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Drinkwater departure highlights Hill’s Oakwell challenge
Keith Hill has only been in charge of Barnsley for just over half a season, yet by now he will have become accustomed to the fact that good football players are seemingly not allowed at Oakwell for more than one season. Not only that, but also that the club will almost certainly receive at best paltry compensation for such personnel and as a result struggle to make the progress it otherwise might.
We hear all the time from the media, fans of local rivals, and even in what Keith says on occasion, what a small club we are, at least as far as the Championship is concerned. But does this mean that we aren’t entitled to hold onto any good players – or least get a decent fee for them?
The loss of loan star Danny Drinkwater is the latest blow to Reds’ fans desperate for the club to become more competitive in this division. Drinkwater’s fine display at the King Power Stadium recently resulted in Barnsley’s opponents Leicester offering a reported £1m to Danny’s parent club Manchester United, and within a couple of days he was down the M1 and that was that.
Now, being realistic, I understand why Danny moved, and I know that Barnsley don’t have a million pounds, but it is the perfect example of the task that Hill faces in South Yorkshire. Hill was the first of three managers at this level to get the best out of Drinkwater, and having done so extremely effectively for half a season, saw a rival club whisk him away at a moment’s notice.
It is not so much this departure, however, that is hard for Barnsley fans to take. It seems that no sooner has a player become a crowd favourite he’s off to pastures new. Michael McIndoe left for £250,000 when probably worth over a million (due to a contract clause) and the inspirational Brian Howard also left for just £250,000 when valued at £10m earlier on in the same year by owner Patrick Cryne.
Jason Shackell was Barnsley’s captain last season and was on the whole outstanding and without doubt in the top half-dozen centre-halves in the Championship. He also had two years left on his contract, yet Barnsley commanded just £1m for him from Derby. In the same summer, Matt Mills, admittedly younger but no better than Shackell at the time, fetched £5m.
There is little doubt in my mind that if Shackell had performed in such a manner for a club like Nottingham Forest, Leeds or Ipswich, he’d have been valued at £2m minimum.
In the summer coming, the Reds face the prospect of losing their captain and star player again in the shape of the out-of-contract Jacob Butterfield. Barnsley’s other top performer this season, Vaz Te, is also out of contract in June and even the most optimistic fan fears he’ll not be around next season.
One cannot help but admire Keith Hill’s philosophy around everyone being replaceable. They are, but it won’t half make his job more difficult if he has to constantly rebuild the squad.
So what is the solution? Is there one? Well, I think that the club needs to have a plan going forward a few years, a plan that will help to combat the obvious gap in wealth between the Reds and the likes of Leicester, Ipswich Town and Derby County. We must find a way to make money from players improved, developed and nurtured by Hill and assistant David Flitcroft.
For starters, I believe the club needs to sign its best young players on long-term contracts before they become regular first team players. I wrote an article about Jacob Butterfield’s talent on this page well before he’d caught the attention of bigger clubs, and I’m sure if we’d offered him a three- or four-year contract, he’d have put pen to paper. Look at clubs like Crystal Palace and Sheffield United – both make serious money from their youth products and both currently have more players rated in the millions in their squad than other Championship teams.
Barnsley need to try and sign more players in a similar situation to that which Adam Hammill faced when he signed from Liverpool. Kieran Trippier would have been a great example but he’s now ended up at Burnley – maybe we couldn’t have afforded him specifically, but I’m confident Burnley will double their money at least when he eventually moves on. If at all possible, though, let’s try and avoid the £500,000 release clauses in the future.
A big advantage I believe Hill does have is his footballing philosophy and the fact that he has already shown he can improve young footballers in a short period of time. Drinkwater, Butterfield and Vaz Te have all flourished under his management, and one would imagine this could help the club to recruit exciting youngsters on long-term loans from the likes of United, Arsenal and Manchester City. When you don’t have a lot of cash, this is a cheap and potentially effective way of competing.
Although it will undoubtedly be difficult, I dream that one day in my lifetime Barnsley will make it back to the Premier League. In order to achieve this, I believe the club must begin to make money so that should we be in with a shout one January we can resist the vultures that feel they can pinch all the talent at ‘little old’ Barnsley for a mere fraction of their true value.
During the time I’ve written this, Hill has loaned former Sheffield United star Michael Tonge and Norwich’s Korey Smith to strengthen the Reds midfield once more. Both appear astute signings and I look forward to seeing both in action.
Posted by Barnsley fan Allen Cooper
Follow Allen on Twitter at @Al_Cooper7
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