Aerial duels 2024-25: Tottenham 872, Brentford 1210. Aerial duels 2023-24: Tottenham 760, Brentford 1259. Fouls committed 2024-25: Tottenham 446, Brentford 320. Fouls committed 2023-24: Tottenham 423, Brentford 385.

Thomas Frank appears destined to succeed Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham, following in the footsteps of a coach who secured a first trophy in 17 years for the north London side.

Postecoglou's style of play proved divisive, with a notoriously high line featuring prominently before being ditched for the crucial Europa League final run-in.

But what changes might Frank bring? The Brentford boss is known for his use of data in the game, previously stating he is not a lover of shots from outside the box.

Last season, 23% of Brentford's efforts came from outside the area, compared to 28% of Spurs'. This, one would think, is an area where change is likely if Frank brings his desire to not waste good positions with pot-shots with him from the Gtech.

Brentford's mark was the lowest in the league, with champions Liverpool another side taking a lowly 26% of shots from outside the box. Strugglers Ipswich (39%), Wolves (38%) and Manchester United (36%) were at the other end of the spectrum.

There is also a perception Frank's teams are direct and 'put it in the mixer' in the modern game, but this may only be true up to a point.

Last season, Brentford attempted 675 crosses, while Spurs - often seen as easy on the eye - delivered 752 crosses. Again, much like with his focus on shot selection, Frank may bring with him the need to be more picky in wide areas, crossing only when there is merit.

Two statistics that stand out, though, are his side's willingness to compete in the air, with last season's 1,210 aerial duels the highest figure in the league and dwarfing Tottenham's 872. The 2023-24 campaign saw an even bigger gulf.

Expect Tottenham, then, to contest things that bit more but, as with shots from long range or crosses, Frank seems to want to be smart when it comes to competing. His side have fouled far less than Spurs across the past two seasons and hence discipline may come to the fore if he takes charge.

Only Manchester City committed fewer fouls than Brentford last season.

One way to concede fewer goals from dead balls is to give fewer dead balls away. Frank's success has been built upon such logic all over the pitch and humble yet effective tweaks are seemingly on the way at Spurs.

  • 'Flexible' Frank 'a deep thinker' - Brentford fan on unseen attributes

    Ian Westbrook
    Brentford Fan writer

    Fan's voice - Brentford banner
    Thomas Frank greets a young Brentford erGetty Images

    Thomas Frank has many strengths as a manager.

    Perhaps his biggest quality is creating squad unity - it is why Brentford have thrived in the Premier League. He has managed - and improved - big names like Ollie Watkins, David Raya and Ivan Toney, but also ensured they still bought into the team ethic.

    Nobody in a Frank side is the star player - it is all about the team - and that shines through during games and also in the post-match lap of fan appreciation, which happens whatever the result.

    Frank seems to genuinely respect and value us ers. His post-match applause of the fans always seems genuine and not tokenistic - never more so than after his eighth defeat in 10 games after taking charge. Following that 2-0 loss in December sleet at Hull - he still came over to the 300 of us to show his thanks, despite some fans calling for his sacking.

    Brentford's players clearly have a close bond with each other and also with Frank, who says he wants them to be "confident, but humble".

    He is never too high or too low - insisting on the "24-hour rule" to either celebrate a win or get over a defeat, before moving on.

    Frank always tries to play positively. He will never settle for a late draw if a win may be possible and never wants the ball played in the corner to protect a lead.

    He is also flexible - and has constantly evolved how the Bees play to fit a particular match or the players available, using 4-3-3, 3-5-2, 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 formations.

    Frank is a deep thinker and, if Spurs give him time, he will flourish. He is a big loss for Brentford, but nobody is bigger than the club and the succession plan will have been worked out ages ago.

    Find more from Ian Westbrook at Beesotted podcast

  • Cochrane to Frank at Spurs

    Sami Mokbel
    Senior football correspondent

    Justin Cochrane and Thomas FrankGetty Images

    Brentford and England coach Justin Cochrane is set to Thomas Frank at Tottenham.

    Frank's arrival at Spurs will be confirmed inside the next 24 hours and the Dane is bringing Cochrane with him across London.

    The Bees were keen to keep hold of Cochrane, who had been linked with becoming Frank's replacement.

  • 'Project manager' Frank oozes 'Scandinavian leadership'

    Thomas FrankGetty Images

    Thomas Frank's "Scandinavian leadership" is a crucial and distinctive trait he can take to Tottenham.

    That's the view of Teddy Hebo Larsen, the chairman of Hvidovre where Thomas Frank was a youth coach between 1998 and around 2004.

    Frank, who worked in Denmark's age group teams before moving to Brondby and Brentford in the club game, is nearing a switch to take charge of Spurs.

    Speaking to BBC Sport, Hebo Larsen said this was a "very important" time in Frank's career and it is his personal skills that have made him "extremely popular" with players.

    He said: "Thomas is investing heavily in leadership - he is very special in that aspect. I'm not sure I see that in many other head coaches. What we would call Scandinavian leadership is what he has brought to Brentford in my view.

    "It's much more involved in engaging people, listening to people, empathy, authenticity is a key word. Thomas has plenty of that. One of his strengths was being a good er and developer for the young guys while still keeping a professional distance to them as a coach. He used a team based approach - making sure that each player knew the common goal for the team. I could see very clear leadership skills."

    Hebo Larsen explained he first saw Frank coaching youth players in near darkness but that his "energy and his dedication was already at that time very clear".

    Asked if he would be proud to see him lead Spurs, Hebo Larsen said: "For sure. I think he deserves it very much. If you recall he had a tough start at Brentford but they believed in him, they stayed with him.

    "Thomas is a project manager - he has a clear project with a clear goal and he just continuously follows that goal and tries to develop things around him. Of course we are really proud at what Thomas has achieved - it's really outstanding and if he moves to Tottenham I can only congratulate Spurs as I think they will get a very, very special head coach and I do hope he has the time to blossom."

  • 'Wait and see' - Son on future as Van de Ven calls Postecoglou sacking 'strange'

    Son Heung-min waves to fans while holding Europa League trophyGetty Images

    Tottenham captain Son Heung-min says they will have to "wait and see what happens" when it comes to his contract.

    It casts some uncertainty over his future, with just one year remaining on the 32-year-old's current deal.

    It could be one of the first issues Thomas Frank would be faced with if he is appointed as the next Spurs boss, as is looking increasingly likely.

    "I still have one more year left on the contract," Son said on Tuesday to Korean news agency Yonhap.

    "Rather than saying anything at this moment, I think we should all wait and see what happens."

    With many players away on international duty when the news was confirmed that Ange Postecoglou had been sacked, they will now be waiting to find out who will be in charge when they return to the club.

    Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has described it as a "strange" decision to dismiss Postecoglou after he ended the club's 17-year trophy drought by winning the Europa League.

    The Australian brought Van de Ven to north London from Wolfsburg in August 2023 and the 24-year-old Netherlands centre-back has made 41 appearances.

    He told Voetbalzone: "Many of the players got along with him well = and, of course, he is the first coach who has brought success to Spurs in a long time.

    "That also shows he has a certain quality and a winning mentality - 100%. From that, you would of course say that it is strange that he was fired.

    "That was ultimately a choice from the club. We will see what happens now. Of course, we see some rumours about the Brentford head coach, who it will probably be."

  • Brentford manager Thomas Frank