Eric Cantona, Christian Eriksen and David Beckham were some of the names that sprung to mind as Thomas Frank looked ahead to Ivan Toney’s long-awaited Brentford comeback.
Following his eight-month ban for breaching FA betting rules Toney will finally return against Nottingham Forest today.
He will be greeted like a hero and treated like one too with the honour of leading Brentford out as captain in the absence of Christian Norgaard, a sense of injustice fuelling him, an acceptance that things could have been different but apologetic?
‘Sorry is a big word I think,’ Thomas Frank said in a Toney-dominated press conference in which he was asked 31 questions about his talisman.
Toney’s enforced absence for non-injury reasons had echoes of Cantona’s for the same period in 1995 for kung-fu kicking a Crystal Palace fan.
Ivan Toney is free to return to action for Brentford following an eight month betting sanction
![Brentford boss Thomas Frank has backed Toney to hit the ground running on his return](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/19/22/80241715-12978475-Brentford_boss_Thomas_Frank_has_backed_Toney_to_hit_the_ground_r-a-158_1705703636293.jpg)
Brentford boss Thomas Frank has backed Toney to hit the ground running on his return
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Frank hopes Toney can go one better than Cantona – scorer of United’s penalty equaliser in his comeback against Liverpool – by marking his return with victory as well as a goal but sees similarities in their confidence levels.
‘Yeah I would say so,’ Frank agreed when that suggestion was put to him.
‘A little bit different types of players but Ivan’s confidence is amazing. I think there’s a good story. It’s no secret that [Brentford defender] Charlie Goode and Ivan are good friends.
‘I had a good talk with Charlie about a year ago, we were talking about Ivan and other bits, he came to the club and I think the first three games he hasn’t scored and Charlie said ‘are you ok?’ and Ivan said ‘yeah I’ll smash the scoring record in the Championship, I will score more than 30 goals.
‘Charlie just looked at him (surprised) – and he did break the record. He has got that confidence. He believes he can score in every action. And that is a huge quality.’
With six league defeats in seven and just a three-point buffer to the drop zone, Brentford need Toney to find form instantly.
Frank said: ‘He is a player that will hit the ground running. I compare it a little bit, it’s different, but a little bit to Christian Eriksen. Also, it [his time out following a cardiac arrest] was not ‘injured’ if that makes sense.
‘Of course it was a crazy thing that happened to him but he hit the ground running [when he came back to football at Brentford] and I expect the same from Ivan.’
![Frank claims Toney can have a similar impact to Eric Cantona at Man United after the Frenchman scored against Liverpool on his return from a nine month ban back in 1995](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/19/22/80241787-12978475-Frank_claims_Toney_can_have_a_similar_impact_to_Eric_Cantona_at_-a-159_1705703636294.jpg)
Frank claims Toney can have a similar impact to Eric Cantona at Man United after the Frenchman scored against Liverpool on his return from a nine month ban back in 1995
![The Brentford boss highlighted Christian Eriksen's return with the Bees after his cardiac arrest](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/19/22/80241843-12978475-The_Brentford_boss_highlighted_Christian_Eriksen_s_return_with_t-a-160_1705703636295.jpg)
The Brentford boss highlighted Christian Eriksen’s return with the Bees after his cardiac arrest
Frank joked that it was typical Toney to comeback when he is – desperately needed and for a TV game at home under the lights. The stage is set.
Toney is the sort of self-assured personality who will thrive amid the additional scrutiny and even the inevitable targeting from rival fans.
Frank said: ‘I think he will cope well. The Netflix series about Beckham, I remember clearly in 1998 the game [when he got sent off at the World Cup against Argentina] but when you watch it back I’m thinking ‘what is happening? That is horrendous.’
‘I don’t hope that [level of abuse] will happen but I know how it will. There will be some banter and some probably more than banter and stick. He has got a very good mentality or ability to focus on the right thing so he will park it, not dwell on it, move forward and just be in the zone.’