I like to see Oakwell full. I like to see the best players playing there. I like getting more media coverage. I like to "turn over" the big teams . I want my children to see us in that top league, doing Barnsley proud. It's within our grasp and all I'm wanting from my club is to put in every effort to grab it. So far they are, a game too far yesterday but I think they'll bounce back as determined and strong as ever.
I suppose we only have to look at Sheffield United for the contrasting fortunes of premier league football. Season one, plaudits and points and spent around £60m in transfer fees. Season two not some many of either plaudits or points and another £60m of transfer fees paid. For a fan the first year will have been fantastic but certainly not this year. For the owner the land of riches saw around half of the PL money go on transfer fees. No doubt the wage bill will have increased from the £40m in the promotion season. So unlikely that there will be much left over. Another club who will need to get back to the PL with the parachute money still flowing or they will be in in a similar position to their near neighbours. This club lost over £20m in the 2018/19 season.
I would just like to see Barnsley play good football and win a lot by playing good football. By that logic, for me, I would like to see Barnsley promoted to whatever is the next level up. I agree that the PL stinks as an entity for various reasons spouted many times on this forum and it saddens me but that's the way the footballing system is now. Just watching Barnsley for the sake of it, because it's routine is not enough for me even given the shittiness of the PL. There has to be some hope that the club itself can keep getting better and again, for me, that comes from playing good football and winning and climbing up. So, yes, its nice to go to Accrington, a good club with genuine fans or to Notts County, a club with a fine tradition, but I want to go there, play them off the park and leave them behind.
Still difficult because we are in a position now to have this type of debate when at the beginning of the season I imagine most of us would have been happy for a season with no worry of relegation going into these last 8 games, a bit like where Luton are in the league. Opportunities don’t come up very often so we have to try and achieve the play offs and see where that takes us but I’m overjoyed with how this season has gone and I think we are starting to see a squad being built which may see us as a top half and progressive club over the coming years. As for VI, I think his stock will be high but he may wish to have another season to build something? Mowatt will be a loss, for sure, but not irreplaceable in a new season, much bigger loss if he’d have gone in January. DK, who knows but the way Dane has sold it is that we have first dibs and an agreement in place, he’s still a kid and can only get better so maybe he’ll be up for season in the championship with us. We are now an established Championship club again
I want to go up mainly because it will piss off certain individuals hopefully to the point of never appearing again
The big problem for me is Championship to PL is a huge step up. Being a young, incredibly fit, committed and enthusiastic side only counts for so much. So, as owners of a newly promoted team do you... a) Keep the squad intact that got the promotion on the basis they deserve to share in the reward for their success but with the likelihood of 'getting tonked' most weeks with the inevitable result of being relegated.... or .... b) Say to most of your squad (particularly as our system has rotated so many players) "thanks a lot guys but, you lack the quality we need at this level" and sideline them by buying 'ready to go' PL level players (at a price to match)? I recall DW and the board felt that the first option was the way to go and showed loyalty to the players that had got us to the PL. We obviously supplemented the existing squad with a sprinkling of Quality experienced players but we already had some at or very close to the level needed, nevertheless that was then when things were different and we all know what happened. Now the system identifying potential rather than experienced proven players, wage caps etc. and the ridiculous amounts for even average PL players makes finding 'gems' even harder and also means it is even less likely that we would survive more than a one brief season in the PL. The grass is not always greener (other than financially for the business) as, whilst the fans may get to see lots of goals, unfortunately they would most likely be at the wrong end.
We will miss Mowatt, maybe more than some would think. Not sure what Val would want to do, depends on if he gets what he wants from the board I suppose in order to have another good crack at promotion. I don't see DK here beyond this loan spell.
Patronized by the media would be a certainty. However it would make the club financially sound for a few years. Cross those bridges if we ever come to them. Lets see how we finish first.
I’d like to get promoted but then not have to play in the PL. The PL everything wrong about football and life in general
I’d laugh like f**k. It would probably be the craziest thing ever, last time we’d been building a decent team but this one has come from nowhere. we’d get battered again most weeks probably but nothing ventured, I still think even though 5th we are long ish odds, we’d have to beat 2 of Swansea, Brentford or Watford assuming Norwich are up. Very hard to do even if we end up in the play offs
For me it’s either we take the chance this season or we don’t go up ever. We won’t have another season like this next year. If Val is here still which I doubt if we don’t go up teams will work out systems that won’t allow us to win as many games, we wouldn’t be the surprise package anymore with some teams just expecting to beat us like I think many have before they have played us this year. Players will leave if we don’t go up. We can’t manage to offer players the same wages that other clubs in this division who are going to finish below us. Players have stuck around this season but I doubt they would for another year. Personally hate the premier league.
VAR. Horrible kick-off times, on strange days. Three less home games per season. Non-contact football. Non-contact diving. The knowledge that, like it or not, we're part of the greed league. Those drooling pundits, who think that "winning a foul" is something wonderful. No thanks. If we get there, fine. If we don't, it's no big deal.
I honestly think you’re dreaming, John. Mowatt and Dike - two of the best 5 players - will be gone before we even make a cent in income. There’s no way we’ll invest the sort of sums Brentford have, I’m not even sure the owners have them. We need to win now to keep this squad together.
If we don't go up next season I think we will be back to a big struggle. People seemed to have warmed to our owners more recently because they haven't been selling star players. But that's because we are in a pandemic where money is tight. Let's see how strong they are about not selling players once clubs start to recover by getting fans back in the grounds. The vultures will already be circling. Val will be our latest head coach to get compensation for. Dike and Mowatt we won't see a penny for either. Other guys had clubs watching them long before our brilliant run so I would be surprised ifStyles was still here for a start. Helik will be more on the radar of clubs now he's had an international call up. No two seasons are the same. A good one this season doesn't make it a given the next will be. If we kept everyone together then fair enough, but that won't happen. I can't remember the last time in general (or especially at this level) where we just missed out on promotion and did just as well the next season. We either get up this season or we could be looking at another rebuild and having to wait longer for another season like this one.
So which club is val going to go to, where he wouldn’t have to completely overhaul their style of play to fit in with how he sets teams up?
Obviously going up this season would be the preference for the reasons you've stated. But even without Mowatt and Dike, we're still on a very solid footing with the current squad, their quality and contract lengths, far more so than we have been for a very long time. I'm not saying that we'll be challenging again next season if we don't go up this, but our overall trajectory is in the right direction.
One at a higher level than English Championship, who will double/treble/quadruple his current wage. Style of play will be well down his list of priorities when picking a new club.