The Lower Leagues: Diamond Mine, or Coal Face?

At the time of writing the Reds are pushing through deals for Exeter left back Scott Golbourne and Leyton Orient captain Stephen Dawson – the latter commanding a 6-figure fee. Both will arrive in Barnsley from League 1, joining the likes of David Perkins, Jim McNulty, Scott Wiseman and Matt Done in the ‘League 1 crew’ of players currently at Oakwell. As these new personnel arrive, we ask if the lower leagues throw up lumps of coal, or rough diamonds?

Getting it right
What makes a good signing from a lower league? With League 1, not just the championship, now full of sleeping giants, Barnsley have often found themselves struggling to compete financially with opposition from even the top end of the lower division. In fact, all of the teams promoted from league 1 last season eventually finished higher than the Reds, just showing how competitive the game can be financially. This means that not only do Barnsley not always have access to the top players in our own division, but often have limited choice from the top end of League 1 also.

This of course means that Keith Hill has to search deeper within a division he has a lot of experience in, however, how can he guarantee that players from a struggling side in League 1 can make the step up to the championship? Of course the answer seems obvious - he can’t, but judging from the players brought in so far, Keith has a formula to polish players from the lower leagues and sell them on.

48 Hours To Go

The Transfer Deadline Looms

The next 48 hours has the potential to be one of the most hectic but also one of the most important of Keith Hills first season in charge of Barnsley F.C. Not only will he have to deal with late incoming bids for the clubs better players, he will also have to try and strengthen an already depleated squad with only minimal funds at his disposal. Hill has already demonstrated his eye for a bargain with the early season captures of David Perkins, Ricardo Vaz Te and Jimmy McNulty.

All three of the aforementioned have shown that even in this current climate there are still players available who represent value for money. This transfer window has already seen the arrival of premiership midfielders Michael Tonge and Korey Smith, both will help fill the void left by Danny Drinkwater's recent departure and Jacob Butterfield's season ending injury. The midfield duo have something to prove to their respective parent clubs and this can only help Barnsley achieve there ambitions.

Despite the two new arrivals the squad is still lacking in numbers and Hill himself has recently spoke of his desire to bring in at least 2 more players, This will as always depend on the clubs ambition and there willingness to spend a little money.

The Keyboard: Mightier Than The Sword?

Mightier than the sword?

Okay, maybe the headline's wrong - maybe I mean the Pen - but we are of course in the age of Social Media and the Web. When was the last time you hand wrote a letter to a friend?

An observation though from the last few weeks; noises from within and outside of the Barnsley Football Club seem to only espouse the negative effects of social media and its micro-bloggers. Perhaps the worst recent example was the temporary closure of Jacob Butterfield's account on Twitter - after an episode with the Oakwell Boo Boys.

But are supporters, when handling themselves correctly, wrong to voice their opinions?

Managers throughout the game always seem to slam the amateur writers and forum users for their activities. The old line of never having played the game is probably used too often.

Do you need to be a chef to see that your dinner is burnt?

If indeed those were the qualities for commentary and journalism, the good old British public would never have heard of the likes of Kenneth Wolstenholme's "They Think It's All Over", or ever have seen John Motson and his Sheepskin grace BBC TV for all these years.

The Bank of Oakwell - Round Two

Michael Tonge

Today has seen the acquisition of 2 more players through the loan market, with former Blade Michael Tonge joining from Stoke until the end of the season, and the imminent signing of Korey Smith from Norwich City, on a deal expected to last for around a month initially. This follows from the injury to Reds’ skipper Jacob Butterfield, and the departure of on loan Danny Drinkwater, who made the move to Leicester last week.

That wasn’t the only activity expected however, as the Reds had also enquired about the availability of Leyton Orient captain Stephen Dawson, with the Irish midfielder’s contract with the O’s set to expire at the season’s end. The Reds have since been pushed backed however, and will now look to conclude any possible deal in the summer window.