First Leon, now the Chronicle has done a commentary piece.

How long ago are you talking? In all my life newspapers have shared the opinion of fans

 

The role of any journslist or newspaper, local or otherwise, is to search for the truth and print it.

 

You are right if you are referring to the national newspapers. They have always jumped upon any bandwagon they could find. They have always supported any majority interest, especially if it confirmed any political views that they espouse and therefore support the views of the majority of their readers. However, The Barnsley Chronicle is not a national newspaper. It is a local newspaper that deals with local issues. Its readers are people who live in the town, who will have diverse interests about any topic, dependent upon how much they already know about that topic. The paper has always attempted to tread carefully so as not to upset people with varying opinions on a subject, and In many cases that has meant that the newspaper did not express any opinion on those issues. Its name means that it records events (chronicles them) but does not comment upon them. The current sports editor has irritated me for some time, and last night, I decided to get that irritation off my chest. He has opinions that I believe he should not voice in the newspaper, especially when voicing those opinions is bound to upset a few, and potentially lower circulation. You are happy that he has chosen to reflect the opinions registered on the BBS. You see it as a justification of your view, and most other opinions that have been expressed on here. I do not agree. I do not see it as forming any opinion through logical argument. I see it as going along with the majority simply to curry favour, and that is not me.

 

True, but does simply recording the views on the BBS do that.

 

A few years ago the company i was working for had some sponsorship with the club.
It was the days of Peter Risdale (with Dave Walker). I was called as a few people were, to kind of liaise with them via meetings and one to ones on what the fans wanted.
Peter Risdale openly encouraged very good communications with the chronicle (im not sure how that came over) and he was a master in PR with them...he once told me that from all his mates who held similar positions, not one could boast that a local rag had their club with a brilliant medium to pass on information. If that was done well is for others to decide. However they knew the value of good press and how to release info. (ok forget how they ran it...which ended badly) im talking about the relationship with the "chron". Think Dave Walker was ex daily express or something.
Anyway...its a million million miles from the constant own goals our current owners show.
Its also another example (after all their talk and promise) how poor they are at running our club.

 

No. I think any journalist, given the facts at hand, would struggle to come up with a piece much different to O'Kane's at the moment though.
That said I'd never actually buy another copy of The Chronicle again after it clothed itself in Nigel Farage pre Brexit.

 

The article is headed 'Comment', clearly signaling that it is an opinion piece. I choose to read it as Doug's honest view, and not one that he repeats 'simply to curry favour'. I'd sooner read an opinion like that, even if I were to disagree with it. Frankly it is more interesting because the facts - or in some cases absence of them - are already well known to fans. The article publicly asks questions which supporters have a right to have answered if their support is not to be taken for granted.

 

Keith lodge used to do that. In my opinion you are just a bit salty that it goes against your opinion because you can't admit you were totally wrong about football for the last year and half and so you are blinded to the problems

 

So why don't you educate me. What are the problems that I am so blinded to? What should I know that I do not know. I would be grateful if you would confine your answers to pure fact, since I fear that our opinions are bound to differ.

 

league position after doing what you banged on about for a year. That's a starting point and one which you refuse to accept you were wrong about.

Wrong that the chronicle has never done this before. It certainly has had opinion pieces in it before.

 

I do not think that I have refused to accept that I was wrong. I accepted it towards the end of last season and said so on here. That does not mean that I understood why, because I didn't, and that is important to me. On the face of things, the tactics used last year were very simple, and should have been easily frustrated. All the opposition had to do was to refuse to comply... refuse to try to play through our press.

Much has been made of our change of tactics. Do you believe that the change in tactics is the reason we are in such a mess? Is it as simple as that? Is the solution to simply return to kick long and press in your opinion, or is there more to it?

 

It would be a massive start. There is obviously more to it though. A negligent transfer window and equally as negligent start to this one. A CEO who doesn't make promises and then disappear breaking them. Owners who don't take £750k despite saying the won't. And a marketing team who don't advertise something for sale that they can't deliver on?

 

The Oakwell staff was so badly hollowed out during the summer that this was a ship without a captain and not much crew. What's flowed since then has been incompetence mingled with a spat between the owners. I think Doug's article is excellent, same for Leon.

 

I think that Dougs article is his own thoughts & not a record of the BBS views, because his views & the majority of views on here are similar it merely confirms what widely the fan base are thinking . In my opinion the views printed this week from the Chronicle & the YP are a vehicle to get the message home to the top brass down at Oakwell ,whether they take any notice well thats anyone"s guess , however if you bang the drum loud enough & long enough then eventually someone might hear the message.

 

An article which is clearly a personal opinion of Doug O'Kane and is stated as such. Personally, I believe he's got it spot on. If others disagree with him, fair enough.

 

Do you believe that The Championship is well run. Do you believe that Barnsley FC is badly run in comparison to the rest. The reason I ask is that Barnsley FC loses far less money than most of the other teams in the league. In most other industries, almost all the companies owning Championship teams would have gone bust long ago. I know that the strategy employed at Barnsley is different, but does that mean that it is run more efficiently or less efficiently? Is Barnsley the only club not cheating financially in order to try to gain an advantage? Is Barnsley the only club in the league that attempts to compete fairly?

You see everyone ignores finance when they judge performance. Because few have the skill to read a Balance Sheet, everyone assumes that the owners have to be prepared to lose £10m per season, and eventually dig into their back pockets to fund those losses personally. I come from an age when that was not so, when Barnsley could compete because all clubs played on the same basis. They all lived hand to mouth. Is it better now? You tell me.

 

No everyone doesnt ignore finance because they don't have the skills to under it unlike the superior you. Once again you are not a better person or a more intelligent person

 

I do not claim either of those things. I simply point out things that illustrate the point that I am making.

 

He may resign now Clueless.