Shrewsbury Town vs Barnsley: Salop won’t look to go toe-to-toe with Tykes

After shaking off the disappointment of losing to the biggest spenders in League One, Shrewsbury Town turn their attentions to who Askey believes are the best footballing side in the division, writes Lewis Cox.

Tonight’s visitors Barnsley have firmly established their style of fast-paced, intense, high-energy football under new German boss Daniel Stendel.

Stendel is adopting the same approach Jurgen Klopp and David Wagner brought to England. Bringing a style not too dissimilar to Klopp’s to League One.

You can’t argue with the results. After minimal player turnover in the summer, Stendel’s men had lost just once before Saturday’s defeat at Charlton.

Askey has been impressed with tonight’s visitors. He said: “You want another game, you don’t want to be sat twiddling your thumbs for the week.

“We’re looking forward to getting out there tonight, trying to redo what we did Saturday but start scoring some goals.

“Barnsley are probably the best footballing team in the league I’ve seen and it’ll be tough.

“But there’s nobody yet who’ve taken us apart. We’ve got to take the positives from that and keep working – perhaps a little bit harder – to make it happen.”

Town have already come up against a number of different formations this season.

Askey yesterday hinted that, without the injured Shaun Whalley, he may adopt the 3-5-2 formation that saw Town smash six against Tranmere in the Checkatrade Trophy.

Stendel’s Tykes generally line up with three attackers behind central lone striker and top scorer Kieffer Moore.

“If you go through the league there are a lot of teams playing differently, far more than years ago,” the Town boss added.

“You’ve only got to look at Luton and Doncaster, they play with a diamond shape, there are far more.

“It’s fitting a system that suits us best and being aware of them, how we can get the ball back as quick as possible and cause them problems.

“There are so many different ways teams are playing. We proved on Saturday we’re more than capable of matching whoever we come across.”

Askey has stated from day one that he sees his Shrewsbury team as playing quick, pass-and-move football while being solid in the middle of the pitch and using the flanks.

He does not think Town would be able to go toe-to-toe with tonight’s visitors and beat them playing their own brand of pretty football.

Instead, Shrews have been working to come up with alternative methods to harm one of the favourites for promotion from League One.

“We’ve got a certain way of playing,” Askey added. “How they play wouldn’t suit us, I don’t think we’ve got the players to play like that.

“You’ve got to work out a way of stopping them and play yourself. That’s what we worked on yesterday. In the final third we’ve got to start creating even more chances and anticipating a little bit better.”

Against the league’s better sides Portsmouth and Sunderland, Askey’s team have started at a good tempo but failed to sustain it.

The boss added: “On Saturday we did that and it created one or two chances for us but we’ve got to do that for 90 minutes.

“Hopefully that’ll be the case tonight. However we get a win doesn’t matter, as long as we get three points.”

The Opposition: Stendel brings a German flavour to League One

The League One Jurgen Klopp is set to touchdown in Shropshire tonight.

German chief Daniel Stendel not only shares the same roots as the Liverpool boss and Huddersfield manager David Wagner, but he shares the same virtues and vision on the pitch.

Klopp’s Reds are at their best when in the faces of the opposition with an intense press.

And Barnsley have proved that the same method can work in the third tier this season.

A turbulent relegation season from the Championship saw Paul Heckingbottom replaced by unknown quantity and left-field appointment of Portuguese boss and former Jose Mourinho assistant Jose Morais.

He lasted all of 15 games, with just three wins, and a relegation trigger clause saw him off in the summer. The Tykes turned to 44-year-old Stendel, whose only other senior spell in management is a year with Hannover.

Stendel managed to adapt well. Barnsley’s approach was to make as few first-team squad changes as possible and only three new signings were added to the senior team, while the likes of former Salop forward Tom Bradshaw and experienced winger Adam Hammill checked out.

The boss has done a fine job in turning around the dejection in the terraces after last season’s disappointment.

An impressive 4-0 win at high-flying Peterborough – who themselves play an open, gung-ho style of football, is Barnsley’s most eye-catching result yet.

If Barnsley can up their consistency a notch then they will prove an extremely tough nut for the rest of League One to crack.

The Tykes are fifth, with a game in hand, and have got more gears to find.

Their form is yet more impressive given that, at one stage, Stendel was unable to call upon seven important members of his squad.

Those injury fears have settled, but Lloyd Isgrove, Zeki Fryers and Cauley Woodrow are still likely to be absent tonight.

Right winger Brad Potts is one to watch. Much as Roberto Firmino sets the tone for Klopp’s press at Anfield, Potts is symbolic of Barnsley’s energy and they are more like themselves with him in the team.

The Tykes should be up there come April and will pose another real test for Town.

Likely line-up:

Subs: Bolton, Barnett, Gilliead, Laurent, Amadi-Holloway, John-Lewis, Arnold (gk).

Barnsley (4-2-3-1): Davies; Cavare, Lindsay, Pinnock, Williams; Mowatt, Dougall; Potts, Moncur, Hedges; Moore.

The boss says:

Assistant boss Andreas Winkler: We expect an opponent who is almost on the bottom so they will fight for every metre.

Memory lane:

Barnsley’s last visit to the New Meadow was a comfortable 3-0 win with Sam Winnall netting twice inside 21 minutes in January 2016.

Key man:

Lee Angol

Was pretty anonymous in Saturday’s defeat and needs to offer more to his team in the final third. Town need goals.

Danger man:

Kieffer Moore

The towering centre forward spent the first half of last season on loan at Rotherham so Town know all about his talents.

At 6ft 5in, he is a massive threat and a real warrior in the air.

He has seven goals already this season as the Tykes’ top scorer.

He netted 13 in League One before ending the Millers loan in January.