Get that ridiculous John Dennis ***** off the top of the forum

more money and the premiership,Redfern is probably no different to any other player where these factors are concerned.

 

Cheers for that. The time was right for him to move, that's life in football. To have gone back to the first division with us would have been soul destroying given the years he put in. He knew that, even if it was a wrench. There was a dispute about money, but Neil joined the club in a very different era to that of Ashley Ward for example, who could demand better money because the club had it to pay and he had left one premier league club for another, whereas Neil had progressed up the leagues to finally arrive at Oakwell. Redfearn went to Charlton, who had just been promoted and was on a lot more money that the players who had got them there. Swings and roundabouts.

You could argue he was good enough to play on in the premier league but he did get relegated 3 seasons on the trot. And we missed him at BFC of course, but I don't think his heart would have been in it if he had stayed. He was burnt out for us after relegation I think, needed a change.

Maybe it would be a good idea to ask John Dennis his side of it. But on the face of it, it looks like a reasonable decision in the best interests of the club. And I'm not saying Mike Sheron is worth more money than Neil Redfearn, far from it - but you have to look at the situation as it appeared then not in hindsight. Cheers for that though.

 

By his own admission, Redfearn demanded a huge pay rise after we got relegated. I don't see how we could have met that demand for a player at the arse end of his career.

 

He wanted parity with Hristov, and the club wouldn't budge. I'd have left too if i was him

 

But what warrented the likes of Hristov and Tinkler to get bigger wages that Redfearn? All he wanted was parity.He had been here for numerous seasons whilst our overseas recruits had been here 2 minutes.

 

They signed contracts in the Premiership, and were both full internationals.

 

Thought Hristov was in Macedonian under 21 at that time.

 

Am I wrong or did Nicky Eaden leave because he also wanted parity.

 

Thought it was simply because Birmingham could pay him more.

 

maybe but I seem to remember Nicky saying something about foreign players coming in and getting more than home grown lads....I could be mistaken.

 

I don't agree with any of that. I had the pleasure of playing with him in a charity match at Oakwell a few years back and he was Mr Barnsley. Still talked about the club as 'us'. You cut Neil Redfearn in half an he has Barnsley in there. Read his book properly - I met him after I'd read it and he was just as he came across on the pages. He literally said that he fell in love with Barnsley.

There was nothing burned out about Redders and we let him go and started on a course of buying mercenaries and journey men - and ironically we paid substantial money out to do that. We let him go for a million, and there not a hope of us replying him for that sort of money.

Neil Redfearn should have retired from football as a Red and he should've had a testimonial.

The year we went to Wembley, I am convinced we'd have gone up automatic with Neil Redfearn in that side. It was **** business.

 

Just have one other thing to add to my last, we were on the pitch, getting ready for the kick off and I looked across and I said to Redders: "Those were great days, weren't they?" and without a blink of an eye, without saying 'What days?' or anything like that - he looked back across, dead in the eye, and said "Aye. And they can never take them off us."

Massive hero.

 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

 

Yeah but it wasn't exactly rocket science at the time. It was one of a series of bad decisions that ultimately we all have to reflect on because the club ended up in administration trying to claw its way out of lower league football.

Looking at the trajectory of the club right now, it's lamentable and familiar.

 

Three different former players who were there at the time have told me that Redfearn left because he, as club captain and one of the top scorers, wanted to be paid the same as some of the weaker players in the squad. Wilson backed him but the board said no so he left. Didn't want to leave the club but wasn't treated the same as our foreign superstars by the board. The same three players told me that this directly led to Wilson leaving.

 

Kevin Richardson
Robbie Van Der Laan
Geoff Thomas



Couldnt lace Redders boots and were probably on higher wages as well.

 

Eric Tinkler - couldn't trap a bag of sand, every second touch a tackle, slow as **** and turned like a herse.