When Barnsley made the playoffs last season, both fans of the club and outsiders wondered whether this was the start of something special, or a one-off that they would struggle to replicate.
A busy summer left the club with work to do, and so far this season, they have failed to get anywhere close to their heroics under Valarien Ismael. Key departures this summer, including losing Ismael to West Brom, with club captain Alex Mowatt following, and the loss of CEO Dane Murphy to Nottingham Forest left The Tykes with simply too many holes to fill. A quick look at their results so far would prove that to be the case.
Heightened Expectations
Regardless of what happened during the summer, expectations were still high at the club. In came Markus Schopp to take control, with the club having a good recent record of plucking managers from Europe and seeing them succeed.
However, you only have to look at the current available odds for Barnsley to finish in the top six to see that Schopp is not working out as planned. As of October 12, Barnsley are 20/1 with bet365 to finish inside the top six of the Championship and replicate their playoff run of last season. This is a really intriguing market and the volatility of the Championship means there are often plenty of shocks, so anyone who thinks they have found an area of value can take advantage of offers such as a bet365 bonus code to use free bet credits available to new customers.
To put context around those odds on offer, just two teams in the entire division are priced up at bigger than 20/1, and one of those is Derby County, a team served with a points deduction recently.
The Troubles So Far
Without a doubt, the troubles so far for Barnsley have centred around the playing style that Schopp is trying to implement on the team. Ismael was a very direct manager who kept things simple, he didn't ask his players to do anything other than look to move forward and work hard.
Schopp brings something completely different. He wants to keep possession of the ball, play out from the back and asks players to be creative and invent things on the field. Considering Barnsley have the youngest squad in the Championship, that is probably not the right thing to be asking them.
Key injuries haven't helped the Austrian though, new signing Obbi Oulare is yet to be seen, fellow striker Carlton Morris was injured in the second game of the season and others have struggled at various stages.
The problems are probably not down to one sole issue at the club, and more than likely are a combination of things. That may not be enough to save Schopp his job though, when action returns after the international break, as fans at Oakwell have been calling for him to be sacked for the past two games now – maybe they will get what they want soon.
