Food for Thought

[EthelRed]

This century is 24 years and 50 days old.

In that time BFC have had eight chairmen, 3 individual owners and a consortium owning the club.

The shocking truth regarding permanent managers at the club (if you can call any of them permanent that is) is that we have had 23 incumbents this century giving an average stay at the club of around 1 year and 2weeks. Goodness knows how many interim managers there have been in addition to the permanent ones.

It seems that BFC have an extremely poor record of recruiting and retaining managers, whether that being by making poor appointments, ones leaving for better terms elsewhere or simply sick of not been backed by the board.

By my count the current ownership consortium who took up the reins in 2017 have gone through 10 managers since their arrival and I fear they will soon be looking for their eleventh. That?s an average lifespan of around 8-9 months - a shocking and damming statistic.

This is no way to run a business nor a football club. The revolving door of footballing personnel has to be slowed down and investment in quality has to be the way forward. Recruitment and retention are ***** and the policy of selling anything that moves with a BFC badge on it is foolish.

If you, the ownership, can?t solve the self inflicted problems then it?s time to go. You might be well meaning people but you?re making an absolute Bllx of running the playing side of BFC.

[Shadrack the Red]

This century is 24 years and 50 days old.

In that time BFC have had eight chairmen, 3 individual owners and a consortium owning the club.

The shocking truth regarding permanent managers at the club (if you can call any of them permanent that is) is that we have had 23 incumbents this century giving an average stay at the club of around 1 year and 2weeks. Goodness knows how many interim managers there have been in addition to the permanent ones.

It seems that BFC have an extremely poor record of recruiting and retaining managers, whether that being by making poor appointments, ones leaving for better terms elsewhere or simply sick of not been backed by the board.

By my count the current ownership consortium who took up the reins in 2017 have gone through 10 managers since their arrival and I fear they will soon be looking for their eleventh. That?s an average lifespan of around 8-9 months - a shocking and damming statistic.

This is no way to run a business nor a football club. The revolving door of footballing personnel has to be slowed down and investment in quality has to be the way forward. Recruitment and retention are ***** and the policy of selling anything that moves with a BFC badge on it is foolish.

If you, the ownership, can?t solve the self inflicted problems then it?s time to go. You might be well meaning people but you?re making an absolute Bllx of running the playing side of BFC.

Everything you say Ethel is spot on and you are right it is a sad sad state of affairs we are in , I do not think we are unique as there are others with similar if not worse turn over of managers/ coaches at other clubs as well . I think the huge financial benefits from being successful has a big bearing and the constant pressure put on by fans who demand change if things are not going well also is a contributing factor , the main thing to me is social media , where in years gone by your club was discussed on the terraces , at work or in the pub but now everyone can link up instantly via social media, fans not only react to results they react from their armchairs during games and if things are not going well pressure can be instantly brought to bare on the suits at the club, there is no patience these days and you only have to read on the forums where our club are discussed the cry for replacing Clarke has got stronger , Rotherham fans wanting Evans out etc, the keyboard warriors eventually get there way as weak boards fear losing revenue if they do not appease fans , incidentally I am not putting the blame on the supporters, it is simply as I see it . The constant pressure and abuse that gets whipped some times sickens me especially as a lot of the time I strongly believe that those shouting the loudest are the none attenders , they get their way and its rinse and repeat and start again . I do not know what the answer is Ethel , having seen the ups and downs of our club for over 60 years I much prefer the old 3rd and 4th division days of the sixties and the seventies to the way things are and have been for the last 15 to 20 years , when winning wasn"t the b all and end all , but alas those days will never return and the modern day fan demand success , it is probably time I stopped going but my love for my club will not allow me to do it !!

[Young_Nudger]

My view about Head Coaches is this:
Let?s only go back to when Patrick took control.
During his reign the managers were generally good.
Which was probably as a result of Maurice Watkins becoming more involved.
Problem was - Patrick didn?t have enough money to support them.

When the system changed to head coaches we have also had some great HCs.
Morais struggled as the system was changing from one style to another.
Other than that it?s been generally good.

We usually have HCs that other clubs higher up the leagues want.
But there has been a couple of blips - the Conway Season - although IMO it was more the fault of Conway rather than Schopp and Asbaghi that failed there.
And now these last two HCs - Collins and Clarke.

I can understand what happened during the Conway Season - but it?s difficult to pin point what?s happening now.

The recruitment system has obviously changed in the last two seasons.
We are now recruiting HCs that other clubs higher up the leagues do NOT want.

Summerts changed - I can only assume it?s something relating to James taking a back seat.

I certainly believe we currently have the best Chairman at the club during my lifetime.
But unbelievably at the same time the recruitment of HCs has dropped through the floor.
It?s an easy line to follow:
Good owner - recruits good football advisors (CEO and DoF) - who recruit a good HC.

The last two HCs is a signal that Neerav is receiving some poor advice.

It seems as though - as one half of the puzzle is solved - the other half of the puzzle goes missing.

With regard to keeping HCs at the club.
I asked that question at a Supprters Trust Meeting.
I said at the time that the club cannot progress until the club finds a way of putting a contract together which makes it difficult to prise HCs away.

All efforts should have been made to keep Ismael. In recent years he is the one HC that has fitted the Barnsley Game Model perfectly.

Neerav and Ismael on a tight contract would be a reyt combination

[animallittle3]

With the play offs seemingly gone and the club and fans facing 15 dead rubber games , a third of the season ffs a decent strategy would be to use that time to good effect .

It's very rare these days that you have nothing to play for with a third of the season still to go , the club and HC may tell you that the season isn't over but I think we all know it is .

The truth is the pressure is off in many respects and this may be the time to take stock , blood some kids or come up with some kind of plan for next season .

It's going to be interesting to see how the crowds will hold up from now until May with nothing to play for and some dreadful performances since Xmas thrown in .

You couldn't really blame anyone for not turning up , I think personally it's high time the onus was put back on the club to get bums back on seats .

Fourth consecutive league one season next time and that's simply not good enough .

[NerfHerder]

I think football, in general, has changed a lot since the turn of the century and it?s not just us that has the incredibly short manager/head coach lifespan. Football fans seem to get more and more fickle as the years roll on. I remember a few years ago Keith Hill said ?you?re only ever 3 games from the sack in football management? and, at the minute, that seems pretty bang on for us.

Even though it won?t be mathematical for a while yet, the playoffs are gone for us now in my opinion so let?s prepare for next season. The players that won?t be here next season, let?s leave them out and the players that we want to be ready for next season, let?s get them game time. In particular, I?m thinking of the keeper situation. Clarke and Mladen have been banging the drum about Smith playing games for his development and they wanted him to go out on loan. Well, there?s no chance of us signing Gauci I don?t believe so why not play Smith for the remainder of the season. Humphrys and Pines both out of contract at the end of the season (with options in our favour), if they aren?t staying, leave them on the bench.