Will we ever see a top player for more than 100 games again?

Stones left after 25 & something similar with Vaz Te - Butterfield only started 50 games too. It seems like every club below the Premiership is now just a feeder club and will come in and nick any talent you might have.

Everyone harks for the good old days when players like McCarthy & Redfearn stayed for years but I just don't think that's going to happen anymore. You'll always have loyalty from some players (Hassell) but they'll not be top, top players.

We need to get on with it, promote ourselves as a club that will develop players and give them a 'shop window' to go on to better things. Then one day it'll come good.

You reds.

 

it wont happen anymore,you are right and yes,we have to get on with.

the biggest drawback tho will be the lack of interest from supporters,who see no future and no ambition.Its the sad state of modern football and the dream that is the premiership.

 

Its a sad, but everything you say is true.

The Championship is now like the Premire League Academy.

No matter what team, if someone from the Prem comes after the star player it's only a matter of time before said player is sold on.

The game is just becoming about the Prem and everything is for the Prem's benifit (e.g the new youth development programme).

 

I've said it before.....don't get too attached to any players....it's a very transient business

 

I've no doubt our academy will continue to turn out million plus players over the next 5 years from this current crop, l'm now more interested in whats happening off the field with these fees and how the club are looking at increasing revenue streams so this money doesn't always have to cover a shortfall. Our revenue is down over £3 million (l know some is due to TV money) compared to 3/4 years ago, if we had that revenue now against the current wage bill, we would be making a comfortable profit without player sales. Instead of constant cuts and relying on player sales to plug the gap every year they need to get money in, which l don't think the current board are capable of.

Excellent move for Stonesy, thrilled for him and l may start watching Match of the Day for the first time this season. From our side of things absolutely shocked at the reported up front fee, and more importantly disgusted that we have accepted an offer for him that doesn't involve having him loaned back. More important to me was having him for the relegation battle above all else. Should have refused offers and flogged him in the summer, would have still got the same fee and had he been injured, it didn't prevent Butterfield moving.

Flicker must be tearing his hair out after commenting that he'd expect a minimum £3 million and rest of season loan. Maybe we are cheered up next season when Alex gives them £10 million for him and we find out we had a 25% sell on. I live in hope.

 

That's fair about the drop in income, the problem is that was false because of the support offered by Cryne. Would we have offered free kids tickets and cheaper season tickets a few years ago without him underwriting us? Doubt it.

The key thing is to get people watching us again. We can talk about other revenue streams but they'll be pittance compared to people paying £20 to come down to watch us and that's what we need.

 

But Gordon...if we had bigger gates we'd have a bigger buget....stands to reason,so it really doesn't matter what the gates are...we won't be better off

 

Problem is people define ambition as signing players and keeping your best ones. Without that, they won't come back. It's chicken and egg.

 

A don't think a lots down to the kids ST's they were only £20/£30 anyway, its the huge loss on pay on the gate supporters and 1500 drop in ST's and last nights events won't have helped win anyone over. Had the player been sold and loaned back then maybe it would have shown a bit more ambition to stay up. Who knows Everton may assess him, change their minds and loan him back. Seems crackers to be without a him for what's probably our most difficult relegation battle since coming back up.

 

I'd say we have someone at the club already who has played over a hundred games for us who would have been more than capable of making the step up to the Premiership and that is Luke Steele. If he'd left a year ago and had the benefit of Premiership coaching I see no reason why he wouldn't have been capable of playing at the higher level.

But with the difference in money between the Premiership and the football league widening every year there's no way that teams like us will be able to keep talents like Stones. In McCarthy's day the wage increase wouldn't have been that great. Even in the late 80's John MacDonald was paid more at Barnsley than he was getting paid at Rangers. Also, McCarthy was playing in front of massive crowds at Oakwell and the team had a real chance of going up. It was when the crowds started dropping off (thanks Maggie) and the team started disintegrating that McCarthy realised he'd have to move to realise his ambitions. These days we wouldn't have kept him for more than a couple of years.

 

Must be tricky running a footy club.

If i was a floating fan I could see that the club has 'no abition' etc, but lower crowds = less money, less money = selling players, selling players = (maybe) worse football/results, worse football/results = less crowds.

Just think though, If 15,000 Tarn fans turned up every week, we'd have a lot more money and better chances of keeping players. A lot really does come down to stay away fans who'd rather sit at home on a Saturday w.anking off to Sky Sports.

 

I made a comment on Twitter after Matt Goodwin put if we had a full ground every week we wouldn't have to sell. Mental, never ever going to happen, it's Barnsley, a small ex mining town thats high in unemployment, deprived, we will never ever have a full ground week in week out at this level, people haven't got the money or interest. Its ok for a one off £60 ticket for a big game at Wembley but to spend over £300 on football every season is never going to happen. Club needs investment, idea's, marketing people, sponsorship. We can forget about the crowds keeping our finances going, never going to happen.

 

The 96/97 promotion team would be torn to bits in January, were it playing now.

Jason Shackell was a consistent performer but when you look at the the combined Oakwell careers of Hammill, Butterfield, Vaz Te & Stones - can you really count many more than 50 genuinely good games between them?

They will hardly be remembered as club legends, any of them. We are just a stepping stone for mercenary temps, even our academy graduates can't wait to get away. It's a very sad state of affairs and it does not encourage me to make the long journey to matches. We will lose more good players on the back of this too, who like us will be wondering what is the bloody point!

 

Well if your using Butterfield as a 'top player', we should have.

 

It would make a massive idfference if the ground was full every week.

Yes it may never happen, but i'm saying that it would make a huge difference.

Mathew Murray was right, if we had a full ground every week we would net need to sell.

A full ground every week and over twice the revenue from ticket sales would show that the town want the club to do well, and that investment being put in is worth it. When there's 7,700 home fans then it tells owners/potential investors that there isn't much potential.

A full ground would prove potential.

Not saying its going to happen, but it would make a massive difference.

 

Or the Serie A academy in Watford's case

 

The potential is there for bigger crowds but better results must come first

 

Chicken and egg.

We need captial to invest. We can't get that capital without bums on seats. Bums won't sit on seats until there's investment.

 

That's not how it's worked in the past with any club in the history of football. Teams have got better so more people have started going. Always has been. It's never been the other way around.

Hence the song " Where were you when you were ****."

 

But the point is a lot of clubs got better by investing. That came first.

Newcastle
Fulham
Blackburn
Wigan
Stoke

And then you have many more examples in the Championship.

Don't get me wrong, I know it's possible without but it's more difficult and people believe ambition is directly linked to how much money you spend.