Official Orsen Kaht 1st October Thread

12 points = WRONG! Delighted to be so.

Top marks to Hill for what he has achieved with his cut-price squad and a massive injury problem. Where we go from here, I am not too sure, but we have now elevated ourselves to a points per game tally which would, if extrapolated across the season, see us equal or better last year's performance.

Hill's management of the team, and indeed, of the fans, will ring bells with those who have studied management, especially the team-forming model: forming/storming/norming/conforming. Will we now all march to his tune? Who knows!

I hope that a bad spell doesn't undermine the good Captain's progress, and we should be conscious that others have found their profile no longer fitting, even though they were less outspoken/idiosyncratic than Hill.

Looks like it's going to be an interesting ride!

 

Wow that's deep man!

 

I'm lost with your words! .....'extrapolated'(new one on me)

 

'Extrapolate' = estimate from known values or data!

 

I like the analogy about the team-forming, although when I have come across the model, it has always been "forming, norming, storming and performing " i.e. when the team has finally gelled and starts working well together. I think that is a much better description of the Reds' team unit (from what I can gather) at present. Lets hope this "performing" phase lasts a very long time!

 

Very honest and noble of you Mr Kaht. We have looked pretty good haven't we. Even more impressive considering the injuries. Once the full squad is available we shall see. Can we improve further? Who knows. I do think we have got a squad that can maintain this level though, whoever is in the starting 11. Feeling very good to be a Barnsley fan right now. Hill and Flicker have got to take the credit, and the players for buying into it and carrying it out. The difference from the last few seasons is massive.

 

i somehow very much doubt it

 

Like the first cuckoo of Spring!

 

sorry mr orsenkaht but if you cant take your threads being critisized then maybe you shouldnt have spent half the summer and the start of the season slating anything and everything about keith hill and the team, i believe the phrase thats apt is "if you cant take it dont give it"

 

Matters not to me, buddy. However, I think your post implied that you doubted my sincerity, which is a rather bold call when you don't know me!

 

The big test is after christmas

We always seem to have a terrible run of form after christmas, upto the end of the season. If we can be at least slightly consistent, we're on for a decent season.

 

Re: The big test is after christmas

kahtorse, whats your feelings on the club now? has keith hill and the performances changed your perception?

 

Re: The big test is after christmas

DJB: Good question, and one that could cause me to send people to sleep!

I think there are two parts to this: "club" and "team", the latter including the management/coaching team.

Team

I was worried about the financial realism approach being adopted one year (at least) before we were required to adopt it. We sold our best player and spent jack**** on new ones. It takes a very shrewd judge(s) to pick up lower league players who can perform at Championship level. Notwithstanding their achievements, Rochdale were/are a fairly humble League One club. That said, after the calamitous first three home games, you cannot be anything but impressed with Hill, who has clearly got the team to achieve beyond expectations. Unbeaten away is astonishing, and the Leicester and Watford games could easily have been wins too - at any level a measure of luck is required. Overall therefore, I am drawn to the conclusion that Hill is a highly capable, if somewhat idiosyncratic manager. Perhaps a Holloway or Warnock type, if you like. I'm worried that they are pushing Butterfield's stock - rather like fattening a turkey before Christmas! Will he remain with us? Will it matter? Who knows. To get Andy Gray and Jim O'Brien performing is impressive, and more than MR could manage. So yes - the signs to me are positive. I'm not sure how far we can go, given the constraints Hill is operating under. Also, I just wonder whether his idiosyncracy may at some point be his undoing - particularly if we hit a barren spell, reults-wise.

Club

The "feel" of the club continues to cause me concern. Cryne has other issues, as we all know. He is not mega-rich, in footballing terms, and has quite justifiably decided that the club should be self-sufficient. Is this sustainable at Championship level? Highly doubtful. Yesterday's crowd was less than 9,500. I recall bigger crowds in the old third and fourth divisions. The current pricing structure is putting people off going. Although yesterday's game was a 'B' game, I feel we are already seeing the effect of people getting out of the habit - me included. Now some will say "good riddance" - leave it to the "faithful" - but those with a brain will realise that the club needs to attract casual supporters - and convert them back to ST holders - to make any progress.

Another thing - the club's website is dismal. It should be something that committed and casual supporters check daily, or more often, and should be a means of generating and sustaining interest. The 'franchise' nature of the club site does not serve the club's best interests. Similar points could be made about the matchday magazine, which is trite and over-priced. I don't get the feeling that the club values supporters or embraces them. Whatever the shortcomings of previous regimes, you didn't get this "take it or leave it" feeling.

So there you have it, DJB. I have followed this club for 45 years, and whether by attendance in person or tracking their fortunes through the media, I continue to do so. But there are a number of issues which make me feel somewhat ambivalent towards the club at the moment.

Told you I'd send everyone to sleep!

 

Re: The big test is after christmas

you raise some good points.

to be honest for me at the moment my only focus is the team because ive honestly really bought into what keith hills trying to do and im enjoying the games again! its great to see how far we have come since those early 3 home games......like you say "how far can we go?" i really dont know but its going to be interesting finding out.

club wise i think your spot on although i think they are slowly adressing things, the games are starting to be slightly better advertised, the club shop has been refitted to make it more accesable, you can now book the seat you want online, the online shops also decent, the matchday programmes much better than in recent years. but on the whole the faith in the club (rowing, cryne, taylor) and communication from it must improve and they must start to take on board the fans feelings if they want to increase attendances and hook in a new generation of support.

 

sorry for dragging this to the top but i only read once a day or so now so its the first chance of a reply, so mr orsenkaht
1)are you not the guy who claimed at the end of july/start of august that it would be MY LAST POST TILL OCT 1ST ?
2) are you not the guy who lasted less than a week into a 2 month sebatical because they couldnt keep quiet ?
3) are you not the guy that less than 4 games into the season couldnt wait to log on to proclaim OCTOBER 1ST IS OFFICIALLY HERE 6 weeks early because you needed to tell us all how right you were ?, and finally
4) are you not the guy, who on oct 1st having realised you were wrong tried to backtrack and eat humble pie ?

so yes you right mr orsenkaht i dont know you, but you say it was a bold call to imply i doubted your sincerity ? to be perfectly honest in light of everythin it was the easiest call ever

 

Come on everyone knows when they say i wont post/visit the forum etc that its a load of old tosh.

Right then you have had your moment of being a condescending im a better BBSer than you moment - now move on.

 

Quality post Orsenkaht. I bet everyone of us would be delighted with being wrong on a pessimistic bet, though. I totally agree that we are in for a very interesting ride. Myself, I haven't been this optimistic for a good number of seasons. Hill and Flitcroft seem to be the right men for the job even when we don't agree with theim all the time. If the team keeps up this good form we will soon lose count of how many games we've gone unbeaten. Before the season started everyone predicted us for the drop, now it seems like we are heading for a secure mid-table position, which would be a massive achievement.

 

Good read Orsenkaht, although i'd argue with a small section of it.

With money becoming an ever more important factor in football, I wouldn't say our current pricing structure is putting people off. I believe that come the end of the season, IF we are challenging for a play-off place or we draw a big club in the cup again, you'll see the numbers swell, even if said games are a category A game. The attendances of home fans have altered very little between category A, B and C games, which surely justifies the system. Personally I think £30 for a football match is scandalous, i'd probably set £20 as a maximum price to charge, however thats just the way the game has got. You'd struggle to find any team who charge that nowadays on a regular basis, and unfortunatly our club aren't going to be the exception. I listened to radio sheffield last night and all te Blunts fans were bleating about having to pay £28 to go to Hillsbrough, our local derby with Leeds is £36.

But then again it's an argument which has been covered many times and will be covered many more so i'll leave it for now.