There are several clubs based in London competing in the English Premier League, such as Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspurs, Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Brentford. However, Brentford are not popularly counted among the biggest and most successful clubs in the city. The club have a rich history having founded back in 1889, they marked their return to top-flight football in 2021 by securing promotion to the Premier League for the first time in history. Led by manager Thomas Frank, the Bees won the EFL Championship Play-off to earn a spot in EPL.
Over the years, many managers have taken charge of the club let’s take a glance at those best managers names in recent history.
| Managers | Years |
| Phil Holder | 1990-93 |
| David Webb | 1993-97 |
| Micky Adams | 1997-98 |
| Ray Lewington | 2000-01 |
| Steve Coppell | 2001-02 |
| Wally Downes | 2002-04 |
| Martin Allen | 2004-06 |
| Leroy Rosenior | 2006 |
| Scott Fitzgerald | 2006-07 |
| Barry Quin | 2007 |
| Terry Butcher | 2007 |
| Andy Scott | 2007-11 |
| Nicky Forster | 2011 |
| Uwe Rösler | 2011-2013 |
| Alan Kernaghan | 2013 |
| Mark Warburton | 2013-15 |
| Marinus Dijkhuizen | 2015 |
| Lee Carsley | 2015 |
| Dean Smith | 2015-18 |
| Thomas Frank | 2018 |
10. Scott Fitzgerald
Scott Fitzgerald was the head coach of the Bees only for 143 days from late 2006 to April 2007 as caretaker manager after Leroy Rosenior was fired. He managed only 24 games for the club in League One and had a miserable record of just 4 wins and 15 defeats. Brentford suffered relegation to League Two (fourth tier)
9. Terry Butcher
Terry Butcher has coached several English clubs during peak years of managing such as Ipswich Town, Coventry, Sunderland and some well-known Scottish clubs and national teams. In 2007, he had a shot stint at Brentford and was in charge of 25 games in total and the club lost 14 of them and 6 wins from across all competitions.
Also Read: List of top 10 Manchester City Managers in the last 20 years
8. Andy Scott
Andy Scott was appointed as the replacement for Terry Butcher as caretaker manager initially, then was given the permanent role after seeing his impact. In the 2008-09, season he guided Brentford to the League Two title and gained promotion back to League One becoming the major highlight of Scott’s tenure. He has overseen 158 games as their coach until 2011.
7. Nicky Forster
Following the departure of Andy Scott, Nick Forster joined as the caretaker manager for the remainder of the season with Brentford. He had previously worked as a player-coach role and assistant manager before taking up this position. He was only in charge of the club for 21 games accumulating 1.52 points per game.
6. Uwe Rosler
In the summer of 2011, Uwe Rosler signed for Brentford as their new long-term manager, after a couple of brief spells and changes in the coaching staff. He was quite new to English having previously worked with Norwegian clubs such as Lillestrøm, FK Molde, and Viking. Rosler led the club to achieve significant success by finishing on top of League One and securing the Championship Playoff final.
Though they did not qualify for promotion but came relatively closer under his management. He recorded an impressive 62 wins, 37 draws and as many defeats in 136 across all competitions during his tenure from 2011 to 2013.
5. Mark Warburton
One of the most important names for Brentford in recent history, Mark Warburton had initially worked at the London club as a backroom staff such as Sporting director and assistant manager before being tasked with head coach responsibilities in 2013.
He was given the role after Uwe Rosler left the club to join Wigan Athletic. Warburton steered the Bees to automatic promotion to the Championship from League One through second place finish in the 2013-2014 campaign.
Not only this, but his incredible run continued in the Championship as the club clinched the EFL Championship Play-off spot by finishing 5th position on the points table in the 2014-15 season.
4. Marinus Dijkhuizen
In 2015, Marinus Dijkhuizen, the Dutch tactician arrived with a credible reputation for guiding his former club from the Dutch second tier to Eredivisie and ensuring their place in the first division. The expectations were high from Dijkhuizen since he was appointed as the successor of Mark Warburton.
His time in the English capital wrapped up in a short time after struggling to keep up with the Championship’s competition and marred by a string of inconsistent results cost him his position. He only managed nine games in the 2015-16 season and was subsequently relieved from his role in September 2015.
3. Lee Carsley
The current England head coach Lee Carsley is in charge of the Three Lions as caretaker manager after the departure of Gareth Southgate. In 2015, Carsley had a brief spell with Brentford and supervised 10 matches for the club after taking up the job following the sacking of Marinus Dijkhuizen.
The Englishman made an immediate impact on the club’s form and he won the Championship Manager of the Month for October 2015. However, he was reluctant to accept the permanent position as the club’s boss and left them after a month.
2. Dean Smith
Following a prolonged struggle to find a full-time manager for a few seasons, Brentford eventually signed Dean Smith as their new boss in December 2015. Smith arrived on the back of a successful spell at Walsall and established himself as the key figure.
He played a pivotal role in laying the foundation of the club’s promotion to the Premier League in the forthcoming seasons. Under his reign, the club steadily developed into one of the best clubs in the Championship regularly competing for the play-off and promotions.
Through his work, he has been widely credited with taking Brentford to the next level. He was in charge of 143 matches of which the Bees won 57 of those, lost 51 games and shared the spoils in 35 games across all competitions.
1. Thomas Frank
In 2018, the Danish manager Thomas Frank arrived at the Gtech Community stadium which marked the commencement of a new era for the Bees. Frank etched history with Brentford leading them to English top-flight football — the Premier League in the 2020-2021 campaign.
The Danish boss has overturned the fortunes of the club with his work. It was the first time in the history of the club after missing out on the promotion on several occasions. Under, Thomas Frank, Brentford defeated Swansea 2-0 in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.
He not only helped the club to get into the Premier League but since then has also managed to keep them afloat in the top division. It’s fair to say, that they are viewed as a decent midtable team with the potential to upset any of the top sides in the league on any given day.
Also Read: Top 10 best English football managers in history
FAQs
Q. Who is the current manager at Brentford?
A. Thomas Frank is the current manager at Brentford.
Q. What nationality is Thomas Frank Brentford’s manager?
A. Brentford boss Thomas Frank is of Danish nationality.
Q. Who was Brentford’s previous manager?
A. Dean Smith was Brentford’s previous manager from 2015 to 2018.
Q. Who was the longest-serving manager of Brentford?
A. Henry Charles Curtis is the longest-serving manager of Brentford.
Q. Which manager has managed most games for Brentford on this list?
A. Thomas Frank has managed most games on this list with 283 matches.