Project Barnsley - Getting Better?

Pre-season after quite a few years of stagnation and gradual decline I along with a lot of fans was enthused by the idea of project Barnsley driven along by our young energetic manager with the aim to turn us from perennial relegation candidates into a more established championship team. I don't think I was under any illusions about the size of the task especially with a squad full of players recruited more for their battling qualities than their abilities. But the way we had played at times under Flitcroft last season with verve, flair and pace pointed to a brighter future. A groundswell of good feeling amongst fans coupled with a couple of shrewd off field signings in Mansford and Watkins had most of us thinking of brighter tomorrow. The season hasn't quite turned out like that but that's football isn't it? What seems more worrying is that any notion of long term planning and vision seems to have been abandoned for yet another season of firefighting.

We had played our best football last season utilising wing backs with Mellis as the focal point in a flexible 5-3-2/ 3-5-2 formation. Most of us expected this to continue into this season and as under Danny Wilson in our most successful years that all teams at all levels within the club would play to the same system ensuring that transition through the ranks was as smooth as possible. It quickly became clear that this was not going to be the case with the first team playing a more rigid formation, Mellis shunted out onto the wing where he lost confidence and form and our defence creaking despite at times selecting 3 defensive midfielders. The quality of football has deteriorated significantly with a massive over reliance on the long hopeful ball forward by passing midfield.

Part of project Barnsley being to rely less on loan players and nurture and develop out own talents. Not allowing the loan season to block development as it has in the past. Again at the moment we seem a million miles away from realising this with 3 first team players here on loan with Ramage when he is fit making 4. Now given our failed attempts to sign a partner for GoG and the injury to Steele 2 of these players would seem reasonable and necessary. However one must question what we as a club get from loaning Fox rather than saying to Digby we know you are a young player and will make mistakes but we will give you a run in the side. Other young prayers such as RNL have been marginalised and criticised despite playing well when called on resulting in loss of form. Little or no attempt has been made to develop other players such as Rose or Clark into first team players by giving them valuable minutes on the pitch.

Signing better quality players and moving some of those who gave tried and failed on. Again we started the season with many of the old faces still in residence and there seems little attempt to move the battlers such as McNulty, Dawson, Dagnall, O'Brien and Kennedy on to free up space in the match day squad for our developing players or integrating the managers summer signings.

On the plus side I think it's reasonable to say that overall we have improved the quality of the squad. McCourt offers a sparkle of genius and frustration as all maverick midfielders should. M'Voto shows signs of developing into a decent championship player. We have a forward partnership that has scored 5 in the 5 league games they have started together. Nyatanga's qualities are already known to us and there is little doubt that when he obtains fitness will prove a shrewd acquisition. Jennings seems a little off the pace and the jury is out but there is more to come. Again being critical we still seem to sign players like Cofie with little intention of playing them. The players moved on were the right players to go though perhaps should have gone further.

On balance at the moment you have to say that the original parameters of the project have been lost as we slid into a relegation dogfight. In my mind however it would seem more important than ever. I'm not for a change in manager. I am for him being reminded in clear terms of the original project by those in charge and perhaps an enforced back room change with a more experienced person brought in with a track record of developing young prayers to work alongside Flitcroft.

Overall, at least in public, the goodwill of last season has inoculated Flitcroft from criticism and rightly so in my opinion given the miracle performed and the change in attitude created. Taking the temperature after Donny some of this goodwill is evaporating and it would be a shame to see it disappear all together.

Anyway enough random ramblings.

Onwards and upwards.

 

A well reasoned and eloquently written post, mate.

 

Are you saying managers get an extra 12 months if they call their tenure a project ?
We have a good squad that is not performing - why

 

Excellent post JC!

 

If I have to be honest I'm on the fence. If the marginal improvement over the last few weeks without any more wide reaching strategic improvements is the best that can be provided then I can't say I want another 6 months of that before eventual relegation. However, chopping and changing your manager every five minutes whilst perhaps giving you an initial boost is no remedy and again works against developing long term objectives and development. I guess at the minute I'm in the have a sit down say this is what we want we appreciate you are a young inexperienced guy therefore we think you need someone to guide you school of thought. Of course then pride comes into the equation and Flitcroft may not want that.

It's a complex situation with no straightforward answers. At the end of the day I was hoping for us to go down the route of being a better supported Crewe than the hoof it and hope we are doing at the minute. I just don't think it's as straightforward as back him or sack him.