Barnsley FC Reply: West Stand Update

Thanks for your concern. It is duly noted. Love you cheeky boy.

 

Can’t believe I’m saying this but; come on, give the CEO a bit of space. He’s only been in the job 10 mins and not a great first decision in the closing of the West Stand with (at best) a poor and befuddled explanation.

But, he still deserves a bit of time. The fan engagement meeting and the following meeting at the beginning of Nov will provide an opportunity (and evidence) of wether he is simply another mouthpiece for Conway or whether he genuinely seems to have the best interests of the Club at heart.

 

Well, if he doesn't serve as Conways mouth piece he won't be in a job for very long. Think it's a baptism of fire the new CEOs go through, 21 word statement/west stand closure. He'll probably not be here longer than a season.

 

'not a great first desicion' has to be understatement of the century

 

Fair enough. I was a bit surprised he took that decision as his own but we can get some clarity on whether that was the case or whether decision making rests elsewhere. That matter - going forward.

 

Well if that’s the case, that will confirm what many of us believe about this set of owners.

 

Weirdly, I'm finding myself becoming increasingly likely to attend on Sunday, but only because I feel its going to be one of those watershed moments of supporting BFC that I feel I have to be there for. The low points are almost a pennance to offset the good times.

I expect to be sitting facing an empty West Stand in an atmosphere that becomes increasingly toxic as we fall to an inevitable heavy defeat to local rivals. The closest recent mindset I can equate it to is having to go to the Altrincham game which I felt certain was one that we were going to lose. However, this is on a different level of negativity to that game, as it goes far beyond the on-field performance and to the fundamentals of how the club is being run.

It says a lot that I've pretty much already priced in that we will lose to Boro on Wednesday into the thought process. Much as I would love us to win both of those games, there's a feeling of inevitability about the outcome of both games.

 

Thanks for publishing and well done again. I've not read the rest of this thread yet but no doubt Khaled will have received some negative reaction.
For my part, I agree with the sentiment stated by the Trust; ie a quick response which, on the face of it , seems genuine, but which doesn't give us the full story.
And on we go....

 

Agreed. I could write this kind of thing in my sleep.

 

Absolute waste of time responding.

A lot of words which broken down mean completely nothing.

I’ll be there Sunday, to support the players but also to witness the general feeling. I’m not thinking it will be the normal, electric, local derby atmosphere you’d get for a game against a sheffield club.

 

Thanks for trying Ben and Co....It pains me to say it looks like I was right when I said last week it was his call ( CEO )
on shutting the west stand....
Heres food for thought ....God forbid ...if rumours are true re ground sharing how long before this lot want to merge us with either Donny or Rotherham to create a bigger fan base....
As for the letter ...not worth the paper it's wrote on...once again trying to deflect from the real reason the west stand was closed...£££££££££££££ 72 k + kerrrrrrrrrching thxs Sheffield united... .then extra tickets for Derby kerrrrrrrrrrching once again....who needs home support until next season when we can either offer a lame apology.....and say we will learn from our mistakes......( not).....A game plan by any chance....makes you wonder doesn't it when you open your eyes......last but not least..I truly hope somebody goes to the meeting armed with the councils safety report and their recomendations thus showing the circus and the clowns up for what they are .....

 

******** ******** waffle waffle

Absolutely no substance at all and merely yet another attempt at deflection and avoiding having to give concrete answers. Utter tossers the lot of them

 

Took the time to write absolutely nothing new, but that's his job speak to fans but say nothing of substance, empty words, hollow praise, false promises thats the currency of the 80% mob

 

It suggests to me Helen that there may be strings attached to any reopening, and that getting the Trust on board might help with garnering acceptance of them.

As others have stated, the reply gives no further detail. It should be a straightforward matter to indicate the specific concerns that troubled the CEO but not the Council's safety inspection officers. It seems to me that the reply is disrespectful of the worthy yeomen/women of the BFCST, who are - let's face it - hardly serial rebels. But the majority 'owners' will continue to do as they please so long as they have your money.

 

"Safety of the fans at the centre of our thinking"

Aye OK mate. That's why after the closure, 2000 more away tickers were sold? Go and cancel a friendly with Watford giving them about 2 days notice, that's a good lad. It seems like you've nicely fitted in with your bosses.

This football club is utterly toxic behind the scenes.

 

That's just a load of bull is that letter!
Nowt but waffle!!

 

Thanks for this, Ben, and fair play to Khaled for responding, but as others have pointed out, there are a lot of placatory words there without actually saying anything. I'd distil the next response down to asking, specifically, for the reason why the West Stand was closed. Nothing else. What actual, specific aspect of fan safety is at risk? Which specific, physical bit of the structure makes it unsafe?

 

Reading it for a fourth time, I still don't see the point in why they responded at all, it was a waste of time to write it.

Why can't someone just say why the stand is shut? Not "operational concerns", not "fan and staff safety", just actually list the specific points as to why it's shut? 1,000 loyal fans have been given an ultimatum by the club which is basically "move to a sh it seat or stop coming" and 2 weeks down the line the board still don't see the need to tell the displaced fans why they're having to move.

Pathetic response.

 

Whilst it’s a little early to be paraphrasing Shakespeare’s Hamlet, I will nonetheless.

“Something is rotten in the state of Grove Street”