This week The Reds sold star centre-half Ethan Pinnock, and it's safe to say the reaction from the Oakwell faithful was mixed. Many were annoyed at Paul Conway & Co, for yet another 'flog it' moment, where a key player in the Reds' squad was sold at what they believe to be a 'minimalistic price' for a player of 'Snoop's' calibre. Whilst on the other hand many just saw the sale as a progression of the club's 'Moneyball' approach, and not seeing the sale of Pinnock as the club losing quality, but as the club merely selling a player with one year left on his contract, and seeking to cash in whilst his stock his high. With the people who sit this side of the fence obviously perching on that side, under the proviso, that the money be re-invested into the playing staff.
However, whatever side of the fence you do sit on, we can all agree that in 18/19 we saw a Rolls-Royce of a centre-half dominate many a League One attack, and on that note it is obvious that we have lost a player of quality, who had significant passion for the crest he wore. I'm sure I speak for many a Red when I say this, good luck Ethan. Brentford are a terrific club and I'm sure he will thrive there under the stewardship of Thomas Frank.
In amongst the chaos of this all, I recognised something that really made me want to write, and that was the arrogance of many Reds and the lack of understanding of the club's position, both financially and in its pulling power. Ever since I can remember, Barnsley has been a selling club, and with 'Moneyball', it is obvious to me that the owners are accepting our position for the time being, but steadily making marginal gains, at the same time making a steady monetary gain.
The Now
Barnsley are quite possibly in the healthiest position that we have seen the club in, in modern times. Financially stable, under the stewardship of a terrific coach in Herr Stendel, and making progress it seems up the football food chain. Yet with the sale of just one player, many are seeming to forget how good a situation we are in, and in the few days that have followed Pinnock's sale it's evident how the mini breakdown of many Reds was in fact a huge overreaction.
The drafting in of young defender Toby Sibbick, Finnish colossus Aapo Halme and 'Big Bambo' Diaby are a real positive step in rebuilding the heart of our defence. Not to mention the early summer arrival of Mads Andersen, who I gather made quite the impression on Wednesday night against Stalybridge Celtic. So when you have fan reactions like this one, post Sibbick's signing, it really grinded on my gears and inspired me to start typing.
Looks like a panic buy might be wrong— ray parrish (@rayzor1971) July 2, 2019
One thing we can all agree on is that Pinnock will be missed, he truly was a quality centre-half, despite this we haven't yet seen what the next generation of Barnsley centre-halves will be like, and indeed all of the four new recruits in a year's time may well be held in higher esteem than 'Snoop'.
What do you think? All feedback is appreciated, if you want to feed something back to me or merely want a chat about BFC you can find me on twitter, my handle is @TomOTPE.
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