Billy Beane is planning to take a 'hands off' approach at Oakwell and is involved in the takeover of the club 'simply as an investor', the Chronicle understands.
The baseball legend is expected to claim ten per cent of Barnsley FC in the near future with current owner Patrick Cryne set to sell to a consortium which also includes Chinese billionaire Chien Lee and US film financer Paul Conway. Beane made his name as general manager of Major League Baseball team Oakland Athletics, using statistics to sign players rather than relying on scouts, and was played by Brad Pitt in the 2011 film Moneyball.
A source close to Beane told the Chronicle that the 55-year-old was not looking to impose his strategies at Oakwell. The source said: "He simply wants to be an investor, not somebody who would be hands-on with personnel. He admits he wouldn't have the first clue how to, for example, put together a midfield. He's been amused reading a lot of the British papers that have suggested he will apply Moneyball strategies to the soccer operation."
American Beane was a speaker at the 'Leaders in Sport' conference in London this week, where Cryne also spoke. Beane's investment partner Conway – who is likely to take more of an active role in the running of the club – was at Oakwell last week as a guest of Cryne to watch Barnsley draw 1-1 with QPR.
Beane has been a regular spectator at San Jose Earthquakes matches in the MLS and has been interested in international football for about 15 years, attending the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He was an advisor at Dutch top flight club AZ Alkmaar and has been a long-term fan of Tottenham Hotspur, who knocked Barnsley out of the Carabao Cup last month, but has recently spoken of his admiration for Arsenal.
Meanwhile, head coach Paul Heckingbottom says he is having to wait for the deal to be done until he can address other issues such as planning for the January transfer window and attempting to tie star players like Andy Yiadom down to new deals.
Heckingbottom told the Chronicle: "With everything that is going on at the club at the moment, we have to wait for it all to be sorted to plan for the future.
"I am just waiting like all the fans are. It's a long process and a very important time for the club so it will take as long as it takes. It's not my business and all I can do is concentrate on the players and the games we have coming up."
Barnsley are now midway through a two-week international break that began after a 3-1 success at Millwall on Saturday which was their third league win of the season and moved them up to 18th in the Championship with 11 points from ten games. Heckingbottom, whose side are next in action at home to Middlesbrough on October 14, admits the win in London was vital for morale after the Reds had not tasted victory in four league games since August.
"I know and the staff know from last season that it can be tough going through stages of not winning in this league. We don't want long winless runs to have an impact on the squad which is full of players making their league debuts and jumping up from lower leagues. Our average age is about 22 so they are all young lads and we can't afford for doubts to creep into their heads."
Heckingbottom gave his players three days off after the victory at Millwall but is keen to use the international break to work with them on the training ground after a busy run of seven games in 21 days. He said: "Some of the players have been on the edge again so they needed a few days off. Now it will just be drilling in the principles of how we play into them over and over again then working towards Boro. It's difficult because five of our key players are away on international duty but we won't stop working and trying to improve the other players."
Lloyd Isgrove is back in full training and is due to play again for the under 23s against Sheffield Wednesday today. Both Gary Gardner and Andy Yiadom could return to full training next week depending on assessments, while Dimitri Cavare is likely to miss several months with a hamstring tear. Jason McCarthy will be suspended for Middlesbrough after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season at Millwall.
