Just a thought re DOF

If we wanted to play a high press then why did he sign Roberts unless he was also going to sign another centre back with pace.

It beggars belief.

 

I’d love to see high energy high press football but saying it and getting the players in who are capable of doing it are two different things , the recruitment team need to step up this summer but I’m not confident they will.

 

Play the high press with the slowest centre halves on the league and a forward for a lot of games in Cosgrove who can’t press and one in Humphrys who can’t be arsed most of the time.

We have continually stated that we want to play a certain way. It’s the DOF’s job to supply players capable of playing that system. By any metric he has been an absolute failure.

 

A representative for the fans, in what capacity do you mean by that Jay. ?

 

I may have mistaken him with 55&Counting. For whatever reason I get the two confused. If so, I apologise.

 

You did throw me tbh. As I know Brian. (55 and counting is part of the FAB) I too don't like what the DOF's remit is, re involvement in coaching affairs.

 

The sporting director: Sets the agenda re style of play - high press.

But then dictates we play three centre backs, and sign / retain centre backs that have the turning circle of a container ship; whilst simultaneously failing to sign any centre forwards, let alone high energy ones who will run all day and close defenders down high up the field.

Has limited budget - but spends it in part on loan signings of premier league players in positions we didn’t need cover whilst ignoring the positions we did.

He has been an unmitigated disaster. But then employing a data analyst into such a senior position was never wise. I don’t know how much data he needs to analyse to conclude that he’s out of his depth and failing badly.

Darrell Clarke wasn’t a great head coach for us and he’d been saying some strange things for a while - it was getting to the point of being untenable - but he’s merely a symptom not a cause.

If they leave Sormaz in role he just gets another pick of a head coach and another summer of choosing the players - and not even choosing ones that suit his dictated playing style.

 

That doesn't remotely answer the debate, I gave 3 examples of statements where it was plainly obvious the sporting director set the playing style disproving your theory that it was a myth and you've come back with I want to see high press and Clarke wasn't delivering it.

Before we had a sporting director we had a head coach in valerian Ismael that came in asessed very quickly we couldn't play possession football, got us organised and played the best intimidating, fitness, high energy football I've ever seen and took an average team to the championship playoffs, deemed a failure because we didn't play possesion based football and sell players, yet last season and this we operated a possession based game ( not very well) rank in the bottom 7 for passing accuracy and 2nd for being Dispossessed and lose Cole, cadden, kane and Williams without a single transfer fee.
So we've now planned to resort back to a high energy, high press style after previously saying what we achieved playing that way was a failure.
Bats**t crazy not sure if it's just pure blind loyalty on your behalf or you a kidding yourself, it's an absolute mess, what has transpired has be called by so many on here has happened.
I think they just think they can bring in another head coach get the players fit chuck in some academy lads with young legs and have the likes of Roberts, Earl, MDG, Russell and Connell suddenly gain another 5 yards of pace to play high intensity.
Nothing more than hot air soundbites that's all it is.

 

Great Post, the regression under him is alarming, under 2 head coaches the stats show this no hiding whatsoever, 2 very poor transfer windows, 1 head coach sacked for not being capable of delivering his playing style, next head coach not backed then sacked and a change of playing style announced.
Zero accountability, hasn't been taken task on his record whatsoever.

 

Bang on

 

Exactly this.

It's a giant leap from the club wanting a coach to engage a high press, as has been the stated requirement since Morais' appointment and hasn't publicly changed since then, to "Sormaz makes Clarke play a 3-5-2 and he's not allowed to change it" (despite countless examples of him having adopted different tactics through the season).

It's also obvious that there's been no continuity of playing style through any previous replacements of Head Coach, several of whom have adopted tactics that don't remotely resemble a high press, and yet the stated intent has never publicly changed from this.

The 'edict from high' to maintain a high press has been applied as inconsistently by the Board as it has by the coaching staff, over several years now. We've had coaches that used it, and others that ignored it, yet all were identified as suitable candidates for the role when appointed. The anomaly is even more glaring this season as we've adopted a scattergun approach of player recruitment, with no recognisable sign that those being brought in were identified as a basis of being compatible with this style of play. We currently have a squad that struggles to get through 90 minutes without capitulating, so if this is 'high press' recruitment then something is fundamentally wrong with the identification of suitable targets.

 

Totally agree with that.Playing high press isn,t a formation its based on leading from the front and giving your opponents no time on the ball.Some of our players can and some can't so recruitment will be key to achieving the press and fitness will need to be upped.

 

So doesn't the sporting director who is responsible for deciding on that strategy (despite having bo qualifications to do so) take responsibility when he knows we don't have players to do it? He has set the manager up for failure so needs to **** off

 

I'd love to know how Barnsley is actually perceived in the industry. ie. If a potential manager got a call saying we are interested, is their first thought:

a. Possible - need to do some research.

or do we have a 'reputation' and their first thought, without any further research is

b. B0110cks to that, not touching them with a shitty stick.

 

Right I've had to read your post few times and I've come to the conclusion we've got our wires crossed.
I thought you meant the DOF had told the coach and the other teams to play a certain style as in 3-5 -2 or 4-4-2 for example.I was referring more to playing a press.Sorry for any confusion.

 

We've recruited to play a 352/3511 Darrell tried to play with a 4 that's what he wanted to do ideally but didn't have the players to successfully do it after chopping and changing in the first 8-10games he realised 352 gave us our best chance of winning games.
As for the style of play and how we transition in play, the coaching methodology and playing philosophy it's all set out by the Sporting Director, he brought this to the club to fit alongside recruiting and the data model.
The recruitment has been nowhere near good enough to fit this playing philosophy.
I don't want to go into too much detail and that's not excuses or attention seeking, but we passed up opportunities last summer on signing better players as it was deemed they wouldn't fit into a possession based style of play, Darrell Clarke got both Gent and DKD they were both players he presented to Mladen to sign.

 

Fair enough

 

Out of curiosity, who were the better players that we passed on signing?

 

I won't name names as its unfair on both the player and other people, 1 was a striker on a season long loan with an option to buy, the other was a right sided centre back.

 

So we talked with them, had the chance to sign them and decided not to or they were available and we just didn’t bother?