To those not renewing their Season Ticket

How dare you put this on the club? You could sit there with the engine off instead, open the doors, have a picnic, take a nap, listen to the radio, watch a film on your phone - all sorts.

And you're going round expecting the football club to make your afternoon at the football club entertaining!!

 

The best I've got here is "I don't really know what else I want to do on a Saturday." For that reason, I'm still inclined to renew, but feeling remotely arsed about it is becoming rather difficult.

 

I made my decision last summer not to renew, after having one since the 90s. I was just finding the whole experience of going to oakwell so boring, the football being the main issue, the standard we churn out is not worth paying for. That's resulted in a terrible, and getting worse, atmosphere.

Add to that the travel (50 miles each way for me) and the 6/7 hours commitment, I decided it just wasn't worth it.

And I've not missed it. Thought I'd pick and choose games to go to, but haven't been to a single one, mainly because I was watching on sky and iFollow (VPN) and seeing the product is actually worse than last season. I've even stopped paying my tenner to iFollow and just watch the games that are on sky.

I'm really not sure what could draw me back in, if anything. I still really want them to do well, but the absolute love I had for BFC about 10 years ago has slowly ebbed away. Sad.

 

And unfortunately, more we hear from people with stories like this, the worse we will get due to less money coming into club overall. Very sad. Big improvements needed mate.

 

Same situation for me. Travelling over an hour each way gets less appealing as time goes by and I’m not renewing next year. I’ve lived away from the town for all but my first 17 years and making 400-mile round trips for games was never really a problem, once upon a time.

It’s only 100 miles round trip now but the desire to even do that is fading away.

 

I'll buy a s/t once we go back to playing in white shorts and I see the pink abominations being publicly incinerated.

 

The reason why and this is the bottom line that people are not renewing is cause we are not winning . We have no chance of the play offs. Everybody likes to win but every season most football teams just have to be happy with taking part. All this ******** about parking ( court house cost £2 you can be on m1 in 10 mins) , food go in Barnsley lots to choose from , halftime entertainment listen to the ******** that’s being said about team/ good points that are being said or just go for a piss. Winning is the key , if an owner came in ( off the mythical good owners tree) and said I’m going to spend millions how many would change their minds . Win and win

 

I think this thread should be sent to Hourihane, Sormaz and Neerav just so they can see how utterly disillusioned the fan base is....

 

I don't think bingo is the answer to pre-match entertainment. Maybe for the pensioners.

 

I think it's very likely that my son and I will renew irrespective - despite having to do a 170 mile round trip for home games. He was born in the Midlands but I love the fact that he's a passionate Red and I value the time we have together at games. Nevertheless, that 170 miles has felt like a lot longer on multiple occasions this season and I do want things to change.

Like many others who've posted, I want the matchday experience to be better. We never eat at the ground, instead stopping at Meadowhall or Rockingham or sometimes the Glassworks. The last couple of seasons we walk from the car and go straight in the ground and to our seats and whilst I'd like to support the club and soak up the pre-match atmosphere with other fans before the game by having something to eat at the ground it has to be better quality and reasonably priced.

I think I'm in a minority but I don't want the owners to go. I believe they want the best for the club but there have undoubtedly been some mistakes made in the last year or two. A couple of people in this thread have commented that they have to admit mistakes but I think that's difficult as doing so would be followed by calls for sackings etc and so I sort've get why they're quiet at present. What can they say that would make it better. Words won't change perceptions - only actions. I recall Jean Cryne (I think?) making that point when Conway and Lee were ousted but to date we've not seen enough positive change. More needs to be done.

The biggest thing that would make a difference for me is the quality of football on the pitch. The "sideways and backwards" chant on Saturday was spot on. It's not just us I find boring though, it's the majority of games I watch on TV. Football has become like a game of chess and the obsession with triangles, overloads, passing to draw players out of position etc is mind-numbingly boring to watch. It seems to take far too long to turn sideways and backwards passes into an attack. I stress again though - it's not just us, it's the style most teams play and I think we're following suit to try to make players more valuable. But it's just not what Barnsley fans expect imo and doesn't reflect the town. I want hard work, passion, graft, players knackered when they leave the pitch. Then I want physicality, strength, power and resilience and then on top of that, some skill. I find it difficult to connect with the current set of players because I don't see them doing what I see as the basics. I wonder if regressing our style a bit might mean we get exposed but a) we are being anyway and b) passion and commitment would at least get me out of my seat and c) I'd have more respect for the players and feel more connected / supportive / forgiving of them (I never boo but I'm regularly disappointed and frustrated by the players at the moment). This is the biggest thing I'd like to see change but I suspect it might be a forlorn hope.

 

I don't think the majority want the owners out. Just Sormaz.

 

1. That is what we would like, but it is wearing thin. Notwithstanding 2 recent play-off campaigns, there have been numerous fans forums and soundbites of "we know we have to do better". There would have to be a hell of a lot of explaining to do. Not fussed about an apology (though that would be a courtesy) I just want the explanation, the root cause analysis, and the plan for next season. And I want it from Neerav and the ownership group - I don't want to hear a word from Flatman & Sormaz apart from "it's with a heavy heart I have decided to seek a new challenge". Yeah, good luck.

2. Goes with the above. Honesty. And an explanation in layman's terms as to why teams perceived as being smaller than us, can run a steadier ship, without pumping money in every month, yet still put out a product both on and off the pitch that is significantly better than Barnsley FC's. Why do you need to keep pumping £700k a month in, and where the hell is the not insignificant instalment money going?
Other financial questions would include Penelope's role (she may be good at her job - I don't want to know how much she is on, I want to know how and why she was recruited). There are others.
The coaching staff count; (just because *other teams have same / more* doesn't mean BFC need it. We've been more successful with a more streamlined headcount. We have coaching staff who are stagnant, not adding value and an ongoing part of the malaise).
It was fair enough splitting the DoF and CEO roles, though I think that would have helped more in a higher revenue / higher profile division. Having the format in L1 is like shutting the door when the horse has bolted. Given our financial 'state', and our position in the pyramid; that DoF role should either be working, or binned. It ain't working.

3. As mentioned in points 1. and 2. above. Recruitment is the very essence of recent troubles. I watched with pride as we implemented a spreadsheet model a few years back, then watched with dismay as we let it rot; overtaken by the likes of Brentford & Forest who we were competing with, and beating in recent times. They evolved. We have no model at all now. Scattergun. If the spreadsheet is still there, it needs re-imagining. It has not brought us the next crop of Kitching, Mads and Collins; it has brought us Lewis, Shaw, Dallas and Rodrigues. I don't think I will be harping on about "what happened to the millions received from Dallas & Rodrigues" in years to come. In the laughable cases of Shaw and Dallas, it is quite clear they were signed by people who know data but don't know football. Jettisoned by successive managers who, regardless of their calibre, were footballing men. Rodrigues barely got a sniff from DC and was then hooked by CH. DC & CH are footballing men.
Will Conor or next season's head coach have a say in player signings? Not 'here's a list lads, take your pick' but a 'here's what I want Neervav (or CEO, or DoF), please go get them for me'.

4. Quite clear to me that CH is going to be the next boss. Unless he fails spectacularly til the end of season, I believe he was always your next fit; put in place for when (not if) DC struggled. My ask is, will you support him? Because he has already had his status tarnished by the 'hanging up his boots' malarkey ........ he's lost some credit and unless supported he will merely be next seasons victim. Your call.


It is a sh17st0rm currently, and you are seeing the worst of supporters negativity. But you have to realise what a place Oakwell is when things are going right. Support, and you will be supported. Put the right people in place, the right strategies in place, the right match-day experience in place and you will see how good Barnsley is. Me wanting Sormaz and Flatman out is not malicious; I don't want to see anyone lose their livlihood; it is not my job as a fan to get to know them and feel sorry for them. But it clearly isn't working. Toxic vibes giving off a toxic experience.

I won't be renewing as it stands; partly due to the current state, partly due to kick-off scheduling (not one I can blame BFC for, but I wish clubs could make a collective stand), partly cos of distance and partly because there are just too many other things I enjoy right now.
And COMMUNICATION!! Whether it is finance, ticketing, stadium plans, player updates, commercial stuff. Improve it. A once engaged Media offering is now replaced by apathetic amateurism.

A statement of intent, not hollow words, and I'll be back in my seat, and happy to pay the full price. But ...... I won't get fooled again!

 

Some genuine ambition, We don't owe the club anything, they owe us the fee paying spectator something more than soundbites and excuses for a very poor matchday experience.