Barnsley FC - What went wrong?

We’re the only club that can’t keep hold of a coach after a good 8 months. I reckon pretty much any other club in our position would’ve had a new contract offer in front of Ismael by February last season.

But any other club would also have had a CEO in place that didn’t have a fixed term contract that was about to expire. I think the clubs failure to address that was the first domino to fall.

 

And if it isn't that, it's nothing, surely?

 

They have a strategy, but it hasn’t worked. If you wish to read pages of how good they are at this strategy and how they are taking Europe by storm have a read of the prospectus for the counter press spac.

 

No we were sluggers ,you can look through all the goals from our playoff season and you won’t find more than half a dozen that involved a passing movement

 

See top of the flops thread. 20 reasons there and could have possibly done a top 40 if we could be arsed.

 

This is a great article and thanks for sharing Gally.
It is however a microcosm of our issues where the bigger picture expands beyond this season. This season has exposed all our flaws, but I believe they have existed for a while. I have paid for season tickets to support the club in recent times even when we couldn't attend. But what I have seen since these owners came in is the expectation that we the fans will bankroll the club through thick and thin, also local businesses in sponsorship and selling our best assets as a priority over on field competitiveness. This has led to a poor squad, poor game day experience and deterioration in safety and infrastructure. While all this is going on the owners have put zero dollars in, in fact they have taken money out. We are paying for them to use our club as a plaything. While we have seen many tough times, I have never seen a leadership team lead so poorly and for fans to be intentionally treated as the investors while at the same time treated with little respect. I don't expect the club to tell us everything, but the CEO is positioned purely as the buffer between the owners and the club.

It will, I fear get worse before it gets better. Still no investment in the infrastructure which will get worse day by day. Less of our money as income to fund the owners and in turn fund transfers. So many players in the last year, out of contract and so many of our better players being loanees. Everything we have seen from these owners this season has failed. Failed safety, failed competitive or entertaining team, failed with attracting hungry talent to sell on, failed at high press football management, failed to engage with fans generally, failed to build a strong fans + club culture, failed to improve game day experience, failed to cement the ownership issues, failed to build trust with the council, failed to get me to renew. I should just have said failed.. full stop.

 

The very first word of the title of the article - "comment"- should have indicated that isn't intended to be a news item. I am not sure what you were expecting.

Opinion pieces in newspapers are hardly new.

 

Newspapers have had ed op columns since time began. He's the sports editor, no? And has an opinion. Don't see the problem and as said earlier, if it opens a few pairs of eyes outside the BBS echo-chamber, more power to Doug's elbow.

 

Oh and I found this bit particularly amusing... pot and kettle and all that.

 

You've nailed it there Doug.

Pretty much sums up why I won't be going today. If we win we have a sliver of hope. About as much hope as a condemned man hoping the rope will snap.
If we lose to a very poor team, which I could see us doing, it pretty much condemns us to finishing rock bottom. A position we richly deserve.

There needs to be a serious review of recruitment. Our better signings have largely come from domestic clubs. The percentage of flops from the Belgian, Swiss & German leagues has been the reason we've failed on the pitch. We need to focus on the youth team as the source of much of next season's squad, with someone with some experience pulling the strings in Midfield. If we can't aford one experienced pro, we may as well pack it in now.

 

Flatbreads?

 

It is not this season that is the odd one out. It was last season. I have supported Barnsley FC for 57 seasons, and in most of those seasons, we have struggled. The consistent reason why we struggle is that our income is lower than the teams that we compete with. Our owners are unwilling to supplement club finances from their own pockets, and I am broadly in agreement with that philosophy, but that does mean that we cannot afford to compete in the transfer market, and we cannot afford to compete for player pay. We have to have a different way of doing things. This is effectively the elephant in the room that everyone chooses to ignore, including Doug O'Kane. No analysis can be described as accurate if it ignores the obvious.

Last season, the season that we finished 5th, the club lost more than £4m. Such a large loss is bound to have a knock on effect in the following season if you are trying to get by without refinancing the club. That refinancing would usually come from player sales, but there were none. That meant that we were not able to afford the type of player that would have made a difference. We lost the core of the club management, and Conway had to act as CEO. He did not do a great job, and that cannot be argued, but what was the alternative. Those who want a scapegoat do not offer alternatives. They simply want someone to blame, and O'Kane is doing what most newspapers do. He is giving those people the target they desperately need. He is reinforcing an existing view point. He is telling people that if they want to read what they already believe, this is the place to look. This is not an analysis, because an analysis would not ignore the obvious.

 

"Physician heal thyself" came to my mind upon reading RR's first sentence.

It is made clear that Mr O'Kane is giving his opinion.

I do not know Mr O'Kane at all but I heard him on ifollow commentary on a recent game, and heard nothing to suggest the presence of an inflated ego. He talked far more sense than the usual suspect.

 

Exactly. Comes across as a nice bloke.

 

Yes, that and errrrrm errrrrrm ..........

 

Bossman style

 

So effectively, you agree that Conway did not do a very good job when standing in as CEO? Which is what Doug was saying. Sometimes the majority view can be correct!

 

I remember writing to Keith Lodge many years ago, asking him why he always defended the club no matter what. In his reply he said something about being in a symbiotic relationship (I had to look it up). Give me a journalist willing to risk alienation by writing what he thinks is the truth every time, over one simply looking after his own situation.

 

Luton... A team with 'by far' the smallest budget in the championship.
So i do call bad/mismanagement as our main problem.

 

I think at any level of management ......in just about any business...you are only good as the staff you employ.
Of course its not easy and last season was out of the blue. However if you head a company and people leave en masse you have to seriously ask yourself some serious questions....especially if your company suddenly emplodes around you and your net result is a massive loss in revenue.
The summer exodus killed us and however I look at it...senior management was to blame.
The crime?.....Falling asleep at the wheel and failure to prepare and replace staff and players to a half decent standard.