Barnsley: Darrell Clarke faces nasty watershed moment after Huddersfield Town defeat - View | OneFootball

Barnsley manager Darrell Clarke was left in no doubt how the clubs supporters felt toward him and his players after defeat at Huddersfield

As the final whistle blew at the John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield, boos rang out among the 2,300 away fans.

As manager Darrell Clarke and his Barnsley players walked over to those unhappy supporters, a volley of abuse rained down on the pitch towards the beleaguered boss. Those supporters had endured another woeful, disjointed, and abject performance from their team, losing a Yorkshire derby to Huddersfield Town 2-0.

Saturday afternoon felt like a watershed moment for Darrell Clarke. Enough talking in the press about standards and expectations of his players, the buck stops with him and his backroom staff.

Fans' frustrations boil over in watershed moment

Once again, Barnsley supporters scratched their heads, wondering what Clarke and his players do in training, as on the pitch there appeared no sign of an identity or style of play. Barnsley looked like 11 players thrown together at the last minute with no guidance or training, such is the lack of cohesion or teamwork.

Football is ultimately a results business, but supporters can accept it when their team is working hard and trying to work to a plan, and you know in time results will follow performances. The problem for Clarke is there’s no evidence he has a strategy, plan, or style of football.

Whilst some may argue Clarke is only ten games into a league season and managers need time for their methods to bed in, recent performances would indicate that Barnsley are regressing, and the players have no idea what is expected of them. There are issues right throughout the squad. Clarke tinkers with formations game by game and during games.

At Huddersfield, Barnsley changed from a back 3 to a back 4, taking up a 4-3-3 formation which did have a slight impact, but Clarke needs to settle on one formation and work on that in training instead of constantly changing things around.

The defence has a distinct lack of pace throughout, being vulnerable to counter-attack. The more worrying aspect is the constant loss of possession by the defenders in dangerous areas. Time and again, Mael De Gevigney and Josh Earl are guilty of passing to the opposition, putting their side under unnecessary pressure.

Barnsley’s midfield was lauded as one of the better in League One yet failed to live up to that billing. Luca Connell is often guilty of giving the ball away and failing to deliver any service to the forwards. Loanee Matty Craig is a similar player to Connell and struggles to dominate the midfield.

There are few options on the bench, with Jon Russell also being a defensive midfielder like Craig and Connell. Josh Benson is a more forward-thinking midfielder but has been used sparingly by Clarke so far. The forwards have been feeding off scraps due to a lack of service from midfield or wide areas.

Sam Cosgrove has been way off the standards he showed in the two play-off games last season against Bolton. New signing Davis Keillor-Dunn has been played in several different positions by Clarke, which has meant Barnsley fans have not seen the best of Keillor-Dunn, who was hoped to be the player who would unlock opposition defences.

Stephen Humphrys has shown glimpses of what he can do at this level but is not quite at full match sharpness, having missed pre-season. Even Humphrys is struggling when given little to no service from those players behind him.

Patience running out from the terraces

If supporters could see a clear style of play from their side, then there would be patience from the terraces even if results weren’t forthcoming. The problem at Barnsley is there is no intent or clear plan from the coaching staff, which has people wondering what the team actually do in training. Confidence is also low with players, which isn’t helped when their manager comes out weekly and lays the problems at their door instead of finding solutions himself.

Saturday was clearly a watershed moment for Clarke. Supporters' patience has been worn down by watching dire performances served by their team each week with no sign of improvement. Clarke and his players can be in no doubt the Barnsley fan base are unhappy with what they are seeing from their team.