A lot has been said about the owners not doing this and that or letting certain things slide but I think this pre season has shown what they are about. We have cut back the squad without losing any major players and added a lad in dougall who looks a real good player as well as a highly rated 18 year old on a long term contract. It remains to be seen if we will be successful this season and I'm not saying everything is rosey but we do seem to be heading in the right direction on and off the field. Had we been relegated under the previous ownership we would have had to sell our best players and start again but with the finances available now we haven't had to that and I'm sure That will pay off and see us up around the top 6 this season. I'm not knocking the previous ownership by the way it was what it was and although money was tight it brought many happy memories and times I will cherish forever That have set us up to be in the position we are now going forward. I really do think this time relegation is just a blip and when we get back up we will be in a far better position than we have been since the late 00s.
Agree. I'd love everything to be perfect tomorrow but I share the longer term view you've outlined. If we get back up this season it'll be a terrific achievement for all concerned but the results of changes from new owners might not be seen for 3 or 4 years, so if we don't get backup as quick as we all want, I hope some patience is seen both inside and outside of the club. Over the 38 years I've supported Barnsley, I don't think anyone hasn't worked hard within the club to achieve "success" (whatever success is defined as), clearly some decisions have been better than others on and off the field, but by and large I think we've had people involved in the club who have given everything to it. I think we are setting ourselves up over a period of a few years for gradual investment, but much of that strategy I think will depend on results on the pitch. One thing I have been thinking about though is what happens if we do get established in the Championship but don't really challenge for the top 6? Will that be looked on as success by the supporters or will it become stale after a few years (as was the case for many seasons in the 80s and early 90s)? Is it better to be top of League 1 rather than continually "surviving" in the Championship? With increasing difficulty, I am still trying to look at us purely from the perspective of the sheer excitement of football success, whereas surviving in the Championship brings more of a financial reward than enjoyment in many ways, certainly in modern football.
Was thinking the exact same thing about whether it’s better as a fan to be a mid table championship team (or premier league), or a yo-yo team who have seasons of great success, albeit at a level below, and seasons of survival attempts. Obviously financially it’s better to be in a higher league, although costs go up as well as turnover. As a supporter I like to watch my team play good football and win. I’m not sure if I enjoy a win against Oxford any less than I enjoy a win against Preston or Reading. I certainly enjoy it a lot more than losing to Hull or Cardiff.
If - and it's still a massive if - we get promoted, then next summer will be very interesting. We've got a few players either out of contract in 2019 or going into their last year - if we dominated the league and the board turned round and offered them proper Championship contracts for three more years then it would really start to look like they meant business.
