Preview: Barnsley vs Bromley

Four seasons ago, they lost the League One play-off final to Sheffield Wednesday.

Three seasons ago, they lost in the League One play-off semi-final to Bolton Wanderers.

Last season, they finished 15th in League One.

Barnsley fans go into this season with low expectations, with many fearing they lack the squad depth required to challenge at the right end of the table, or worse still, avoid a relegation scrap.

The bookies agree, backing Barnsley to finish in the lower mid-table reaches. 

But why?

Earlier this week, I was invited to contribute to the Ponty End Show, which is part of Barnsley’s Red All Over podcast. 

During our chat, host Andy Symcox pointed out that the Reds go into this season with a young squad that some feel is limited in terms of depth and experience. 

Fans also have question marks about last season’s porous defence, which, despite the club finishing 15th, conceded the second-most goals in the league.

This isn’t a new trend; the season before, Barnsley finished 12th while conceding the third-most goals in the league.

To remedy things, they have turned to former manager Daniel Stendel. Stendel was previously in charge of Barnsley for the 18/19 season and the early part of 19/20. He oversaw a 47% win percentage, with Barnsley only losing 17 of his 66 games in charge. 

That stint saw him lead Barnsley to promotion to the Championship. Can lightning strike twice?

Rumours are circling that the highly-rated attacker Reyes Cleary is on his way out, but there has been some summer recruitment aimed at offsetting the departures of David McGoldrick (Mansfield, free), Adam Phillips (Bradford, undisclosed), Eoghan O'Connell (Stockport, free), and Davis Keillor-Dunn (Wrexham, undisclosed)

The loss of McGoldrick, Phillips, and Keillor-Dunn is a particular concern as they were the club’s three top scorers. Have Barnsley got the goals in the team to replace them? And have they managed to shore up their defence over the summer? So many questions.

Through the door have come Cameron McGeehan (Northampton, free), Sam Gale (Gillingham, undisclosed), and Clayton Taylor (Newcastle Jets, undisclosed), to name but a few. Are those signings enough? Time will tell.

After recording The Ponty End Show, I spoke further with Andy Symcox to get a deeper sense of what Bromley can expect. 

“Since losing 0-1 in the League One play-off final against Sheffield Wednesday in 2023 (to an injury-time goal from Josh Windass), it was clear to fans that our finances, or lack of them, meant we had to cut costs drastically as the owners were propping up the club by covering the losses. 

“The previous ownership group had wasted massive amounts of money by paying inflated prices for players who rarely featured on the pitch. The current owners (who were already investors) staged (in my view) a coup and gradually forced them out. Our finances remain very poor, and we have had to rely mainly on free transfers ever since.

“The owners have, in my view, made a good number of mistakes through inexperience. Added into the mix, there has been an annual turnover of head coaches, all with differing playing styles, resulting in players having to try to adapt to a new style that, in some cases, notably in defence, proved to be inconsistent (and sometimes disastrous). 

“We have lurched, season after season, with little club or playing identity. Last season, only Northampton conceded more goals than us in League One!

“This summer saw the return of Daniel Stendel as head coach, which, I believe, is an honest attempt to rectify the lack of direction. We have returned to signing young players with potential, and a high-press style of play. Fans will need to be patient while the players adapt to Daniel’s style. 

“He was very successful with us in his last spell, and the hope is that those times will return. However, he needs to be backed by the owners as there are gaps in our recruitment, particularly in attack.”

“We lost last season’s goal threat, top scorer Davis Keillor-Dunn, on the final day of the January transfer window. This summer, our subsequent leading scorer, David McGoldrick, departed on a free transfer to Mansfield. We also lost playmaker Adam Phillips to Bradford City. 

“The fees Barnsley received for Keillor-Dunn and Phillips were fairly good, which has helped us to pay transfer fees for a few players this summer.

“At the end of the season, Conor Hourihane’s tenure as head coach ended after a single season, which has become a common feature of recent years. As a successful ex-player and captain, Conor was a fans’ favourite, but his style of play (slow build-up from defence) did not sit well with players or fans. 

“He’s still a Barnsley legend as a player, but I believe very few fans wanted him to remain as head coach. Was he backed by the owners? Probably insufficiently, but the evidence suggests that it wasn’t a match made in heaven.”

“I personally feel that we’ll improve as the season progresses and Daniel’s ideas come to fruition. I predict a 9th or 10th finish, though I’m rubbish at predicting! I think a lot of fans believe we’ll improve on our last season’s 15th place, but it’s a strong league!

“I don’t feel we expect a promotion push, but it would be nice to see some shoots of improvement at the very least. That said, a good number of sources external to the club, like football magazines and content creators, seem to feel we’ll be relegated this season.”

“Reyes Cleary is a lightning-fast left winger, though there has been huge speculation over the last few days that he’ll leave the club for a considerable fee. Two more to watch are Patrick Kelly, who is an attacking midfielder that can carry the ball forward at pace in the attacking areas, and Armani Richards, a new signing who looks like a speedy attacking right winger.”

Andy Symcox paints a mixed picture from a Barnsley perspective, but the fact they’re regrouping under a new manager makes them something of an unknown quality for fans of both sides. 

From a Bromley perspective, Andy Woodman got a good look at his side in last week’s Carabao Cup penalty shoot-out defeat to Reading.

Overall, the Royals probably shaded the game, but against one of the more fancied sides in the division, Bromley more than held their own in their first crack at the level, so to speak.

That performance should hold them in good stead ahead of the trip to Barnsley and fill the side with early self-belief that they belong.

The only question mark for Andy Woodman going into this encounter is whether Jacob Mendy is fit, as his availability will likely determine who plays at left-back, and possibly the shape Bromley deploy.

With Richard Taylor suspended, will right-footed Chanse Headman fill in at left-back, or will Woodman opt for three at the back with Pinnock playing as a LWB?

Other than that, I suspect the manager will go with the same team as last week, with the squad’s added strength in depth allowing him to make changes earlier. Gone are the days when Bromley needed Cheek, Pinnock, or Whitely to go pedal to the metal for 90 uninterrupted minutes. 

Andy Woodman now has the right pieces to affect the game from the bench without compromising the quality. How and when he plays those pieces is the big question.

George

Ifill Sowunmi Grant Headman

Charles

Whitely Conteh Hondermarck Pinnock

Cheek