Thomas Frank can only be admired for what he is achieving year-on-year at Brentford.
Despite losing England striker Ivan Toney for £40million to the riches of Saudi Arabia he has had managed to develop one of the most potent attacking duos in the Premier League in Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa.
This lethal pair have scored 31 league goals between them this season – only Mohammed Salah and Luis Duiz have combined for more goals for one team with 38 and they are about to be crowned league champions.
Mbeumo and Wissa are turning into predators around the goal and feed off each other exceptionally well. Both are blessed with pace and love to drive at but it’s quality of their finishing that’s now catching the eye.
In previous seasons, Thomas Frank would flip-flop between a back four and a five, only switching to a five when he felt he had to concede possession to a better team but has only done that a handful of times this season and has now developed a team that is more comfortable on the ball.
Mikkel Damsgaard has been key to that growth. When Brentford lost Christian Eriksen, that slowed down their development without a player of his quality to build the play.
Thomas Frank has improved Brentford this season despite losing Ivan Toney last summer
The Bees have scored 52 goals in 32 league games this season compared to 56 in 38 last term
Frank has developed a hugely potent attacking duo in Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa
Now that Damsgaard is fully fit, he’s their busiest bee in all areas, dropping deep to get on the ball alongside night watchman Christian Noorgard, who sits in front of the back four, but also leading Brentford’s press, winning the ball high up the pitch and creating 10 assists for his team-mates this season. He is key to Brentford’s continued progress under Frank.
In Brentford’s current system, they sit in a 4-4-2 without the ball but when they attack, their fluid front three of Mbeumo, Wissa and Kevin Schade fly forward with Damsgaard dashing through the middle. Schade glides past players and I think there’s a lot more to come from him next season.
Brentford’s 43 points after 32 games is already 14 points better off than at this stage last season and four more than they accumulated over the entire campaign.
Yet they have still struggled for consistency. They won seven of their first eight league games at home but haven’t tasted victory at the Gtech Community Stadium since December. They have won just one of their last six games ahead of their clash with Brighton this afternoon.
Both clubs are owned by titans of the gambling industry, Tony Bloom at Brighton and Matthew Benham at Brentford, a pair who have been locked in a ‘Cold War’ disagreement for the last 20 years.
They might not have spoken for two decades but what they do share is their data-driven Moneyball approach to recruitment that has revolutionised the transfer market.
Brighton have long been admired for their shrewd business but their net spend sprung to £155million last summer while Brentford’s was just £22m.
With Brentford only one place behind them in the Premier League table it is further evidence of Frank’s ability to work within a tight budget and continue to compete with the wealthier clubs around him.
Mbuemo and Wissa have scored 31 league goals between them this season – only Mohammed Salah and Luis Duiz have combined for more goals for one team in the Premier League with 38
Brighton’s young manager Fabian Hurzeler has to be applauded for how he tries to be progressive in his desire for attacking football. It’s still early days in his managerial career but clearly a quick learner.
He likes to take risks in the build-up of his team’s play and we have seen this recently by moving midfielder Carlos Baleba into the back line to deal with Brighton’s defensive injuries and suspensions and use him in a more attacking role from that position.
Sometimes these innovative risks don’t give Brighton the balance they need to overcome their opponents.
With a bit more of that balance and consistency in their performances, they could have been taking part in this monumental shootout for the top five Champions League places and have could have become one of the success stories of the season.