Route to the premier league season...

It's too painful Jordy.

 

We've always been a "nearly team". Still wouldn't change us for the world!

 

Early in the season we played Stoke at home in our five game winning streak at the start of the season.

We didn’t just beat them we hammered them with some fantastic football. I can still remember Neil Thompson’s thunderbolt of a goal.

After that game I thought we had a good chance. As others have said the Christmas time win over Sheff Utd at their place had most of us dreaming of the premier league.

 

The moment I got picked up from home ( Sunday morning) and taken to the town hall steps
To bare my backside
Where upon arriving i was greeted by 30 plus folk, mostly woman from the club,who were laughing and cheering, plus one police constable who said and I quote ...The first of many, no doubt, looks like the steps are in for a busy day. Before joining in with the clapping, and laughing like everybody else.

Guess that's when I realised two things
One we were in the premiership For the first time, even though I'd witnessed it the day before

and two
To keep my bloody mouth shut about they don't want to go up, especially when I followed it up with ...if they go up I'll show my....lol
Happy days

 

Great question.

The 89th minute win at Man City was when I thought….hang on a minute we have got something here.

I knew we had something a bit special. That was a very unbarnsley thing to do.

we destroyed stoke at home around sane time in those first 5 games.

however the signing of Super John was huge and I think the win at port vale reinforced it with him scoring . It was a win we dug out, coupled with a bit of class from SJH; precisely the sort of victory that gets you promoted .

what a team, magical times

 

Me too

 

It was the Charlton win for me too mate

 

Me too then flicked onto radio 5 live


‘Barnsley fans are you listening….’

 

One of the best performances I have seen against Charlton, totally blew them away, Super John swinging on the crossbar after we scored the 4th. Quality.

 

Pre-season had many similarities with recent ones. I remember folk complaining of a lack of investment (they don’t want to go up) typified by signing a nobody from Darlington (Appleby), a striker who doesn’t score goals (Wilko) and some unknown foreign winger from a crap team in Portugal called Clint Marcelle.

Then we went to West Brom away first game and we were incredible - really incredible. I’m still amazed at how good we were that day. I felt then we had a chance (maybe a play off place) and I was even more positive after the good run that followed.

Then we signed John Hendrie….

As others have said, United away was a big statement win.

But it was only really when Wolves dropped points midweek before the Bradford game when was I confident of automatic promotion. But as a Barnsley fan, I couldn’t help but think something would still go wrong… but it didn’t.

 

Think I only started believing when Sundgot hit the post from two feet in front of an open goal. Turned to my mate and said “That’s it - it’s our day”.

Having watched the Reds since 1967, you learn to not get too optimistic.

 

That performance at WBA the 1st game of the season, I still say hands down is one of the best performances I've ever seen.

Hearing the comments from their fans upon exit, totally confirmed it.

A game I wish I could relive.

 

From 74, Barnsley av been in all 4 divisions, i've stood on terraces with 100's of fans to 70 thousand, seen em play at Wembley, beaten teams like Man Utd an Liverpool, its been memorable, keep the faith, Jordym93, your time will come. [ hopefully ]

 

Charlton game for me too…walking out of the ground reading equalised in injury time against wolves, and then scored a winner …atmosphere outside the ground was like I’d never seen before

 

I spent that evening stood on the drive with the car radio tuned into a very faint reception for BBC radio Humberside, pacing the drive listening to the whole match. When Grimsby scored late.on, I danced up and down the street.

 

We were close to the Cundy Cross roundabout on the way home and the whole queue started blaring their horns continental style. It was brilliant.

 

Same for me. After that game, I thought we had built something really good and it was going to be a great season. When we were top 4 games later with 5 wins from 5, I thought we were going up.

Going top for Christmas by beating Sheffield United was a special moment too.

 

Away at Portsmouth was a huge disappointment even though we played really well. But for me it was the Wolves draw at Grimsby when I truly believed. Listening to the radio and posting on the BBS....

 

I started believing in the 94-95 season, Danny's first season as manager. Things changed that season. With no money, no signings, we became a proper team; people behind the scenes knew what they were doing.

I thought we'd win promotion that season. We ended up 6th (for 'reasons' that didn't earn a play-off place) 4 points outside the play-offs, 7 off automatic promotion. But from early on that season I was convinced Danny, Eric and John Dennis were taking us to the Premier League, it was just a matter of time.

It's more difficult now, but you still don't need the most money or the best players, you need the best team. Val went some way to proving that.

 

I’d say the Stoke game too.
The question was when did we start believing but the week before the Bradford game was the biggest emotional roller coaster I have ever experienced with Barnsley in 55 years of watching them.
We went to Portsmouth quite optimistic of getting something and seemed to be 3-0 down in no time at all, losing 4-2. Leaving the ground knowing that Wolves were playing Grimsby the following evening and likely to beat them easily, I was in absolute despair at the thought of us getting so close to promotion and then not making it. In Grenville Firth’s book on the history of the club, written in the late 70’s, he describes the disbelief in 1922 when we missed out on promotion to the top flight by the smallest ever margin and says that it is unlikely we will ever be that close to making it again; I couldn’t bear the thought of us missing out.
24 hours later and Grimsby get a draw, and it’s back in our hands, the excitement of knowing we need one win and it’s ours. Four days after that, Barnsley Council removed 17 tonnes of beer bottles from the town centre after the celebration to end all celebrations.