Home Form This Season

Absolutely appalling overall and even worse if assessed on this calendar year alone.

Other than the relegation in 2014 this will be our lowest ppg under three points for a win. We have won one home game since Boxing Day and none for three months. Like most Barnsley fans I have only seen my team win once this year but I'm constantly hearing that this has been the best season in living memory. Even in the disastrous second half of the 2011-12 season under the Berk, we still managed three home wins.

The away form has been good - very good in fact - and has kept us up. Problem is, it's home performances that sell season tickets. A certain poster is constantly championing and calling for logic on this board. That is the last thing we want amongst the BFC fan base. Logic would dictate that one home victory in four months represents very poor value for money and people have got better things to spend their 300 quid plus on. What we need is people to act without any logic whatsoever and be ruled by their hearts. Let's hope they do.

 

Wasn't that great.asy season either

 

It was in 2016. Won seven, drawn two and lost two.

 

As you say if season passes were bought on facts and logic we wouldn't sell many at all because it's one of our worst home seasons in memory and this season hasn't been value for money with our ground no longer being anything like a fortress. More a place for away teams to come to tickle out belly.

 

I renewed our three last Friday. It was a logical decision. The other option was spend every Saturday with my wife.

 

On the basis that I have a big head and thought you might be addressing your remarks to me, I thought that I would reply.

As you say, for we home only fans, the season has not been very impressive and I think that 'Minority Report' reflects what has been a poor season from a home perspective. It is, of course, a different story away from home, and that reflects the strengths and weaknesses of our team, a situation that would always have had to have been addressed during the summer, even without our January sale. It is hard to comment on away performances, not having seen any, but I am going to break one of my unwritten rules and do so.

It is my view that the teams in this division have two ways of playing. The first way is the way that they play in away games. They stay compact, their centre midfield players stay in touch with the central defenders and they make sure that there is no space on the centre of the pitch defensively. When they attack, they do not commit many players, and the central midfield players remain quite deep in order to cover the break. They hope that, encouraged by the home fans, the home team will commit too many players forward and will be exposed on the break. The away team hopes to expose this over-exposure, and in fairness, Barnsley have been good at doing so away from home. The problem is that we have been equally poor when on the other side of the equation at home and the analysis should concentrate on why that might be.

Keeping your shape and defending are much easier to coach. It involves going through the same coaching routines time after time, picking up errors time after time and drilling the players time after time. You do not need much talent to defend. You just have to be good at sticking to the system and refusing to be pulled out of shape. Eventually, if the away team does not make a mistake, the home team will over-commit and give the away team the chance to score. After that, the temptation to over-commit is even greater for the home team and there is an even greater chance that more goals will follow for the away team as the home team takes more risks. How do I know this when I do not attend away games? I know it because that is what I see in our home games as practiced by the away team.

So how does the coach overcome this built in home disadvantage. Well attacking is much harder to coach because it relies much more on the individual. Of course, one element that can be rehearsed is the dead ball situation and before Hourihane went, this was a major source of our goals, but unless the coach has a more talented and quicker squad of players, the team is going to struggle in open play. Because that is how you break down a system designed to defend deep and score goals on the break, better players with more individual talent and pace. You can only do so much with average players. You can train them, you can coach them and you can teach them systems and dead ball plays, but some players can do what others cannot do. It is called talent. How do we bring those players to our club? Well we do not have the funds to bring in the established talent, so we have to have the scouting system that finds them early. We have to bring the raw talent to the club and we have to be patient with it. We have to teach it all that we know and we have to hope that it matures in the way that we hope. Above all, we must trade, and trading implies that we sell as well as buy. The players that we sell will be those that came to us as raw recruits, who we improved and made better players, but who we had to sell in order to find the next new thing who would enable us to continue with that continuous process of improving the team. Because that process never stops. You never reach a plateau. You never reach a stage when you can say that this is as good as it will get. The process goes on and on.

And yes, it would be great if we could build upon a good team. If we could continuously bring in better players than what we have, selling only those who are surplus to requirements. But we are what we are, a small club that represents a town that has seen better days. That town does not provide the cash that would support any strategy other than the one we use. Mr Cryne should know. He tried them all before hitting upon one that worked. Supporting a small club has more downs than ups, but we did not chose Barnsley because we knew the journey would be smooth did we. We chose Barnsley because it is our team, and personally, I would not have it any other way.

 

At this stage of the season I'd rather see an entertaining open game like against Brentford where we create loads of chances but don't quite manage to get the win, than the dour hoof ball football some teams play.

Obviously we'll need to ground out results next season, but I don't think the last 5 home games are likely to have put people off, jut because we drew them rather than won them. It's all about building for next season and getting the likes of Moncur and Mowatt up to speed.

 

There's nowt to say other than we have been appaling at home all season. We have to improve this next year or I do think gates will be impacted.

 

I can't recall anyone saying this has been the best season in living memory. Where have you constantly heard this? I do recall many suggesting that 2016 was the best calendar year in living memory, if not ever. I would probably agree. But no, I haven't seen or heard anyone say that about this season.

I have seen/heard people suggest they've really enjoyed this season though. And seen/heard people claim it's our best season at the level since 2000. I would agree. In fact, Paul Heckingbottom said it himself.

Facts are, we started off the season decently, then tailed off losing 5 in 6 before a superb December and decent January lifted us back into playoff contention. Then players decided to sign with other clubs and this affected us badly. We lost our top creator and scorer and whilst I've actually seen us continue to compete and actually play much more attractive football, we have lost too many goals. The impact that Winnall and Hourihane made on this club should never be played down. Huge for us. That neither of them or Bree/Morsy have done much of note since leaving is irrelevant. They were good for us and we've missed them. The fact our divisional competitors can pluck our top performing players from us and use them as squad players says it all regards what we are up against.

We did have bad games prior to Jan 31 though. Remember Blackpool home and away? And so whilst I probably agree with those saying we'd have fared better points wise had we not lost those players, I don't think we'd have made the top six. Scary amount of points achieved by the current top six and our record against those sides even with the departed players was poor. In fact, we got better results against Wednesday, Reading and Huddersfield without them. And we had no Winnall when we beat Leeds, yet we did when we lost to them. Our performance against Brighton was better also. Fulham were the best side I've seen home and away.

Still not sure what some fans expected us to do about January with all things considered. But sure as eggs is eggs, it's better to have made money out of wantaway players than not. Because this forum would be even more downbeat had we forced them all to stay, finished outside the playoffs and then saw them all walk out for free at the end of the season.

I was super excited in January. I dared to dream, I can't deny that. But reality is often harsh. The wins we used to grab with a set piece have turned into draws. The games we now dominate see us often failing to take our chances and eventually succumb at the other end. Losing players in January cost us that 'dream'. That's a fact. It's also what cost us in 2012. Thing is, I think it is beautiful that the fans on here aren't blaming Hecky. He is being excused. People are more understanding and forgiving now. That wasn't the case in 2012..

We are up against it at this level, but we've stayed up comfortably with games to spare in our first year back up and made a huge profit that should help us moving forward. Will it? I dunno. That's the exciting bit. Who knows what will happen?

I tend to think we've made massive progress since relegation the last time. We've experienced so much in that time. So I can't look back at all that and ignore it, or choose to focus on another January where huge clubs pilfer from us. If we rebuild well again this summer and perform well in the Championship again up to January, we could again lose our best players. This is who and where we are.

Bit lengthy this post and I'll get shot down for it no doubt, but it's my genuine view and fairly informed these days. But if anyone can suggest ways to change it, ideas to stop us being so up against it at this level I'm all ears. And forehead.

 

I didn't choose Barnsley at all - I had it chosen for me by my Dad as I expect most of us did. I actually wanted to be a Man Utd when I was five because a neighbour who was seven supported them. He's a Barnsley fan too now.

Anyway, what is concerning me is that season ticket sales will drop due to the poor home form. You continue to denigrate the people of Barnsley, but our support has been fantastic over these lean periods, to my mind anyway. If you look at similar sized towns and clubs there are very few whose support holds up against ours. Look at PNE for example. Better home form than us, better season overall and averaging over a thousand less than us - despite having Wednesday, Leeds, Newcastle and Aston Villa at home on a Saturday at 3pm - two of them over Christmas. Difference is their Chairman is a gazillionaire.

 

I suspect the lack of crowing from the club about season ticket sales points to disappointing early bird sales.

 

I hope not. But I do agree our home form has let us down this season. I think anyone who has seen us away from home regularly will understand why that is. We play in a manner that suits us hitting teams on the break. I suppose we need to find a different way to play at home.

 

Due to finances I've not managed a single away game this season but I've been to every home one & I've enjoyed this season.

Stats might say we've only won one since Jan but we've not played badly at home & I didn't come away from the last 3 home games saying 'that was ****', I came away saying 'played well there & should've won'.

I am concerned about next season though. I posted at the start of the season that this season we'd be fine & that it was next season I was worried about & that's not changed. I just hope we can keep scouting good talent for less money than the other championship sides

 

I hope not too. I will be renewing before the deadline and I hope everyone else does. Let your heart rule your head everyone. I think the manager has earnt our support.

 

I've not had a season ticket for years, mainly because I live in Germany at times and miss too many matches. However, I'm getting one next season because I'm delighted with the entertainment that's been served up this season, which I've thoroughly enjoyed. I'll still miss a lot of matches through being away, but it will be worth it to enjoy a new type of football which I enjoy watching - the like of which I've not seen for many season home or away.

 

It's about the heart though, isn't it? If it was about the head I'd have studied accountancy or something banking related when I was younger, not media. I'd now be a rich basterd.

 

Absolutely. If it wasn't 80% of grounds would be empty.

 

too much supporter pressure at home, a missed placed pass

You buy Bovrils at half time and take them back with a complaint of tepidity.

 

There's been zero supporter pressure at home.

 

There has.