Owners

Since supporting Barnsley we've always been a struggling Championship team/yo-yo team as they're called. Since the consortium takeover we're still that, except last year we had the best season I've ever seen as a Barnsley fan. Unfortunately we've been unable to follow up this success, the rug being well and truly pulled out from underneath when our manager and captain left. It seemed like we were just on the verge of building something and then an offer comes along for Val and he takes Mowatt with him.. I felt totally deflated as a fan and it appears to be a resounding effect on the whole team.

So a bad year this year, not unheard of as a Barnsley fan. For as long as I've supported Barnsley this has been the norm. I have total confidence that if/when we're relegated we'll be promoted again within 3 years tops, granted we stick with our owners and don't fall into administration or anything like that. I will have huge concerns about the current situation when we are in new territory for Barnsley FC, like if we were in this position but in league one or two, that would be weird and outside of the norm, outside of the pattern.. But for now, things are exactly how I've always known them. Things are almost identical to when we had Patrick Cryne except for the one magical season which happened under the newer administration, which if I could remind everybody was only a year ago. We cannot underestimate the significance of Val leaving, Mowatt leaving and the impact it's had from the top down or are we just going to blame the owners for that too?

I don't know, I think a lot of people are way too over dramatic. Whether it's saying fire all the owners when you have no backup plan or acting like you're moving onto a higher plateau by not watching anymore. Listen, I guess what I'm trying to say is losing is horrible. Being relegated is even more horrible.. But this is Barnsley, I love supporting Barnsley. No one likes seasons like this one, I can easily forget or not pay attention to seasons like this, but seasons like this are what makes the one like last year so special. They're what make trips to Oakwell South so special. We have downer seasons like this so that our highs can be so much higher than if we were all cheering for a 'top 5 every year' Premier League team.

Now unless someone is going to convince the owners of Manchester City to ditch them and come takeover here, I'm #ConwayIn lol.

 

But it's easy to be over dramatic on social media. If they were that concerned, they'd be outside the ground now, burning pallets in a punched through oil drum to keep warm.

 

It's nothing to do with losing. It is supporters being treated like ****, owners taking money out when they said they wouldn't. That's just two major issues. And it is easy to say it is over dramatic when you're thousands of miles away and don't go week in week out like most of them do and have done for decades.

 

First time we haven’t had local owners and I think that’s why some of the criticism is way way over the top imo .
The owners haven’t done themselves any favours mind , disputes among themselves and promises not followed through etc and same mistakes made resulting in same scenarios happening .
Closing the west stand , enquiring about ground share are also fair points to be made and the threats to each other among the owners using the assets as weapons is a cause for concern.
The results on the field have added to the concerns obviously and imo if (when ) we are relegated I don’t think we’ll bounce straight back tbh , lots of bigger clubs with bigger assets down there struggling atm.
Last twice we went down especially the latter there was a togetherness which is miles away from where we are now .
I think the disputes on the board have spilled down into the dressing room which added to our losses at the end of the season and the woeful purchases have added to the dressing atmosphere .
I think there is a need for the fans to direct there anger, frustration and concerns and demand answers to find if these but as you say some are way over the top .
Demanding the board sell up when there is no meaningful option on the table or ideas of how we can manage without them .
Yes we should be asking these questions and want to know what’s going on regards the present and future of our club but we can do without personal abuses and downright Qanon conspirators amongst us .

 

If it was only about the on field good and bad seasons that you could argue there isn't much between these owners and the former owners. But I see a bigger picture and then I get concerned and here is where my motivation is disappearing, in fact maybe already gone. When we had our best season ever in the Premier we lost the manager and some players. But we tried to build and fight to return. We gave it a go. This season I felt we didn't really give ourselves a chance. Cryne used to put money into the clubs Academy annually I believe. I don't see that now, in fact im not sure ANY money comes in from ownership. But its bigger than that. I am disillusioned with the ever increasing list of things that go beyond the team, things that cement our club in the community. The investment in the ground and infrastructure, how fans are treated and communicated, controversy that has followed a lot of our activities this past few years. The game day experience has deteriorated. I don't see any development of the full package, if I had maybe the footballing side would be more tolerant.

Having said all that, im a believer that its a better the devil you know, be careful what you wish for etc. So if people want Conway out then they must have a plan or idea of who they want in. In terms of funding the club, its clear that a fans group could match the funding from the current owners ie. zero. But who can afford to buy the shares and who has the motivation, skills, knowledge and time to then invest themselves fully. Thats the open question for me.

 

I don't care about losing nearly as much as I perhaps should. I'm pragmatic about it, there'll be another season where we don't lose so much just around the corner. The results don't ruin my day.

I've experienced any number of poor seasons, but the difference between those in the past and this one is previously we've always tried our best. Directors, managers, coaches and the vast majority of players have always tried their best to win as many football matches as possible within the restrictions, like budget, in which we operate. Often our best is a long way short of what is required, but it's still the best we've got.

I no longer believe that to be true. I believe the owners know we could perform better within our budget with a sprinkling of players who have no resale value. We could win more football matches if we signed and played some of these more experienced players. But we won't because winning football matches is secondary to profiting from buying and selling players. I have no desire to support that model. I want my team to win, but accept we will often lose. I won't accept winning as a secondary objective, a byproduct of buying, putting in the shop window, and selling commodities. I don't support that.

I've no interest picketing the club, I just don't go.

 

Just to pick up on your last paragraph. As a fan group, unless it banded together and formulated a group to acquire the shares of at least the 80%, there is nothing you could do but act as a supporter as you saw fit. You have no control over who buys and sells the club, just like you have no control over which players are bought and sold. So it doesn't really matter what names or suggestions came forward for an alternative ownership, because we just don't have the control or power to sway it anyway without putting something in too.

I think you also have to look at the set up in two ways. One, ownership. Two, operationally. The ownership don't have to dabble with the operations. Patrick was hardly involved through his illness and prior to that stepped back quite considerably. These owners seem detached for long periods too. Those doing the day to day operations as best they can are largely doing a very good job. There will be considerable experience and pride already within the employee set up that would be retained post sale of the club. That could be utilised and probably enhanced.

In terms of ownership though, the 3 key initial parties to make any sort of positive change happen are the Cryne family, the council and some collective of the fan base, ideally channelled through the supporters trust.

 

This.

Results on the pitch are largely irrelevant.

Treating my fellow supporters with contempt isn’t. Running the ground into the err ground again isn’t. The match experience deteriorating to such a level I’m starting to dread going as the whole place just gives off a decaying depressing vibe isn’t.

Football is part of the hospitality/ entertainment industry. That’s as competitive an industry as you will ever find and at the moment we are doing less than zero to keep existing ‘consumers’ happy let alone recruit new ones. I think the pandemic opened a lot of people’s eyes to what is value for money and broke the habit of attending. If I had been involved in a club like ours I would have done all I could to reconnect and to make sure the habit wasn’t permanently broken. Instead they have just alienated us.

 

It's the idea that we're not doing everything we can to win. I didn't expect them to put money in. I can accept when we're not very good.

But we've just brought in Poya instead of a Warnock, when clearly Warnock would've kept us up. We won't sign the experienced players we desparately need. We make horrendous mistakes at board level - Murphy's laughable exit as CEO, for example. In 2019 we let the entire defence go and should have been relegated. The communication is awful. The West Stand fiasco was a nightmare. The talk of leaving Oakwell is disgraceful.

And to top it off, this is our worst start to a season in over 100 years (IIRC). It's totally pathetic. They don't know what they're doing.

 

Things are actually very different.

Patrick had the club at heart and funded the shortfalls when required, with the intention of recouping this investment only via a means where this would be sustainable and not damage the club. Fundamentally, everything the club did under his ownership had the goal of us performing at the highest level available.

PMG view the club as one element of a growing investment portfolio, all of which are underperforming under their ownership, and have already removed funds from the club for their own benefit, and appear likely to do so again if the opportunity arises. Everything the club does under their ownership has a goal of maximising a financial return to them, the investors. Despite a massive stroke of good fortune with a coaching appointment last season, we now have the bleakest outlook in footballing terms that we've had since the early years post-administration.

 

The point is we are struggling , not through natural design aging players etc ( we should be so lucky), people are mad because this was caused by the owners and their flawed 'plan' alter a winning playing style, don't allow experienced players and the standard of some of the players signed is just weird.
Now I've suuported the reds through many a rise and decline but this one just feels significantly different, in fact if you set out to deliberately sabotage our Championship status you could hardly have done a better job!

 

I like the idea of a fan group owning a share in the club. Working with the owners of Oakwell (the Cryne family and the Council) may lead to ground improvements and a better match day experience. The owners of the 'football team' have a model that was improved by Val. It makes perfect sense to have a couple of experienced players in the squad as the results are better, the team finishes higher up the league and the younger players develop quicker. We've always been a selling club. We're signing players on 3-4 year contracts, so that means a year of development, two years in the team, then off they go for whatever the club can get. Rinse and repeat. If that model generates enough income to make a profit, maybe some of that could be put into improving Oakwell.

 

Thing is using their model doesn’t work if you don’t keep the conveyor belt full.
Every first team player should have a player developing and waiting to step in. The 4 year contract enables them to do this but to quote an infamous poster on here they need ‘to prime the pump’.
We are doing it by throwing someone in and letting them sink or swim and the team suffers as a result.

 

A couple of points. A fan could alone buy the shares and become owner should they wish to sell and the fan has the money and credentials. Cryne was a fan who then bought the club. Regarding segregation of duties owner / operator. I agree it doesn’t have to be connected but in our case it is. Given we have a CEO then Conway would be considered part of the ownership yet steps in and out in decision making of ops. Maybe that’s a problem, too much dabbling and undermining the operation of the club.

 

There are price tags on all positions at the club, even on loan extensions as we have seen recently. Coaches and their seconds are brought in as a stepping stone to go on to greater things if they are any good just like players, we will never keep hold of anyone that`s any good for the good of the club just for the good of the owners.

 

I agree with the sentiments of the opening post. Players come and go, managers come and go, and ultimately owners come and go. The only constant is us fans. Once we go we’re sending over 120 years of history to who knows where, not forgetting the livelihoods of many people who a lot of us know personally. Think of your ups and downs supporting the team you’ve loved over the years, average it out, and I guarantee you’re in credit.

 

I don't agree with you and I hope your wrong but its the best most sensible anti owners post I've read.

 

i don’t think it’s a case of Conways dabbling, more a lack of depth of operational ability.

It would take a fair chunk of money at this stage, circa £20m I suspect. That’s a lot of surplus to have for one Barnsley supporting individual.

 

it goes without saying any individual would need a wad of cash. I believe where we are as a club right now is that we are only attractive to consortiums who want to exploit rather than invest in football success. Where the club can be operated at minimum cost, maximum benefits to owners. The alternative is we reset expectations back to being a ‘family’ supported, owned, small underdog in the 3rd or 4th tier. We seem to be on track to be a hybrid of both.