Thomas Frank - Head Coach

[SissokoWasGood (BoL)]

It's funny you mention Brazil.
I loved their 82 side.
I saw every Brazil game in 1994 WC Finals bar the SF, and knew early on they'd be very hard to beat because of Dunga and to an extent Mauro Silva. Dunga was the player they needed, and he allowed a 'less than typical' Brazil game to be far more pragmatic whilst still allowing the likes of Romario and Bebeto to shine. I'd wager Mourinho watched that tournament like a hawk. It was a vital step for them in terms of winning as opposed to relying solely on beauty.

You keep comparing Frank to Poch. Can you help me understand why? Two more different people in football it'd be hard to find, albeit both do share the quality of being decent guys it seems.

p.s. your continual inference that my opinion somehow suggests a lack of importance in understanding with regards to the art of defending is funny. Frank's supposed 'putting the defensive house in order' is not going too well despite having many fit defenders. Udogie and LB balance? I was on about that from early the season (even explaining how the lack of balance makes it more important not to channel everything through a 'one outlet Kudus'). Of course it has an effect. You need round pegs in round holes. BTW, Ben Davies -a player Thomas was happy to keep for LB cover and experience - is the subject of interest from Nice; his lack of playing time/use suggests it might happen...

Poch and Frank’s similarities are most closely around long term culture building at clubs. They go about it in different ways and have different football and leadership styles, but clearly they instill principles that endure beyond a season or two. In this reading, you could throw Moyes into the mix.

 

[SissokoWasGood (BoL)]

But you should also perhaps understand that Frank is the proactive one in the way a lot of us think. Identifying strengths and weaknesses of your opposition is proactive especially when you blend them into your own philosophy. Frank's the one that is building processes and strong foundations. Frank exudes proaction compared to prior managers. He reminds me of Pep and Klopp because they went down the same path as Frank is in their first season. Under Poch, we had Paulinho, Capoue, Stamboue, Dembele etc getting splinters whilst Mason and Bentalab got the shirts. Is that any different from Gray with Frank? Those first seasons were pretty tough for all of the above and I expect that this season as well.

I do think the second half of the season will be better than the first. Those methods will start to kick in. We'll get players back and even a new player or two. Frank and the club will be in a happier place.

I’m really open to the idea that Frank’s approach is going to pay dividends long term and even second half of this season, I’ve been big on the idea that we’ve seen green shoots in the last month.

But I don’t see the similarity in Frank and Poch at a football level. At a general leadership level as a manager of a club, instilling principles that endure long term, yes. On the pitch, I think Poch was proactive and Frank is reactive. People may use those words differently, but as defined in the context of football coaching reactive is surely most commonly used to describe being more concerned with stopping the opposition versus imposing your own style of play?

Frank is proactive in going about instilling his principles, his method and approach to football, but it’s inherently a reactive approach.