[Official Site] AN UPDATE FROM THE CEO

Football is a squad game not a first 11 game. You need to legislate for injuries, loss of form and suspension. Styles fundamentally and emphatically makes our squad stronger and gives us more options in both midfield and on the left hand side of the pitch either defensively or in a more forward role. He’s a brilliant option whether he starts or comes off the bench.

Jury is out on Iseka. The club is very different to last time he was here. Maybe Duff could get a tune out of him.

 

Styles will be on very good wages, wages we probably can't afford in league one. Also a big question over weather he wants to play for us. I don't mind if he stays or goes he does seem a little over hyped for a player who had one decent season under val.

 

Nothing really changed from previous soundbites. If a club comes in for him, at a value that works for the club, he'll get the chance to leave. But see also;

"No one has knocked on the door and said ‘I have to move’ - like last summer." - https://www.barnsleychronicle.com/article/25497/barnsley-fc-ceo-on-range-of-topics-as-window-opens

 

Absolutely. No doubt he makes our squad stronger. I just suspect his wages will be high for a league one club who are long term trying to self sustain.

 

I ******* love khaled. Makes me feel so connected to the club

 

Good interview. I think his summary statement is great: "So it goes back to that feeling of pride, that over the last year or so we have all come together to bring this club back to its fans, to the community, the council. We want to be winners on and off the field. But regardless of that, there's a real desire to give back to our fans, to give them a better offering, regardless of results."

But the most important bit is the final paragraph: "It's only the start of a journey. The foundations are in place and we need to build, together and move everything forward."

 

Will he be on such big wages? From what I can see, he's signed three contracts with us. One when he first came to the club from Bury, whilst in League 1. Another, after the Struber survival season, when he'd only broke into the first team after lockdown, and then again last summer, when it was seemingly a condition of us allowing him out on loan. I'd still expect Iseka to be on a higher wage than him, after the disastrous Conway summer.

 

We must remember that the players we loaned out or sold last summer were involved in a club that didn't know its arse from its elbow under the "guidance" of certain people who didn't know anything about running a football club. People who have gone on to repeat these failings elsewhere.
The turmoil down there must have been incredible, the changes of manager/coach every few months, the reputed involvement of individuals in team selection, if that was true, players being shuffled into positions they weren't suited for, etc, etc. Probably all to fit into plans that weren't ideal for the smooth running of BFC.
Along comes Duff and suddenly, it appears, the playing world at Grove Street is rosy again. Who's to say that the outcast players, or those who apparently wanted away, won't now view the situation differently and may believe that they can become a part of Duff-world and go on to feeling wanted and involved again. He will suss them out pretty quickly one way or another.
Hopefully the bulls.hit era has gone and Khaled is in charge of a now steady, or steadier, ship.
He says the right things, lets hope they are true.

 

Iseka more than likely is on higher wages or just as high. I think the idea with Styles was to get him to sign a new deal so we had a lengthy remainder on it loan him out to Millwall in the hope he set the championship on fire and then he gets sold. But doesn't look like Millwall are all that interested.

 

When is he announcing the big exciting news

 

Think Iseka and Styles just has to look at how Kane stepped up following a loan spell away. Earned his place in the squad and always looked committed to the cause. If both do that, they'll get the fans behind them.

Maybe they could look at Styles up top with Norwood, give Cole some competition.

I'd defo look to offer Mads a 1 year extension and say, 1 last push if we don't get promoted then it's up to him. Try to lure him with a handsome promotion bonus which would soften the blow towards what we'd have been paying him in the championship. For me the difference in our performance was so apparent when he doesn't play.

 

But I doubt Khaled will have given him a three year contract, on wages we can't afford, in the hope that he sets the Championship on fire. I could be wrong, but that was a contract signing that we had some leverage on. If he didn't sign it, he wouldn't have got his loan move, and would've been in League 1 until at least January.