After winning the Europa League and fulfilling his promise to deliver a trophy in his second season, Ange Postecoglou has left Tottenham Hotspur. The vacancy is expected to be filled by Thomas Frank, who has been linked to the club for some time after excellent seasons at Brentford.

The Dane led the Bees to the Championship title and to solid seasons in the Premier League during his seven years with the team. At Spurs, he is likely to find a club that is more politically chaotic, but with more money and talent than he has ever seen in his previous jobs.

How Thomas Frank consolidated Brentford in the Premier League

Last season, Brentford had the second-lowest wage bill in the Premier League, ahead of only Ipswich Town. In a league where financial power is so decisive, the club’s success is remarkable.

More than that, the Bees have constantly lost their main talents: Christian Eriksen went to Manchester United; David Raya to Arsenal; Ivan Toney, first suspended for almost a year, then moved to Saudi football. And this did not seem to impact the team.

Perhaps the impact was not so great precisely because of the way Frank sets up his team: with the stereotypes of a “small club.” In last season’s stats, Brentford were:

• Only 14th in possession (47.7%);


• Second in most long passes, over 36 meters;


• Fourth in most crosses into the opposition’s six-yard box.

Unlike Postecoglou, who surprised in his first season with full-backs playing as midfielders, possession, and dominance in advanced areas, Frank built a more physical team, relying on long balls and crosses and not concerned with dominating the game.

But, interestingly, it was still a team with the tools to build from the back. They had the most touches in their own six-yard box and the third most touches in their defensive third — meaning the defenders, goalkeeper, and midfielders were calm and did not just look for long balls.

The physical squad also translates into other characteristics: they won more aerial duels than any other team in the Premier League, for example. But that does not mean they are just a team that sits deep and waits to be attacked — quite the opposite.

Brentford pressed high, as shown by their third place in the league for duels in the attacking third, and they were fifth in the percentage of duels won against dribblers (winning 53.2% of the time).

Their high pressing also frequently resulted in clear goal-scoring chances, and their attacking numbers are impressive:

• 39.4% shooting accuracy (highest in the Premier League);


• 0.14 goals per shot (highest in the league);


• An average shot distance of 13 meters (closest to goal in the league);


• 63 goals scored (fifth in the league)

Flexible formations and playing style

Thomas Frank shaped Brentford without a rigid formation, mixing a 4-4-2 with a 4-2-3-1 depending on the moment in the game. When building from the goalkeeper, they often used a 4-2-4.

It is worth noting, however, that the players, especially the attacking quartet, frequently switched positions. It was a formation without a traditional centre-forward, and with four players skilled enough to drop deeper, play in the half-spaces, and on the flanks.

Unlike teams that lean more towards positional play, the Bees look to advance as quickly as possible, even with shorter passes. And if they are in a situation where they might lose the ball, they are not afraid to go long.

The team’s main creative player is Mikkel Damsgaard. Once a young prospect, the 24-year-old midfielder has established himself as a very technical creator, capable of finding through balls for his attackers — he had 10 assists in the last Premier League season.

And more than just an important creative player, Frank combines him with a curious flexibility in his lineup choices: for example, he uses Keane Lewis-Potter, a right-footed winger, as a left-back.

This means the left-sided midfielder, usually Yehor Yarmolyuk, drops back to become a left-back, allowing Lewis-Potter to push forward on the wing. Thus, during the team’s second phase of build-up, Damsgaard takes up the holding midfielder position and Kevin Schade, the left-winger, has more freedom in the middle.

Arriving is different from being, and Frank’s Brentford used this to great effect with positional rotations. So much so that someone was constantly left unmarked in this process, creating confusion among the markers of Schade, Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, and Yarmolyuk.

From defence to attack: speed and intensity

In the defensive phase, Brentford stay in a 4-4-2 and have different ways of acting when out of possession. Usually, they start by defending high and pressing the opponent with man-to-man marking.

The midfielders and forwards push up to close passing options and limit the opponent with the ball. This matches their high number of attacking duels and their creation of chances near the opposition’s goal.

When pressing high, however, the centre-backs tend not to push up as much, to avoid leaving space behind. And when they do not win the ball back or force an error, the team quickly drops back to defend deep, still in a 4-4-2, to exploit the space behind the opposition’s defence on the counter-attack.

Frank has assembled a team with great ability to win aerial duels — the best in the Premier League in 2024-25 — and that is very intense in chasing opponents and duelling in different areas of the pitch.

What Thomas Frank brings to Tottenham

The Danish coach was very successful at Brentford also because he had an organized club, with a recruitment and scouting policy that matched the squad planning.

At Tottenham, he may find a more talented squad, but with remnants of different managerial eras that do not necessarily fit his ideas. However, Frank is unlikely to be the type of manager who demands high-profile signings to deliver results.

If he can handle the internal pressure at the club and has the support of the squad — which has faced controversies in recent years involving lack of commitment and many injuries — it is a combination with a lot of potential.

Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are a physical, fast, and dominant centre-back pairing. Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro offer various options for build-up, and a midfield full of talent on the ball is promising for the Dane’s ideas. Perhaps the intensity off the ball is lacking, which did not appear under Postecoglou.

In attack, James Maddison could be an upgraded version of Damsgaard, while Dominic Solanke, Son Heung-min, Richarlison, and Brennan Johnson provide the explosiveness he had with his attackers at Brentford.

Frank will definitely have to change his playing model to adapt to Tottenham, or at least find a way to blend what worked at Brentford with the dominance expected from Spurs. But, at first glance, it looks like a successful match.

This article was initially featured on Trivela.

Written by
Ben Knapton