I don't trust these new owners one bit. Their tenure so far could not have gone any worse!

You can if you live in a fantasy world where actions don't have consequences, every player in the world has a secret desire to play for Barnsley, the club has, for years had unlimited money to spend and footballers never, ever have bad games or dips in form.

 

We have to put things into context. Hecky didn't do a good job this season and neither did Morais. The appointment of Morais came from an unexpected event that we weren't prepared for. We have to remember though we have been trying to compete in the Championship with a budget around 9M for wages. A lot have called for us just to spend and match the competition. Reading and Birmingham who were in our competitive area this last season with budgets of 20+ Mill, other teams even more. So in general we are way off the pace under the former owner to compete with the salaries thats the going rate. Its not surprising the bottom salaried teams generally (not always) get relegated. I guess its a pay for what you get scenario.

However that was then and this is now. We haven't seen what the new owners are prepared to do under normal, premeditated conditions. They have a chance to develop the team, management and refresh this window and we need a good start to the season. If by any chance we look like seeing the Championship again next season they will know what to expect and have time to prepare and act.

They also aren't football experts. They have already declared that. They have brought some money and their added value is around the marketing and general development of the clubs infrastructure. Thats what they said and thats what i expect. As such my suggestion of a Director of Football makes sense to me. They need more footballing leadership in the exec level of the club. The head coach model has a much better chance under this structure. However they have to relay on GG and the coaching staff to run football matters as well as the general day to day. I think this is an issue. Pat was much more hands on with Mansford. No criticism of GG just an observation on the club org.

I must say reading the OP reads like that panic button has been pressed again. There are some sensitive souls who feel the heart has been ripped from the club. Things change and we should embrace change. Change if not done right can be bad, but changing nothing can be worse. We have to see what they bring. We have to give them a chance. If it doesnt work to some individual expectations then they should get saving up as maybe taking over the club and showing what they can do is the only way. For now lets give em a chance. 5 Months is no time to judge.

 

Absolutely excellent post.

 

They might of been at the helm when we was relegated but it was PH in charge for the majority of the season (and the January window)and in turn was PC tenure for the most, including the recruitment in the Summer which put us into a relegation fight.
I’m not knocking PC/PH when I say this just stating a fact.

 

So you are up and down like a yo-yo that explains a lot no balanced view or intelligent assessment just spouting rash comments probably mainly towards players you don’t like for whatever reason

 

Two years ago we were prepared to pay Adam Hammill's wages. A player who kick started the amazing turnaround. Now, seemingly, we're not.

 

Do you think we'll be playing with two up front? The big problem we had in the championship will remain a big problem in League 1: we have half a dozen central midfield players who can't play as part of a central two. And it's not that we haven't got two who can form a decent partnership, they couldn't do it at the side of a defensive midfielder like Gardner or Williams either. Potts was the only one who got close.

 

As far as marketing goes, I'd question how buying advertising space in Times Square benefited the club more than sending out renewal information to current and lapsed season ticket holders.

 

Don't be talking sense on here "5hit head"

 

But running a club today is more than just putting team on the pitch. They declared that one of the reasons they bought the club was to increase its global presence. The Times Square ad proves they are thinking this way. You don't get a slot with 5 mins notice in Times Sq so I'm suspecting its something they set up early in their tenure around end of 2017. Also in marketing there are multiple things that an organisation / brand / club needs to do to profile the club and any campaigns i.e. ST's. Organisations budget for various activities and it isn't case of doing one thing instead of another its a case of how and what are doing across the range of things.

I even read that some people think the Times Square money should have been spent on transfers. If we want a modern attractive club we need to invest way both in marketing, club infrastructure as well as the the team on the pitch. As a ST holder i was informed about what i needed to know.

 

I think we'll at least need the flexibility to be able to play 4-4-2 when needed. And a pacey striker to play off Moore could be extremely effective, especially at League 1 level. I could also imagine us playing one up front with an attacking midfielder playing off Moore That could also be quite effective, especially if that midfielder was something like the version of George Moncur which we thought we were buying. Whatever turns out to be our preferred formation remains to be seen, with a lot of unknown factors right now - from our manager, to the midfield you mention. Lots of players who've looked not that great, or in the main we've not seen enough of them to make a judgement. In the videos I saw of him playing for Luton he looked like a proper ball-winning box to box midfielder. He might end up forming one of the best midfield partnerships we've ever had with Knasmullner - something that can't be ruled out, bearing in mind that one of them we've only seen for Barnsley when half fit, the other one pretty much not at all. I know I keep banging on about it, but the Hourihane we signed from Plymouth would have looked absolutely lost in the Championship in my opinion, whatever formation was being played.

 

He talks about getting behind them when they do well, and sites Brentford as one of those occasions, but when we do win he doesn't seem to share his joy on here.

I'm struggling to find many, if any posts of praise from him.

 

Yes, that's very true. However, I got the impression that the Hammill deal was something extraordinary when we take into consideration the situation - we were on a dreadful run and desperately needed some spark, Hammill was considered damaged goods by that point, so the number of clubs willing to take a punt on him was limited. It was quite different from trying to attract an already attached player to come and join a relegation battle mid-season, and having to smash your wage structure to do so. How much more than our next highest earner Hammill was on, I don't really know. Likewise how much less than the average Championship wage is our highest earner on, I also don't know. Had we stayed up, I dare say our salary cap would have been raised, otherwise there would be no chance of competing. As it is, I reckon that'll be put on hold until we're back in the second tier. Personally, I don't want to see Barnsley paying lunatic wages for players, even if we can afford it. But nor do I want to see us struggling in the Championship every year.

 

But that doesn't make one bit of difference to the ST paying fans at Barnsley FC.. That is for the board themselves, to make a return and profit on their investment. Which I am not against.. But when ticket prices rise even after relegation, (so one can assume that we can get ready if we go back up).. What is in it for the fans?, is a fare question..
I wouldn't say alarm bells... but people will sit up and take notice.
Its very early days for ..the new.. BFC, so they will be given a fare chance to show what they can do, and why they are here... but make no mistake, people are watching..

 

What benefit do you think the advertisement in Times Square had?

 

The time to try and get American people interested in our football club, wasn't when we were in a relegation battle to the third tier. The timing made it look a complete waste of money. Obviously I could be wrong and now we might have had thousands of New York folk signing up to player and on a waiting list for the new home shirt, then it's worthwhile.

 

It wasn't intended to do anything for the ST paying fans

 

Personally the benefit i feel it had for the overall Barnsley FC brand was to raise awareness of who we are. It will have brought notice to a wider group of stakeholders. Advertising doesn't make you go out and buy, it means your name is better known amongst others when choices are made. Something in my role i know well and something that im sure that the new owners see as elements that contribute to the increased brand awareness. I guess given we are talking about it, it has generated interest.

 

I think you misunderstand brand management and marketing. The booking of the times sq slot will have been done months back. The objective wasn't to get the americans to suddenly start to watch Barnsley and I'm sure they had no clue what we were let alone the detail of a relegation. Over time though the objective is slowly but surely we may attract interest, worldwide media coverage, attract advertising and investment and maybe even more supporters. Its what the big clubs do.

 

Do we even know if this money came out of the club? or could it be that Chein Lee is trying to promote his business interests across America