Romared Match Thoughts Barnsley v Blackpool

[animallittle3]

After ten games it's W5 D1 L4 from six at home and four away. We are 7th but have a stack of clubs a point or two behind us generally having played a game less.

I have found the football, in entertainment terms, average at best, sometimes underwhelming. The owners have made great play of here at Barnsley we have a policy to play a high paced, high press style and appoint HC's that follow that philosophy. Collins does not play that style, the build up is slow with players not having the technique to play slow possession football well.

The managed decline in where we recruit from, now down to inexperienced free transfer/ non league/ loan levels is beginning to show, particularly in defence. We are "old manned" out of games by the better clubs with more experienced players.

The Board get away with such things if they drop lucky on a good coach who can get the best out of the players dealt to them and they can ride on his coat tails, such as with ismael and Duff. If the HC is ordinary or poor such as Schopp and Asbaghi the chickens come home to roost. I fear we may well have appointed an average coach in Collins who will struggle to develop and organise the young players sufficiently.

A key feature of last season was beating the better teams at Oakwell. Four defeats already to teams likely to finish in the top ten does not bode well.

My initial view after ten games is to be underwhelmed, occasionally bored, by what is served up, the Port Vale freak and Wigan away excepted. I fear we may drift into an upper mid table outfit, especially if/ when Cole and Styles go in January.

I hope this initial view is wrong and good performances at Cambridge and Exeter this week show the way we are going and what kind of style, formation and players represent the Collins way of doing things and it begins to reveal itself. At the moment I am not sure what Collins is aiming at producing.

This was always the thing to be extremely concerned about .

The way the club is run and hiring a HC who is clearly out of his depth , a perfect storm coming in and in this case from across the Atlantic .

As you've alluded to SB we've been here before when Schopp replaced Val .

I understand Schopp said all the right things at the interview stage about how he wanted to play and then did exactly the opposite once that campaign began .

I suspect we are here again with Collins and whilst I don't believe for one minute we will have a season like we had in the last championship relegation season I see little evidence of progression either .

Personally it's not so much the results that's driving my view we need to make the change , Duff had some iffy performances and results early last season , the difference is you could see what he was trying to do and not only that in my opinion he inherited a far worse situation last year than Collins has .

I've absolutely no idea what Collins is trying to do and I believe he doesn't either and as a consequence neither will the players .

I'm not normally one for sacking HC's this early but in my opinion a clear error of Schopp proportions has been made hiring Collins and if I'm in charge at Oakwell I'd want to rectify that before the season becomes a total write off .

We finish half way up league one playing this style of football and the ST sales will drop off a cliff .

The board need to act , they need to act now because they can't afford to keep Collins on if the truth be told .

Mark Bonner at Cambridge has done a tremendous job on two bob , knows the league and gets the max out of the players at his disposal , Duff esque .

Total no brainer for me .

[animallittle3]

The Nicky Cadden situation baffles me. He's arguably one of the best left sided players in the division, if not the best.

Play your strongest XI possible. We've had injury problems and Phillips suspended, Styles on international duty etc which has meant changes had to be made in these first ten games. Collins hasn't been dealt a great hand to be fair. He deserves more time in the job than 10 games surely. Calling for his dismissal at this stage is a poor doo in my opinion.

There's a long way to go yet. Things need to settle down. The entire defence has been removed from last season and not replaced like for like. Easy to overlook. Personally the responsibility lies with the board in the defensive signings they made this summer. They aren't league 1 ready and it shows in the games that I've seen.

Pass I fully take the point about the inexperienced back three and the obvious problem presented to Collins .

The thing is there are ways to go about that in order to provide those lads the protection they clearly needed whilst they got up to speed , if they ever will mind .

A more pragmatic and EFL experienced HC would have seen that one a mile away .

The man is clearly determined to play his own way which is vastly different to how Duff had us playing last season , I suspect even with Andersen and Kitching remaining plus us landing Bobby Thomas on loan for another year he still would have moved away from the Duff blueprint .

A smart HC would have yes moved away from the Duff way but he would have been smart in doing it .

Two holding midfield players to sit in front of that inexperience at the back for starters or a back four with two full backs .

A low block style that Blackpool displayed yesterday is another option .

The truth is he's not gone about this in a smart way at all and yesterday things came to a head for me .

That team he put out yesterday was mind boggling , the tactics inept and we are ten games in .

I couldn't believe it , I really couldn't and the line was crossed with me personally .

He's clueless mate , out of his depth in my opinion .

Nowt to hang my hat on with him and what's more the league is utter shyte and this is an opportunity going begging or at least looks slightly easier than last season .

[Young_Nudger]

With what has been said by the club there is a big difference between Schopp and Collins in that Schopp was TOLD how to to play by Paul Conway.
Collins hasn’t.
And probably Schopp was recruited by Paul Conway.
Collins wasn’t.

As far as I’m concerned it’s not the team selection that is the main concern (although personally I would have changed things) the concern is the team tactics.

The club has told us that there is a system of how Barnsley play.

It’s either a 343 or 352 formation.
No wingers - but wingbacks.
Goalkeeper that can pass the ball.
Three central defenders that are comfortable on the ball and can bring the ball out.
High press high energy system.
Quick to turn the ball over and quick in moving the ball forward.
Strikers that trigger the high press that enables the whole team to move up as one unit.

All the players (and coaches) are recruited with this system in mind.

SO WHERE HAS ALL THAT GONE ???

What we have now under Collins is a possession based playing system developed by Man City.
A system that most football clubs in the league plays.
Which sees the ball constantly passed along the back line and passed backwards.
It’s boring - it’s dull - it’s slow - and it’s not how Barnsley players were coached under Stendel, Struber, Ismael or Duff.

During Collins interview the directors don’t seem to have got the message over on how Barnsley play.
Khaled needs to sit Collins down and remind him about the ‘Barnsley Way’.

[pass_and_move]

Pass I fully take the point about the inexperienced back three and the obvious problem presented to Collins .

The thing is there are ways to go about that in order to provide those lads the protection they clearly needed whilst they got up to speed , if they ever will mind .

A more pragmatic and EFL experienced HC would have seen that one a mile away .

The man is clearly determined to play his own way which is vastly different to how Duff had us playing last season , I suspect even with Andersen and Kitching remaining plus us landing Bobby Thomas on loan for another year he still would have moved away from the Duff blueprint .

A smart HC would have yes moved away from the Duff way but he would have been smart in doing it .

Two holding midfield players to sit in front of that inexperience at the back for starters or a back four with two full backs .

A low block style that Blackpool displayed yesterday is another option .

The truth is he's not gone about this in a smart way at all and yesterday things came to a head for me .

That team he put out yesterday was mind boggling , the tactics inept and we are ten games in .

I couldn't believe it , I really couldn't and the line was crossed with me personally .

He's clueless mate , out of his depth in my opinion .

Nowt to hang my hat on with him and what's more the league is utter shyte and this is an opportunity going begging or at least looks slightly easier than last season .

I too see what you're saying and you make some very good observations and points. For the record- I'm not fighting Collins' corner here, I'm just pointing out that a lot of the changes were enforced and 10 games with an inexperienced back 3 isn't enough time for any HC.

Your point about laiking 2 holding midfielders isn't a bad one considering the naivety of the back 3. However, I feel it would invite too much pressure and take away an element of our attacking threat. Afterall, we have scored more goals so far this season than any other team has managed in this league.

I'll say it again- I hold the board responsible for our defensive dilemma. It's very difficult to establish any kind of consistency when they sign replacement defenders who need 12 to 18 months to bed in, especially wi art any experience alongside them. It's crackers to expect anything else other than a hit and miss type scenario.

Collins may be a tinker man and his tactics may be questionable so far but the board have put us in this position with plain and utter stupidity in my opinion

[animallittle3]

I too see what you're saying and you make some very good observations and points. For the record- I'm not fighting Collins' corner here, I'm just pointing out that a lot of the changes were enforced and 10 games with an inexperienced back 3 isn't enough time for any HC.

Your point about laiking 2 holding midfielders isn't a bad one considering the naivety of the back 3. However, I feel it would invite too much pressure and take away an element of our attacking threat. Afterall, we have scored more goals so far this season than any other team has managed in this league.

I'll say it again- I hold the board responsible for our defensive dilemma. It's very difficult to establish any kind of consistency when they sign replacement defenders who need 12 to 18 months to bed in, especially wi art any experience alongside them. It's crackers to expect anything else other than a hit and miss type scenario.

Collins may be a tinker man and his tactics may be questionable so far but the board have put us in this position with plain and utter stupidity in my opinion

No doubt there's more to this than Collins alone Pass I'll agree with you that the support system hasn't been there .

Before Kitching went the recruitment was done on a budget of practicality nothing and when Kitching did go the window shut leaving what ever that transfer fee paid unused and that's me assuming there's anything in the Kitching money to spend which isn't necessarily a fact .

However we had Duff last season doing a way better job on two bob despite the clowns behind the scenes , a far harder job too given he walked in to a relegated squad , the fans demoralised and practically everyone who could bring in revenue up for sale .

By comparison Collins walked in to a totally more positive situation and he's had a detrimental effect on proceedings .

The nature of his mistakes are where I'm at , even with a young and inexperienced new defence it still didn't have to be this way in my opinion .

The football in that first half yesterday was absolutely dreadful and it was down to him why that happened and nobody else .

The Posh and Oxford home defeats I'm thinking he's going to learn , I didn't see the Pompey game so can't comment too much but 0-3 down after 15 minutes tells it's own story .

Yesterday clearly told me he hadn't learned anything at all and I'm saying he isn't going to either and there's no point in pursuing with him any longer .

Yourself and your mate are out there grafting and you have a kid with you who continually keeps fecking up there's only so much you can put that down to learning , at some point he's got to go .

Yesterday was that moment for me with Collins .

[pass_and_move]

No doubt there's more to this than Collins alone Pass I'll agree with you that the support system hasn't been there .

Before Kitching went the recruitment was done on a budget of practicality nothing and when Kitching did go the window shut leaving what ever that transfer fee paid unused and that's me assuming there's anything in the Kitching money to spend which isn't necessarily a fact .

However we had Duff last season doing a way better job on two bob despite the clowns behind the scenes , a far harder job too given he walked in to a relegated squad , the fans demoralised and practically everyone who could bring in revenue up for sale .

By comparison Collins walked in to a totally more positive situation and he's had a detrimental effect on proceedings .

The nature of his mistakes are where I'm at , even with a young and inexperienced new defence it still didn't have to be this way in my opinion .

The football in that first half yesterday was absolutely dreadful and it was down to him why that happened and nobody else .

The Posh and Oxford home defeats I'm thinking he's going to learn , I didn't see the Pompey game so can't comment too much but 0-3 down after 15 minutes tells it's own story .

Yesterday clearly told me he hadn't learned anything at all and I'm saying he isn't going to either and there's no point in pursuing with him any longer .

Yourself and your mate are out there grafting and you have a kid with you who continually keeps fecking up there's only so much you can put that down to learning , at some point he's got to go .

Yesterday was that moment for me with Collins .

In mitigation it could be argued that in the aftermath of a play off final defeat, there's the inevitable hang over and morale in the camp is naturally down. Couple that with losing your leader and captain on the pitch, then the head coach (who the players put so much faith in) and his sidekick leaves, then the grandad of the squad (Norwood) leaves on the eve of the new season. There's also the EFL charge looming. Ok, it wasn't as bad as the previous summer granted, but not an ideal situation for Collins to walk into.

I doubt that there was an aura of positivity within the club based on the setbacks that I've pointed out since May 29th. We as fans can vouch for that. On the eve of this season there were mixed feelings, to say the least, among the supporters. It's been no picnic this summer is all I'm saying.

The start to this season has been better than I anticipated. I predicted (prior to the first game) us in 7th or 8th next April. I anticipated a bad start with the outgoings and incoming players and a recovery as the season went on. I stand by that prediction but as you pointed out, the standard of this division is poor compared to last season. There's an opportunity and you see the current HC holding us back. Fair enough and I respect your view and you calling it out after 10 games.

The way I see it is a bit of both. I think Collins can do better but I also think that he is a reflection of where the club is at in terms of the recruitment this summer- a cheap option with no EFL managerial experience. Most of our summer signings are the same. However, I'm sure they're doing their best.

How can we expect (as the board expects )to be challenging near the top on the back of that? I like to think that we are a little more pragmatic on here which is why I was surprised at the criticism of the HC. The criticism should be laid firmly at the boardroom imo. That's the bottom line

[Young_Nudger]

There seems to be the owd opinion of
A Cheap player = a Poor player.

That’s not the case.
And Barnsley have proved this time and time again.
Mads and Kitchen are the latest examples to disprove this.

IMO - we have a squad that should be now sitting in 1st or 2nd place in this division.
But we arn’t.
Why ?
Because the head coach has altered the style of play.

A good example of this was an incident involving Kane in the 1st Half.
He was facing our goal while stood about 10m from the centre circle - and received the ball from one of our defenders - there wasn’t a Blackpool player in 20m of him - but instead of turning and driving at the opposition he chose to pass the ball straight back to the defender that had just given him the ball.
Another clear opportunity to drive forward wasted.
This would not have happened under Ismael or Duff.

But that type of thing was happening throughout the full match until the panic button was activated 20 minutes from the end.

The - urgency - drive - dynamism - has been taken out of this team.

IMO if Ismael or Duff were still in charge we would be sitting 1st or 2nd in the league now.
The players we have have shown in patches that we are good enough to do that.

[Jules88]

What we have now under Collins is a possession based playing system developed by Man City.
A system that most football clubs in the league plays.
Which sees the ball constantly passed along the back line and passed backwards.
It’s boring - it’s dull - it’s slow -

Spot on Nudge. Spot on.

[Young_Nudger]

What we have now under Collins is a possession based playing system developed by Man City.
A system that most football clubs in the league plays.
Which sees the ball constantly passed along the back line and passed backwards.
It’s boring - it’s dull - it’s slow -

Spot on Nudge. Spot on.

Glad to see you are in agreement Mr Jules.
I will now put you back on my Christmas Card list 😊

Not all the players that the recruitment team will sign will go on to be successful.
But if the recruitment team get the appointment of the head coach wrong then we have got serious problems.
On the face of it - unless there are major changes and we revert back to style - then we have got problems and I can’t see us being anywhere near promotion this season.

[pass_and_move]

Interesting statistic here to go on the possession based football that Jules and Nudger have alluded to on this thread.

Out of the 10 league games that we've played so far this season, the opposition has had more possession than us in 6 of those games.

Yesterday Barnsley had 69% of the possession which was the most we've had all season by a long way but we couldn't score a goal. The first time that we've drawn a blank on the opposition net in the league all season.