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The Bees offer a fascinating example of what happens when a efficiently managed club parts ways with its long-serving manager and key personnel. Can the processes that drove the club so far withstand such transition? Can a much-admired data-driven recruitment model identify workable replacements? Appointing a head coach with no frontline experience, Keith Andrews, further stress-tests the strength of the framework.

Varied Indications but Positive Trends

The signs so far are varied but optimistic overall. While highly regarded as Thomas Frank is in Brentford history, his departure to move to another club showed that progress was not straightforward or a fully upward curve. A club with a reported wage bill of fifty million pounds a season, among the lowest in the top flight, has heavy tides to overcome. The previous campaign's tenth position came accompanied by frustration in failing to secure continental competition indicates how high expectations had climbed.

Testing Periods and Statement Wins

This weekend, the reigning champions visit a team kicking off in the relative safety of thirteenth position, despite oscillations from defeat 3-1 at Fulham a fortnight ago to a deserved 3-1 home defeat of Manchester United recently. Bearing in mind that several consider United a soft touch, and one of Frank’s last matches was a 4-3 defeat of Ruben Amorim’s squad, defeating them still carried cachet for the new head coach. No club have beaten United and City in consecutive league matches since Tottenham in the mid-nineties.

Known Face in a New Role

The head coach was well-acquainted to the club. Last season, he patrolled the technical area as the manager's set-piece specialist. Ipswich’s their manager, the Norwegian side's Kjetil Knutsen and Danny Röhl were considered. The most probable in-house option was number two the former coach, but he followed the ex-manager to Tottenham.

Changes Both On and Off the Field

The summer was a period of transformation both on and off the pitch. Matthew Benham, whose analytics approach stems from his achievements in the sports betting industry, divested a stake to ex- a company CEO and Labour party donor Gary Lubner and the film-maker Sir Matthew Vaughn, with his wife, a supermodel, has been drawing photographers to the directors’ box.

Continuity and Leadership

The continuity at the organization is provided by the chief executive, and the sporting director. The director, who has been at the club for a ten years, spoke publicly last week, stating the Bees can not become complacent with the leadership patting itself on the back for jobs well done. “There is no such thing as established,” he said. “That term doesn't really apply in football. At what point are we established? Almost certainly never. Not a club our size, I don’t think you can truly become comfortable.”

Rebuilding and New Talent

The team started versus Manchester United in seventeenth position, the safety zone. Losing the manager, and key players such as the forwards Bryan Mbeumo and the forward, the midfielder and skipper Christian Nørgaard along with goalkeeper Mark Flekken, seemed as if a squad's core was being torn away. Benham, the CEO and Giles had a strategy; Andrews took over talent to utilize. Igor Thiago was at the team, the prior off-season's big signing lost to Frank through injury. His four goals from 10 shots have come at the highest conversion rate of every Premier League attacker so far.

Team Strengths and Weaponry

The speedy Kevin Schade was entrenched in the forward line; he combined with Wissa and Mbeumo in scoring double figures last season. The experienced midfielder adds top-level know-how in midfield where stats show the Ukrainian, 21, as one of the leading defensive workers in the Premier League. The Ukrainian can pick a pass, too. Mikkel Damsgaard's unorthodox gait belies real creativity and the full-back is a marauding back who launches the long throws that are vital components of the arsenal. The goalkeeper, who produced a penalty save from United’s Bruno Fernandes, is relishing being a No 1 keeper and the winger, Mbeumo’s replacement on the wing, netted the winner against Aston Villa in August that earned Andrews’s maiden home win.

Approach and Mindset

With Andrews, Brentford continue to be all-action, flinty, awkward to face. Though a slightly guarded in interviews than his preceding manager, Andrews – a former broadcaster on the Irish radio station who previously held a lengthy role as one of the broadcaster's Championship analysts – plays the media game well. Following his side snatched a point from Chelsea following a Schade's long throw that created havoc, he reflected on the dead-ball expertise, and the “disruption” it creates, that is now incorporated into the majority of teams’ tactics. “I felt there is a little bit of elitism in the game around situations such as that, but if the big boys do it then it seems to be tolerated,” the coach said.

Motivational Personalities and Criticism

The head coach has sought to refresh the squad by inviting a pair of Irish athletic icons, the rugby player the former captain and Ryder Cup-winning captain the golfer, to address to his players. Not everyone in his homeland is willing on the nation's first top-flight coach since the ex-boss. Andrews criticised the international regime of the former manager and the ex-captain during his media career. The former boss has been scathing; Keane a little more diplomatic towards someone he confronted aggressively in recent years. “I have encountered a lot of unreliable talkers in the past decade and the coach is among them with the top ones,” were Keane’s comments. The manager accepting the club's challenge is the truest evaluation of that and the robustness of his club’s structures.