Can we please get behind the players on Saturday?

Has there ever been a team that’s in the playoffs with one game to go and yet it’s fanbase regularly chant for the manager to leave, boo and abuse there top scorer and cheer when he is finally substituted, probably not but it’s been a weird season.

 

I'm yet to decide if I'll be there, probably will with it being an early kick off. If I am there I will put as much effort into supporting them as I see them putting in on the pitch. A first half like today and I'll be sat silently, shaking my head.

 

Shows just how awful league one has been this season imo. A random person dragged out of a local wetherspoons and given the managers job would have us in a very similar position as we are now. We aren't in the play off places because of Neil Collins, we are in them in spite of him and by virtue of the fact that in 3 quarters of the games we've played the opposition have missed sitters that my dad gran would score

 

We're not in the play-off spots because of Collins, we're there in spite of him. The league has been absolute dross this year, hence why we're still in the mix despite performing to a relegation level for ages.

As for Cole, yes he's scored some goals, but he's largely ineffective, far too lightweight and his second touch is a tackle more often than not. He's been poor for a while, and the grief he's getting is warranted imo.

 

Agree about Cole if he isn’t scoring then he offers zilch to the team

 

I'd love to know how many actual chances we've created for Cole to score the past few months. Barely any I would think. Unfortunately, players are often specialists in one thing and ineffective in most others, Cole may be one of those, though I think he works harder than people on here suggest.

 

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Embarrassed to support the same club as some of them today.

 

Really hope this is the case, and if we start off on the front foot hopefully it should be.
My worry is that 'negative Neil's ' seemingly inbuilt persona will overcome common sense, in which case the atmosphere could turn toxic really quickly.
The thing is we hear about managers losing the dressing room and the effect that has, but in his case he seems to have lost the vast majority of the fan base!

 

I was gutted today, but It’s soon out of my system and I won’t carry any of this into the next game.

As I see it we have to roar them on from the start, because waiting for them to get the crowd going doesn’t work at oakwell. Ideally it’ll be a bit of both.

 

Did this happen yesterday? If so that's disgraceful and sad.

 

It will be difficult for the crowd to get behind the team next match simply because of the expectation. Fans have effectively been numbed by awful football for so long that there will be more of a sense of trepidation and worry rather than excitement. Not the best recipe for a good atmosphere. And lets imagine a scenario in an alternate universe where the fans DO turn up full of good cheer and start singing and shouting positively from kick off. How long will that last with Collins' tried and tested tactics? Any positivity will be drained out of fans after 5-10 minutes. So, while its laudable to say 'let's get behind the team' the realities are it almost certainly won't happen because of long-term crap served up by the coach which has immunised the fan base from any sense of genuine anticipation. It'll be nerves all the way I suspect.

 

Jim Iley mebe?

 

Spot on. They don't after be collins or board lover boys to get behind the team.

Just get oakwell rocking and wait till the end and then go from there....

 

If you add fans walking out at 3-O down you could be describing Sheffield Weds just saying !

 

It will but I think we need to try and hide that as best we can otherwise it’ll just make the players even more nervous. Someone commented on the match day thread that the last X amount of away commentators have all said ‘Barnsley look nervy at the back’. The only way to combat that as fans (we can’t do the manager bit) is to try and give them some confidence. They’re not saying ‘they’re lacking quality at the back’, they’re saying we look nervous. Fans groaning and grumbling when they pass it around at the back is just going to make them even more so. We can disagree with the tactics but if that’s what they’re told to do then that’s what they’re going to do.

 

Hudders fans singing 'your not fit to wear the shirt ' yesterday.. according to YP Leon..
It's not just our fans turned toxic.
People pointing the finger at Collins.. but jeez this goes way beyond him..

 

Yes but you can't expect fans to cheer and get behind the passing of the ball around at the back. It would be weird if fans started cheering when MDG rolled the ball to Mccart who then rolled it to earl and back to mdg. I think if fans suddenly 'get behind' that style of football it would create an even weirder atmosphere that wouldn't help the players.

Sadly the manager has created a situation whereby his position is essentially untenable but you know what, I blame the board because his style of play was documented before we appointed him so in essence THEY have caused the toxic atmosphere so its about they came out and did something to address that. And I don't mean just tweeting criticism of fans.

 

The club did it this year on the back of Athersley Reds who instigated it last year and again against Derby.

 

I also don’t expect the crowd to be boosted either, not the game the team or manager to think let’s fill the place and get it rocking.

 

Seem to remember fans wanting Iley out for most of the time I first started going from 73-78. Times were different then though, managers weren’t chopped and changed like they are now.