Imagine being 24. And walking every day from Worsbrough Bridge up to Rockingham and doing your shift. It's the year you get married, and perhaps even better, it’s the year the lads bring the cup to Barnsley. The FA cup. Imagine telling your little daughter how you’ll never forget that day. And how your daughter told her sons how granddad was so proud. Imagine how proud you’d be of your grandson saving his money from his paper round to get the bus into tarn and stand on the Ponty in winter coal dust, the big men shouting, the banging on the back, watching the lads struggle through the lower divisions. Imagine walking down to White Hart Lane with folk asking you why you supported a team like Barnsley. Why not a southern team, with more money? And saying nowt. Imagine being in the East Stand when Clint puts in the second against Bradford and we’re in the Premier League. And running onto the pitch past an old fella with tears in his eyes, who says “did you iver think you’d see it in our lifetime lad?” Imagine trying to get into a nightclub in Brixton only to be stopped be a black bouncer three times your size who pulls at your jacket and points to the badge. “Barnsley... respect man… respect.” Can you imagine any of that Mr Conway? No. I don’t think you can.
They can't imagine it and they don't want to try, because they just don't care. We're cash cows pure and simple.
Again, folk forgetting the sales of Redfearn, Ashley Ward and various others in the past who were sold as they wanted to move upwards. Can’t believe we didn’t keep Stones and Holgate either Oh, and who paid for our floodlights? Short memories some folk have…..
Well if they buy the club with the club's money and then sell, whatever price they get is pure profit.
Currie, Taggart, Tiler, Agnew etc… Selling players is nothing new. But there was always the intent to put a team out as best we can. We’re now so concerned about development and sell on, that we’re not creating a team players can succeed in.
The difference then was player sales weren't the guide to whether the board deemed the season was a success or not league position was. Yes we sold players we always have but as far as I know none of the previous boards have taken money out of the club's bank accounts to pay a debt they've incurred. The big difference between then and now is no matter how much we moaned about players sales and we did moan, deep down we knew the board cared about the club as much as we did and were in the vast majority of cases supporters too. Sadly that's not the case anymore and it shows.
So what happened last season then? And the first season under Stendel? 2 great seasons to be fair. And a lot more successful than some other clubs. I’m not saying the board are perfect, and yea, they may have purchased the club using the club’s money (nothing new here) but in average, they’ve done ok. No club, no board, no manager and no player is ever 100% perfect. That’s life. For every Dike, there’s a Schmidt. For every Ritz, there’s a Benson…..
Fair enough. But tell me why they don’t care. The Business - this is the club, it’s fans and it’s finances and they are all intrinsically linked. They need it all to click and succeed to make the business work. You show me a true businessman who doesn’t care about his business, and I’ll show you a liar - and the business can only work if the above elements work. It’s that bloody simple. A poor season, a poor bunch of players, a poor manager less fans, reduced sponsorship - that all affects the business and it’s finances. A billionaire who came in and threw the money around as he saw fit wouldn’t care about the fans - as he wouldn’t need their money anyway!
The care about the business side of things. Success on the field is seen as an irrelevance and indeed can be viewed negatively as it was last season.
The ground is apparently falling to bits the promises of much improved match day experience long forgotten a successful season on field deemed a failure by the board because they failed to sell any players on the back of the on field success (they seem to have forgotten they did manage to flog the coach for £2 million though) You spend that much time defending the 80% mob from whatever criticism they get I'm begining to think you're either one of them or a family member or maybe an employee.
Last season was the most successful in 20 years. Then Conway oversaw another summer transfer window, just like he did after Stendel won promotion
The comment from our new CEO about having to change the playing style because we got no bids for players after last season was very poorly thought out. Given he wasn't here then it would also suggest someone else involved in the club had this opinion and passed it along to to him. I accept it may have been said in part of a wider statement and should be viewed in that context. But even so when the side goes from playoffs to the worse I the division then its not really what the fans want to hear.