basketball team. Asafa Powell couldn’t find an athletics club just years before becoming the fastest man on earth in 2005, Paul McCartney’s teachers failed to spot any musical talent.
The Brentford approach is similar to Arsene Wenger’s strategy from 2004–2012 when they buy players at a low price and sell it to big clubs to earn huge profits. However, Brentford did not have the same pressure from the media like arsenal experience for almost two decades. The status as a dark horse is helpful for them since it allows them to work under the radar. No media covered a small club with the humblest stadium and lowest commercial revenues in the Championship. So when they plan a master design to build their success, no one even bothers to find out what they’re doing.
Now, Brentford and Thomas Frank must prepare themself to compete in the most competitive league on the planet. If they fail, no one will remember. However, if they succeed in the Premier League, no one will forget, and that is the art of the underdog.
For Brentford related story, please check: David Anderson Pritam Guha