Thomas Frank Biography: Net Worth, Salary, Family, Lifestyle and Managerial Stats

Thomas Frank is a Danish manager who is currently managing Premier League club Brentford FC. Despite not having a flashy career as a player, Thomas Frank has seen success in his managerial career. He became only the second Brentford head coach or manager to achieve promotion to the top flight of English football and has kept them in the league since then.

Thomas Frank Playing Career

Unlike many managers at the highest level, Thomas Frank never made it as a professional footballer. He was not cut out for it and he spent his entire playing career at the amateur level for Frederiksværk as a midfielder.

Thomas Frank Coaching Career

Frank began his coaching career with the U8 team at his hometown club Frederiksværk in 1995. After spending many years coaching amateur kids football, he was appointed manager of the Denmark national U16 and U17 teams in 2008. He then received a promotion to U19 management and spent the following years not just as a coach for them, but also for the U18, U17, U16 and women’s U17 teams on an ad-hoc basis.

In 2013, he was appointed as the manager of Danish Superliga club Brøndby. It was his first job as a manager for a professional football side at senior level. The club finished fourth and third in the two seasons of his tenure, qualifying for the qualifiers of the Europa League. Unfortunately, the team was unable to make it into the group stages. After a disagreement with the chairman of the club, Frank resigned from his role.

In 2016, he joined the English side Brentford FC as an assistant manager. In 2018, after the club parted ways with Dean Smith, Frank was given the keys to lead the club. After a turbulent start to his tenure, he tweaked his tactics and stabilized the club, finishing in eleventh place in the EFL Championship.

The form of the club improved massively in the upcoming season, playing excellent football. Despite the sport getting to a halt thanks to the COVID-19 lockdown, the team continued their form post the restart and qualified for the finals of the Championship playoffs. Unfortunately, it was not their day, as they lost to their rivals Fulham FC.

Undeterred by that result, Frank continued his good work. Brentford picked up where they left and were absolutely flying. The club made a maiden appearance in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, losing to Tottenham Hotspur.

Frank managed Brentford to a second-successive third-place Championship finish during the 2020–21 regular season. The team did not falter this time, winning promotion to the Premier League after a 2–0 victory over Swansea City in the 2021 Championship play-off final. It was the first time Brentford made it into the Premier League and their first top-flight appearance since 1935.

While everyone expected the club to go back down straight away, Brentford had other plans. The club finished 13th in their maiden Premier League campaign to everyone’s surprise, with their iconic win against Arsenal in their first-ever Premier League match.

Brentford enjoyed one of the best seasons in their history, including a 12-match unbeaten run between October and March, finishing the season in 9th place, narrowly missing out on a European spot. In addition, they were the only side to defeat league and European champions Manchester City at their home ground, and the only side to defeat them twice.

The following season, Brentford were ravaged by injuries, including losing their star striker Ivan Toney. Despite that, Frank made adjustments to his side and made sure the club did not get relegated, finishing 16th, thirteen points above the drop zone.

Thomas Frank is known to make gold out of nothing. Many players like David Raya, Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo, and Yoanne Wissa have made significant progress under him, with many of them going on to represent their country at international tournaments and also moving to other elite clubs.

Thomas Frank Tactics

Brentford under Thomas Frank used to operate under a 3-5-2 formation that emphasized solid defensive organization while allowing for aggressive attacking play through wing-backs and midfield support. Brentford’s defensive system hinges on a man-to-man pressing scheme, resulting in a strong ability to control the game defensively

In the current season, they have moved to a four-defender system, employing the 4-2-3-1 formation. They have had joy scoring goals with ease, thanks to the partnership of Bryan Mbeumo and Yoanne Wissa. Brentford utilizes a direct style of play to engage their strikers, often employing set-piece routines that leverage data-driven strategies to exploit defensive weaknesses. The ability from the dead ball is fundamental to their success.

Thomas Frank Achievements

Thomas Frank has not had a shot at elite clubs so far in his career. In his tenure at two clubs, he never won a trophy at the top level. But, he lifted the EFL Championship play-offs trophy in 2021, securing the promotion to the Premier League in the process.