My memory of Barnsley games goes back as far as '78

And in terms of quality, this is by far the worst Barnsley squad I've seen assembled. Relegation was bought and sold during the transfer windows of 2017. Paradoxically it's probably the most expensive squad we've ever assembled too. It's worth having a think about that.

I don't know who is responsible for putting this squad together. The only person I've heard speak on the matter is Hecky and he's been very contradictory; at one time he was bemoaning us signing umpteen players who were all the same, at an another he said he was responsible for all our signings. I think if you take his later statements as fact but ignore the passionate press conferences he was giving during the summer, clearly exasperated by the lack of quality we'd signed, then your're kidding yourself.

To turn what we had, that glorious, wonderful team, into the shambles that played today is criminal. Whoever is responsible should not be part of our club. Maybe they're not anymore; I really don't know.

The one thing our players did have going for them (with a couple of exceptions) was a willingness to work hard. We've somehow managed to hang on until the last day of the season with a squad of players who are going to really struggle in league 1, never mind the Championship, because, as limited as they are, they gave it a go. But we then employed a manager who has somehow succeeded in coaching that out of them. Everyone is allowed an opinion, but opinions can be wrong. I know it's not politically correct to say that, we're supposed to respect opinions, but if you're giving Jose Morais any credit at all then you're just wrong. He is appalling.

I don't know where we go from here because we have a squad of players way too big for league 1 that no one will want to buy. A squad of players who can't defend, can't score goals, containing a plethora of midfielders who would be outfought by a decent Sunday league team.

We can't clear out and start again like we have in the past. We signed players on long contracts purely for resale value without any thought on how they would mesh as a team. We became commodities investors but didn't heed the warning that the price of shares can go down as well as up. Any talent we may have bought cannot excel because there's no experience in the squad to help them develop, no one to cover the mistakes of youth, no team players who make the talent look good, just individuals in isolation. Team players have no resale value, but they're essential to a football team. We haven't got a football team and what we do have is worthless.

 

Amen to all that.

 

Your summary is absolutely spot on Jay. Every single word.

To see what we had only eighteen months ago and compare it with the abomination we have now is, like you say, criminal.

 

100% spot on!

Another miserable season is incoming, and the only way to change that is to spend some brass, but that would be going against the “not doing anything crazy” comments made by Conway some months ago.

 

What we need are some batters .
Sorry I mean battlers .

 

In terms of who is responsible it is a combination of factors but you can trace the very first mistake back to not securing winnall and Hourihane and scowen down to long term contracts. That would have come down to money I imagine but you need to speculate to accumulate.

The question for me is whether the new lot have the money to speculate.

If they don’t then we will be in league one for a good while.

 

Crazy isn't it? We have always been a selling club but losing the number of good players we did in 2017 was unlike anything I've experienced before. Unfortunately, their replacements are of dubious quality, although I still harbour hopes that one or two will turn out OK. I guess it's too late for recriminations (although understandable) but surely the club has to learn lessons from this.

 

I strongly believe players like Hourihane and Winnall became better than we expected and it happened far quicker than we appreciated or reacted to. Scowen, Roberts and Watkins however we could and should have done something about. Fully agree sone money should have been spent on players happy to stay

 

Trouble is, any talent we have bought will not develop because the squad as a whole is so poor. Yiadom is a cracking full back, but he's looked poor this year because (unless we play Hammill on the right wing) he's exposed to wave after wave of attack, attackers doubling up on him. It' very difficult to be a good player in a poor side. We may have bought a few good ones, but any weaknesses they do have are constantly exposed by being part of such a poor team and they've all gone backwards this season.

 

Most poignant part of that is that you used the word 'excel'. But not how I would have.

I'm not as despondent about *some of these players in league 1, BUT they have to work under a competent manager who understands the English game and mentality. I hope and trust that is a major lesson learnt by whoever appoints our Head Coach/Manager.

Anyway, the next time I'll probably contribute on here is August because from here on in this place will be a blame-fest and 'told you so' frenzy.

Time to stop looking in the rear view mirror, learn our lessons and move on.

 

Well said OP.

 

I'm going to go against the grain here lads. In my opinion we bought some talent. The problem has been that they haven't been managed. In reflecting upon this miserable season my thoughts turn to how hopeful I was when it started. I accepted the fact that Conor, Alfie, Marley, Josh, Breezy, Robbo and The Snake went because I accepted the fact that we couldn't afford to pay 25kpw for their services. It was a time to rebuild and I thought our summer acquisitions would do a job for us.
However what I didn't legislate for was the motivation of the manager. Hecky has been a hero for us but like the pantomime villain he quiçkly became a zero. From what I've heard he was pissed off that he didn' get the Norwich job. If that's the case then extend the logic. Manager who would prefer to be somewhere else in charge of a group of hungry young bucks who came to bfc to develop their career. I've played football and if i was playing for someone who didn' want to to be there i'd find it a pretty shitty place to work. This is evidenced by jose's comments about the squad having no belief. So......whilst it's clearly not all heckys fault I do believe he shoulders a large part of the responsibility.
We bought some good young players last summer. They needed managing properly. They needed nurturing and developing. I don' think they'e had that. I don' know but I would hazard a guess that if you asked Mallan McCarthy Lindsay Mcgeehan Moncur Bird Pinnock Pearson and Potts whether they now think they walked into the club they thought they were walking into .....their response would be in the negative.
Heçky needed to go for his own benefit and ours. Jose is a lovely guy but jesus he was one of the worst appointments ever. He had to go.
It's Mick for me but I don't think he'll come. Beyond that? No idea yet. The guy from Scotland ?
The moral of my long post is that we do have a good group of talented players who need a manager who can properly develop them. Someone who can create a Team with the talent we have.
Jay referred to the 70s I think. I've been watching our team since 1962 and I've seen far worse than this current crop.

CORY!!!!!

 

Thanks Jay, I feel so much better about the situation, but you're completely right.

 

Given a lot of the players we have on the books were considered to be the best players of league 1 and 2 clubs they shouldn’t struggle at league 1 level, unless they’ve got worst.

 

That is a great post Jay and a very sobering one. (and I’m on a stag do in Gdańsk)

 

Mark!!! Toast absent friends and a 2019 promotion

 

Great stuff...wouldnt surprise me either to see Roberts back!

Gutted like everyone on this disasterous day. Lets just hope in 12 months time the mood is different. Living in the North-East, but a ST holder and not missed a match I have seen how Sunderland’s mood has changed from despondency last week to aggression on L1 this, and didnt todays result against Wolves do testimony to that mood change.

Sooo. Lets have a day or too to grieve and then turn all the energy positive .... L1 Champions is what we aim for. Nothing less.

 

I think you’re vastly overrating the standard of League One if you think this team wouldn’t compete. Keep Bradshaw and Moore up front and we’ll have won the league by Easter.