“In my opinion Ivan Toney is one of the best strikers in the world right now. As a number 9 I don’t think there are many out there better than him. His goals and his stats also back that up,” says Thomas Frank of the man who only recently returned from an eight-month ban.
Nevertheless, the Brentford manager concedes that Toney is most likely gone in the next transfer window.
“He is a skilled striker in his prime, and it would be fun to see him in a top side, although I would of course like to keep him”, Frank stated in conversation with Tribalfootball.com and assorted Danish media today, before revealing a somewhat baffling fact.
“We didn’t receive a single bid on him in the January transfer window. Whether that was because no one wanted to pay, what we want for him, I don’t know, but there were no offers.”
While it sounds amazing, it gave Toney the chance of receiving a hero’s welcome when he returned to action against Nottingham Forest. But how has the rest of squad reacted to their former topscorer simply sliding back into the line-up as soon as he was available?
“Ivan is extremely well-liked in the squad. Aside from being a truly fantastic player, one of our best and most important, he is also a fantastic teammate who adds energy and a lot of positive vibes to the squad each day. It is simply great to have him back,” says Frank who thought the striker’s punishment was harsh.
“He made a mistake, it happens, he’s paid the price and we move on.”
Part of the price was Toney not being allowed to train at the club for the first four months and Frank admits it was a little challenging working with a guy he wasn’t allowed to train.
“Obviously, we laid out a plan for him to follow, and in fact he also nursed an injury he was carrying anyway. When he came back, we added a few more things to his training, while the last six weeks was pretty much like pre-season training for him.”
It is difficult not to see the irony in the fact that Toney was banned for betting, when your club is owned by a guy who made his fortune on betting, while their shirt sponsor is a betting company. Something Frank is only too aware about.
“I fully respect there’s a lot of economy in this and all ends need to meet, but personally I would prefer out shirt-sponsor to be something else.”
When Toney returned with a goal against Nottingham Forest, Brentford won their first game in eight matches as they managed to hold on to a lead. The latter has been a massive problem for the Bees this season, as they have dropped an astounding 26 points from winning positions.
To put that into perspective, Nottingham Forest are second on that list with 19 points dropped.
“I am fully aware of that because you people keep reminding me,” says Frank with a wry smile, when Tribalfootball put it to him and the Danish manager takes consolation in the fact that his side were previously pretty outstanding at keeping hold of a lead.
“When we came up, we played almost two full seasons in which we were the only side not to drop a single point after taking the lead. That is an utterly mind-boggling stat for a club like Brentford. So, we have the ability, it is in our DNA, but right now it doesn’t matter whether what we do, we can’t seem to keep hold of a lead,” a frustrated Bees manager concedes.
“Naturally, it is something we discuss and work on and it has been for some time now. I am sure it will improve now we are seeing some of our defensive players coming back into fitness.”
While it has so far been a season a little under par with the first two seasons in the Premier League, Frank was still mentioned as one of the top candidates to take over at Anfield, when Jürgen Klopp takes his bow in the summer. With Xavi taking his leave from the Barcelona bench at the same time, how does Frank feel being mentioned as a replacement?
“Well, Barcelona is a cool city with a little more sunshine that here, isn’t it?” is the dry response initially being offered, before Frank elaborates.
“It is obviously two amazing clubs and both managers have done well. I am seriously happy working at Brentford, and even though I have ambitions, sometimes you ought to be careful what you wish for. The grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side.”
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