Losing Our Manager Would Be The Appropriate Book End

I know some of the integral players were signed by Danny Wilson and the Conman so going back as 2014. However, the journey for me began when Johhno buggered off and we got a proper manager in. Hecky turned those players into a team capable of challenging for the play offs. You can say what you like that we would never have made it and we will never know. I believe we could have made it but even you don't accept this, the records show that after 26 games we were in seventh place and up to that point we were challenges. This cannot be disupted.

The second part of the journey started with the sale of Alfie Mawson. We brought in a reasonably handsome fee for him and spent bugger all on a replacement. Literally nothing. People can argue that MacDonald was brought in as the replacement but I don't believe this to be the case. We then sold our best striker for sixteen years, for a less handsome fee, and did absolutely nothing to replace him. We sold our midfield talisman and most important player since Brian Howard. The fee was Ok and we did nothing with it. We sold James Bree for another OK fee and did nothing with it.

We lost our second top scorer and have yet to replace him in terms of goals or the type of player he is. We lost our midfield work horse and have yet to replace him. We sold our captain and best defender and have spent nothing on a replacement. The player himself, manager and supporters did not want him to leave and he was sold for less than what he is worth. We have done nothing with the money.

The club have systematically destroyed everything that was built between January 2016 and January 2017. The process will be complete once we lose our manager. It seems like it's only a matter of time.

 

I have just had to pick myself off the floor as i agree with all that.

It does have a bit of a 'beginning of the end' feel to it. Hopefully we are all overthinking heckys interview and any possible reaction to it, although i would suspect Paul will get a bit of a telling off for airing his views of those above publically. I hope thats as far as it goes.

Out of interest what do you think off heckys 'outburst' ? Right to go public or should have remained behind closed doors. ?

 

Sweet jesus.

The lack of balls some of our fans have is staggering. I've listened to this empty negative bile for far too long Conan. If you want to revel in negativity and never offer anything constructive that's your shout. If you wish to go silent in good times, so be it.

But I'm not listening to it. A very long overdue action.

MUTE

 

It may be that he has tried to raise matters behind closed doors and either been rebuffed or there's a power vacuum and no one is dealing with things.

He's bound to be frustrated having got us promoted and then seen his best players leave for good money, little of which has been spent on replacements. He's Barnsley through and through and it's more than just a job to him.

I think - or pray - he stays as it's not really his fault but I don't blame him for speaking out publicly. He's the one whose job is being undermined and he's the who's the one whose reputation takes a big hit because of the failure of the club to back him in the transfer market.

 

I fully understand where you're coming from, but one or two points that you make actually go to show how difficult it is to replace players.

You say Hourihane was the best midfielder since Brian Howard, and that winnall was our best striker for 16 years.

When you consider there was almost a decade between Howard and Redfearn, it just highlights how fortunate we've been to have so many good players at the club all at one time.

To expect to replace them like for like is a massive ask.

We really have been victims of our own success.

 

What the **** does that actually mean? The fans lack balls. If I need to carry mine in a wheelbarrow will that suddenly make us a better team?

 

I agree with most of what you say about not replacing those who have departed. However Stevie Mallan is a similar sort of player to Hourihane, assists and worldie scoring wise and maybe they thought Mowatt would do a similar job..

 

I'm in two minds. Always difficult airing your grievances in public but he may think the message is not getting through. He knows he can take the risk as he has the support of the fans.