Enjoyment...

Of the promotion in 96/97 suddenly turned sour with the Garry Willard debacle against Liverpool. I was 12 and asked my Dad what's happening is it true that they don't want us there?

Then in 2000 at Wembley being 14 years old and suddenly having to man up and accept we'd be a bag of **** because we'd lose Curtis, Eaden, Hignett.

I question why I'm a Barnsley supporter at times.

Too numb to get drunk after Odejayis miss. When I think about it more and more Barnsley F.C are responsible for most of the biggest disappointments in my life.

 

Makes you appreciate the good times more though, make sure you impart that to baby George, I have to my kids!

 

As soon as I posted I filled up because I remembered Hayes' Volley, Nardiello's free-kick, Akinfenwa's penalty. George has it all to come

 

I got into a talk about football while on holiday a few years back. It was when we were playing walsall in the play off final 1st leg (I'd already booked the holiday well in advance) the bloke was from london and most of his family were millwall fans some were gillingham. He was a liverpool fan and said he couldnt support either of those teams because they were ****. He told me how he does go to a couple of liverpool games a season and tries watching them on tele every week. He then said to me it must be **** to support barnsley knowing we will never play in Europe. I said I couldnt support a city or town I had connection to and cant change my team now. Convosation went stale on football front after that.
Sometimes I wonder myself why I support us but the pleasure I've had watching us get promoted to the premiership, beat man united in the f.a cup, reach the play off final under Bassett, watch ritchies side get promoted, watching Howard smash the ball in last minute at Anfield, watching odajayi nod home v Chelsea, winning the jpt at Wembley and then the play offs in the space of months, stendels side go unbeaten at home all season and then get 2nd spot playing some great stuff just some unforgettable memories off top of my head.

 

Having been on a journey with little old Barnsley. Since 66/67. It’s been a rollercoaster. The number of lows being overshadowed by the great times I’ve had watching tarn. I’ve never expected too much. But we have performed over and above compared to similar sized clubs. Who’ve not experienced the highs and lows. Some being stagnant as long as I can remember with very few if any highs. When I first started watching. Rotherham n Donny and the likes of chesterfield were on a par. Believe me when I say we have had far more success over the last 40 yrs. regardless of what they think. And competed with our supposedly superior neighbours on most of those years.

 

Yeah but what did the Romans do for us. Cheers

 

You can add Halifax Mansfield York Barrow Southport Stockport Hartlepool Darlington Torquay etc etc etc to that list that have lost league status and Brighton Sheffield United Burnley Bournemouth Norwich Southampton Swansea Cardiff etc etc etc that Have over achieved .
There's only one Barnsley.
COYR

 

That’s what it’s all about.

I always had a second ‘big’ team growing up & once I could drive & was working I bought tickets to go watch them. The seats were great, the atmosphere was great, they played well & got a last minute winner. On paper I should’ve loved it but I came away feeling completely flat. Just felt like I didn’t belong. Didn’t know where to go beforehand, completely different accent, didn’t know the songs, long drive home etc.

All it did was make me appreciate watching Barnsley more. It’d obviously be great to be a big city club with 40,000 plus crowds & premier league football but I love going to games & seeing people I went to school with, went to college with, played footy with etc. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than been surrounded by day trippers or been one.

 

I'd rather have a play off win or occasional FA Cup run with my balti pie than be in a sterile, overpriced Euro "match", full of prawn sandwiches anyday.

 

Always look on the bright side of life, C.O.Y.R.

 

Very well summarised, and all spot on in how you have to suffer the lows to appreciate the highs better.
For example, our last relegation from the Championship (low) was soon replaced with optimism of being one of the better teams in League 1 with serious promotion potential (high).
We don’t have high expectations, as Barnsley fans, and kind of know that only our financial stability is all that could make us a bigger fish in the Championship pond.
Before this virus interrupted this season, a lot of us expected relegation this season. That would have been a low. But to see the bulk of the squad stick together and hope to rip up League 1 again had the potential to bring another high.
Whether it be Everton or Exeter, many teams don’t have the rough and smooth that we have which is what keeps us all hooked on our beloved little old Barnsley.

 

I didn't go to football regularly until about 1973. The first football match I actually attended was Sheff Wendy v Man Utd. It ended 5-4 to Wendy - not a bad way to start I suppose. I used to go watch Worsbrough Bridge when Micky Butler was playing for them. When he was transferred to Barnsley I followed him, and there began the love affair. The match against Grimsby for promotion in 1979 was the highest I had ever felt in my life with 21000+ in Oakwell. There have been many highs and lows since then, but I always maintain that when we do something outstanding like the win against Chelsea in the cup for example, it is impossible for big teams supporters to feel more elated than we do, partly because it is unexpected, when they "expect" to win things all the time, and of course because it is our town. It's the family thing.

 

I think it's all down to some incident, player signing, manager appointment or game that captures your heart and mind and once captured, you're captured for good. For me, the World Cup in 66 got me into football at the age of 10 but never really got attached to a team. At secondary school I got interested in other things and then went to do a degree at Newcastle. I used to go and watch them occasionally but as a neutral observer. When I went back to my mum's, Barnsley had just appointed Clarkie as player/manager and my dad (lifelong Red) persuaded me to go to the first game against Halifax (won 4-2, Joycey hat-trick) and I was hooked. I think it was the atmosphere and the joy shown by the crowd and a belief that there were good times coming.

 

If anything, they just sulk when they don't win things, whereas we accept it as the norm.

 

It was a slow death after the Liverpool game, which was not particularly enjoyable to watch, after being on quite a decent run of results at home, if memory serves me right.

Then, losing Wilson and Redfearn led to the next disappointment which was how we started the following season. Then, just as we started to look like a team again, Ward was sold and replaced by a one legged Sheron.

 

It's worth so much when we're doing well though. The euphoria of 2016 isn't something that fans of top clubs will experience on the same level, as they're used to a good level of success anyway.

 

The suspensions certainly wouldn't have helped after the Liverpool game but expecting anything from Liverpool, Arsenal or Manchester Utd in the last 5 home games was always a big ask.

 

We were 1 0 up at hone to liverpool though. Knocked the stuffing right out of us imo.

 

It's also nice when the bigger teams come to town thinking they are in for a easy days work and it doesnt go to plan. One of my favourite seasons behind the premiership promotion was the Bassett season loved the attacking players we had higgy,barnard,dyer,shipperly I remember man city coming to oakwell think they were the 1st team to fill that end. We were 3rd they were 2nd the atmosphere that day was electric we turned them over 2-1 hignett and john curtis scored if I remember right over 22k at oakwell and 5k unhappy city fans after the game. Days like that the man u or liverpool fans from london will never experience.