Ange departs

[Baleforce]

He tends to favor managers that are more defensive (Nuno, Conte, etc), which don't align with the ethos of the club. But I may be wrong and he may make an excellent managerial appointment. Might be moot though, since it looks like it will be Frank.

I don’t see defensive as a bad thing.

Our ethos has resulted in 2 league titles and no European Cups. I’m all up for trying a different one.

 

[Lilbaz]

I don’t see defensive as a bad thing.

Our ethos has resulted in 2 league titles and no European Cups. I’m all up for trying a different one.

Brentford scored 66 goals last season. Only the top 5 teams scored more.

 

[HarryBreadbap]

Agree with this from Oliver Holt:

Talk of the succession, of course, is already rife. Thomas Frank, who has done such a consistently brilliant job at Brentford and is one of the best man-managers in the game, is the favourite to take over. Andoni Iraola, the Bournemouth boss, has been mentioned. Others favour a return for former manager Mauricio Pochettino, now the coach of the USA men's national team.

It was a logical, cogent statement that took all the emotionof Bilbao out of the equation and in some ways it is easy to sympathise with the decision. After all, when Manchester United abandoned their plan to fire Erik ten Hag after he had led the club to an FA Cup final victory over Emirates Marketing Project, it backfired on them spectacularly and they were lambasted for the naivety of their decision.

This feels different, though. For one thing, United are a team used to winning things. Even in the context of the hard times they have fallen upon since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, the FA Cup is a relative trifle compared to the bigger prizes they once chased.

But for Spurs, winning the Europa League in Bilbao felt like a game-changer. I have rarely felt energy like that in a stadium before, the energy of redemption, the energy of renewal and the energy of hope. It should have been the start of something, not the end of something.

Now that Postecoglou has been fired, it feels as if all that momentum and all that magic has been lost. Suddenly, the club have invited ridicule upon themselves again: they hired a manager who won them their first European trophy for 41 years and then they sacked him. It feels, I hate to say it, a little sexy.

It feels, again, like plucking a defeat from the jaws of victory. Because Postecoglou had done the hard part. Victory in Bilbao proved that he was not the impostor some had painted him as. Had Spurs kept faith with him, winning the Europa League would have given Postecoglou added authority next season, not to mention added funds.

United are hardly a model that one should aspire to but they did, at least, keep faith with Ruben Amorim after a league season almost as dire as Tottenham's. They believe in his plan and they are sticking with him. Spurs should have done the same with Big Ange.

Postecoglou had a plan, too. In the early months of his tenure, his team played football that was breathtaking to watch. That was derailed by injuries and it was not until last season's European adventure that Postecoglou proved he could adapt and play more pragmatically.

But he did prove that. He won a trophy to prove it. And next season he would have felt the benefits of all the hardships his side endured last season. He would have reaped the rewards of the experience he gave fine young players such as Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall. He had a system, a plan. He should have been given a dividend from Spurs' participation in the Champions League to develop his ideas.

Instead, however good the manager is that Spurs appoint — and Frank, in particular, is a man who has earned a shot at managing in the Champions League — Spurs are heading back to that place they know so well called Square One with a new boss who has the unenviable task of trying to follow that success in Bilbao.

What the future holds for Postecoglou, nobody yet knows. For now, like the statue of Ozymandias that Percy Shelley described, he lies like a 'colossal wreck' in the desert of his hopes of building on that one beautiful night in northern Spain.

"Now that Postecoglou has been fired, it feels as if all that momentum and all that magic has been lost. Suddenly, the club have invited ridicule upon themselves again: they hired a manager who won them their first European trophy for 41 years and then they sacked him. It feels, I hate to say it, a little sexy"

We have been ridiculed enough already for finishing 17th.


"And next season he would have felt the benefits of all the hardships his side endured last season"

More predictions than facts from Holt.

To end up in the top four or five next season we would have to win another twelve games more than this season. Can anyone seriously see us doing that under Ange?

The Board of Directors couldn't.

Plenty of hindsight from the media, with clickbait to sell.

 

[alekaras]

Poch was playing unreal football and got Southampton 7th

Frank plays insipid football and has never finished higher than what, 9th? With the best recruitment department in the country bar possibly Brighton.

I love Ange but I understand the decision to sack him. It only makes sense if we have identified the right successor though, and to my layman's eye, none of the serious contender are that.

And Thomas frank definitely isn't that, decent bloke as I'm sure he is.

Might have already been mentioned, but the insipid football was in the first couple of seasons after Brentford was promoted. He played a style that had the best chance of keeping Brentford in the PL given the personnel he had. Unlike other newly promoted managers who stuck to their "principles." As the team strengthened he adapted his style to what we see them playing now, which is more free-flowing and intricate.

What this tells me is that he is a pragmatic manager who tailors his style based on the players at his disposal. This bodes well for a couple of reasons: first it is a way to get the best out of players, and second it won't require he get "his" players in for his style to work. He can use what he has and still get results. The only question mark is how he will be able to handle both PL and CL.

I too was not at all enamored at the idea of Frank back when we were looking for a new manager after Conte, but his last two years have swayed me. Not the sexiest appointment, but not a disastrous one either. Mostly pragmatic, which is fine at this point.

 

[Lilbaz]

Might have already been mentioned, but the insipid football was in the first couple of seasons after Brentford was promoted. He played a style that had the best chance of keeping Brentford in the PL given the personnel he had. Unlike other newly promoted managers who stuck to their "principles." As the team strengthened he adapted his style to what we see them playing now, which is more free-flowing and intricate.

What this tells me is that he is a pragmatic manager who tailors his style based on the players at his disposal. This bodes well for a couple of reasons: first it is a way to get the best out of players, and second it won't require he get "his" players in for his style to work. He can use what he has and still get results. The only question mark is how he will be able to handle both PL and CL.

I too was not at all enamored at the idea of Frank back when we were looking for a new manager after Conte, but his last two years have swayed me. Not the sexiest appointment, but not a disastrous one either. Mostly pragmatic, which is fine at this point.

According to swiss ramble if you compare wages to league finishes. Bretford have been the best performers in the prem for the last 4 seasons (not sure if bournmouth pipped them this season).
Some of that is recruitment. But frank seems to have got the best out of them.

 

[thfcsteff]

The trophy was the same equivalent of a pre season tournament.

The ones over playing it's significance have just brought into what other fans have been saying and gotten upset by the 'nasty' words of opposition fans.

Last season was an abomination and even the trophy your so in awe of, we played bloody awful in that competition. That's who we were under the Aussie fraud.

WALOB

 

[Gazza]

According to swiss ramble if you compare wages to league finishes. Bretford have been the best performers in the prem for the last 4 seasons (not sure if bournmouth pipped them this season).
Some of that is recruitment. But frank seems to have got the best out of them.

Although our record against Brentford have been ok I never enjoyed or looked forward to playing them. They are well organised and had a game strategy and probably lacked that certain quality to win more games.

My worry is that our club is littered with similar players in terms of ability peppered with a few who can do more.

Regardless of who we bring in we certainly need further upgrades

 

[Jordinho]

"Now that Postecoglou has been fired, it feels as if all that momentum and all that magic has been lost. Suddenly, the club have invited ridicule upon themselves again: they hired a manager who won them their first European trophy for 41 years and then they sacked him. It feels, I hate to say it, a little sexy"

We have been ridiculed enough already for finishing 17th.


"And next season he would have felt the benefits of all the hardships his side endured last season"

More predictions than facts from Holt.

To end up in the top four or five next season we would have to win another twelve games more than this season. Can anyone seriously see us doing that under Ange?

The Board of Directors couldn't.

Plenty of hindsight from the media, with clickbait to sell.

I'm not seeing this ridicule anywhere. Most opposition fans seem quite disappointed we actually sacked him.

 

[Danishfurniturelover]

WALOB

So articulate as usual. Your powers of persuasion have convinced me once again and I now agree completely with whatever your views are on this subject comrade.

 

[Lilbaz]

Although our record against Brentford have been ok I never enjoyed or looked forward to playing them. They are well organised and had a game strategy and probably lacked that certain quality to win more games.

My worry is that our club is littered with similar players in terms of ability peppered with a few who can do more.

Regardless of who we bring in we certainly need further upgrades

Ofcourse. Although you'd hope our youngsters would improve. If we could hijak mbuemo. Get in a class dm/cm. Back up lb. Think we'd be looking good.

 

[alekaras]

Depends how it goes with Frank. If he sinks then we will be made fun of. If he swims then it will look like the correct decision. Only time will tell. Personally, although I haven't watched much of Brentford, the one thing I'd say if it is Frank is that everyone on here seems to be saying he's more of a Nuno "safety first" defensive manager. So where does that fit in the strategy that was deployed in hiring Ange in the first ace and reiterated in the statement in firing him (i.e. the desire to return to attacking, front foot football)?

He's been tagged as a "safety first" manager (by me too), but that was what he had to do to keep Brentford in the PL. Once they established themselves he has changed the style. I like the idea of a flexible manager. Whether Frank is the right one is a different story. Time will tell.

 

[Bullet]

I'm not seeing this ridicule anywhere. Most opposition fans seem quite disappointed we actually sacked him.

That's a good point, I imagine Arse fans were hoping we would stick with Ange next year and that our nosediving PPG continued down below 1PPG!

Likewise I was hoping Arse would sack Emery as I could see he was a real talent. And I'm hoping they sack Arteta and start again from scratch, as surely he cannot keep failing at the last.

 

[Muttley]

Brentford scored 66 goals last season. Only the top 5 teams scored more.

Yep, they lost Toney and his replacement, Thiago, was restricted to just 4 appearances. Frank got 39 league goals from Wissa and Mbuemo.

Mbuemo, part of the original BMW forward line hadn't even scored 10 goals in any PL season until last season where he got 20. The last time was as part of the BMW in the championship. Wissa's best return was 12 goals in the 23/24 season.

For me, Frank appears to know how to switch the dials between defence and attack. It's easy to go all out on one of the other. To find the balance between the two and shift between them mid-game is what our club needs. Frank or not, we need to find that in our next manager.

 

[thfcsteff]

Replacing a manager is a normal part of football. It happens on average around every 18 months, not a big deal, and nothing to do with the structure. A board member is retiring, people retire, get over it. Her responibilities are being shifted and replacements in place.

We're brining back the sporting director that was wanted all along. If it wasn't for his ban he would never have left. He was also the one who started the restructuring of the football side of things, especially the scouting. So no, he won't be working in a way that is majorly different to the current football director. The difference is he has way more contacts.

To be honest it sounds more like you don't know who we are and are butt hurt over Ange going and aren't willing to accept it. Ironic since in the last couple of days you asked me would I accept it if Ange was kept.

Here we go. I suppose this will last around a week (until Frank or someone is confirmed)

1. 'Get over it'...get over what? I'm pointing out facts.

2. I am glad for you that the concept of 'replacing a manager every 18 months' is 'normal'. I think it is folly.

3. A lot of assumptions on Paratici. I am simply pointing out what is happening now. BTW, if you think the set-up is going to be the same, well, there's no discussion to be had here. Put simply, he operates in a totally different way to Lange. You speak with such certainty BTW.

4. If you think Vinketeshum's incoming does not signify a shift in direction, then again, we will have nothing to discuss.

5. I don't know who we are? Correct. Every time I think I do, we go and do something opposite. Y'know, Poch for Mourinho. Hiring Nuno for 10 games. Hiring a true outlier, bringing in a Chief Football Officer with a new Sporting Director who have a new philosophy to lay down which is all youth based, winning a trophy and then abandoning the work.

6. I am very willing to accept it because it has happened; what good would not accepting it be? Do I agree with the decision? No. Does that mean I should now shuffle off into the corner and never say anything of it again? Nope! Is there irony in any if that? Only if you see it. You probably don't remember/don't want to, but I have said here for some time (since before the Final) that Ange was going to get the boot so all discussions about him were essentially academic. I knew because it is what we do.

Like it or not, things are significantly changing.

You can normalise it all you want and level accusations, but to dismiss it out of hand as happening? I suppose that's your choice.

 

[fernadez]

Pragmatic was top of my wants for a new manager personally.

Come in and marry his philosophy to what is actually at his disposal and then work from this jump off to a more attacking system.

 

[thfcsteff]

So articulate as usual. Your powers of persuasion have convinced me once again and I now agree completely with whatever your views are on this subject comrade.

There's no point with you. It is a waste of time. So yes, in your case (on this subject) an acronym is best. I think it is a disgrace to denigrate the trophy we won. A disgrace.

 

[Finney Is Back]

Wage bill is not reflective of talent, Brentford have exceptional recruitment - like Brighton it is that rather than the manager that is the X factor. Just seen Mbuemo is on 50k per week there, that does not reflect the quality....

Indeed, they have a recruitment department and data models that we do not have.

 

[thfcsteff]

Might have already been mentioned, but the insipid football was in the first couple of seasons after Brentford was promoted. He played a style that had the best chance of keeping Brentford in the PL given the personnel he had. Unlike other newly promoted managers who stuck to their "principles." As the team strengthened he adapted his style to what we see them playing now, which is more free-flowing and intricate.

What this tells me is that he is a pragmatic manager who tailors his style based on the players at his disposal. This bodes well for a couple of reasons: first it is a way to get the best out of players, and second it won't require he get "his" players in for his style to work. He can use what he has and still get results. The only question mark is how he will be able to handle both PL and CL.

I too was not at all enamored at the idea of Frank back when we were looking for a new manager after Conte, but his last two years have swayed me. Not the sexiest appointment, but not a disastrous one either. Mostly pragmatic, which is fine at this point.

Of all the current options he certainly makes the most sense. He is a really decent guy too. Walking into a very tough position for sure, but I like him more than the other options publicly on the table.

I just hope people manage their expectations.

 

[Baleforce]

Pragmatic was top of my wants for a new manager personally.

Come in and marry his philosophy to what is actually at his disposal and then work from this jump off to a more attacking system.

Pragmatism is by far the most important factor for a football manager.

 

[Lilbaz]

Of all the current options he certainly makes the most sense. He is a really decent guy too. Walking into a very tough position for sure, but I like him more than the other options publicly on the table.

I just hope people manage their expectations.

Is it a tough position? Or tougher than being at brentford?
He'll have a lot more resources at his disposal. A decent young squad.
We're in the cl.
New board members and ceo. A settled dof.
A full preseason to get across his ideas to the players.
No sexy tag.