Barnsley FC - What went wrong?

Hmmm, He and the others were so aware they needed to ‘cut back’ that much and the club needed to retain cash that much, they extracted 3/4 of a million pounds to pay a debt that didn’t belong to the club.

That is where anything they say in regards to justify anything to do with this season being a disaster due to ‘financial restraints’ makes me laugh - I say laugh but actually mean foam at the mouth.

 

What cut backs are you referring to? He spent a load of money on rubbish.

 

My guess would be he does have control of things like buying and selling within the already stipulated parameters of the owners, wage negotiations, ground safety and maintenance, liaison with police, Council etc, catering. All within an agreed budget.
I very much doubt he has the authority to address or change:-
The actual ownership share of the ground.
Any serious ground improvement.
The overall thrust of the recruitment policy.
Any injection of cash from the owners.

In other words he can re arrange the deckchairs whatever way he wants.

 

Barnsley never reveal transfer fees neither inwards, nor outwards. That means that the information that others use is often speculation from dubious internet sources. The only place you will see that information is in the annual accounts, but they do not list the numbers for each player, and the information is not available until 9 months after the year end, which means that it is well out of date for these discussions. I do not get engaged much in transfer price discussion, mainly because I feel that others are using speculation and guesswork, and that is not my style. I always assume that people in senior positions must have got there because they know what they are doing. If you do that, you also assume that there is reasoning in their decision-making. Rather than calling those senior employees idiots, I try to find reasoning in their decision-making. Conway has made statements since the end of last season that have horrified many fans. For example, he said that finishing in a play-off position cost the club money. He has bemoaned the fact that there were no offers for any of our players after the success that we enjoyed last season. Many took those statements as a lack of ambition, an indication that the club was not building on the playing success of the previous season, which is true. However, from his point of view, he was looking at a company that was running out of money, and that would need to cut back because it could not afford to make losses of that sort in the following season.

Total wage costs in 2019/20 season were £11,120,000. Total wage costs in 2020/21 season were £14,374,000. The reason our losses increased so dramatically is pretty obvious from those numbers, and from the comments that Conway made at the time. Our acquisitions during the summer transfer window were dreadful, but was that because Conway wasted money in transfer fees, and because high transfer fees are linked to high wages, on wages as well, as is speculated from fan assumptions. Or is it because we were looking for players that filled a gap in our resources at a low cost. Most people assume one thing because they believe Conway is an idiot. I assume something else because I believe Conway knows what he is doing but is driven by different objectives. Frankly, we will not know for certain for almost 12 months, when our next accounts are published.

It is a matter of record that our owners have stated that they will not inject money into their clubs, simply to finance loss-making. There is another thread which lists the losses made by clubs in the Championship as the are published. That list shows just how high the losses are that most club owners are prepared to finance. I started that thread in order to show just that. I have been analysing those accounts in a spreadsheet, and my analysis shows just how much football at Championship level is a toy for the very rich to play with. I am appalled by the state of most club Balance Sheets in the Championship. If the owners grow tired of losing money, as the Derby owner did, most clubs are in the same position as Derby. Football at Championship level is a farce, but the Barnsley owners have refused to get involved in that farce. They are saying that the club must remain solvent, but to do that, it cannot compete in the Championship with clubs that have owners with a different ethos.

I have got away from your original question, and I apologise for that. I have no evidence that there have been cut backs, because I use the annual accounts, and they are not available. However, wages will have reduced because bonus payments will have reduced. We have not been chasing the dream of the Premier League and I do not believe the players we have brought into the club this season are of the quality that we had before. Logically, that too will have reduced that number. If you are looking for evidence though, I have none.

 

I know he can't inject funds Loko. My point was that it's likely the things he can do and is allowed to do are of limited consequence.
If he can produce a change of strategy that addresses the fundamental issues at the club, great. I hope I'm wrong but I doubt he can.

 

I think that this will ultimately prove to be the extent of any reduction we see in the next accounts. I don't think we'll have generated any significant base salary reductions from last season to this, so the only saving I ultimately expect to see is one related to us being totally uncompetitive in the Championship this season.

Using your figures as the base I'd be surprised if we don't report a number that falls between the £11.1m and £14.4m figures you've quoted. Best guess would be something around the £13m mark.

 

I think the fundamental issue is the lack of stability at any level. Khaled is the third permanent CEO and Poya is the seventh (i think) head coach that we've had since these owners took over. Khaled won't change that, because he's likely on a fixed contract, and be leaving at the end of it.

 

I disagree, simply because I do not believe the club has enough cash to lose £3m and pay £1.8m back to the EFL, but we shall see, all in good time.

 

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/spo...LgceGeRbG7gsIplXt-BRvbW72-pguLKouJB7DX9BILf3o

 

El-Ahmad commented: “I don’t see Man City meeting their owners every day or Leipzig."

That's because they are successful and well run, and the fans don't have any questions that the CEO can't answer...

 

I wonder if he's worried about relegation yet?

 

He does have a fair point in that and I do think it frustrates him and it did also the former CEO Dane Murphy with questions about the ownership and wanting to hear from them.

Two counterpoints to khaled would be. Khaldoon Al Mubarak does answer all questions asked to him from what I have seen. Around the Super League, he said he was Sorry and to put the blame directly on him for example. He's also done a Video with an US channel where he discussed the political problems in the UAE.

Secondly. Patrick Cryne didn't speak for a long time to fans from what I can remember. When he did however I think he found it wasn't the problem he might have thought when it wasn't.

 

I think that moment happened when he stormed out of the director's box, muttering under his breath, on Monday after Morris' miss.

 

I saw that mentioned in the Chronicle. Maybe he has a relegation clause too. I very much hope so.

 

Bizarrely, I also think that was the moment where, for perhaps the first time, his reaction and emotions were exactly aligned with that of a lifelong Barnsley supporter.

 

It would be interesting to know the reason for such an alignment.

 

I'm guessing that O'Kane had a word count to stick to when writing his article, because I don't think there's anybody at the club, that has a role relating to the playing side, that can say they don't accept any of the responsibility / blame. The catastrophe of the summer is well documented, but apart from the question of why does everybody want to leave, I'm more concerned about the fact that we didn't even look like recovering from it, because that is what reflects badly on the staff left at the club. Questions I'd be asking are;

1) What was done to get players fit during the season? Why where they given international breaks off? Did the players do all they could to be ready, or do they need spoon feeding?
2) Why so many injuries in training? Including a season ending injury for a key player the day before the most important match of the season?
3) Why were we so complacent. Interviews with players and CEO seemed to dismiss the idea of relegation, despite league position and results. Even Woodrow's latest interview repeats the delusion that we shouldn't be where we are. Are the club just going to assume promotion next season, despite what is happening on the pitch?
4) Related to the above, why did it take so long to sack Schopp? Why did we employ another possession based coach to manage a set of players that can't pass the ball?
5) Was there more that could've been done to help the recoveries of Mads and Morris from their longer term injuries. They seemed to be training with the team for an age before playing.
6) Will there be a clear idea of what style we are wanting to play, and who the head coach will be to implement it by the time the transfer window starts? Will the recruitment team, sports science, fitness etc... be on board with it? Will the players?

All in all. Cluster**** from top to bottom.

 

I think he finally is if what Doug O'Kane tweeted on Monday about him storming out is correct!