I've just spent 20-30 minutes watching clips of our FA Cup run on youtube...

and after doing so, I say this.

Anyone who thinks this season as a whole is a disappointment is entitled to that opinion. Of course they are. We're all entitled to one.

But would I swap those two FA Cup wins over Liverpool & Chelsea for a midtable league finish? A playoff finish? No chance. Lesser teams with lesser managers (see Millwall) would have got relegated - big clubs practically have separate squads to cover their cup runs.

Those two games (particularly the Liverpool one) will live in my memory forever. I still get goosebumps whenever I watch any of the highlights. I know it left a sour taste in some people's mouths who couldn't get tickets - but this season has provided me with 2 of my favourite memories as a 21 year old Barnsley fan, and probably 2 of the best memories I'll ever experience as a Barnsley fan. I've been lucky to have the Premiership, playoff final success, and these two games, as I know a lot of older fans have sat through some utter dross.

Whatever people think of Simon Davey, I'll always be thankful to him for this season, and those two key memories. We might only have finished 18th, but those cup games will, or at least should, remain in the memory of Barnsley fans forever.

There - if that post doesn't confirm how sick of revision I am, nothing will.

 

A Blackburn Rovers boss shouldntbe watching Barnsley Videos in his spare time!

 

Millwall weren't relegated the year they got to the cup final

You seem to think they were. They weren't far off the play-offs.

 

Okay, sorry. Well the sentiment of the post still stands. Do you agree or would you rather have lost to Blackpool and then finished in 8th-12th in the league, which is as high as we could realistically have hoped for?

 

They were pushing for the play offs and their run cost them a spot.

 

I'd have finished 8th given the option. It's all great having the video's to watch etc but an 8th placed finish would have really established us back on the map and set us in good stead for the future.

 

I loved the cup run

The games against Liverpool and Chelsea will live with me forever.

 

We weren't anywhere near good enough to finish that high nt

 

DonnyRed,You'd rather have taken 8th place in the league (which means b*ggar all in the long run)

than beaten Chelsea, Liverpool, gone to Wembley for an FA Cup Semi final, and finished 18th?

I'd say that makes you a mad-man personally, but you're entitled to your opinion as I said.

You say high-placed teams are "set for the future", but the team who has finished 10th in the Championship one season has regularly been relegated the following season in the Championship. Finishing somewhere in the league means **** all for the next season. Look at Colchester last season, and if they stay down, I venture that Bristol City will be nowhere near the top 6 next season.

 

The cup games are one off games, and as great as they may be, are not going to affect us in the future.

An 8th placed finish however would have made people sit up and take notice. Players would have thought, there really on the up, instead of, relegation battlers. We would have attracted better players for the forthcoming season. The cup was great, but all in all I was sick of it. Just wanted Wembley out the way personally and down to business the following week at Watford & Preston.

 

I am amazed at those comments, you were sick of the cup run? When do you ever think you will see that again, it has been a one off this season and something that all Barnsley fans should treasure. I am personally gutted that we are not in the final next week and not looking forward to watching it even if i bother at all.

 

To be totally fair, I'm not bothered if we see it again. It wasn't the league, which is the only important thing for me.

 

Dumfounded nt

 

Back your opinions up sir.

 

not going to affect us in the future. ?

I find this statement utterley bizarre!

I think we will have picked up a few floating fans as a result of the cup run for next season. The money will have had a massive impact on the club. It has also raised our profile nationally?

 

I See Your Point DonnyRed

Finishing 8th over 46 games is a better achievement than two big cup wins. 8th would have got us noticed more. Anyway the cup run was excellent and long overdue. Lets hope for another next season.

 

I reckon you are right about Bristol City

especially if they get promoted!

 

"8th would have got us noticed more"

Do you really believe that? Do you think we would have got more publicity for finishing eighth than we did for beating Liverpool and Chelsea? Then you're even dafter than I thought. We were headline sports news all around the world after our cup victories. The media in England were going barmy over us. You'd have to have been locked in a very small cupboard, in a very deep cave, somewhere in the jungles of Peru not to have noticed Barnsley's cup run. Without checking, I don't know who finished 8th this season and this is a division I care about. The rest of the world doesn't give a flying **** but they certainly knew about us beating Liverpool and Chelsea.

 

You say an 8th place finish would have made people sit up and take notice

Make who sit up and take notice, we'd be just another mid-table side, surely the cup run made people sit up and take notice more. I don't think I'd have had fans of other clubs (including Premiership) congratulating me and wanting to talk about our 8th placed finish, an 8th place finish wouldn't have had the World's media camped out at Oakwell!

The club got the best publicity it's had for 10 years.

 

Worldwide publicity

I was in Austria for the Chelsea game.

I had Russians, Germans, Dutch, southerners and native Austrians coming up to me all week asking if I knew where Barnsley was! Never known anything like it in 40 years of watching the reds - except possibly the prem season.

Doubt if they would bat an eyelid if we finished 8th and lost to Blackpool.