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Thomas Frank has a reputation within football as a manager who detects problems and finds solutions. Now he must solve the seemingly never-ending puzzle that is Tottenham Hotspur.
The dysfunctional nature of Spurs was graphically illustrated by chairman Daniel Levy’s decision to follow his long-term habit of sacking managers who do not win trophies by sacking the one who finally did.
Ange Postecoglou may have ended the club’s 17-year wait for success by winning the Europa League, but that was still not enough for Levy after a 17th-place finish in the Premier League.
Into this conundrum walks 51-year-old Frank – the charismatic and warm Dane who will swap the structure and stability of Brentford for the precarious, unwieldy beast that is Spurs.
It is a move laced with risk for Frank, because this is Spurs and his chairman will be Levy, but it is one his naturally confident nature will embrace and is a step up in profile his impressive work at Brentford has earned.
Frank has been hugely successful in establishing the Bees in the Premier League while playing high-intensity, entertaining football – catching the eye of hard-to-please Levy.
Other managers regularly speak in admiring tones about Frank’s work, with the belief being that eventually he would leave Brentford to take on a high-pressure, high-profile job. Even six-time Premier League winner Pep Guardiola said it was “just a question of time”.
The time is now.
The Champions League awaits, and so does a mission to revive Spurs as a Premier League force.
What is clear is they have turned to a man whose career remains on an upwards curve.
Frank’s playing career may have only taken in the Danish amateur game – he even spent time working in a kindergarten – but he progressed successfully as a coach through the Denmark national youth teams to Brondby, before joining Brentford as an assistant in 2016, then succeeding Dean Smith as head coach two years later when Smith moved to Aston Villa.
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In each of Frank’s four seasons leading Brentford in the Premier League, doubts were expressed about their ability to survive. They have not only defied those grim predictions, but have nearly always done it with comfort.
In 2021-22 Brentford finished 13th, before climbing to ninth the following year.
The season that brought most concern was 2023-24, when the Bees finished 16th. In mitigation, that was the campaign during which main striker Ivan Toney served an eight-month ban for breaching Football Association betting rules, not returning to action until late January.
In a further demonstration of Frank’s talents, even when Toney signed for Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League after playing for England at Euro 2024, Brentford were able to regroup and finish 10th with a progressive attacking style centred on attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa.
Frank’s Brentford hit a rich attacking seam as Mbeumo, who looks set to follow the coach out of the exit door, scored 20 goals and had seven assists in the Premier League, and Wissa had 19 goals and four assists.
Former Liverpool midfielder Jan Molby knows his countryman well, watching Brentford regularly in his role as a main Premier League football analyst in Denmark.
Molby told BBC Sport: “He sees problems and solves problems. It’s a great strength for any manager to have.
“There have been a couple of seasons when people have thought Brentford would struggle that year, but they didn’t. He kept finding new solutions.
“Who would have thought after losing Ivan Toney he would be able to produce a pair like he has done this season, with Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa?
“Thomas has earned the right and he’s got what it takes. I think it’s a really exciting appointment for Spurs.”
Molby also believes Frank’s character and man-management style will help him overcome any early obstacles with players hurt by Postecoglou’s sacking, and with fans looking for signs of how he measures up to the task.
“I just have this feeling that for all those things people might be worried about – his career in Denmark, never having managed a club like this – the players will like him,” Molby said.
“They will like the clarity. They will like his personality, his honesty. He is a very good man-manager. I think he’ll be absolutely fine. In the end, it boils down to what he does on the pitch, but I think he’s got all the tools to do the job.
“His big strength is he’s very clear with the players. He will say: ‘This is what I expect and if we all get that we’ll be OK.’
There is a particular reason Molby believes Frank will be the ideal fit for Spurs.
“I see a squad ready to play Thomas Frank football,” Molby said.
“It is about putting the opposition under pressure at every given opportunity. The one thing you don’t want to do as a team is defend. He likes to put the opposition under pressure.
“That is in open play, set-pieces. He makes no bones about his use of long throw-ins. Put teams under pressure. Play long. Play quick. He is adaptable tactically as well.”
Frank has tailored Brentford’s style so they are not quite as reliant on set-pieces. Excluding penalties, 33.3% of their goals came from set plays in 2021-22, followed by 31%, 19.6% and 21.2% in the subsequent three seasons.
Frank’s lap of honour with his players around Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium, often when one of the Premier League’s elite names had been defeated, became a familiar sight – his common touch often leading him to acknowledge faces in the crowd with whom he became familiar.
He also strikes the balance between the pressures of the top flight and enjoying his victories, often talking about his “few glasses of red” when basking in the afterglow of a win.
It might be harder to employ the personal touch at one of the game’s aspiring superpowers in a magnificent 60,000-capacity stadium, but anyone who has been in close proximity to Frank would see a genuine people person as well as a shrewd football strategist.
There is unquestionably an element of a gamble in leaving the comfort zone and sound structure of Brentford under owner Matthew Benham and director of football Phil Giles. Levy-led Spurs are a very different specimen.
When Postecoglou was sacked, the Australian left as the man who delivered long-awaited silverware, with many players upset and a large portion of support torn over whether he should have been given a third season.
“No doubt there is risk,” said Molby. “As much as people look at the season Spurs have had, they have just picked up a trophy after 17 years. Players have come out and spoken about their respect for Ange Postecoglou.
“Often, you take over at a club where the previous manager has been run out of town, but that’s not quite been the case at Spurs. Even though they had a poor Premier League season, it was still maybe 50/50 whether Spurs wanted to keep Ange, so he needs to hit the ground running.
“I think Thomas is pragmatic enough to do what he feels is needed, whereas Ange was maybe a little bit stubborn.
“The big question is whether that is enough. What is enough for Spurs? Ange won a European trophy but it didn’t save him. I would suggest top five – but that is a big ask after where they finished last season.”
Frank has, however, has served his apprenticeship, moving through the managerial gears in Denmark then England.
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