Points per game & all that crap!

Seeing as he raised the subject in the first place, Gordon Shepherd deserves all the flak he's received
regarding ppg and the like. Statistics can be utilised to prove any point of view, as Gordon well knows,
and to say (Chron last week) that had Davey been in charge from the start of the season would have
seen us get 55 points as against 38 had Andy Ritchie remained as manager, is pure hypotheses and totally
illogical. Shep is using that argument purely to justify the sacking of Ritchie and the appointment of Davey.

Be that as it may, as one who follows the Reds home and away every week, my main concern is that our
Chairman, who professes to have been a fan for 60+ years, seems to have completely lost sight of the
present day BFC fans. He resents any criticism of his actions, denigrates well-meaning and intelligent
supporters who have the temerity to question his decisions and gives the impression of arrogance when
inter-acting with the fans. We all know he gives his time for free to BFC, we all know he is a long-standing
supporter of the club, we all know he has the club's best interests at heart - but that doesn't give him the
supreme right to talk down to the the every day fan, or treat them with disdain.

If Gordon thinks those comments are unfair, can I just put to him a simple question. A regular away following
has travelled up hill and down dale all season to support the Reds, more often than not when the team has been
in dire straits - 250-odd at Plymouth on a Wednesday night, 300-odd at Cardiff on a Friday night. What exactly have
you or the club done to reward those fans for their loyal support? Nigh on 1000 travelled to Roots Hall last weekend
and the club put on exactly TWO official coaches for what was a vital match for the Reds! Call that loyalty to the fans,
or responding to demand? Sorry, I don't!

Barnsley Football Club have a excellent chance to reward the fans for their support this season by putting
on free travel to the Baggies on May 6th - we all know that won't happen because the bottom line on the balance
sheet is all important. Other clubs have done this when visiting Oakwell, so the precedent is there. Leicester City ran a
special promotion when we visited the Walkers Stadium last December. We all protested then that away fans should be treated
the same as home fans when it came to admission. So, what do BFC do next week when Leicester are the visitors? Yep -
exactly what Leicester did to us! Two wrongs making a right? - you decide, personally I don't think so. I accept that the club has to
be run in a prudent manner, but in doing so the hierarchy should not lose sight of the fans' worth to the organisation.
We are the lifeblood of this club - and we support the Reds through thick and thin. That loyalty is unquestionnable,
but Gordon & co., should not think that means they have carte blanche to treat the fans with disdain. I honestly don't
think he realises how distanced the fans are from him at present. After today's results we will survive in the Championship
this season, of that I have no doubt, but in my view that will be despite his and Davey's contributions rather than because of.

If people think that is harsh, I put one situation to you - Portman Road two weeks ago, a wide, wide pitch and Kyel Reid is
played as a second striker to Ferenczi in the middle of the park. Logical? A 5-1 defeat would indicate not, especially
as we were destroyed on the flanks. Yes. I accept that wasn't Gordon's decision - but he was the one who
decided Davey was the right man for the job and who has subsequently used statistics to justify that decision.
And as regards Gordon's contribution - yes, undoubtedly he has devoted free time and energy towards keeping
BFC afloat, yes he IS a long-standing fan, but does that give him the divine right to denigrate Andy Ritchie
the way he did on Radio Sheffield last November? Does that give him the divine right to denigrate long-standing
fans who question his decisions? Does that give him the divine right to denigrate comments made in good
faith (albeit anonymously) on this BBS??

Personally, I don't think it does.

These comments may seem inappropriate after today's result but let's be realistic, Palace were poor and never looked like
scoring, we were fortunate with the twice-taken penalty, deserved the result - deserve (imho) to stay in the Championship,
but most importantlly of all - we, the fans, deserve to be respected by our Chairman and the Board. In my opinion, that isn't the
case right now. Hopefully next season will see an improvement.

 

Utter, utter *****

Whilst GS has had his faults I do NOT remember any of his predescessors offering such things as free travel.

I think you ought to give credit where its due and stick your predisposed beliefs up your fat arse.

 

Yes but not all he said is *****, some truth in there as welll nt

 

Cheer Up

You misserable ****

 

Does GS have the right to denigrate anyone - no of course he doesn't.

But I entirely understand why he might get hacked off with people who do nothing but see the negative - fans may pay their money every other week but they don't often stick their necks out and put their names & families in the front line in response to some of the ***** that gets posted on here.

Simon Davey was never going to turn things round in a couple of weeks - he has tried a few things out and seems to be starting to make a success out of it.

I think the main comment from GS that is worth recalling is simple - Get Behind the Team

 

Fair comment Spartacus!

However, his predecessors did not try to use statistics to justify their decisions either! His predecessors (apart from Doyle perhaps) did not
publicly or privately denigrate fans who questionned decisions made at Board level.

I fully appreciiate that Gordon has done his best for the club, but he's also made mistakes (understandable) which he's railed at when fans have
picked him up on them. He should be above all that - as he should be above trying to use statistics to prove his decision making. You know, as well
as I, that to imply Ritchie would only have garnered 38 points this season had he remained in charge is pure blx, in much the same way as implying
Davey would have seen us through to 55 points had he been in the hot seat since last August.

Regarding the free-travel issue - so the fact no previous chairman/chief executive has instigated this feature means Gordon is immune to any
questionning about it? Are you saying that the club rigidly sticking to sending two coaches to Southend despite demand being for more than that is
justifiable? If so, sorry but I can't agree.

 

RE: Utter, utter ***** nt

 

I agree to an extent with regard to treatment of fans

and lack of effort WRT marketing / etc GS & PC put necks on the line ina very difficult situation with the appointment of SD and I think that he may feelrightly justifiedby SD's turn around. FFS give credit where its due. I am fairly confident myself that we would not had achieved our current points total with Ritchie at the helm.

 

Yes, I understand that he could get hacked off as well.

But he's chairman of a football club that many people love with a passion, and spend a lot of dosh supporting. He HAS to be above
criticism expounded on an internet forum or in a local paper. And, in my view, he HAS to appreciate the fans' worth to BFC - and
personally I don't think he does that, bearing in mind comments he makes publicly.

The tit-for-tat approach that the club has taken next week with the Leicester City game sums up the thought processes at
Board level imho. Practically everybody who went to the Walkers Stadium (myself included) on December 16th complained that
we, as travelling fans, were being discriminated against. BFC have now done exactly the same - does that make it all right? I don't
think so...

 

I disagree ......

I seem to remember that there was a load of people on here who thought that the Club should do a tit for tat and they have done so

I don't think hitting the Foxes fans is the right thing to do but GS can never win - he'll be damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

Thats why I think GS can be forgiven for blowing up now & then - otherwise you are supporting the media driven obsession with demanding impossibly high standards of those in the public eye

 

Why...................................................................

the hell should we give consessions to Leicester. </p>

If away fans want to come to Oakwell why shouldn't we make a bob or two out of it.</p>

It's professional sport not a Charity.</p>

 

Regarding Leicester.

They didn't do anything wrong, and I said so at the time, and we aren't.

The offer is meant to attract new home fans, if all clubs do it then fair enough.

Actually would have thought today would have been the best game for a fans offer, being that we'd probably have got a decent crowd anyway next week.

 

See what I mean!!! nt

.

 

RE: Yes, I understand that he could get hacked off as well.

As travelling fans you weren't discriminated against - you paid exactly the same amount every other away fan had paid.

 

I can't see why points per game shouldn't be used to compare managers. </p>

Isn't the number of points a team gets a measure of it's success.</p>

 

Sorry, I'm not trying to imply that Shep and Davey do not deserve credit.

The original point in my post was that Shep was the person who instigated the points per game issue, NOT the fans - and as such, he should expect to be
picked up on that fact. To constantly emphasise the ppg point (last week's Chron) only emphasises a weak argument in my opinion. To imply that we would
be relegated had Ritchie remained in charge, or that we would have ended up in mid-table had Davey been in control from last August, is pure speculation and
hypotheses.

Yes, I agree that credit should be given to both Davey and Shep for the position we find ourself in tonight, but I honestly think more credit should be given
to the players, because I consider we are in this position because of them rather than because of Shep and Simon Davey. If you can convince me that Davey's
decision to play Kyel Reid as a second central striker at Ipswich and leave Nads on the bench - when a wide pitch cried out for Reid to be played on the flank -
was correct, then I may re-appraise my opinion!

The essence is though, that Shep gives the impression that he's superior to the likes of you and I, regular fans who care about our club, and the reality is -
he isn't. He constantly refers to the fact that he's supported the club since 1946, and that opinions on this BBS don't matter because they are posted
anonymously. Be honest, does the fact he's been a fan for 61 years mean his views are more valid than yours or mine (a fan for 31 years)?

 

but should you compare the PPg ratio of the complete record of each manager? or just the ones which make the other to be a bad manager?
That is the important question.
PS I think Davey has finally come good

 

Well done to the players the last 3 games, fantastic.

I know where you're coming from with all your other comments. </p>

Iginore the 3 or 4 mouthy numpties who will be having a go.</p>

 

I'll tell you why Johnny..

...getting outside the parochial aspect of this issue, we are ALL football fans - and as such we, en-masse, complained bitterly that
Leicester were offering cheap rates to their own fans whilst charging away support the full price. FFS, we even had the Supporters
Trust and the Football Supporters Federation (in the shape of Alan Bloore) fighting our corner. So, if we are fighting a principle can
we then say it's justified when our own club do exactly the same? Personally I think not. I completely understand BFC's approach
from a financial standpoint, but I really think they've missed a chance to take the moral high-ground and thumb a nose at the
Walkers Stadium mob!

Not only that - I seem to recall that BFC themselves complained to both the FL and Leicester City FC at the time about their pricing
policy, so does this not make the club hypocrites??

Next season, assuming us and the Foxes are both in the same division - and Leicester do a similar initiative when we are the visitors -
will they be inclined to reduce prices for away fans? I think not.

 

No credit to the management then OB

of course when AR was gaffer all the results were nowt to do with the players.