Since Matthew Benham became their majority owner in June 2012, Brentford have been on an upward trajectory.
They have risen from the third tier of English football into
the Premier League, opened a new stadium and upgraded their training ground.
Substantial setbacks have been few and far between, with the most notable being
defeat to west London rivals Fulham in the 2020 Championship play-off final.
But this summer will provide Brentford with their biggest
test since promotion. Back then, they needed to assemble a squad packed with
quality as they prepared to play in the top flight for the first time in 74
years.
Now they have to adjust to life without Thomas Frank, who
has left after nearly seven years in charge to become Tottenham Hotspur’s head
coach. Frank took three members of his backroom staff, including Justin
Cochrane, who was viewed as his potential successor, and they need to be
replaced. Captain Christian Norgaard only signed a new contract in March but
Arsenal are close to finalising an agreement to sign him, top goalscorer Bryan
Mbeumo wants to join Manchester United, and Mark Flekken, Brentford’s
first-choice goalkeeper for the last two seasons, has already moved to
Bayer Leverkusen.
Brentford’s business model is based on developing young
players and selling them for large transfer fees, which means they always have
a succession plan. Mathias Jensen seamlessly replaced Christian Eriksen when
the latter joined Manchester United three years ago. They signed Flekken from
Freiburg before they sanctioned David Raya’s move to Arsenal in August 2023.
Brentford became a better and less predictable team after they sold Ivan Toney
to Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli last year, with Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Kevin
Schade all reaching double figures for goals in the league.
Brentford’s recruitment department plans for transfer
windows 18 months in advance so they have a clear understanding of who they want
to sign and which players might leave. They are rarely caught off guard.
The new manager has a pre-existing relationship with the
squad and the staff. He played at the top level and has been a coach in
different environments, all of which should help. The players return from
holiday next week and Andrews can start to implement his vision during their
pre-season tour to Portugal.
Brentford’s track record suggests they have probably made
the right decision again but only time will tell if they can cope and even
improve after potentially losing their head coach, captain and star striker all
within a few weeks of each other.
But it is still a huge task replacing Frank, who is probably
the greatest manager in Brentford’s history. It will become even more difficult
should Mbeumo and Norgaard also leave. Would it have been a smarter option to
appoint someone with more top-level experience than Andrews?
“There’s always going to be some degree of risk,” director
of football Phil Giles told The Athletic. “It’s more risky to go and get a
coach we don’t know from a club where the environment might be different or
maybe people around them made them successful. This is actually quite a
low-risk appointment because I know how good Keith is.”
Brentford have never been afraid of plotting their own
unique path. They were criticised for shutting down their academy and setting
up a B-team project in 2016. The B team has produced several first-team
players, including Yehor Yarmoliuk, Mads Roerslev and Marcus Forss. Nothing is guaranteed, but you have to like
their chances regardless who is the manager.
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