Yesterday Was A Bit Of An Improvement

Said he was the perfect manager for him at that time. Keith lavished praise on him, told him he was the best etc, but drilled it into him regards his fitness. Basically told him he'd build a team around him and make him a Premier League player so long as he put the graft in. So Jacob did. He lost over a stone in weight that summer and spent time after training doing extra bits and pieces with the football. It was the day after a friendly game in Hartlepool that Keith went to the club (Don) and told them (he didn't ask) to extend Jacob's contract, that he'd got a multi million pound footballer in the making. Jacob was 100% willing to sign. The club (Don) told Keith that "here, we wait until winter before looking at contracts, we like to see how they get on" etc.

I could be here all night describing how ******* stupid the club was in 2011.

 

Thought we would have got more than 2 million for Jacob had he not been done by brown .

 

Think we were talking a million up front and another in terms of clauses. Seriously.

 

The dirty brown foul didn't cost us much cash wise then . We have always under valued our best players , hopefully things change now on

 

I can't be 100% certain on how much we got off Norwich in the end, but it was less than a million and included other clauses which never kicked in.

 

It did cost us a lot then the brown tackle

 

Not as much as it did losing Vaz Te for 500k.

Club was run like a ******* joke that season. Hence some of my defence of Keith Hill.

 

Sadly, Don was a small time administrator who was so used to watching the pennies that he could not recognise an opportunity when it kicked him in the cobblers. I am firmly of a belief that the management team, i.e. the manager and the Chief Executive, should be judged as a team. Success in buying the right players is never down to just the manager. I am convinced that every manager has lost a potentially successful signing or several because the chief executive has not been prepared to pull in the same direction, or as you have illustrated with Jacob, that we have alienated a loyal player because of inflexibility. They should stand or fall together. There would be far fewer sackings that way.

 

Aye, and Don and Keith never got on. Disaster waiting to happen.

 

I can believe it.

 

Barnsley have had a small town, cautious mentality for many many years and consequently we haven't got full value for players we've sold. Mansford is yet to be really tested in this regard but I wouldn't hold my breath...