Thomas Frank (football manager)

Thomas Frank (born 9 October 1973) is a Danish professional football coach and former amateur player, who is head coach of English club Brentford.

Thomas Frank
Personal information
Date of birth (1973-10-09) 9 October 1973
Place of birth Frederiksværk, Denmark[1]
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Brentford (head coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Frederiksværk BK
Teams managed
2008–2011 Denmark U16
2008–2012 Denmark U17
2012–2013 Denmark U19
2013–2016 Brøndby IF
2018– Brentford
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

After 18 years in youth coaching, which included spells as manager of multiple Danish national youth teams, he became a senior manager when Brøndby IF appointed him in 2013. After his departure in 2016, he moved to English club Brentford as assistant head coach and was promoted into the role of head coach in October 2018.

Managerial career

Denmark

After a short playing career in amateur football as a midfielder,[2] Frank began his coaching career with the U8 and U12 teams at Frederiksværk BK and he moved on to Hvidovre IF in 1998, B93 in 2005 and Lyngby in 2006.[3][4] In July 2008, he was appointed manager of the Denmark national U16 and U17 teams.[3][5] In 2011, Frank led the U17 team to the European U17 Championship finals for the first time in eight years (advancing to the semi-finals before losing 2–0 to Germany)[6][7] and to the U17 World Cup for the first time ever,[8] in which the Danes were eliminated in the group stage.[9] Frank was promoted to the Denmark U19 manager's job in 2012,[10] but he failed to achieve qualification to the 2013 European U19 Championship.[11]

Brøndby IF

Frank was named as manager of Danish Superliga club Brøndby IF on 10 June 2013, his first position in senior football.[12] He achieved 4th- and 3rd-place finishes respectively in the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons, high enough to qualify for the Europa League qualification stages,[13] but he failed to lead the club into the group stage in either season.[14][15] Frank resigned on 9 March 2016 after receiving criticism from chairman Jan Bech Andersen, under a pseudonym, on an online supporters' forum.[16][17]

Brentford

On 9 December 2016, Frank moved to England to join Championship club Brentford as assistant head coach alongside Richard O'Kelly.[18] He signed a 2½-year contract.[19] In addition to being a "bridge between the players and the coaching staff",[20] co-director of football Rasmus Ankersen revealed that Frank would also "look after the players between the B team and the first team and make sure there is a pathway for them and take care of their development".[21] In February 2018, he signed a new contract, running until the end of the 2019–20 season.[22]

On 16 October 2018, after the departure of head coach Dean Smith, it was announced that Frank had been promoted into the role.[23] He took over a club rocked by the recent death of technical director Robert Rowan and endured a tough start to his tenure, winning just one of his first 10 games,[24] before stabilising the team's form after a change to a 3–4–3 formation.[20] Seven points from a possible 9 in January 2019 saw him nominated for the Championship Manager of the Month award.[25] He guided Brentford to the fifth round of the FA Cup and an 11th-place finish in the Championship at the end of the 2018–19 season.[24] After an uneven start to the 2019–20 season and switching back to a 4–3–3 formation,[26][27] 10 points from five matches in October 2019 saw Frank nominated for the Championship Manager of the Month award.[28] With Brentford in the play-off places,[29] Frank and his assistant, Brian Riemer signed new three and a half-year contracts in January 2020.[24][30] After the season restart,[31] an unbeaten June won Frank the Championship Manager of the Month award and he oversaw Brentford's run to the 2020 Championship play-off Final,[32] which was lost 2–1 to West London rivals Fulham.[33]

Personal life

Frank is married with three children.[3] He was awarded BA in Physical Education by the Copenhagen Institute of Sports Medicine in 1999 and studied sport psychology and coaching-based leadership at the same institution between 2002 and 2005.[3] He also taught at Ishøj College in 2004.[3] Prior to moving to London in December 2016, Frank lived in Hvidovre.[19]

Managerial statistics
As of match played 4 August 2020[34]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
PWDLWin %
Brøndby IF 10 June 2013 9 March 2016 103 46 29 28 044.7
Brentford 16 October 2018 Present 89 40 18 31 044.9
Total 192 86 47 59 044.8

Honours
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References
  1. "Frederiksværk" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  2. Bees Live | Which player would Thomas Frank compare himself to? (Interview). brentfordfc.com. 20 September 2019. Event occurs at 3:01. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  3. "U19-landstræner". 12 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  4. "10 things to know about Thomas Frank". Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  5. "Thomas Frank ny U17-landstræner". Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  6. "Denmark – UEFA.com". www.uefa.com. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  7. "Under-17 2011 - Denmark-Germany – UEFA.com". 15 May 2011. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  8. "Frank aiming to write further history". FIFA.com. 13 June 2011. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  9. "FIFA U-17 World Cup Mexico 2011 - Groups - FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  10. "Trænerrokade på U-landsholdene". Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  11. "U19-drenge misser EM efter nederlag". Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  12. "Thomas Frank ny cheftræner i Brøndby". Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  13. "Brondby Recent History - Statto.com". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  14. "UEFA Europa League 2014/15 - History - Brøndby – UEFA.com". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  15. "UEFA Europa League 2015/16 - History - Brøndby – UEFA.com". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  16. "Brondby coach Thomas Frank quits after chairman's online forum criticism". The Guardian. 9 March 2016. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  17. "Thomas Frank færdig i Brøndby". Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  18. "Danish Coach Thomas Frank joins Brentford to work alongside Dean Smith and Richard O'Kelly". Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  19. "Thomas Frank – DBU". www.dbu.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  20. "Romaine Sawyers: "I'm going to keep being me"". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  21. Street, Tim (12 December 2016). "Brentford director of football reveals new coach's duties". getwestlondon. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  22. "Brentford FC Dean Smith, Richard O'Kelly, and Thomas Frank sign contract extensions". Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  23. "Thomas Frank appointed new Brentford FC Head Coach". Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  24. "Thomas Frank signs new contract". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  25. "Sky Bet Championship: January Manager of the Month Nominations". www.efl.com. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  26. "Brentford league performance history: League Championship table after close of play on 01 October 2019". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  27. "Brentford philosophy could still lead to the Premier League". FootballCritic. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  28. "Thomas Frank misses out on Manager of the Month award". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  29. "Brentford 3–2 Middlesbrough: Ollie Watkins scores late on to give Bees win". BBC Sport. 8 February 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  30. "Brian Riemer signs new contract". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  31. "The journey continues as the Sky Bet Championship schedule and TV selections confirmed". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  32. "Thomas Frank named Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month for June". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  33. "Championship play-off final: Brentford 1–2 Fulham (AET)". BBC Sport. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  34. Thomas Frank management career statistics at Soccerbase
  35. "Thomas Frank and Ollie Watkins win at London Football Awards". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
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