Who's Who: Brentford's All-New Backroom Staff
- essentialbrentford
- Jul 3, 2015
- 3 min read
Brentford have unveiled their new-look coaching staff with an emphasis on technical skills and set-pieces. It is no surprise that part of Matthew Benham's radical overhaul of the structure of the club involves several appointments that are a little odd to say the least. One of the areas identified in the owner's falling out with Mark Warburton was the disagreement over the need for a specialist set-piece coach. We look at all the new appointments who will be working behind the scenes this season.
Bartek Sylwestrzak - Technique Specialist
That's a name you won't hear too many pronouncing correctly! Bartek Sylwestrzak, who last season worked mainly with the younger Bees players, has been promoted to the first-team set-up for the 2015/16 season. His job is one of the more bizzare ones, as he is reportedly a specialist in helping players with ball striking and technique.
You can see why there a sceptics with this new system when we are employing specialists on 'ball striking'. Besides Alex Pritchard's wand of a right-foot which enabled him to put more dip on a football than you could on a Dorito, surely you can't teach a professional footballer how to strike a ball better? And if so then I'm sure there are plenty of Youtube tutorials (example below).
Gianni Vio - Set-piece Coach
The appointment of a set-piece coach was, as stated, the focal point of disagreement in 'footballing philosophies' between Benham and Warburton. Gianni Vio is the man to fill the position, and he seems like the right man for the job.
Vio's last job was at Italian giants AC Milan, and he has previously worked at Catania and Fiorentina. Benham's desire for a set-piece coach is perhaps unsurprising considering our weakness in this area last season. Only one or two corners resulting in goals spring to mind, whilst the recently departed Alex Pritchard was on free-kick duty; a role which is now up for grabs. I'm sure Judge, Jota, Gogia or perhaps another of our new signings will be eager to fill the role of free-kick taker.
Tom Bates - Performance Psychologist
Boasting a less exciting name than Bartek Sylwestrzak, but an equally intriguing job title. At first, the role of Performance Psychologist may seem as niche as that of Technique Specialist. However, sports psychology is an ever-growing field, and many teams and individuals across a whole range of sports are beginning to employ people such as Bates in order to develop and winning mentality.
Bates previously worked at West Bromwich Albion and will also be taking on a coaching role at the club this season.
Robert Rowan - Head of Football Operations
Robert Rowan, the former Celtic man who arrived at Brentford last year, has now been given a new role of head of football operations, working closely with co-directors of football Rasmus Ankersen and Phil Giles.
Paul Williams - Logistics Manager
Former Southampton academy coach Paul Williams, better known for his playing career with Derby and Coventry, has been appointed logistics manager.
His role will see him handle the day-to-day logistics at the club, and he will work less closely with the players than many of the other backroom staff.
The Holy Trinity
The new structure is led by head coach Marinus Dijkhuizen, his assistant Roy Hendriksen and head of football philosophy and player development Flemming Pedersen, who is also part of the coaching team. These three form what we are calling 'The Holy Trinity'.
Ankersen has said about the entirity of the coaching staff: “We are delighted to secure specialists who will aid our performance and we are looking forward to working with them.
“The players will, I am sure, benefit from working with talented staff that we have in all departments of the club."
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