In 1972 we were relegated and spent seven seasons in the Fourth Division, most of the time under Jim Iley, like Johnson a retired midfielder still in his thirties. Unlike the present day if you finished in the bottom four the club had to seek re-election yet from post war up to 1986 only seven clubs failed to be re-elected. The bottom two clubs are now automatically relegated to the Conference and many continue to fall down the Leagues. The last game of the season in 1972 saw the attendance fall to 2000 and the club laboured for years in the bottom tier often with similar gates. The last 18 months under Iley brought in £200,000 in transfer fees and Dennis speculated £55,000 of that to bring in Allan Clarke who in his first season gained promotion and increased attendances, two games attracting 21,000 and 15,000. Now after selling Stones and Holgate, both from the Academy for £3 million we are left with half a team of loan signings and we would be lucky to get half a million for the remainder which makes the policy of buying and developing young lower league players to sell on look flawed. Cryne has now appointed eight managers, he sacked Ritchie when he refused to spend on players who were no better than the ones he had and Robins was placed on gardening leave when the club denied funds to speculate in the transfer market. The present management may have experience on the financial side but Cryne is being advised football agent Mansford who recommended his client . Johnson has limited experience in the game and does not command the respect and authority needed in the present situation with relegation looming. Watkins has many other interests and Taylor is occupied furthering his position with the suits at the FA. Little wonder the club is in a mess with a quartet like that running the show. If the club are relegated next year attendances will be halved and another long spell in the wilderness looks likely. Cryne may have saved the club some years ago but refuses to speculate, his time is up and the money he has invested is only in the form of a loan repayable in the event of a sale which is looking less likely by the minute. The biggest asset the club has is the land owned and with half of this owned by Barnsley Council when the developers come calling it may disappear.
An absolute Stupendous post my good man. Get ready for the flack though from those who believe the path we are on will eventually be paved in gold.
Spot on. If we don't wake the **** up and start climbing this **** heap of a division we will be in a different world of misery and trouble next year fighting for our lives - and I'll be honest, I won't be there to witness it and I won't bother staying in touch. We need to marshall our resources and reinvigorate the reputation of the club (which is fading quickly). It starts with a new manager. We probably need a new Chairman. We either decide to go out on our shields or we'll pass away with a barely audible wimper.
Sorry you must have a well rounded understanding of finance, expenditure and legal rulings to come out with that excellently argued and well put statement. Well done you.
We're bottom of the 3rd tier, have lost 9 out of the last 11 games, been knocked out of the cup by a part-time side, have a manager who try as he might is incapable of getting results, and an owner who has failed to hire the right man for the job yet again. But yeah, SCMP. That SCMP that every club in the division is subject to.
Yes they are. How many of them are ready to spend big bucks in January! None of them. Just because our players are *****, just because we've recruited utter garbage, just because we get beat every week doesn't change that. But Hey what's the point
