After an
intensive managerial search, Barnsley have appointed the less known Austrian
Gerhard Struber as their new manager. The Austrian arrives in England after an
excellent few months in charge of Wolfsberger AC in the Austrian Bundesliga.
Struber leaves them in third place behind Red Bull Salzburg and LASK Linz.
Barnsley’s
search took them across Europe with Struber eventually being the man chosen to
firefight Barnsley’s relegation battle. Barnsley spoke to various managers
including Jens Keller and Poya Asbaghi but have chosen the likeable Austrian
and he inherits a huge first job in English football.
Struber will
go in and stick to his chosen philosophy of hard work and intricate football. He
will go with a diamond formation which brought him success at Wolfsberger. The
likes of Alex Mowatt, Cameron McGeehan and Callum Styles could thrive in this setup. However, before implementing his style of play, Struber must sort out the
Championship’s worst defence. Barnsley have conceded 33 goals in 16 games and
that simply must be sorted if Barnsley are going to win games. Barnsley’s
inexperienced defence has suffered badly this campaign. It also doesn’t help
that former boss Daniel Stendel had to literally buy a new defence in the
summer. Mads Andersen, Bambo Diaby, Toby Sibbick, Aapo Halme, Samuel Radlinger
and Bradley Collins all arrived in the summer and clearly, the unsettled nature
has seen the Tykes suffer. Radlinger and Collins have alternated in goal this
season meaning a lack of stability between the sticks. While Barnsley’s young
defence has been caught napping on several occasions this season.
Barnsley are
also struggling offensively notching just 16 goals this season. Only Middlesbrough
and Wigan Athletic have poorer attacks. Goals have been hard to come by this
season certainly since they stepped up from League 1. Only Cauley Woodrow has
more than two league goals this season. Replacing Kieffer Moore has been extremely
tough with the likes of Patrick Schmidt, Mallik Wilks and Connor Chaplin all
struggling to fill his very large boots. Struber will be looking to find the
best solution to their goal shortage in the short term with Barnsley expected
to be active in the January transfer window.
Struber must
also find a winning solution with Barnsley winless in 15 league games. Since
their dream start to the season against Fulham, Barnsley have taken just six
points from 15 games. Times have been difficult with many fans unhappy with the
owners of the club. Stendel was idealised and certainly his sacking appeared
harsh. Adam Murray stepped in and couldn’t find a win during his spell as
caretaker manager. Struber is ready to go and no doubt the terrific Barnsley support
will get behind him and the team. Their winless run needs arresting quickly
with Barnsley five points off safety.
Struber’s reign kicks off this weekend with a trip to out of form Blackburn. Rovers have won just once in their last eight games and Barnsley will fancy, they can sneak a first away win and a dream start to Struber’s tenure. Barnsley face an important run of games starting against Blackburn. They then travel to Middlesbrough in a vital game at the bottom. Struber’s first home game is a Yorkshire derby with Hull. Games with Cardiff, Reading, QPR, Millwall and West Brom follow. Struber needs a good start to instil belief in the players and the fans. They have the tools to survive but they need a win to arrest their real slump.
The likeable Struber is ready to take English football by storm and steer Barnsley to safety. A tough task but he will believe he can keep the Tykes in the Championship. The Tykes will be ready to go and certainly, Struber will ensure his team perform to the best of their ability.
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