Brentford were sat in seventh place in the Championship table, just a point off the play-off places, when Thomas Frank was appointed as the successor to Dean Smith in mid October. The Bees had only suffered two league defeats, winning four and drawing a further six of their opening 12 matches.
Frank, Smith’s assistant manager at Griffin Park until he left for Aston Villa, was seen as the ideal candidate to minimise the disruption caused by Smith’s departure. However, the 45-year old Dane has failed to maintain Brentford’s consistent early season results and performances, which had seen the Bees emerge as potential promotion contenders this term.
Since Frank took charge Brentford have been on a dismal run losing eight out of their 10 Championship fixtures, picking up just one win and only four points in those games, a run which has seen the Bees drop alarmingly far down the table, from 7th to 19th just three points above the bottom three.
One key reason for Brentford’s dramatic down turn in results under Frank has been their defence. Brentford’s 2-0 defeat at Hull City on Saturday was the ninth game in Frank’s tenure in which his side have failed to record a clean sheet, with their solitary clean sheet coming in Frank’s only win so far, a 2-0 home success against Millwall. The Bees have conceded 22 goals in Frank’s 10 games at a rate of 2.2 goals per game, that is a huge upturn from the rate of conceding just a goal per game in their opening 12 matches.
Whilst Brentford have been giving away more goals at the back they have also become far less efficient in the final third. Frank’s side has registered 13 goals in his 10 matches in charge, compared with the 20 goals Brentford scored in their opening 12 games. That has seen the Bees goals per game ratio drop from 1.7 goals per game, to 1.3 goals per game.
Brentford’s decline in defence is evidenced by the fact they have gone from allowing the opposition 9.9 shots per game in their first 12 games, to an average of 13.7 shots per game in the subsequent 10 games. They are also allowing their opponents clearer goal scoring which has resulted in them conceding on a much more frequent basis.
In terms of Brentford’s attacking style of play there is little that has changed, on the face of things at least, with the Bees still controlling the majority of possession in their matches. However, what has changed is the attacking output Brentford produce from their possession, on Saturday despite dominating possession with 72% at Hull City they managed just a single shot on target. Under Frank Brentford’s possession based style is more focused on recycling the ball and maintaining control of the ball, rather than being deployed with an intent to take risks in the final third to create opportunities that was seen under Smith.
Following Brentford’s 2-0 loss at Hull Frank speaking to BBC Sport said he was concerned with their current form; “We are worried if you only win one in 10, that’s clear.”
“We need to look at ourselves, but you can see the effort they put in. We need to minimise the defensive mistakes and errors. “You can’t ensure anything in the world, but I am 100% sure that me, the players and the coaching staff will do everything we can to turn it around. One win will do massively.”
The Bees host Bolton Wanderers next weekend in what is looking like a huge fixture for both sides as they look to pull away from relegation trouble. That is followed by trips to Bristol City and then Birmingham City, before Brentford host 2nd placed Norwich City on New Years day. Frank will need his side to start improving at both ends of the field if they are to pick up much-needed results in those fixtures, or the pressure surrounding his future will increase as the season enters its second half.
