Brammer’s Blog

Although it is sad that Simon Davey has finally left the club it was an inevitable conclusion considering our continued poor form. It became impossible to justify a record of only 1 League win in 14 attempts and no home victory since March.

There is no doubt that Simon brought many positive things to Oakwell. He steadied the ship in his first season, had the epic FA Cup run in his second, and built a solid infrastructure at the club – such as bringing in a development coach to bridge the gap between Academy and First Team and creating an extensive scouting network. However, managers will always be judged on results and unfortunately for Simon it was becoming abundantly clear that we were heading for a fourth straight relegation battle under his leadership.

Clearly this was a totally unacceptable position to be in again, and both the fans and the Board knew action needed to be taken. Yet I read in the national press – and surprisingly from a number of our own players – that avoiding relegation every season should be viewed as an achievement for a club like Barnsley.

‘A club like Barnsley’ presumably being defined as small town, unfashionable, no money etc. The stereotypical ‘battling Barnsley’ as we are so often condescendingly viewed as. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t we had more seasons in the second tier of English football than any other club? We’re hardly punching above our weight or drunk on over-ambition by expecting mid-table mediocrity are we?

What has really got me going have been a number of stories in the media which are seemingly based on the two times the journalists have seen us in action under Simon Davey – namely the Liverpool and Chelsea FA Cup victories. There is no doubting that they were two phenomenal performances, but they didn’t offset the numerous poor displays we witnessed in the bread and butter of the Championship (e.g. just 12 wins in 61 away games) . If those two encounters had been typical performances would Simon Davey now be out of a job? Of course not. They were the exception, not the rule.

One Guardian journalist – I won’t name her to save her embarrassment – talks of the ‘…sweet passing football that had persuaded locals to make “it’s just like watching Brazil” the team’s anthem’. I think she is the only person to have ever compared the style of football witnessed over the past two and a half years to that of Pele, Zico and Ronaldinho. I have no doubt that is the type of football Simon Davey encouraged, but it certainly never materialised.

The same journalist then moves on to the old myth over lack of resources and how Simon Davey had ‘used his imagination in beating Barnsley’s budgetary restrictions’. During his tenure Simon spent in the region of £3m on transfers and brought in almost 40 players (including loans). Not only that, but he wasn’t under any pressure to sell his star names (e.g. JCR last season) and he had a Chairman who was willing to sanction the mammoth wages of Kevin Phillips. His hands were hardly tied were they?

Compare that with a couple of clubs down the road – namely Doncaster Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday. Sean O’Driscoll has spent just £300k over a similar period and built an excellent side which plays the ’sweet passing football’ talked of by our Guardian friend. Likewise Brian Laws has invested only £500k in 3 years and provided a team which is always comfortably mid-table. In both cases they have also been forced to continually part with their prize assets to balance the books.

And how much did Owen Coyle spend on transfer fees to get Burnley – a similar sized club to ourselves – promoted to the Premier League? Absolutely nothing!

Don Rowing hit the nail on the head when he spoke on Sky earlier this week. He talked of football being aspirational – about believing that one day we may grace the Premiership again. If we don’t have a dream what on earth are we working towards?

Patrick Cryne reflected last year about his fear that he would only be remembered for saving the club, rather than achieving something with it. He has invested an awful lot of time and money in trying to take the club forward and quite rightly his ambition doesn’t end with fourth from bottom.

What we now need is an enthusiastic and ambitious manager whom both players and supporters can rally behind. If we become ‘Stronger Together’ then why can’t the dream become reality?