Flitcroft has done his job - it’s now over to the club, and the fans

The events of the Huddersfield game will naturally go down in Reds’ folklore and stay in the minds of Barnsley fans for years to come thanks to the achievement of what seemed a mammoth task at Christmas. Flitcroft and the players produced unprecedented promotion form, whilst uniting a fan base and a dressing room. However the hard work has just begun, and if the Reds are to build, and learn from this year, the board needs to make simple but effective changes, whilst creating a long term plan for this club. 


It is well known that Patrick Cryne intends to sell the club, however the board needs to continue to plan as if they’ll be here for the next five or ten years. Be it through financial crisis or not, the club has lost numerous fans and struggled to adapt to their consumers’ new climate - seeing some of the lowest attendances this season since returning to the Championship. Games that once had 20,000 spectators now have 15,000, and regular matchday crowds which used to push 11,000 sometimes fail to push 9000. As the board, being experienced businessmen have stated, a price drop simply isn’t the answer, and it is a risk the club are not willing to take - though when the club did answer the calls in January, spectator numbers barely increased.


Naturally, in the uncertainty surrounding the close to this season, prices for next season’s season ticket were released late, however the board have once again failed to try something innovative, and market it to death. Hartepool United for example have sold out season tickets due to deposit guarantee schemes, which is perhaps tricky to implement, but something that would have been opportunity for the board to do something positive in the community. Barnsley FC naturally doesn’t have a huge marketing budget ton encapsulate this community, however the steps it could take don’t need to break the bank - they just require a change of tact.

A Miracle On Grove Street

What a weekend. Have we ever experienced such feelings of joy and relief together, amongst a tide of abounding emotions, at extremities like that before? Will we ever again? Did you cry?

The Championship roller-coaster that was 2012/13 has slammed on its brakes and Barnsley can celebrate that we're still on the passenger list for next season. As the dust begins to settle during the summer, maybe I'll be able to get my head around the season properly and reflect on the journey we had in more detail. Right now, I remain utterly amazed.

Before the season began, we were already everybody's strugglers, in the perennial prediction game that had Barnsley set for relegation certainties, often from the same people who had Wolves and Bolton down for an instant return to the Premiership. It's a funny old game!

We were reminded constantly by Mr Hill that our expectations to differ and remain in the 2nd tier were highly unrealistic and built his relationship with supporters on that basis from very early on in his tenure. A change at the top was protracted. By late November the writing was on the wall.

In the end, the decision was made on 29th December, leaving Flicker in temporary charge whilst the board started the search for the club's 10th manager since Dave Bassett led us to the Championship play-off final in 2000.

Talk about jumping from the frying pan and in to the fire then! The utter indignation I felt as our progress (or lack of it) was aired in public, with candidates publishing entire press releases explaining their reasons for rejecting Barnsley's advances. Including League 1 bound Bristol City Manager, Sean O'Driscoll and ex-England Captain, Terry Butcher.

Certainly by accident, rather than by design, Flicker stood up to the challenge, took control of the situation, waded in to and resolved a significant amount of negativity that was being felt, picked us up and carried the whole club forward - to fight on.

Table generated from fixtures played 1st January (Peterborough 2 - 1 Barnsley)
through to Saturday 4th May (Huddersfield Town 2 - 2 Barnsley)

What he has achieved in just 21 league games (which include the fixtures he was in temporary charge) is nothing less than miraculous. If you then include the FA Cup run he masterminded, surely you have to consider him already as deserving legendary status at our beloved club. Would anyone disagree?

Speculation will be rife. Could the achievements of this team act as a catalyst for much bigger changes ahead? Will the club court interest from new owners, keen to be involved in Championship football now our status is fully confirmed? Will Flicker get the opportunity to roll-out a blueprint for long term success at Barnsley Football Club, which includes player development at its core?

In just 4 short months, David Flitcroft has transformed opinions and built a new stature for Barnsley FC in the football world. What could be achieved in four years?

Thanks for visiting and reading this latest blog entry. It's been a whirlwind of a season, it would be great to hear about some of your experiences and hopes for the Reds next season, please comment below. Join the debate on Twitter by following @OnThePontyEnd.

There's no place for political sentiment in Football

Two Premier League chairmen, Reading's John Madejski and Wigan's Dave Whelan, have called for the former prime minister's death to be commemorated this weekend.

Speaking to the press Whelan has called for the FA to arrange a tribute before his own club's FA Cup semi-final against Millwall at Wembley on Saturday, saying: 'We owe Mrs Thatcher a minute's silence.

'It is not my decision, it is for the FA to decide, but I would be in favour of wearing an armband out of respect to Mrs Thatcher. We have to say thank you very much for the services the former PM has given us.

'Mrs Thatcher was a very, very special lady and a very special Prime Minister. After Winston Churchill, we have probably had two or three really good PMs and she was definitely one of those.'

It's Easy To See Why The Reds Will Stay Up

The Reds have departed Selhurst Park with a share of the spoils.

Elsewhere, Wednesday pile more misery on a hapless Blackburn Rovers. Peterborough continue to be resolute in their efforts to remain in the Championship with an 86th minute equaliser at the John Smith's Stadium to draw 2-2 with our relegation rivals Huddersfield Town. Bristol City remain rooted to the base of the pile, losing 3-1 in a ruthless display by the Clarets of Burnley.

So the sun has been shining in both a figurative way and in a literal sense on our wonderful town this weekend and I'm convinced that Barnsley FC are staying up!!