Reply With QuoteThe "well drilled and brimming with energy" part let it down for me. Proved that whoever wrote the article wasn't at the game, or was blind
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There are many considerations to be made in the appointment of a new head coach: leadership; previous success and failures; proficiency on the training ground and style of play, to name but a few. This summer, though, Barnsley’s board of directors made the latter — a specific style of play — the starting point from which all further considerations were made, with the intention, they say, of seeing it permeate from the first team throughout all age groups and levels of the club.
“We’ve identified that the counterpress has been used by the most successful teams in the world,” a club statement read, adding that it’s a “style of play that matches the mentality of club and town”. But is there not something a little irregular in the idea of a board of directors — who now include Chinese, American, Indian and English stakeholders, as well as a French chief executive — deciding upon the tactics best suited to bring success to Barnsley in Sky Bet League One?
“We found it quite logical,” Gauthier Ganaye, the Barnsley chief executive, says. “Before you hire someone you want to identify the way you want to play. We did the first step, and we have identified counterpressing, one of the most successful ways of playing football. Once we identified that, OK, let’s have a look for the manager who can implement that the best. Daniel, with the data we have, was one of the best.”
Daniel Stendel, a 44-year-old German with 11 months’ experience as first-team coach of Hannover and a shaky grasp of English, is the man they have chosen. For a club whose investors include Billy Beane, the former baseball player behind the “Moneyball” concept of recruitment based on statistical data, a 50 per cent win ratio in 34 games for Hannover under Stendel may not sound like all that much to go on. However, after a number of meetings to discuss his philosophy, the Barnsley hierarchy were convinced that he was their man. “We also needed someone who wants to work [with] and develop young players,” Ganaye says. “He has done that at Hannover, so he ticked all the boxes.”
After a 4-0 win against Oxford United on the opening day of the season at Oakwell and a 2-0 victory against Bradford City at Valley Parade last week, Barnsley were frustrated by an obdurate AFC Wimbledon during Saturday’s goalless draw but the signs have been good. Stendel, a former striker who enjoyed the most productive days of an unspectacular playing career at Hannover, sought the advice of Thomas Christiansen, the former Leeds United manager, and Jos Luhukay, the Sheffield Wednesday manager, before taking up the role. Another German with an advocacy of gegenpress in Yorkshire, David Wagner, is a former team-mate at Gütersloh, the minnows from North Rhine-Westphalia. A fraction of the success enjoyed by Huddersfield Town under Wagner will suffice.
So far, despite the language barrier, Stendel’s energy and intensity on the training ground has endeared him to the players. “Everyone’s hungry to get better, it’s good to be around,” the defender Jordan Williams said. And being spotted in a town-centre pub for a Germany game during the World Cup with his backroom staff, Andreas Winkler and Christopher Stern, has endeared him to the fans.
After the failure of José Morais to keep Barnsley in the Championship following his appointment in February, another left-field appointment is understandably seen by some as a risk — even more so in a division from which Roberto Martínez is the last overseas coach to have been promoted.
Furthermore, it has been a tumultuous 12 months for the South Yorkshire club. Barnsley’s sale to a consortium headed by Chinese businessman Chien Lee and the American businessman Paul Conway, after protracted discussions, was confirmed in January, one month before Patrick Cryne, the club’s owner since 2003, died of bowel cancer in an emotionally fraught period for those at Oakwell.
Within a month, Paul Heckingbottom, the manager who like Cryne hailed from the town and grew up supporting Barnsley, left for Leeds United and a dysfunctional end to the season under Morais led to his departure being announced after the 4-1 defeat by Derby County confirmed League One status.
It would be understandable, then, to find voices of discontent around Oakwell given that Barnsley have had such a turbulent start to life under Lee, Conway et al. But a commitment to sustainable investment and a willingness to engage with fans means this season has begun with a sense of excitement married to the unknown. Ganaye made headlines last week with a touching letter sent to a supporter, Chris Ryder, who had hinted on Twitter towards issues with anxiety and depression. In the letter, which went viral, Ganaye wrote that “my office door is always open” and the pair met before Saturday’s game.
Daniel Stendel was appointed manager based on 11 months in charge of Hanover
Conway and Lee spoke with fans in Redfearns, the bar in the south stand run by supporters’ trust volunteers, before the win against Oxford. Another director, Neerav Parekh, did the same before the Wimbledon game. There have been efforts to improve the matchday experience too, with a revamped family zone, some much-needed TLC to Oakwell and an upgrade to online platforms. “But we are living within our means,” Conway said in the matchday programme. “We’re not doing anything irrational. The sanctity of this club is really important and what Patrick Cryne built we want to continue and build upon.”
Barnsley’s data-driven policy of procuring young talent with potential to develop continues, even if the club’s horizons have perhaps now broadened a little. Only three players arrived this summer with a belief that the squad was already capable of making an immediate Championship return. Callum Styles, 18, joined from Bury but was loaned back to his parent club. Another 18-year-old, Williams, joined from Huddersfield last week and made his debut as a second-half substitute on Saturday. Kenny Dougall, a 25-year-old defensive midfielder from Australia, joined from Sparta Rotterdam for an undisclosed fee and has already impressed with his composure, tough tackling and reading of the game.
Most importantly, though, Barnsley are now in a position to hold on to their most talented players and fans can look forward to seeing the likes of an Alfie Mawson or a Conor Hourihane, sold to Swansea City and Aston Villa respectively in recent years, playing in a red shirt for a little longer. Of nine departures this summer only that of Andy Yiadom, who joined Reading on a free transfer, is of any significant regret. And Barnsley have turned down in excess of 50 bids for their players, Ganaye says, with interest in strikers Tom Bradshaw and Kiefer Moore, and Liam Lindsay, an elegant Scottish centre half, all rebuffed.
On Saturday, Moore, Bradshaw and Adam Davies, the goalkeeper, all of whom are 26, were Barnsley’s oldest players in a matchday squad with an average age of 23. Barnsley dominated possession, were well drilled and brimming with energy but lacked a cutting edge. There were signs of Stendel’s labour on the training ground in evidence. “This is a new era,” Ganaye said, “and one we hope will be an exciting one for everyone connected to Barnsley Football Club.”
Last edited by EastStandRed; 20-08-2018 at 12:17 PM.
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The "well drilled and brimming with energy" part let it down for me. Proved that whoever wrote the article wasn't at the game, or was blind
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Nurka Demm ov Normy ?Originally Posted by Ponte_Steve24
The "well drilled and brimming with energy" part let it down for me. Proved that whoever wrote the article wasn't at the game, or was blind
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Brilliant PR from Goat. Tha ezzto hand it that fella.
The bit that made me laugh most was the bit about the seasoned football brains on the consortium deciding upon a style of play and telling Goat to find us the man to implement our plan with Goat then swooping on Stendel.
As far as I remember Ross and Hurst turned us darn after we had waited for the Play Offs to finish to get one of them. Goat then reverted to his routine of looking on the continent for long term unemployed coaches who were likely to be responsive to his headhunting. His first go, Morais, was a c0ck up of monumental proportions, his second, Stendel, shows signs of better things but we have to wait and see.
Last edited by SBRed48; 20-08-2018 at 01:16 PM.
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I think that this management team will be successful- the 1st league matches show that they are getting grips with the players & this league
Morais was a disaster but GG put it right! I am proud to be a Barnsley fan!
It’ll be interesting at Rochdale & Scunny!
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Brilliant PR from Goat. Tha ezzto hand it that fella.
The bit that made me laugh most was the bit about the seasoned football brains on the consortium deciding upon a style of play and telling Goat to find us the man to implement our plan with Goat then swooping on Stendel.
As far as I remember Ross and Hurst turned us darn after we had waited for the Play Offs to finish to get one of them. Goat then reverted to his routine of looking on the continent for long term unemployed coaches who were likely to be responsive to his headhunting. His first go, Morais, was a c0ck up of monumental proportions, his second, Stendel, shows signs of better things but we have to wait and see.
Our two wins have come from teams who now occupy 24th & 18th respectively a cup loss against 19th & being found out in a poor draw against 8th
What's not to like
We just don't seem to have a strong enough squad do we?
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Agree there does seem to be a good buzz about the place again , results will dictate that to an extent though
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