Albert Einstein once described insanity as trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Strangely enough, it's a theory that can be applied to football, and more so to the situation that Barnsley suffered. I'll admit that my football posts have been sparse, and it's probably due to the fact that under Keith Hill, Barnsley became dire and lacklustre and it was difficult to write about my hometown club performing so poorly. Boasting one of the smallest budgets and smallest attendances in the Championship, it's no surprise that we're relegation fodder each year. That doesn't mean that we are nailed on to go down, despite what bookies think.
Now it's probably worth pointing out that I don't get to as many Barnsley matches as I like, working a part-time job at the weekend to fund my way through university. However, I get down to Oakwell as often as I can, and additionally attend a handful of away games. So, I didn't see the plight of Keith Hill in full. I was a big fan of 'King Keith' when he first came to the club, and his 'endeavour' and 'clean sheets are king' stole my heart and my footballing brain. He had the know-how and tenacity to win over a lot of Barnsley fans and we saw some good football down in little old Barnsley. Keith had an ability to find rough gems from lower leagues, as well as forgotten players, and turn them into Championship quality players. We have a lot to thank from him. David Perkins and Stephen Dawson have been a revelation and similarly to Keith, won over the hearts of the Barnsley crowd. Ricardo Vaz Te was a journeyman when he walked through the doors of Oakwell, but walked out after an incredible 6 months, scoring some of the best goals i've ever seen in my short tenure of being a fan. It was gutting to see him go, and we lost our spark, and barely scraped survival at the end of the 2011/2012 season. Surviving alone on Portsmouth going into administration.
Many fans were wary of the 2012/2013 season, and it's hard to blame them. After watching a momentous collapse at the end of last season, surviving by the skins of our teeth, there wasn't much anticipation for the season ahead. Keith chopped and changed to try and get it right, but always had his favourites (Scott Wiseman, a notable example), and eventually succumbed to insanity. Keith was all out of ideas and was shown the exit door just after Christmas, after a very poor set of results which left us lingering in the bottom 3. A search for the new manager was on, but after a few managers (Sean O'Driscoll and Terry Butcher) turned us down, the job was offered to Keith's assistant David Flitcroft (Flicker), after he masterminded a 2-0 victory over local rivals Leeds United.
Things started to change. Our problem throughout the season was that we were conceding too many goals, and not taking our chances up front. A lethal combination if you're wanting to stay in any league. With top goalscorer Craig Davies sold on to Bolton, it was hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel. But, the Barnsley faithful got behind Flicker and he brought in his own ideas to the table, and implemented a 3-5-2 formation. Flicker saw that we didn't have a strong and reliable two central defenders, and instead of trying to find the best combination, he stuck three at the back, and we saw the benefits. His first masterstroke. Your best striker doesn't always make your best strike partnership, and how true turned out to be. With Davies being sold on, the task was handed on to Marlon Harewood and Chris Dagnall, and they've blossomed together, helping us to scrappy wins, which you need when in a relegation fight. Although I think that Davies was one of the best number 9's i've seen in my time, I think his greediness to shoot rather than pass was frustrating and detrimental to squad morale.
The midfield, arguably needed little work. With Dawson and Perkins in the middle, we arguably have the two most hard-working midfielders in the Championship. The jobs of left back/left midfielder and right back/right midfielder have been handed to Scott Golbourne and John Stones. Golbourne is a steady away player, and is probably one of the better left backs we've had since being in the Championship, but then again, probably not the best. However, he does a job and puts in a shift and that's what you need. John Stones, is a colossal talent that has risen from the pits of Barnsley that will surely go on to play for England one day. Keep an eye on him. The Premiership vultures are already keeping a watchful eye on him.
I'm not saying Barnsley can stay up, but i'm not saying Barnsley are going down either. After a nifty run of results though it seems that Flicker has finally got the boys ticking, and a decent run of results are going our way and hopefully we can keep this momentum going, who knows where we can go. With Flicker at the helm, it's reminiscent of the days of Danny Wilson, despite being a little young myself to remember it, Barnsley fans will tell you that can only be a good thing. Wilson stepped up from assistant manager to full time manager and got us our one season in the Premiership by playing a 3-5-2 formation. Or, so i'm told. Can this be replicated? We need to get out of the bottom three first. We survive this season, and who knows what miracles Flicker can perform. Long live Flicker.
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