Second longest serving Premier League manager – Assessing Thomas Frank’s six years at Brentford

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This Wednesday marked a special day for Thomas Frank – the six-year anniversary of his tenure as Brentford manager. He took over from Dean Smith back in 2018 with the Bees in 7th position in the Championship, and it wasn’t an easy start for the Dane. Frank actually lost his first three games in charge to Bristol City, Preston and Norwich. That took the Bees down to 16th in the division. But a 2-0 win against Millwall in his fourth game in charge, with goals from Ollie Watkins and Sergi Canós, would soon set the tone for real progression at the club under Frank’s stewardship.

Having lost the play-off final 1-0 to Fulham the year before, in 2021 they went one step further beating Swansea at Wembley to secure promotion back to the English top-flight for the time since 1947, ending a 74-year absence for the club. Having reached an EFL Cup semi-final that season too, it was without doubt one of the most successful campaigns in the club’s history. Frank had already proven his worth. But the longevity that has since pursued has made him one of the most admired managers in the Premier League.

Only Manchester City’s serial winner Pep Guardiola can lay claim to being a longer serving manager in the Premier League right now and even the Spaniard could depart at the end of this season. Brentford visit Manchester United this Saturday – a win there could ramp up the pressure on Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag, and could even elevate Frank’s chances of getting the job himself at Old Trafford. On and off the pitch he has brought stability, progress, and excitement to the football club.

Thomas Frank’s achievements: taking Brentford back to the top

As can be seen in the graphic above, no manager in the 21st century has taken charge of more games for Brentford than Frank’s 283. In fact, in the club’s entire history, only Harry Curtis (708) and Malky MacDonald (386) have taken charge of more games – both of whom managed Brentford pre-1970. In an era where managers can lose their jobs so easily, Frank’s longevity in itself is mightily impressive in the most valuable league in world football. 

One of the areas of focus that has been notably significant in the last few years at Brentford is their recruitment. The club has a very detailed structure with scouting and recruitment, but Frank certainly would have played a huge part in that. Last December, Frank was asked if he had rejected job offers and replied, “Yeah, I have, but I doubt I’ll find a club that does everything better than Brentford.” Frank continued: “I would love to think our club culture is among the best in the Premier League — actually, in the world. The alignment between [owner] Matthew Benham, Phil Giles, the sporting director, Lee Dykes, the technical director, and me is spot on. A very important ingredient for success.”

As illustrated above, since the 2018/19 season – in which Frank was appointed two months into the campaign – Brentford’s squad market value has increased by a staggering +€367 million. In that timeframe, only six clubs in world football have seen their market value rise by more. The Bees signed striker Ivan Toney from Peterborough as a Watkins replacement for just €5.6m back in 2020. This summer they sold him on to the Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli for €42m. Another key area of success in the club’s recruitment has been focused around bringing in top talent from Frank’s native Denmark.

Brentford’s famous 2-0 win over Arsenal on their Premier League debut in 2021 set the precedent for how the club would compete under Frank in the English top-flight. Many expected the Bees to go straight back down to the Championship following their promotion but they have now become an established top-flight side. Despite some hardships, including losing talisman Toney for half of last season due to a ban for breaching betting rules, the club’s lowest league finish has been 16th – which was last term without Toney. They finished 13th in their first season in the Premier League and 10th in their second.

As portrayed above, over the last three full seasons (and the start of this campaign), only four managers have picked up more Premier League points than Frank’s 154. Teams know when they play Brentford they are never in for an easy ride. They have only conceded five goals once since their Premier League return – a 5-1 defeat to Newcastle in the 2022/23 campaign – and have never lost by more than three goals to a traditional ‘big six’ team. Stability has been key and in Frank Brentford have a man who has been in it for the long-haul. 

Frank second only to Guardiola among longest serving Premier League managers

As touched upon, it’s rare to see a manager last five years in a Premier league job in the modern game. Only two bosses have – Frank is one of them. As you can see in the graphic below, Frank has now been in the dugout for Brentford for 2,194 days, which equates to just over six years. With Guardiola’s contract up in the summer at Man City, he could feasibly hold the mantel of the longest serving manager in the Premier League come the start of next season.

This culture of chopping and changing managers is not exclusive just to the Premier League either. In Europe’s top-five leagues it has also become uncommon to stick with managers for a long period of time. Among bosses in the top-five leagues, Frank still ranks as the fifth longest serving manager behind only, Heidenheim’s Frank Schmidt (6241 days), Atlético Madrid’s Diego Simeone (4683 days), Guardiola (3031 days) and Atalanta’s Gian Piero Gasperini (3031 days).

Naturally due to their size, the spotlight is on Bretnford far less than the likes of Man United. However, with so much talk about a long-term plan to get back to the top under the new INEOS part-ownership, Frank’s loyalty and longevity with the Bees could certainly be viewed as attractive to the United hierarchy should they choose to relieve Ten Hag of his duties. If Brentford could fire another fatal blow at Old Trafford this Saturday it could increase that likelihood. But in West London, Frank is close to achieving legend status with the Bees.