That was the Season That Was A kind of Review.

Just opinions and a kick off for discussion.

This time last year we were dealing with the fallout from our tumultuous end of season where we had sacked a manager our form had collapsed and somehow in the play offs Sam Cosgrove had transmogrified into a vaguely competent player but we still lost.

The summer looked on the surface to be more than vaguely concerning. From the outside looking it appeared chaotic. A new Head coach installed with no kind of pedigree at the top end of L1. Key players gone and not replaced and we headed into the season with Cosgrove and Watters as our strike force.

very late on the window we managed to attract what on the surface looked like two good reinforcements in DKD and Humphrys but overall very underwhelming in a League where Birmingham very being ridiculous and Disney FC were buying up all players over 30 looking for a last paycheck.

We kicked off the season with what looked like a hangover from the previous one. A 2-1 home loss to Mansfield in what as going to become the pattern for the season. A season we would end with our worst ever season at home au L1 Level.

so some thoughts and scores.

Overall 4. As mid table a finish as it could possibly be. A lot of work to do and a change of approach needed. We need to stop the scattergun approach of signing 13017417 players in the hope that one comes good that bloats the squad and stops our younger players getting a run. No good having 83 centre halves if your best one ends up being an ageing Marc Roberts.

Board 2. Poor appointments. Awful recruitment. Poor financial management. Ground falls more into disrepair by the year. January transfer window biblically bad. They only get 2 for signing DKD. Managed decline.

Fans 5. Dead atmosphere. Sometimes poisonous fanbase. A sense of anger and drift. We need to wipe the slate clean and help turn Oakwell into a fortress as well the alternative is dropping down the leagues even further.


Head Coach

DC. 4

I had hoped that Clarke would be able to really grasp what for him was a big opportunity to manage a team with aspiration and some better quality players. Initially there were some bright performances even when the results weren’t there. Early warning signs were an inability to manage games and the feeling that every sub made actually made us worse not better (and I include the times when Sam Cosgrove was being substituted in that).

We were consistently inconsistent throughout. A good performance would be followed by a dreadful one. The home form was particularly concerning. The 4-0 home loss to Orient still smarts. By the time the axe fell it was more a matter of when not if.

in the final analysis not what was required and not good enough. Also scruffy needs a shave and a makeover.

CH. 6. Cheap option blah. No ambition blah blah. Hard to say. Entertainment factor picked up bit results didn’t. It was clear that Conor was getting the permanent gig but he couldn’t buy a win. Jury is still very much out. But Conor knows how to win. Knows how to make the most of talent and the clear out of staff and players is a good start. Needs to sort the bone form out sharpish. Knows where the razor is and doesn’t dress like he was dressed in the dark by a blind toddler

Goalkeepers

Killip 4 is the only one who really played enough to make a judgement. Poor shop stopper. Awful at crosses and seemed to wear banana boots when he tried to kick the ball. Great agent though getting him a move higher up the pyramid. Still when you sign a goalie from a team getting relegated from L2 you should know what you are getting.

Of the rest a collective 4 for Gaga, Smith, Gauci which maybe harsh as we didn’t see much of any of them but what we did see wasn’t great.

Flavell. 6. Opportunity came a bit early looks to have something about him but needs a few good loans out to help his decision making.

Defence.

Roberts 6. Some good moments. Some bad moments but overall too much reliance on a player whose body struggles to keep up. Injured a fair bit and his performances after those injuries dipped. Still our best defender though.

MDG 4. A nice footballer in terms of passing but positionally dreadful and not good at his actual job of defending. Mistake after mistake at the end of the season can’t have endeared him to Conor

Pines 3. A lovely lovely bloke and probably great to have around but a dreadful footballer. Particular lows was him trying to clear a knee high ball with his head.

McCarthy. 3. You know what you are getting with him and none of it’s good.

Earl 5. Slightly more reliable than most of our other defenders but still error prone, slow and often out of position.

O’Keefe. 5.5. The good the bad and the average often in the same game. Needs to improve very rapidly or leave.

Gent 6.5 looks strong defensively and has some of the best control of a football I’ve ever seen at Oakwell. Young and learning the trade but looks a natural fit if Conor plays a back 4 next year.

Cotter 7. Baz plays with passion and pace which we clearly lack but held back by a lack of natural ability. One of the few players Clarke improved only to drop him

Lofthouse 6. Needs to be played in his proper position. Still looks to be a player in there somewhere. but you’d have thought he is nearing his last chance.

Midfield

Connell 5. My working theory is that we left the real Luca in London after that Wednesday debacle and he was replaced with a pale imitation. He clearly has talent but struggles to impose himself on games and is often a bystander. If he doesn’t go needs to
Improve quickly but you’d have thought his value had plummeted over the last 2 years.

Russell 8. A really strong season from Russell and one of the few players I would be sad to see leave. The key to Jon looking good is to keep him as close to their penalty box as possible and away from ours. It’s that simple. Would have been POTS if it wasn’t for the Mackem Messi.

Phillips. 6. Adam is frustrating often games pass him by and he looks a little stale despite the goals and assists. In a better team I think he would be one more consistent and they could hide his decencies. I expect him to be sold and it’s probably the time.

Nwakali 5. Great passing range but struggles with athleticism and physicality and often gets the simple pass wrong. Jury is very much out.

Farrugia. 5. The best of the January signings but that’s an incredibly low bar. Needs a good start next year or i would imagine he will be gone.

Josh Benson 3. A talented lad but his body can’t take the rigours of L1 football. Shame.

Forwards/ Wide Attackers.

DKD 9. A shining light and a really dedicated professional. Goals, movement and a lot of talent. Easy to see what he is going to do but very hard to stop him doing it. If he could head/ score tap in’s he would be getting 30+ goals a season. He was a pleasure to watch after a slowish start. In no world can I see him being at Oakwell next year which is a massive shame.

Cosgrove 0. A worse player than Dave Regis who at least played at a higher level. Maybe worse than Willy Ferry and I never thought I’d say those words. Dreadful.

Watters 4. Frustrating season for Max. Everytime he started playing well he got injured and his finishing is still very poor. Not really sure where we go from here.

Humphrys. 6.5. Ended the season well but there was a good 4 month period when he was lazy and disinterested. A hard one to call. If he resigns great if he doesn’t then I’m not really arsed. Talented and very effective at L1 level when he wants to be. But he needs to want to be a lot more than he was last season

Rodrigues 0. Let’s not even go there.

Lewis 4. Hard to say but didn’t look anywhere near the standard.

Lembikisa 5. Awful start but thought he looked a bit better in the last few games.

Younger Players

Bland 7. Looking forward to watching him play in his proper position but looks a great prospect.

Jalo 7 Incredibly frustrating for Fabio. Plagued by injuries but starting to look really dangerous and playing well and then injured again. I’d say his fitness feels like it will be pivotal to what Conor wants to do.

Barrett 6. Showed some glimpses and some frailties hard to judge properly in an awful defence.

Flavell 6. Chance maybe came a little early but gave it a good go. Be good for him to get a loan out to get used to playing professionally.

Yoganathan. 6.5 again looks a real prospect and just needs to fill out a bit physically. Looking forward to watching him kick on.

Apologies if I’ve missed any out. We seemed to play a lot of players.

 

Can't argue with most of that. I'd say you're a tad harsh on Gauci who, despite missing a chunk through injury, did little wrong when called upon, and looks a good shot stopper. Certainly the best keeper we've had this season. Though given he cost Villa more than our entire squad combined, twice, I'd say the prospect of ever seeing him at Oakwell again is minimal.

I'd also score McCarthy slightly higher, given he was often played on the left of the back 3 despite being right footed and often wasn't the weak link. Though he wasn't spectacular either.

I thought it was just me who rated Gent defensively. Hopefully he's on the road to recovery as I think we've got a very capable young left back for Conor's system.

 

Fair comment on Gauci. I didn’t really see enough of him. If he came back on loan I’d be fairly happy but we probably need to sign a permanent first choice. Probably right about McCarthy too. I’m just done with some many of our players.

onwards and upwards

 

You touched on it in your review, but I think the tone for the season was set in August and early September. I'd love to know the details of how the DKD deal was negotiated, and whether if we'd have been prepared to offer a little extra we could have had him for the start of the season. I think if we'd had DKD from the offset, we may have gained a little more momentum early on, though probably nowhere near enough to achieve our aims.

I hate the transfer window being open at the start of the season, it's proper stupid.

Can't argue with any of your other assessments, although I think you've been a bit generous with CH's 6.

 

I think I’m giving Conor the benefit of the doubt given the **** show he walked into but he needs a big summer

 

Good post & agree with the majority of it.

I’d have Clarke’s mark higher than Hourihane.

If Hourihane persists with that high line & tries to play pressing football with the players we have he won’t be around for long in my opinion.

 

Can’t disagree with much of that although I think you’ve scored Cotter and Cosgrove too generously.

I’m also the third member of the Gent fan club. Hopefully he takes his chance next season.

 

I genuinely think Georgie has a high ceiling for potential.

Possibly a bit of mad baz favouring crept in!

 

I think if we’d got DKD before the season started we would have banked a few more points and got some momentum at least. Three against Mansfield for starters - we should have never lost that game.

 

I think Cosgrove is still thinking he is a decent player, in his own mind that is. But this is only based on his play off performances and, of course, that worldie he scored at home to Wycombe when he knocked their keeper over and rolled one into the net.

 

Harsh on MdG but I get I am his only fan. Was high in all L1 stats prior to his mad month (which was poor, granted).
And Cotter? 7? I mean come on. Let's be right.

 

No

In fairness Mad Baz was near the top of our player of the season poll despite missing half of it.

 

Shows how bad our recruitment has been.

 

Not sure how you can give DC a 4 but then give CH a 6. It was ***** under CH and he also failed to get a tune out of them. He needs to start next season with some positive results or the pressure will be on him early doors.

 

There was a semblance of entertainment and he has to work with players that Clarke had ‘coached’ the life out of. When CH has his own players and a summer to train them we can judge him more harshly.

He also gets extra points for not looking like a tramp.

4 for Clarke was very generous.

 

You aren't his only fan mate. He's massively scape goated. As you say before his shocker of a month he was fine. Season before, especially in the middle of back 3, he was very good. He got about 5 man of the match awards in a row, or close to anyway. The midfield spaces in front of our defense are wide open, change of system they'll look much more stable.

 

A 4 for DC is generous, can't get a team fit enough to play for 90 minutes, not even play pressing football either. A rank amateur coach, producing rank football, did you go to the Orient thrashing?

 

Thanks for posting. Always nice to read summat a tad different. I disagree with some of those player ratings e.g. Russell should be a low score for me but, nevertheless, I thought you posted some good observations. Once again, Ta.

 

Not gonna lie. I think I’m scarred by that Orient game.

 

I'm not convinced that Gent is strong enough.