Romared Match Thoughts Exeter City v Barnsley

[Shadrack the Red]

It’s definitely feel good. But to be fair we have been playing the weakest teams away lately.
Had we gone away to Peterborough, Bolton and Portsmouth within the last 5 away and won them all, Id be ecstatic……… these games are to come……without looking, are they coming in succession?

To be fair Jules I am not sure that our last two wins were against the weakest teams , be fore we went to Cambridge they had only lost one home game but more to the point they had only conceded 3 goals at home , if our home form was as good we would be clear at the top , regarding Exeter , I agree they are on a sticky patch but you always fancy them at home , they put a lot of sides to the sword down there as we know from last season, I thought at the start of the week that both matches were tricky & in the end we did very well indeed.

[SBRed48]

To be fair Jules I am not sure that our last two wins were against the weakest teams , be fore we went to Cambridge they had only lost one home game but more to the point they had only conceded 3 goals at home , if our home form was as good we would be clear at the top , regarding Exeter , I agree they are on a sticky patch but you always fancy them at home , they put a lot of sides to the sword down there as we know from last season, I thought at the start of the week that both matches were tricky & in the end we did very well indeed.

The win at Cambridge was a good performance.

The Exeter game could have gone either way and a draw would have been a fairer result. Few could really have claimed injustice had we lost that with shots bouncing back off our woodwork. Three points a bonus.

[Shadrack the Red]

The win at Cambridge was a good performance.

The Exeter game could have gone either way and a draw would have been a fairer result. Few could really have claimed injustice had we lost that with shots bouncing back off our woodwork. Three points a bonus.

I agree entirely , what I cannot get my head around when reading social media sites about the reds is that when we win it is because our opponents were poor & when we lose the reds were poor , there is never any credit given to the winning team .

[animallittle3]

I agree entirely , what I cannot get my head around when reading social media sites about the reds is that when we win it is because our opponents were poor & when we lose the reds were poor , there is never any credit given to the winning team .

I just think at least personally I'm looking at things for what they are Shad and looking at the bigger picture .

I've seen as you have what it takes to get out of this league and I'm unsure of our ability to do so .

What's rattling my cage is that the league is there for the taking and I'd really like to avoid the Play Offs for reasons I'm sure you equally understand .

We've players that can be very good at this level but they are also very frustrating .

I've also read on social media that Oxford United are in a false position and won't stay the course by some of our fans but at the same time they won't accept that could be ourselves too .

Funny old game Shad .

[Young_Nudger]

I agree entirely , what I cannot get my head around when reading social media sites about the reds is that when we win it is because our opponents were poor & when we lose the reds were poor , there is never any credit given to the winning team .

Agree.
Some supporters are flip flopping in their judgement.
One week the players are CHEAP - and because of this then they must be poor players.
The following week they win a game and straight away they are good enough.

Personally I don’t think our mixed results are anything to do with the quality of the players.
I think two things are at play here.

Firstly - many of the players are new to the club and they come from different backgrounds - so it takes time for them to get up to speed and need to gel.

Secondly - and more importantly - it seems to me that the head coach and his assistant are struggling with the Barnsley Way of doing things.

It’s worth remembering that for the last few years the head coaches have not been involved in the overall formation of the team and have not been involved in choosing any of the players that have signed for the club.
Consequently before a new coach is appointed he’s informed of how Barnsley play and given the players to work with.

There’s an opportunity to tweak things - but there is no overall change in the system and neither can the head coach go out and bring their own players in.
The directors determine all of this.
Some head coaches are able to adapt to this better than others.

Duff was relatively successful but it took him a while at the start of last season to get to grips with things - I think we had fewer points this time last season.
If people remember - Duff started playing 343 and found it unsuccessful before going to 352.

I think Collins is struggling more than what Duff did.
Collins is clearly a winner - you only have to see his reaction after the Exeter game to realise how much winning means to him.
My concern is that he’s currently not getting the best out of some of the players.

We have definitely done better away from home than what I thought we would.
But we should not have lost the home games like we did.
Not because we played better teams - it’s because our own players didn’t perform as a team.
I have yet to see any team in this league that have got a better set of players than what Barnsley has got - no matter how ‘cheap’ they are.

So as far as the feel good factor goes - I’m sort of feeling neither good or bad about our current situation.
Pleased to see us 3rd - but IMO we should now be in the top 2.
And once Collins starts to get the best out of individual players - then we should finish in the top 2.

[pass_and_move]

I just think at least personally I'm looking at things for what they are Shad and looking at the bigger picture .

I've seen as you have what it takes to get out of this league and I'm unsure of our ability to do so .

What's rattling my cage is that the league is there for the taking and I'd really like to avoid the Play Offs for reasons I'm sure you equally understand .

We've players that can be very good at this level but they are also very frustrating .

I've also read on social media that Oxford United are in a false position and won't stay the course by some of our fans but at the same time they won't accept that could be ourselves too .

Funny old game Shad .

Agree and having not seen as many Barnsley matches as you have this season Animal, I still get where you're coming from on this one.

I suppose that you've got to take the positives from the league points that we've amassed so far despite us not yet being a settled side or indeed a consistent side. With this in mind, and the division being weaker than last season, it gives us a platform that we didn't have last season and aif a chance of mounting a challenge. However, there's a lot of work to be done and our supporters shouldn't be misguided by the results. Time will tell.

[Jules88]

Critical comments about cheap players and playing a settled side doesn’t mean said supporters don’t also acknowledge that even with a new squad and new coach we have had a good start away from home. Home performances (apart from the first game) have looked disjointed, and without a cutting edge.
We have had poor results against Oxford, Peterborough and Portsmouth at home ( all of whom we should recognise as being our competitors for the top two places),
We can see improvement….. but at times, in a few of the games we won, results could have swung the other way.
We all want the same thing……Improvement, and Promotion

[animallittle3]

Agree.
Some supporters are flip flopping in their judgement.
One week the players are CHEAP - and because of this then they must be poor players.
The following week they win a game and straight away they are good enough.

Personally I don’t think our mixed results are anything to do with the quality of the players.
I think two things are at play here.

Firstly - many of the players are new to the club and they come from different backgrounds - so it takes time for them to get up to speed and need to gel.

Secondly - and more importantly - it seems to me that the head coach and his assistant are struggling with the Barnsley Way of doing things.

It’s worth remembering that for the last few years the head coaches have not been involved in the overall formation of the team and have not been involved in choosing any of the players that have signed for the club.
Consequently before a new coach is appointed he’s informed of how Barnsley play and given the players to work with.

There’s an opportunity to tweak things - but there is no overall change in the system and neither can the head coach go out and bring their own players in.
The directors determine all of this.
Some head coaches are able to adapt to this better than others.

Duff was relatively successful but it took him a while at the start of last season to get to grips with things - I think we had fewer points this time last season.
If people remember - Duff started playing 343 and found it unsuccessful before going to 352.

I think Collins is struggling more than what Duff did.
Collins is clearly a winner - you only have to see his reaction after the Exeter game to realise how much winning means to him.
My concern is that he’s currently not getting the best out of some of the players.

We have definitely done better away from home than what I thought we would.
But we should not have lost the home games like we did.
Not because we played better teams - it’s because our own players didn’t perform as a team.
I have yet to see any team in this league that have got a better set of players than what Barnsley has got - no matter how ‘cheap’ they are.

So as far as the feel good factor goes - I’m sort of feeling neither good or bad about our current situation.
Pleased to see us 3rd - but IMO we should now be in the top 2.
And once Collins starts to get the best out of individual players - then we should finish in the top 2.

The club is run by Marketing People who are very good at convincing people they are on top of things and making you believe that is so .

When the club is run by proper Football People or have a Director Of Football even I'll be the first to listen to what they have to say and acknowledged it .

[Young_Nudger]

The club is run by Marketing People who are very good at convincing people they are on top of things and making you believe that is so .

When the club is run by proper Football People or have a Director Of Football even I'll be the first to listen to what they have to say and acknowledged it .

These players that you claim are cheap and not good enough one week - then after they win the following week ‘have what it takes to get out of this league’ - were all signed by, as you describe them ‘non football Marketing Peope’.

It must really peee you off when the club does well.
Nowt to kick.

[animallittle3]

These players that you claim are cheap and not good enough one week - then after they win the following week ‘have what it takes to get out of this league’ - were all signed by, as you describe them ‘non football Marketing Peope’.

It must really peee you off when the club does well.
Nowt to kick.

Unproven and cheap with potential is how I describe them .

Potential is of course the key word and as yet not realised because it's measured over months and years rather than 12 games .

Best example of such a scenario would be Brian McCord although there are plenty of others I could mention .

Looked very good and accomplished and we bought that potential we saw on loan .

Ultimately Brian proved not to be good enough over the time I've alluded to .

Best CEO we've had actually kicked a ball professionally , funny that .