That's because football is very much a closed shop of jobs for the boys. There is very little route into football unless you have played it which is probably why so many managers are so bad actually because there is this completely false belief that being a good player suddenly gives you managerial ability. It doesn't.
I'd say very different to most other professions. We dont only employ architects who used to be builders, transport managers who used to be lorry drivers or hospital chiefs who used to be nurses. It's very much a sporting thing in my opinion
Having just watched it, he still strikes me as a player that can get on the ball and drive forward, but doesn't really know what to do at the end of it, and still gives the ball away. Sadly, that's probably enough to warrant a place in our midfield at the moment.
Funny thing with Benson isn't it' first couple of games he played he looked a proper find' since then he seems to have gone backwards' i think hondermarck should be getting some game time now...
We won 4 and drew 2 of our last 8 regular league games. Can only dream of being that shaky. I think the rot set in when the club didn't realise that the CEO could walk during the summer, and we went onto lose more or less any staff with a working pulse. We then made matters worse by appointing a coach that was a complete shift away from the tactics we'd been working to for 4 years and keeping him in the job for 4 games after a player had called him out for not doing anything in training after a 3rd successive defeat against an, at the time, bottom 6 team.
tbf, said player has hardly covered himself in glory since schopp left. one of many players right now, who need to take a proper long hard look in the mirror
I feel sorry for Schopp looking at results since he was sacked. The gloss has gone from the solitary win v Derby.
True. If Williams' injury isn't too bad, I'd be leaving Brittain out for a few weeks to get his head straight. Probably send Oulare and Benson off for a few weeks with their own fitness programs as well, see if Oulare can send some of his spare bulk Benson's way.
In Benson's defence, I think he has some wonderful skill and technique. Unfortunately he is muscled off the ball time and again. There's a good footballer in there - but he definitely needs to toughen up quickly. That said, I would play Gomes, Hondermark in midfield ahead of him.
Surely they knew Mowatt was leaving about 18 months ago? Once we activated the extension clause, it was obvious he wasn't going to sign a new contract at the end of the season or he would have negotiated an improved deal then and there, thereby increasing his wages immediately. Having not done that, who would wait until the end of that year to sign a contract they could have already been on for at least a year, especially when other clubs are now offering you a lot more and a whacking great signing on fee? Fècking Nubdi. Mowatt leaving can hardly have taken them surprise. So, they had at least 12 months to try to find a suitable, experienced replacement for Mowatt. Did they try? Certainly doesn't seem like it; and currently there's no evidence on the pitch that they did. Instead, they signed 2 kids to play with Palmer who (remarkably) suddenly became the most experienced CM in the team, despite having only about a season as a first team player himself. Of the 2 CM signings, both had virtually no professional experience; 1 is a hasty loan; neither look anywhere near good enough to keep us in this league. I mean, imagine starting a Championship season with 3 CMs that are all below 23 and have at most 1 season of experience as a professional between them and expecting to compete. So either they're naive in the extreme, or, they're just bad at running a football club, or, in their hierarchy of aims, blooding young players to increase their value trumps signing players that can compete at a Championship level (Gomes loan notwithstanding). Steady consistent progress Conway promised when they arrived; we're already building from a solid base - Patrick Cryne has sold them the best run club in the country, Grace Hung said. I don't know exactly what our current owners want but their plan doesn't seem to involve increasing the calibre of player that Barnsley FC can attract, which would surely be the first step to achieving consistent mid-table/top half Championship finishes. If their aim is to increase the club's value before flogging us on at profit then first making us a stable Championship club must also be a necessity? Hey ho. We'll probs storm League 1 before the whole progress/degradation cycle can start again.
To be fair, had we had any other coach than Val last season, that experienced replacement could well have been Matty James. Not sure what Bristol will be paying compared to what we offered to Mowatt. But if he was out of our budget, I'm not sure there would be an experienced midfielder that was both within our budget and any good. Should've loaned someone in in the summer though, but that would still beg the question of who. Hindsight suggests that Drinkwater would've been a decent signing, given what Reading's spend is capped.
But if we can finish 5th and even then cannot budget for or attract a Championship experienced CM then we're in the wrong fècking league. Why not use the record breaking wages we were told that Mowatt was offered?
The record breaking wages for Mowatt weren't enough to keep Mowatt. So they would be unlikely to attract a comparable replacement.
Maybe players of Mowett's quality are on the same wages he's on at West Brom and not our record breaking ones? Maybe they're worth several million and not circa £1m?
Please explain that first half at QPR then. We looked world beaters against a good team. We were brilliant till they changed it.
I agree with lethytyke, above all the issues stem from the CEO leaving and not having someone in place to take over seamlessly. All of the above that you mention are things he should have been dealing with and it appears either he wasn’t or the club ignored his work.
