Having gained automatic promotion back to Championship last season, Barnsley find themselves sitting second from bottom with six points and only one win on the board.

Barnsley enjoyed a terrific first season under Daniel Stendel last season, gaining promotion just behind league winners, Luton. This campaign has not been as straight-forward however, with only one win coming on the opening day, and Daniel Stendel since parting company with the club.

Barnsley have had deeper lying issues than what is seen on the pitch, with boardroom tensions slowly surfacing leading to the news of Stendel parting ways with the Tykes. With Stendel having been concerned over lack of experience recruited over the summer, it stands to reason that tensions would rise in the weeks following the transfer window.

On the pitch, Barnsley have shown glimpses of potential of what they can do, with their impressive win over Fulham plus spirited performances against Leeds and Derby as well. However, these performances need to translate to points on the board, and coupled with disappointments like the Preston hammering, it does not make for great reading.

Here, we take a look at three things we’ve learnt about Barnsley season so far…

 

The defence needs to tighten up

Consolidating their position in the Championship was Barnsley’s aim going into this campaign. A key attribute to teams that stave off relegation over the teams around them is having a defence that is hard to beat. Barnsley have conceded the joint-most goals in the league alongside fellow strugglers, Stoke City.

Losing key defenders Ethan Pinnock and Liam Lindsay and goalkeeper Adam Davies, to Brentford and Stoke respectively, was a big blow in the summer. While they have signed Mads Anderson, Aapo Halme and Bambo Diaby to replace the defensive losses, with Brad Collins taking the ‘keeper’s spot, there still seems to be a void left in terms of quality. Barnsley have conceded more than half of their tally for the total of last season (39 conceded was the best in League One). Obviously there’s a step up in divisions but the issues are there to see, having let in five at the weekend.

 

The attackers need to score more goals

While the defence need to stop goals from being conceded, there are also problems at the other end for Barnsley as they have the worst goal scoring record in the division with eight.

Last campaign, Barnsley were joint-third top scorers with 80, so averaging over 1.7 goals a game. This season, that statistic has fallen to 0.7 goals per game. The problem may not be in the creation of chances with creative players such as Mowatt, Woodrow, Chaplin, Wilks among others; but the problem is with their conversion, with having an average of over 12 shots per game, Barnsley need to score more goals with these opportunities to relieve some pressure from the suffering defence. 

It’s not as if Barnsley don’t have the quality in their squad to score the goals at this level; with Alex Mowatt proving he can provide goals from midfield from his time at Leeds, Mallik Wilks hitting 14 for Doncaster last term, and Cauley Woodrow who had finally had chance to settle at a Barnsley following multiple loan moves elsewhere.

 

They need a manager to remedy these concerns

News broke of Stendel’s departure with Adam Murray taking over as caretaker while they search for a replacement. Something Stendel cited as an issue following the summer’s recruitment was the lack of experience in the squad to deal with the demands of the Championship. With an average age of 22.1 in the squad, you can see Stendel’s reasoning for needing older heads in the dressing room. 

While the Tykes cannot remedy this issue with the playing staff until January, they can employ an experienced manager who can get the best out of this squad and organise them at both ends of the pitch in the meantime. 

With an international break underway, it would seem like the perfect time to employ a manager quickly to instil a certain style of play. Whether or not it was the correct decision from Barnsley to part ways with Stendel, something needs to be done to unlock the potential of this young squad.