Tin hat on, head down!

Every one of us are no doubt digesting our season and looking for answers, and there appears to be quite a few reasons, including ‘club owners’, player performance, coach/managers team selection tactics and knowledge of the English game to name but a few, however ‘my own’ personal scapegoat is the person held in high regard by most forum users! Big Val! (duck) lucky enough to begin with a team of young hungry and youthfully fit kids, suiting his high pressing tactics, a covid affected season that saw no crowd to pressurise the young lads errors, allowing them to ‘flourish’, 5 substitutes rule aiding the 90 minute press, and a super- striker on loan. Those facts were skilfully adopted and used by ‘Val’! and I thank him for this the season ‘we unfortunately missed’. However l lay this seasons demise very much on the fact that not only did he jump ship, he tore the heart out of our club taking our ‘midfield experience’ and our coaching and back room staff with him, leaving an unfillable hole in the club as we slowly haemorrhaged. Like l say many reasons but ‘Val’ is my own main ‘villain’! Tell me when it’s safe to lift my head!

 

Good points well made but as you acknowledge it has been an accumulation of factors but the main one , in my opinion, was the disastrous signings in the close season. This left us with no funding to try to correct the mistakes in the January window. The owners cannot duck responsibility for this car crash of a season. I hope they are willing to make amends over the summer.

 

TBF, I think Mowatt would’ve left anyway,

 

You make your points well but it annoys me when fans say we did well because of no crowds , 5 subs etc , well these conditions were the same for every team in the league that year & regarding the super striker on loan well he did not come until January that season whilst this season we have had 2 players on loan from day one & added a further 2 in january so this season the HC has had even more options , so whilst I totally respect your views I have to disagree , Val was the difference , he was a coach who new what he was doing, these two this season have both been clueless & I ask you one simple question, If Val had been in charge this season do you think we would have finished rock bottom ?

 

Val 'jumped ship' because he was offered a job that, quite understandably, was more attractive to him, The Baggies had recently been relegated from the Premier Division and had more fiscal clout than we did. When we sell the Club as a stepping stone to better things for players and coaches because it is financially lucrative for our owners then that will happen. Ex-players like Barry Murphy and Ronnie Glavin who came to play for Barnsley and put down roots in the town are, sadly, products of an era that has long past us by.

 

Maybe not if Val had stayed and we'd got some more experience in to push on Plus our owners didn't try to persuade Val to stay did they?

 

I always said the rot started when big Val did indeed jump ship, he had a job to finish here but thought the grass was greener but hay ho.

 

I think that Vals Direct style of play suited our players well and allowed him to play with essentially 3 centre forwards on the pitch staying high. I believe the problems in recruitment came after he left having already agreed a contract with Cole and then Conway effectively buying forward players who would fit into this style, but then demanding from the head coach a change in style (i.e a more patient short passing game). THis then led to an unbalanced squad with far too many forwards and not enough attacking midfielders (assuming that Schopp and Ashbaghi would always prefer a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-2-1 approach). We effectively had Woodrow, Morris, Oulare, Iseka, Cole all playing for one place or having to go into a deeper position that they are unfamiliar with. Couple this with a defence that wasn't exactly watertight last season and you can see where we ended up.

 

I agree that after Val got us the Play-Off Semi-Finalists, and then left, the whole house of cards tumbled behind him. But isn't it the fault of the Owners that they made little or no effort financially or otherwise (by strengthening the squad and offering Mowatt a new deal etc) to encourage him to stay. Val new the score and walked and we all know the rest.

 

Trouble is we sell our club as a stepping stone to something bigger and better to players and staff alike, jumping ship is just a stick to beat a fella who wasn`t liked by some.

 

I can't get over them not realising Dane could leave also. And if they wanted him gone why not get a replacement lined up to step in? Really started the season on a sour note giving backword to Watford over the pre season friendly their fans had already paid to see.

 

Yup, only Barnsley played in empty stadiums. Only Barnsley had 5 substitutes available to them. How very dare Valerien Ismael take over a club with no league win before his appointment and get the team comfortably into the Championship Play Offs. The current season's problems have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with appalling bad management of the club. Nothing to do with numerous none playing staff leaving. Nothing to do with poor Head Coach appointments. Nothing to do with appalling permanent signings.
It's all Valerien Ismael's fault!

 

B

 

Brilliant post Lil & I would add that those who think he jumped ship might consider that he was sold by these owners , £2 million I believe was the figure , Conway & his gang were rubbing their hands , following on from a decent return for Struber

 

A few things. The conditions were identical for everyone last season. Any team in the league could have utilised 5 subs to keep energy levels up on the pitch. Only one really did so effectively. I think that's a sign of a good manager.
You say that no fans helped us without a crowd to pressure young lads errors. Well there's been a crowd this season and I'd say that Jordan Williams handled that better than the older Callum Brittain, Matty Wolfe handled it better than the older romal Palmer, Victor adeboyejo has handled it better than Cauley Woodrow etc. In fact you could argue that young lads in front of a crowd are often given more leeway than an older player who should know better or that young lads play with less expectation and pressure to constantly perform than an experienced player who 'should know better'

Next up comes his decision to 'jump ship'. Remember that when he joined Barnsley the contract was agreed by both parties. He didn't just quit his job last summer, he left after West brom met the release clause that Barnsley FC chose to put in his contract. So he didn't just jump ship and abandon us, he did what the club HOPED would happen when they set the release fee. They see the manager as another asset to trade and the fee we received from West brom was the figure the club set when they signed him as a figure they hoped to achieve. He went for the absolute maximum possible.
Now we ask WHY did he leave? Did he simply do so for money? Was it out of boredom? Was it possibly because of a lack of ambition from Barnsley? Our owners stated that if we were in a position to push for promotion they would back it. Well we were. When we signed Dike our CEO was very clear in say we had an option to buy and that it was a figure the club could afford. There were no strings attached to that statement. However when it came to signing him we sent him packing and stated that we could never have signed him unless we went up. That's a huge change from what was originally claimed. That's a lie that was told to the fans and a lack of ambition demonstrated to the fans. Why would we not assume that Val was given the same assurances earlier in the season only to suddenly find the goalposts have shifted and he wouldn't get the player he wanted? The fact he since signed that same player for his new club suggests that the ambition of the club on the pitch didn't match his own.
Maybe he was even aware of that the CEO was leaving? Someone had to be surely. It's not like he just waltzed in and cleared his desk one day. Remember the club have yet to officially tell supporters that Dane has left so nobody actually has any idea what the timeline of events was.

Did he take the midfield with him? Well no not really. Mowatt had made it absolutely clear for a long time that he wasn't staying at Barnsley. Both club and player knew he was running his contract down and leaving on a free. A wise decision by the club as any transfer fee would not have matched the value his inclusion in the squad brought. Nevertheless it was a decision that we all knew about so where he eventually ended up was meaningless at the end of the day. The fact he chose to join Val wasn't a case of Val or Barnsley it was Val or another club.

Is it Val's fault that we elected not to sign a replacement midfielder of equal quality despite knowing for MONTHS that Mowatt was leaving? Many clubs will have had a last minute bid for a player last summer and had to quickly sign a replacement. Barnsley were not in this position and had literally months and months head start on our rivals in identifying a replacement for Mowatt. What did we do? We took a gamble on Josh Benson, a kid with 10 league starts under his belt, 8 of them in league 2....

The backroom staff didn't really all join him at West brom either did they. We had a long term key member of the first team staff, and lifelong Barnsley fan, jump ship to Huddersfield. Why? It certainly wasn't to join Val.

Whilst Val may well be the highest profile employee who left he certainly wasn't the reason for it. For that you have to look higher than the head coach I'm afraid and you'll see the problems, and downfall of our season and indeed our club, are still there. Even if they have gone into hiding.

 

I blame pixies. Actual pixies, Pixie Geldof and the band The Pixies. If Bob Geldof hadn't had kids he would have stopped Covid like he stopped famine so we would have been relegated and Valerien The Villain would have never come to Barnsley. And if Black Francis hadn't written Where is My Mind, Mowatt would still be at Barnsley rather than moving to a club that is nearer to the Caribbean, his favourite sea in his favourite song. And actual pixies, well they're pixies aren't they, what did we think was going to happen.

 

As I and others have said....all roads lead to Conway and we don't mean the A55 lol

 

No pelters from me for that opinion BR and in many respects I agree. But we have to remember that our owners create the risk that managers will jump ship at the first opportunity. Do we seriously believe that Barnsley FC is an attractive opportunity for continental managers? Let's face it, we're a small club with a pretty small budget and don't have a particularly noteworthy or recognisable name because of our historic achievements. I'd guess that most if not all of our last six managers hadn't even heard of us before they were approached. Indeed I think a couple may even have said that when we made contact they needed to thoroughly research the club (what league we were in, geographically where we're located etc). This type of manager comes to us purely because we are an opportunity to get into English football and represent a stepping stone to something bigger and better. We can't therefore be surprised or upset when they leave the first chance they get - it's the reason they came! And our owners want it to happen because they see the manager as just another asset to be sold at a profit. It's entirely consistent with the strategy.

Our owners arrogance is such that they believe they can do it again and again, their track record proves they can't. No club can guarantee that - Manchester United are a prime example.

On the back of the failed appointments of Schopp and Asbaghi, I believe the next appointment will be fascinating, and crucial. Will they gamble again and appoint another coach from the continent - which would be a clear indicator that they will not adjust their strategy irrespective OR will they demonstrate they have learned and will adapt and change? We are and always will be a club that sells it's best players and has successful managers poached but ...... it has to be a UK based appointment for me because the chances of them staying a little longer and as a result starting to build something are greater than with someone else who is looking to move on asap.

Back to your main point about Val - we wanted it to happen! That's the reason there was a release clause in his contract in the first place and imo is maybe the reason why we may not have tried particularly hard to persuade him to stay.

 

The head coach jumped ship? Stretching the truth in the extreme. Val was touted round other clubs as being available - the club did nothing to discourage this - and was snapped up by West Brom for the princely sum of £2million.

Compo, minimal, was also received for Murray, as well as the sports scientist and the analyst.

The club made no effort to keep them, in fact it appears they encouraged Val to go so they could get the money.

Mowatt was not offered a realistic deal to stay. They offered as much as they say they could - more than they wanted to in all likelihood, but only in the knowledge that he was hugely unlikely to accept it.

They also allowed the other experienced and wise head leave in Sollbauer. Good call.

They were replaced in Mowatt’s case with untried children and Sollbauer’s case not at all as Sibbick was already replacing him in the team. Then got rid of Sibbick at the first opportunity as he dared to suggest all wasn’t rosy.

The chief exec and club Secretary both jumped ship. They absolutely did. Because they could. They had no reason to wish to stay. There was no contingency plan in place to allow for this despite Dane’s contract very much allowing him to do as he wished; which seems foolish in the extreme.

The head physio put himself on notice to leave as soon as he could to take on a role with less seniority - though more money and much better conditions by all accounts - at a local rival club. Sedge was in our youth team until injury made him move into physiotherapy, and had worked at the club as a physio since 2008. We are his club. He left.

Paul Heckingbottom was out the door as soon as he had chance.

I think it is plain to see that everyone in any position in the club whatsoever leaves as soon as there’s the slightest hint of an opportunity. Even those with lifelong ties to the club.

Why do we think that is? What reason do we think they all go? It isn’t just money. They weren’t happy with something or someone. Can’t imagine why…

There is something within this club stinking the place out, a cancer right in the core. There are very good people work at the club, and a number of them read and/or contribute to this forum. But they are one by one moving on, and those that don’t seem powerless to do anything about the decline of a club brought on by the unfathomable actions farce of the ownership group they are employed by.

I say unfathomable, as I genuinely have absolutely no clue what they are trying to achieve. None whatsoever. It all just seems to be self harming.

 

He did leave us in the **** but it doesn’t really justify how poor our recruitment was & how unfit the squad were.

I’d also say that players & managers are brought in with the idea that they do well & get a better move so we should be prepared for a higher than average turnover of coaches & players.