đź”— Share this article Brentford Overcome Elitism as Awkward, High-Energy Opponents Brentford present a fascinating example of the outcome when a well-run club parts ways with its long-serving manager and key personnel. Will the systems that drove the club so far withstand such change? Can a much-admired data-driven scouting system find workable replacements? Appointing a manager with limited top-level background, the new boss, further stress-tests the resilience of the framework. Mixed Signals but Positive Outlook Early indicators so far are varied but positive on balance. As sainted as Thomas Frank is in Brentford legacy, his departure to join Tottenham showed that development was not linear or a consistently rising trajectory. The team with a reported salary expenditure of ÂŁ50m a season, one of the lowest in the top flight, has significant challenges to swim against. The previous campaign's tenth position came accompanied by disappointment in failing to secure European football indicates how far expectations had climbed. Testing Periods and Significant Wins On Sunday, Manchester City visit a side starting in the moderate security of 13th place, though with fluctuations from defeat 3-1 at Fulham a fortnight ago to a well-earned 3-1 at their ground victory over Manchester United recently. With the caveat that many find them a vulnerable opponent, and among Frank’s final games was a four-three defeat of the Portuguese manager's squad, beating them still carried cachet for the new head coach. No club have defeated both Manchester clubs in back-to-back fixtures since Tottenham in the mid-nineties. Known Figure in a New Role Andrews was well-acquainted to Brentford. Last season, he occupied the dugout as Frank’s set-piece specialist. Ipswich’s their manager, Bodø/Glimt’s their coach and Danny Röhl were linked. The likeliest in-house option was assistant coach the former coach, but he joined the ex-manager to Tottenham. Changes Both On and Off the Pitch The summer was a period of transformation both on and off the field. The owner, whose analytics approach stems from his achievements in the gambling industry, sold a minority share to former a company chief executive and Labour party supporter an investor and the film-maker Sir Matthew Vaughn, with his wife, a supermodel, has been drawing photographers to the directors’ box. Continuity and Leadership The stability at the organization is maintained by Jon Varney, and the sporting director. The director, who has been at the team for a ten years, gave an interview last week, where he admitted Brentford can not rest on laurels with the management patting itself on the back for jobs well done. “There is no such thing as established,” he said. “It’s not even a football word. At what point are we established? Almost certainly never. Not a club our size, it's unlikely you can ever become comfortable.” Restructuring and Fresh Players The team kicked off versus United in seventeenth position, the survival spot. Parting with the manager, and leading stars such as the forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, the engine-room and captain the Danish international plus shot-stopper Mark Flekken, looked like a team’s core was being ripped out. Benham, the CEO and the sporting director had a plan; the new boss inherited talent to utilize. Igor Thiago was at the club, the prior off-season's big signing lost to Frank through injury. The forward's quartet of strikes from ten attempts have come at the best efficiency of any Premier League attacker this season. Squad Strengths and Weaponry The speedy Kevin Schade was entrenched in the attack; he joined the forward and the winger in scoring ten or more goals last season. The experienced midfielder brings elite know-how in the center of the park where statistics show Yehor Yarmolyuk, 21, as one of the top pressers in the Premier League. Yarmolyuk can distribute the ball, as well. Mikkel Damsgaard's stuttering gait masks real creativity and Michael Kayode is a marauding back who delivers the set-pieces that are key components of the arsenal. CaoimhĂn Kelleher, who made a penalty save from United’s Bruno Fernandes, is enjoying being a No 1 keeper and the winger, Mbeumo’s replacement on the wing, netted the goal versus Aston Villa in August that secured Andrews’s first home win. Approach and Mindset Under the new boss, the Bees continue to be all-action, flinty, awkward to face. Though a slightly reserved publicly than his preceding manager, Andrews – a ex- radio host on Ireland’s Newstalk station who previously held a lengthy role as among the broadcaster's Championship analysts – handles the media game effectively. After his side snatched a draw from the Blues after a Schade's long throw that created havoc, he considered the set-piece specialism, and the “disruption” it causes, that is now part of most teams’ makeup. “I felt there’s a degree of snobbery in the game around situations such as that, but if the big boys employ it then it seems to be tolerated,” Andrews said. Inspirational Figures and Scrutiny Andrews has attempted to refresh the group by inviting two from Ireland athletic icons, the rugby union star Johnny Sexton and successful golf captain Paul McGinley, to speak to his players. However, not all from back home is willing on Ireland’s first Premier League coach since the ex-boss. The head coach criticised the international management of the former manager and Roy Keane during his media career. O’Neill has been scathing; the pundit a little more conciliatory towards someone he gave the full treatment in recent years. “I have encountered a number of unreliable talkers over the last decade and the coach is among them with the best of them,” were the pundit's words. The manager taking on the club's challenge is the most accurate test of that and the robustness of his team's foundations.