If Valerian Ismael gets fired

When Val was here, he took a bang average squad to the brink of the premier league. I think the best example of his football was when Chelsea took an hour and a dodgy offside decision to narrowly beat us in the cup. Had Brittain known where the net was we might actually have won. Chelsea did not know what had hit them. I remember at the time it was like watching a jack russell grabbing a lion by the throat!

 

Also don’t subscribe to the fact his style of play is boring. High press, high intensity style of play with young players. Ball straight up into the attacking half. And it nearly got us to the premier league.

 

Val was a short term act and there is no long term gain for any club or the development / improvement of players in Vals playing style.

A big never again from me, Val put our club back years for a small burst of partial success.

This is just my opinion that I realise not many share.

 

No improvement? Sibbick. Helik, Andersen, Styles & Morris all improved drastically that season

 

Why? I can't see it being more than romanticism, completely different team, different players now who I think would struggle to play the same way as 20/21.
That team had real steel and power, helik, Anderson and mowatt gave us such a solid platform and we had immense power up top with Morris, Dike, Woodrow even big Vic's sub appearances had an impact.
It's a successful period from the past that can't be replicated only Williams and Styles remain it would be Wilson MK2 all over again.

 

Brilliant, probably sack him next week

 

I loved the fella and the attitude he and his team showed.I also backed him when others were calling for his head regarding the playing style etc.
I now give the same backing to Neill Collins so it would be a no from me.

 

Looks like a kick up the backside to the players.

 

It’s not been plain sailing but it’s a bit early to be kicking our new manager in the teeth isn’t it?
Bit Wednesdayesque?

 

After Val left and then we had to play football again not just a fast ball forward, high defence line and high press. It took well over 12 months for the likes of Anderson and Styles to catch back up on the year of technical football they had just missed.
As I say my opinion not fact.

 

I think that’s a bit unfair on Val. Anderson missed several months of the following season through injury & they started playing Styles in central midfield instead of at wing back where he’d done well. I don’t think their issues were anything to do with style of football.

For me the biggest shambles of that summer was how long it took to appoint a manager & for him to get some staff in.

I’ve never seen a Barnsley team as unfit as that one in comparison to our rivals. We only had a decent 45 minutes in us. It looked like they’d done no pre-season training before Schopp was appointed.

 

He got "found out" too, Covid saved him!

 

I agree Jay. Collins will learn alongside the team, he needs to be allowed to make mistakes before everyone panics!

 

I'm sorry, but we were 100% "found out" in the last 8/9 games of that season. Culminating in two matches against Swansea where our style of play was nullified. They nullified the way we played, that's the practical definition of having been found out.

 

I loved Valerien Ismael when he was our Head Coach. When he received and still receives criticism on here, i believe it to be pathetic with a capital P. However, we have a Head Coach at the moment and I am not joining the demand for him to be sacked.
Just my opinion.

 

We weren't found out

If we played Brentford & Bournemouth in the playoffs, who we battered in march, I reckon we'd have got to the premiership

Swansea were simply that team who had our number- like exeter last season

in fact Swansea have had our number for the past 20 years bar the millienium stadium!!

 

Steve Cooper personally ‘found us out’. We failed to beat his side 4 times that season. We actually did better in the play offs against his side than we did earlier in the season in the league.

The last couple of games we took our foots off the gas as we were confirmed in the play offs & also rested Mowatt & played Palmer & Halme / Moon in midfield together.

I don’t think anyone could conclusively say we were found out. Before them 4 games we were still in good form. There was only really one bad performance against Coventry.

 

I loved that game. I can vividly remember Mads pressing one of their defenders on the edge of their 6 yard box and thinking "this is utterly ******* insane"

 

No, Rooney at home made his arse fall out and he lost all momentum. Didn't back himself.