are we punching above our weight....?

Or have we just got a young hungry squad who are capable Of competing at this level.....

The dark cloud that seemed to hang over oakwell when Keith hill arrived seems to be a distant memory. We've got direction a plan and for the first time in a long time players playing for each other and the shirt.

I know Patrick is in poor health at the moment and I'm so happy for him the way it's going at the moment. His vision of a young team from lower leagues and our academy has come up trumps in the last year or so. Hopefully watching the reds is giving him some comfort and helping him through his illness.

After Altrincham last season I've never felt so low supporting barnsley so for it to turn around so quickly is testemant to everyone at the club.

If 2017 is half as good as 2016 for us I for one can't wait.

 

I'll second that.
To answer your question I think we probably are over achieving but let's just enjoy the ride and see where it takes us....

 

I believe that, based on the size of our town and the number of fans we have, we are at about the highest position that we can realistically hope to achieve. We may well go even higher, as we memorably did once before, and no doubt we will one day go back lower. One thing I do know though, a couple of seasons ago I was totally fed up with football in general. My signature used to be "It's too expensive and too ****". It's still expensive, but at least now the entertainment is some of the best I've ever seen, some of the players are the best in the division at their jobs, the manager has to be one of the best in our history, and the off the field staff (and yes I include Whitey in that) have done a great job selling the club. It's really difficult to find something to complain about, to criticise. In the past most of our teams have had the odd weakness here and there - I can't think of one in our current team. They are all frighteningly good players.

For family reasons I can't get to many games, but when I do go I really enjoy it and it's worth every penny. I even enjoyed the Forest game at home as we could easily have hammered them.

So no, we're not punching above our weight. We've found a work ethic and a transfer policy which allows us to compete with other teams at our level and at times murder them. Well done to all concerned.

 

We are overachieving and it's beautiful

 

I think we are overachieving but if a club is well run and has a direction as opposed to teams like forest and blackburn we are able to over achive. We should be looking upto teams like burnley as where we can go as they are no bigger than us. Just well run with direction, anyone heard any news on pat hope he is doing okay!

 

totally second that , and feel we are not punching above our weight too

as Stahlrost says , we have brought together a lean mean fighting machine. And why not believe..... many years ago a very very young team was allegedly punching above their weight yet wowing the world ... sadly they were cut down in Munich.... the busby babes were perhaps more gifted than our present squad but the hunger and desire is not dissimilar.

I too for the same reasons am not a regular at Oakwell , but like you always enjoy the experience. I have managed just 2 games this season and both were defeats, yet I went away satisfied with the effort and performance of the team. I only ask that they wear the shirt with pride and try to run through the brick wall for us. On both occasions so far they did all of that , and despite defeat they made me bloody well proud of my team.

 

in a sport completely ruined by money and overpaid to55pots,we are like a shining light of hope to not only ourselves but also the majority of clubs that,just like us dont have deep pockets,
this punching above our weight malarky is the only thing that keeps me watching football as i fell out with the game yonks since.

 

Fantastic post Stahlrost. I agree with every word you have said.

 

After visiting the other forums all season, I get the distinct feeling that it's not about reality in their minds anyway.

They should all be beating teams like Barnsley, regardless of where we are in the league and what form were in.

To them it's all about past glories and willy waving about having bigger crowds.

Lots of these "big clubs" have rich owners and managers that they're not happy with and aren't getting the results they expect.

Before the season started I'd have said 8th in this league was massively overachieving, but not now. We're where a well run club with a good manager and honest players deserves to be.

The fans of some of these other clubs can't have it both ways. Moaning about themselves in one breath and condescending to us in another.


Sent from my SM-G850F using Tapatalk

 

Great post.

We've ended up with well run clubs (at least up until recently in Swansea's case) like Burnley, Swansea, Bournemouth, Watford, Middlesborough in the top flight & it's meant clubs like Leeds, Newcastle, Villa, Forest, Wednesday, Wolves & Norwich are in our league & loads of them seem to have a chip on their shoulder thinking they're hard done to & living on past glories.

 

As a small club in a corrupt football world, yes. As a team, no. They are exactly where they deserve to be. And if my contract was shortly up, I'd be un no hurry to leave. It does feel like something special is going on.

 

As a club we're overachieving as we're neither blessed with a large fan base or deep pockets. However, the attendances have increased significantly from this time last year and we're now in a position where we don't necessarily need to sell our best players.

The 'size' of the club is growing.

 

I'd like to think you're right, but unfortunately until we're getting 16,000 home fans through the gate on a regular basis, we'll always be considered one of the "smaller" clubs in the division. Attendances do matter, especially at our level where the TV money is nowhere near what it is in the PL. It still saddens me that there must be a couple of thousand people in the Barnsley area who CAN afford to go but don't for whatever reason. Used to go to but lapsed, never gone but regularly watch Premier League footy on Sky etc. I would give my left bollock to be able to attend more than 3 or 4 games a season!

 

Our fans did the same to teams of league 1 when it wasn't so rosey

 

I don't think we are over achieving.
What we are doing is showing the footballing world that if you look closely, there are some really good hidden gems in the lower leagues of football (I worry that they will all catch on soon - and our pickings will be greatly reduced) but some of these gems are rough and it takes a good coaching set up to bring them up to this level!
That I believe is something that we have built - Its not just about Hecky.... I am sure its his philosophy thats driving this - but you have to look at the coaches and structure thats been built around him. Bringing in ex-players to coach our youngsters, people like Bobby & Disco... People who are Barnsley through and through.

On the commercial side - I have never seen (apart from the premiership days) so many advertising hoardings full, they are everywhere - Im pretty sure just about everything is sponsored! Which is great - cash coming in from every avenue that we can!

The club is being run like a business for what seems to be like the first time for years!!
The Team is playing to a high tempo and passion that we haven't seen for years!!

Long may this continue!

It's great being a RED at the moment!

#TeamslikeBarnsley

 

Who cares?

Andy Richy said we overachieved when we made the playoffs and when we won them he said we'd over-overachieved but we managed to stay in the Championship for 8 seasons. This squad is 10 times better than that one was.

I'd say the league table does not lie. We are where we are on merit.

 

Potential size of the club - we are NOT over achieving.
Money available from owners / directors to maintain or improve playing staff compared to money spent at other clubs around us in the league - we are definitely over achieving.

 

The biggest testament to this season so far is that it has made me believe that it's still possible to over-achieve in this division, after countless seasons of 18th place being the genuine peak of our abilities.

I grew up watching a (mostly) comfortably mid-table team in the 80s/90s occasionally flirt with the play-off places (and ultimately exceed all expectations in one glorious season, when everything magically gelled together). We've demonstrated, albeit over only half a season so far, that it's still possible to have the faint hope of nicking the last play-off spot and getting to play in the lottery that follows, and that gives me hope that it's not a futile existence for clubs our size in a league system that has slowly sucked the life out of football for many clubs.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I expect us to get in the play-offs or beyond, but it's nice to have a glimmer of hope that it's achievable with the business model within which the club operates. Everyone involved with the club deserves credit for getting us to that position once again, despite many bumps in the road along the way.

The next big challenge will be to deal with the inevitable changes to playing staff that comes from over-achieving like this (whether that's now, in the summer, or beyond). We've demonstrated with the loss of Mawson that we can finally get fair value for our star players and successfully scout talent to replace them, without breaking the bank to do so. Being able to continue that recycling process is the crucial aspect to the long-term viability of the club, as we will undoubtedly see this squad break up piece by piece over time (and good luck to them when they eventually move on to bigger, but not necessarily better, things).

The biggest risk to this falling apart, for me, is losing Heckingbottom rather than any of the playing staff. We've got something unique with him in charge, and there'll be a time when he's offered the chance to move on too. Hopefully his ties to the club will be enough of a lure, but he's the least replaceable part in the machine, IMO.

For now, I'm just happy to see us continually defying expectations and over-achieving. Long may it continue!

 

I have a long history with our football club. What that long history has taught me is that the game has natural and recurring cycles. There are times when everything seems well and there are voices who claim it will last for ever, and there are times when everything goes badly and the same voices claim things will never improve. In the good times, people are only too willing to look for a hero, someone around whose neck they can hang a meddle, an accolade, some form or indicator of greatness. In the bad times, those same people look for a stick to beat someone with, whether that be the owner or the manager or the players. In the end, it is about winning, whether that be by luck or by judgement, fortune or appropriate decisions. Luck can turn in a moment, for no apparent reason. Good players can become ordinary overnight as that fragile thing that is confidence ebbs or flows or a small adjustment to the team reduces its effectiveness. Timing and time are always a factor. People at the top of an organisation need the time to allow their policies to come to fruition, things never happen overnight. If it seems like they have, it is all about timing, coming into a job at just the right moment, when things were already on the turn, or when there was money to spend and having the luck or judgement to build a new team that gels.

I am not someone in search of a messiah, a saviour, someone who I think has some special talent that sets him out to be above the rest. If something happens, be that good or bad, I seek explanation rather than claiming that salvation was delivered to me in a miracle. Yes, you are right that I am making a contrast between football and religion. They have their parallels and I am by no means the first. Finding the right explanation is never that easy and in the case of football, gravity will always attempt to pull us back to financial equilibrium. The time is right to enjoy our current rise and to hope that our fall is delayed as long as possible. By all means, enjoy what we have, but be aware that there is always an end, and above all try to treat triumph and disaster just the same.

 

Based on the ability of our players? Absolutely not!
Based on the budget of our club in comparison to all the others?
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