Brammer’s Blog

Although he’s been in the Oakwell hotseat for less than a fortnight, Mark Robins has certainly stamped his authority on the club, and early indications suggest that the future is looking a lot brighter for the Reds.

The new gaffer has injected more belief and a greater work ethic into the squad, and they no longer look like the side which capitulated as soon as they conceded a goal earlier this season. I hate to use that old stereotype – but we actually look like ‘Battling Barnsley’ again.

It has also been a refreshing change to listen to Mark’s post match interviews and feel like you’ve been to the same game as him. Not only does he give credit where it is due, but he’s not afraid to criticise if he feels it necessary. This is in stark contrast to Simon Davey who would often speak in bland cliches and rarely reveal anything insightful (which ultimately contributed to his lack of rapport with supporters).

Fans can forgive bad performances if they know the players have given 100% commitment and that they are treated with respect by a manager who gives an honest view of the game, explains his decisions and doesn’t seek excuses. So far Mark Robins has delivered on all fronts.

However, as he has rightfully pointed out, actions speak louder than words and where his predecessor spoke about becoming more ruthless, Robins is ruthless. He may be thoughtful and quietly spoken but you can already tell that this masks a steely determination to succeed.

There will be little doubt in the dressing room as to who is in charge. To quote the man himself “If the players come with me and do what I am asking of them there won’t be a problem. If they can’t or won’t then it is a different matter”. And he’s been good to his word with under-performing players dropped or dispatched on loan, and reinforcements recruited to solve obvious frailties (such as a lack of competition in defence).

His demeanour on the touchline during games also suggests that he is a man in control. He continually stalks his technical area encouraging or berating his players – in fact I can’t remember him retreating to the bench in any of the matches so far. I also like the fact that he’s not afraid of making decisions or indeed acknowledging when he’s made the wrong decision. The Watford match illustrated this when he had no hesitation in replacing the below-par Thompson with Odejayi after just 30 minutes. Not only that, but he then took Odejayi off when he too failed to have an impact.

Of course it is still early days and we shouldn’t get carried away by a couple of good results. The next few months are going to be tough – especially with the transfer window being closed till January – but Mark Robins is certainly winning over many fans by the way he has gone about the job so far. His hard work and honesty has certainly struck a chord with the people of a town which was built on similar values.

Although it is sad that Simon Davey has finally left the club it was an inevitable conclusion considering our continued poor form. It became impossible to justify a record of only 1 League win in 14 attempts and no home victory since March.

There is no doubt that Simon brought many positive things to Oakwell. He steadied the ship in his first season, had the epic FA Cup run in his second, and built a solid infrastructure at the club – such as bringing in a development coach to bridge the gap between Academy and First Team and creating an extensive scouting network. However, managers will always be judged on results and unfortunately for Simon it was becoming abundantly clear that we were heading for a fourth straight relegation battle under his leadership.

Clearly this was a totally unacceptable position to be in again, and both the fans and the Board knew action needed to be taken. Yet I read in the national press – and surprisingly from a number of our own players – that avoiding relegation every season should be viewed as an achievement for a club like Barnsley.

‘A club like Barnsley’ presumably being defined as small town, unfashionable, no money etc. The stereotypical ‘battling Barnsley’ as we are so often condescendingly viewed as. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t we had more seasons in the second tier of English football than any other club? We’re hardly punching above our weight or drunk on over-ambition by expecting mid-table mediocrity are we?

What has really got me going have been a number of stories in the media which are seemingly based on the two times the journalists have seen us in action under Simon Davey – namely the Liverpool and Chelsea FA Cup victories. There is no doubting that they were two phenomenal performances, but they didn’t offset the numerous poor displays we witnessed in the bread and butter of the Championship (e.g. just 12 wins in 61 away games) . If those two encounters had been typical performances would Simon Davey now be out of a job? Of course not. They were the exception, not the rule.

One Guardian journalist – I won’t name her to save her embarrassment – talks of the ‘…sweet passing football that had persuaded locals to make “it’s just like watching Brazil” the team’s anthem’. I think she is the only person to have ever compared the style of football witnessed over the past two and a half years to that of Pele, Zico and Ronaldinho. I have no doubt that is the type of football Simon Davey encouraged, but it certainly never materialised.

The same journalist then moves on to the old myth over lack of resources and how Simon Davey had ‘used his imagination in beating Barnsley’s budgetary restrictions’. During his tenure Simon spent in the region of £3m on transfers and brought in almost 40 players (including loans). Not only that, but he wasn’t under any pressure to sell his star names (e.g. JCR last season) and he had a Chairman who was willing to sanction the mammoth wages of Kevin Phillips. His hands were hardly tied were they?

Compare that with a couple of clubs down the road – namely Doncaster Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday. Sean O’Driscoll has spent just £300k over a similar period and built an excellent side which plays the ’sweet passing football’ talked of by our Guardian friend. Likewise Brian Laws has invested only £500k in 3 years and provided a team which is always comfortably mid-table. In both cases they have also been forced to continually part with their prize assets to balance the books.

And how much did Owen Coyle spend on transfer fees to get Burnley – a similar sized club to ourselves – promoted to the Premier League? Absolutely nothing!

Don Rowing hit the nail on the head when he spoke on Sky earlier this week. He talked of football being aspirational – about believing that one day we may grace the Premiership again. If we don’t have a dream what on earth are we working towards?

Patrick Cryne reflected last year about his fear that he would only be remembered for saving the club, rather than achieving something with it. He has invested an awful lot of time and money in trying to take the club forward and quite rightly his ambition doesn’t end with fourth from bottom.

What we now need is an enthusiastic and ambitious manager whom both players and supporters can rally behind. If we become ‘Stronger Together’ then why can’t the dream become reality?