It has been five years since Thomas Frank was appointed as Brentford boss, let’s take a look at the best combined eleven of his spell in charge.
Following Dean Smith’s decision to move from Brentford to Aston Villa in 2018, the Bees opted to recruit from within.
Smith’s assistant, Thomas Frank was named as manager and hasn’t looked back since taking the role on.
With promotion and some top Premier League campaigns, the Dane has done a stellar job. With that being said, who makes his best eleven?
David Raya
When Frank came in, Dan Bentley was the number one choice. The following season, the Spaniard came in from Blackburn Rovers. He was sensational as the Bees achieved promotion and only got better as they reached the Premier League. He now finds himself at Arsenal fighting for a first-team role.
Henrik Dalsgaard
The Danish international signed for £1 million in 2017 and went on to be a great servant for Brentford. He played a role as promotion was secured and joined FC Midtjylland after the Wembley win. Despite never playing in the Premier League he is well regarded by fans.
Pontus Jansson
After a falling out at Leeds United, Jansson was looking for a club and was signed by the Bees in 2019. The Swedish international was named as captain not long after signing and was pivotal to promotion. He didn’t manage many appearances in the Premier League due to injury but is definitely a cult hero.
Ethan Pinnock
An underrated name in the Brentford story. Pinnock has been with the club since 2019 and has seen it all. Since joining from Barnsley he has made over 140 appearances and become a staple name on the team sheet at the GTECH Community Stadium.
Rico Henry
A man who has been with the club through it all. Signed from Walsall by Smith in 2016 and has gone from strength to strength. 180+ appearances in seven years with the Bees, links to big clubs this year have been ruined by injury, but his quality is unquestionable.
Christian Norgaard
The captain. Norgaard has been a consistent figure since his arrival from Fiorentina in 2019. Considering he cost less than £3m it is testament to how good he is been that he’s probably worth 10x that. An ever-present under Frank and well worth his place in this team.
Mathias Jensen
Another Dane, like the one before him, joined in 2019 and has been an ever-present. Jensen was signed from Celta Vigo for £3.5m and yet again is worth much more than that today. He has been one of the Bees’ most consistent Premier League players under Frank.
Christian Eriksen
A man who played just 11 times for the Bees but made quite the impact. Following his incident at the EUROs, Frank and Co took a punt on the former Tottenham man and boy did it pay off. He became one of the best midfielders in the league which saw Manchester United take him, once his short-term contract expired. What a player.
Said Benrahma
One of the best players to ever grace the Championship, Benrahama is another player signed for less than £3m. 94 appearances, 30 goals and 27 assists across a three-year spell saw him become highly rated. A potential £30m deal saw him join West Ham and win the Conference League.
Ivan Toney
Everyone knows how good Ivan Toney is. There are so many top clubs linked to signing him and there is good reason. With 89 goal involvements over his three years for the club, he has become one of Frank’s most important players.
Ollie Watkins
Championship Player of the Year prior to his departure. 66 goals in three years with the club saw him attract plenty of interest. Since joining Aston Villa he has gone on to be one of the better Premier League strikers. Although he never secured promotion with the club, if he had who knows what the story would be.