The entire rugby watching world is buzzing about the 'bravery' of the Japanese rugby team after they opted to go for the try (very aptly named in this situation) rather than kick the penalty for the draw. In his post match interview yesterday Johnson spoke of how Blackpool 'went for it' and that they 'threw caution to the wind'. It all amounts to the same thing and you can call it what you like - **** or bust, fortune favours the brave, who dares wins - it's about taking a risk. When was the last time you saw a Barnsley team play like that? You could argue we did against Everton, but in a league game? Away at Rochdale last month, with almost half an hour of the game remaining and us 3-0 down, Johnson used his final substitution to replace Nyatanga with George Smith. This wasn't an attacking substitution with the intention of Smith marauding down the wing; Nyatanga was getting the run around so Johnson wanted to shore up the defence and effectively hold out for a 3-0 defeat. We played the last 30 minutes with just one up front, as we had the previous hour, and continued to offer nothing (unless you count the antics with the plant pot). I don't think any substitution would have saved us that day, but I don't know for sure, so to give up and not even try? I believe the majority of criticism aimed at the team's performances and Johnson's tactics boils down to one thing: we're far too safety conscious with our football, too conservative, we don't take any risks. We get men behind the ball, we're patient and methodical with our approach, we play possession football preferring the sideways or backwards pass rather than risk losing possession by playing it forward - it's all very cautious and it's boring. It's not ineffective, we will win games (and draw plenty too) but it's dull. And I'd argue it's no more effective than simply banging the ball forward and hoping for the best. With players like Winnall, Hourihane, Scowen, Nyatanga and Mawson in the team we're going to win games at this level whichever tactics we adopt, so why not try some that produce exciting, attacking football? Take away the silly buzz words, the management speak and the daft names for areas on the pitch and Johnson's presentation outlined a sound football philosophy. But where's the space for innovation and individual creativity? All the best attacking players I remember did things that neither the crowd nor the opposition expected. That's what made them such good players, no one knew what they would do next. They went out on to the field and expressed themselves. I'm worried that we're producing footballing robots expected to do a certain thing in a certain area of the pitch. There's the individual brilliance zone of course, but that's the smallest area of the pitch. Craig Hignett's individual brilliance zone was wherever he received the ball. We've become all too predictable and, as many people have claimed, like watching paint dry. There's still a place in football for everyone to get forrard and have a ******* shot. Tine and again, Alan Hansen (still the most astute football pundit imho) spoke of young players breaking in to a side and playing without fear. We have the youngest team in the football league but I've never seen a Barnsley team so fearful: scared to lose possession, scared to play the ball forward, scared to take a shot. We've some very talented players in the squad and I reckon it's about time we just told 'em to go for it. We'll lose possession and we'll lose some games, but we're doing that now and boring the pants off people in the process. Let's be brave.
I agree that at times we are too cautious. As we proved against Swindon we can be really dangerous when we attack But I don't think 'going for it' when 3-0 down is the wisest move because the score line could get embarrassing if you do that
I may not always agree with you Mr Jay but in this instance I agree with every word of this post. Excellent statement and if Lee Jay does frequent this forum, one he should take note off!
Be nice if we played with more urgency on the pitch and our boss showed more urgency off it . We pass sideways and back too much , counter attack too slowly . And our substitutions when lee makes them are like for like .
Perhaps the working environment within the club itself promotes this cautious approach? There seems to be a level of fear being unnecessarily generated towards every boss. If the length of a manager's reign at our club is persistently under two years (Simon Davey being the exception) since relegation from the Premier League in 1998, which applies to the John Dennis era as well as Patrick Cryne's, this will be conducive to an over reliance on the robotic, mundane, predictable, safe player. The creative, skilful individual, the lad who raises the spirit with their flair & individuality, becoming a rarer commodity as time goes by, always seems to be the one who attracts the criticism. Concentrating on what they don't do, rather than what they bring to the table. I believe we have players who can entertain and win. What they lack is consistency at the moment, not just in a run of games, but within an individual match, too. Will the current incumbent be allowed the time his predecessors failed to receive from those in charge, and some of our fans, to get things right and start moving the club in the right direction? History says no.
The success that many of our former managers had before joining BFC and after leaving definitely suggests to me that there could be some sort of issue within BFC - Keith Hill, Flicker, Mickey Mellon and Danny Wilson are all clearly very capable football managers. The great irony is that using ultra-defensive tactics, we are very likely to finish mid-table having alienated more fans, and with rumblings of discontent regarding the manager's position. If we were playing open, attacking football, the lack of experience and age of the squad suggests we would get undone a fair few times, but would also give quite a few teams a proper hiding. The net result would probably be a mid-table finish as well, but if people had been entertained and could see the team moving in the right direction, the manager's position would not even be under discussion, in my opinion.
Good post as per most of your stuff. Jonno has a mind set though and is sticking to it, hope we get more productive through it. I can see the green shoots, just hope they prosper
Persistently changing the manager, whilst maintaining the ethos within the club, means those in charge are either consistently appointing the wrong man (rather than one who would better reflect their demands), or they are so impatient they will not give the man the time. If we remove Johnson after just over six months in charge and one transfer window, we're back to square one and history repeats itself. Mass changes again with players being moved out, players being brought in, people complaining the new man wasn't their choice, so we then have to get another man in. Repeat ad infinitum.
Which is why it's so frustrating that we didn't stick with some (or at least one!) of the very clearly decent managers that have come and gone at Oakwell and recent years. It's also the reason why I think we should stick with Johnson for the time being. I'm just feeling a little uninspired from what I've seen so far. I'll next be back in the spring, so I'm hoping that things will be a little bit more entertaining by then. Sadly, I'm not holding my breath.
We will continue playing dull uninspiring, 'safe' football regardless of manager whilever dull, uninspiring and safe is the mantra from the top. Sorry we can't have a scoreboard, we darent take the risk of spending money. Sorry the concourses look like bomb shelters, we can't take the risk Sorry ticket prices won't be reduced, we can't take the risk Sorry we fill the squad with cheap loanees, we can't take the risk Sorry we're outsourcing everything instead of doing them ourselves, we can't take the risk. It's no coincidence that this outlook runs throughout the club with every decision made from the top and it is no coincidence that manager after manager has come in and played dull 'safe' football hoping to nick the occasional win in a series of draws because they darent take the risk. They are simply following the leadership shown from above
I'm already looking forward to next Saturday's match against Gillingham. I love watching my team. I'm probably just a daft, old bugger, but as long as my health stands up, I'll continue to do it. Others can do as they see fit, as I will.
Had this tune in my head when reading that.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K32Adi8nmzA Jolly good show..
Don't get me wrong, I still get really excited every time I watch us play - especially as it's only 3-5 times a season at the minute. Well, at least I get excited during the build-up. There wasn't much to get the pulse racing in either the Burton or Bradford game once they actually started! However, once I move back to the UK, a season ticket will pretty much be first item on the shopping list. Daft, not so old bugger, it seems!
Not advocating we remove Lee Jay but that decision will inevitably happen if the product on offer is safe ,predictable and lacking adventure. Nobody expects perfection and every new manager is given an opportunity to stamp their mark on the team, some folk give it more time than others, but when a manager appears to carry on making the same mistakes over and over again then problems and impatience soon develop. We have a history of appointing the wrong man hence the drivel that's been on offer for far to long over recent years. I have seen nothing as yet from Lee Jay that makes me thing we have finally broken that particular trend but he deserves this season and possibly part of the next one to see if he learns and tunes his managerial skills. More of the tippy tappy stuff on a regular basis and we will end up back on the merry go round
