If you can't feel good about being a Barnsley fan just listen to Ronnie here...

Blame Sky's money and the FA for taking the Football Leagues top division. As soon as that was done, teams that had been in the top division like Northampton Town, Carlisle United, Orient etc. had no chance of achieving that status: unless of corse they acquire an owner with more money than sense like Abramovitch. Let's face it, our natural place is about 50th in the English football of today. Any position above that, is punching above our financial clout.

Fans talk about wages of £12k a week as it it is nothing. Most would never earn a tenth of that, but criticise their club for not paying more. A pity some didn't try to run a business.

 

I remember it well, one of my worst ever away days, 7 nil defeat, parking ticket & a puncture, it don"t get no worse !

 

The more I think about our current 'business plan', the more I don't like it.
Whats in it for us as fans eh, when its obvious now that we're not going to keep hold of most players for more than 2 years anyway. In fact its like we're signing them on extended 18-24 month loans.
We nurture them and spend time and effort helping to improve them, and then they get greedy and want to leave us for more money.
And when we completely rebuild the squad like this with unknown kids every few years, then we're just asking for trouble.
Its all becoming very disheartening as a fan.

 

Sorry to hear that .
I went with some mates to watch Man Utd 3 v. 0 Arsenal and then a real ale pub crawl .
I found out the result when i bought the evening sports paper .
Had a look 0 - 1 , not too bad I thought , then I looked closer it was a bad 1 .
0 -7 F***ING HELL I involuntary shouted .
That got everybody's attention .

 

A club to support

 

Those days in the brewery watching that type of football was absolutely magnificent. He's right when he says everyone was as one a lot of the time, something that is simply never the case these days. You might get the odd away game where you get the feeling back but very seldom.

 

I got the parking ticket for allegedly parking in a Residents parking zone, I had never heard or seen any of them in Barnsley !

 

We didn't used to sell an entire first team within the space of 12 months though . It's the relentless turnover of players and having to constantly re-build that will catch up with us.

 

We need a bit more than that though .

 

I have to say aloud, just because I can understand why players have chosen to want to move, or have indicated they don't want to stay, and that the club have preferred to get some money than nothing at all (imagine being in the same position now without any money at all for Bree, Hourihane, Winnall, as well as Scowen and Watkins), I don't like it at all.

I want to watch Hourihanes and Winnalls. I want to have an affinity with players over a period of time. I like knowing what we may get. I like that connection and seeing players journeys with us.

But as much as I dislike losing all our players so swiftly, what I struggle with is what the alternative is that doesn't have high levels of risk and low levels of guarantee.

We've spent a decent chunk of money on players already this summer (though we don't know exact amounts), but still have funds left, maybe £15m, ish? The crazy nature of the championship could see that buffer lost in 12 months and could be frittered for no benefit at all, ala some kind of sky deadline transfer window frenzy

What we don't know yet is how good these new players will be. We were highly critical of the first few weeks of Hills first stab at a team before we then saw us play some really good football with Butterfield and Vaz Te instrumental. Hourihane and co were far from solid in their first season and a half (blame managers or whatever, or maybe just finding their feet).

This crop could turn out to be better. They could turn out to be worse. I've no idea.

I know its highly frustrating to see players, heroes, winners leave and go elsewhere. But I can't see how we change that. Barnsley isn't a leading city that a young rich person would crave to be in. The ground is half the size of some others in our division. And our wages cant compete with those who treat football as if it were a casino trip. We aren't an end destination for a player unless they aren't good enough to go higher. We're a stepping stone unless we break into the PL like a Burnley or Bournemouth, or someone who has billions wants a northern town plaything which has its own set of risks.

 

What do you think we need then ?

 

Its a good post , although some players outgrew us like Hourihane and Mawson , we could certainly have been more pro-active with earlier contract offers to Winnall , Bree , Scowen and Roberts and Watkins . The amount of money that we have spent this summer on new players could surely have been re-invested on improved contracts .

 

Progress.

 

Cheers Prince, reminded me why I love the club

 

And this is a crux... we could offer more, and with Watkins and Scowen we definitely did, but how do you compete when a club is willing to throw more than 15k a week for a player (or £780k a year basic)? Let alone Hourihanes supposed £30k (£1.56m a year).

If I'm a player, I'd do whats advantageous to me. So in the last year of a contract, if my agent is telling me I can get more, I expect that matching, or I take my chances. If my existing club want to pay more than I can expect elsewhere or offer a very long contract, I'd take that.

 

Hindsight is a marvelous thing and all that . I think had we offered Roberts , Scowen , Winnall , Watkins and Bree a shiny new 3 year contract on around 7k a week they would have taken it . This on the back of the sale of Mawson and the Stones money was easily affordable thus giving us the spine of a team and some hope of success in this division .

 

With promotion, owner illness, loss of 2 CEO's, the tommy wright saga... I think events badly conspired against us in that phase. I don't think £7k would've got them too excited going into final year of the contract, knowing they had that as a backstop, easy for them to try the championship and see what happened

 

I felt the same listening to him. Unlike younger members on here I had the privilege of watching that team (the whole Glavin/McCarthy/Banks era) so I understand what he was talking about.

It's still slightly unbelievable that we picked up a player like that from Celtic for only £40,000 and that we were lucky enough to enjoy him in that number four shirt for so long.

 

Funny that you should mention Mr Minority Report because that's where I think you and your mates are - in the minority. From reading this board regularly I get the impression that you and others who are obsessed with being negative are very much in the minority but that's your prerogative. Nothing I say will alter that - why should I care anyway? I think the majority are a bit more realistic about our club. There'll be good days and there'll be bad days. Players come, players go - it's the nature of the business.

I didn't say that you did mention constant success, did I? I was just guessing from the negative/critical/complaining tone of most of your posts that this is what you would prefer, hence the suggestion that you might find what you are looking for elsewhere. Presumptuous of me - sorry!

Ooh, hang on though - there's me patronising you again! Actually I'm not doing that. In fact - here's a promise. I will try my best not to suggest anything at all to you from now on. I will just restrict myself to talking about the football club that has been in my blood since 1962 and posting links to clips like the one at the top of this thread, for the benefit of those who appreciate such things and may have missed them. I'll write the odd report on a match or make the odd comment on topics of the day.

Is that ok with you?

 

Do what you like old ****

FWIW, I tremendously enjoyed the interview with Ronnie.

I'm not obsessed with being negative. I just see things differently.

For example, I happen to believe we'd a good choice for an acquisition, others say no way would a rich(er) benefactor want us. Bit negative that.

Part of my point is that what presumably keeps folk interested is being able to form connections with players and to have the dream that we could play at the highest level. Both things are becoming more and more remote and I fear people will drift away. No doubts you'll not worry about that as you are one of those that would watch the club in the Northern Counties. Nowt wrong with that but others will find better things to do with their time and money.