Barnsley not out of the woods yet

THE BIG QUESTION ON BARNSLEY’S official website this week is: “Can England win the 2004 European Championship?” Fans are invited to key in either yes or no. As if they care. They have far graver concerns. The more relevant question would be: “Do you think this football club will still exist in a month’s time?”
Barnsley are in a mess. It is less than five years since they were taking on Arsenal and Manchester United in the Premiership. They are now scavenging for points against Cheltenham Town et al to avoid relegation to the third division of the Nationwide League.

Away from the pitch, huge debts have forced them into administration and their story embraces every stereotype of football glory fading to ruin — rumours of double-dealing; a search for scapegoats; supporters’ demonstrations; a mysterious overseas investor; hawkish property developers; and a new owner made as welcome as a pit closure. Even Toby Tyke, the mascot, scarpered after claims that he was too energetic in his distribution of sweets into the crowd.

Fans have differing opinions on the start of the fall of the Oakwell empire. Some trace it to Darren Barnard’s penalty miss at Wembley in May 2000 when Barnsley were drawing 1-1 with Ipswich Town in the Nationwide League first division play-off final. Ipswich went on to win 4-2. Some believe that the sacking of Dave Bassett in December 2000 was the turning point, while others go back to June 1998 when Danny Wilson defected to Sheffield Wednesday.

Wilson had steered Barnsley to the top flight for the first time in their 110-year history and, despite relegation from the Premiership, pledged himself to the club. He later claimed there was a special bond between Wednesday — one of his former clubs — and himself. The contract they offered, reportedly worth £1.5 million over three years, was incidental.

His departure had a considerable effect on the town and club. Just months before, the local council planned to erect a statue in his honour. Now, “Danny is Judas” was daubed on walls near Oakwell. The club, and Wilson in particular, had become a symbol for the regeneration of Barnsley. They had supplied hope and pride after the closure of the mining industry. It would never be the same again. Since then, five managers have tried to stop the downward spiral as the club has become enmeshed in football’s great depression.

“Our mistake has been in chasing the dream to play in the Premier League,” John Dennis, the chairman, said. Barnsley were not unusually profligate, but found themselves in a volatile market created largely by the demise of ITV Digital. Paying £1 million for Mike Sheron in January 1999 appeared reasonable but later, as the transfer fee system all but collapsed, he might have been available without a fee.

The board sanctioned numerous transfers and the squad became an unwieldy mismatch of well-paid players (some earning up to £6,000 per week) on lengthy contracts negotiated before the financial crisis. Kevin Dixon is a typical case. He has yet to make a first-team appearance since joining from Leeds United two years ago. “We call him God,” Alan Bloore, the chairman of the supporters’ club, said, “because we’ve more chance of seeing him than we have Kevin Dixon.”

Barnsley went into administration last October with debts of £3.5 million and a rolling loss of £200,000 per month. Matt Dunham, of the administrators, RSM Robson Rhodes, didn’t stand on sentiment. “If there is no football, the ground will be redeveloped, possibly as a supermarket or a retail park,” he said.

The players were asked to take a pay cut but refused, though they agreed a deferment. “They have made commitments with regards to mortgages and other things,” Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), said. Andy Marriott, the club’s PFA representative, said their best contribution was to win games. Since his announcement, they have won three times in 18 matches.

The club’s new owner said last week that the club was “paying Premier League wages and playing Sunday league football”. Various takeover bids were mooted but there was surprise when Peter Doyle, the town’s mayor, was announced as the new owner. RSM Robson Rhodes said they accepted his offer because he could “raise finance the fastest”. The money was loaned by the Sterling Consortium, investors that lent money to Chesterfield and levied a high interest rate.

Doyle installed his son and daughter on to the new board while his grandchildren, Brendan and Caine, appeared with him at the press conference as he revealed details of his £2.85 million acquisition. “I’m gambling with their future (his grandchildren),” he said. “We are going to be a people’s club.” The people, initially at least, were unconvinced. Cynicism runs deep in Barnsley and the Doyles are well-known in the town.

Shaun Doyle, Peter’s brother, is a former professional boxer and owner of a security firm that supplies door staff to pubs and clubs. Peter Doyle made his money in the gas pipe-laying industry, where a robust approach to business is essential. At one match, leaflets questioning Doyle’s integrity were distributed. Doyle dubbed the agitators, “slime that crawls under bricks”. Doyle’s opening revelations led to more suspicion.

He’d split the club into two companies, one embracing the playing side (with its attendant liabilities) and the other for its assets, the 34 acres of land in and around Oakwell.

Fans thought they saw through his plan: he was going to wind up the club and sell the land for development. The profit margin, however, might not be as high as they imagined. While the figure of £20 million has been widely quoted, many think a realistic price would be half this figure. The buyer then has the additional expense of dismantling and removing the structure of the football ground.

Another unpopular move saw Doyle retain John Dennis, who had been expected to fall on his sword. Dennis has been on the board for nearly 20 years and his father was chairman before him. Some believe he remains out of sentiment while others think he is desperate to leave the club in good health after the debacle of the last five years. He admits to being, “deeply uneasy with the situation”. For the moment, he has Doyle’s support. “When you buy a hotel, you don’t sack the manager, although I didn’t know I was buying Fawlty Towers,” he said.

Shareholders are disgruntled because they have had scant information from the board. “We got a three-line letter telling us we had gone into administration and that’s it,” Benny Hill, a long-standing shareholder, said.

Many want to know why a reported cash offer of £5 million from businessman Patrick Cryne was rejected several months before the club went into administration. Cryne, the chief executive of the club’s main sponsor, iSOFT, has remained in the shadows throughout the affair and may still play a part.

The players, meanwhile, have continued to under-perform and have reflected the malaise running through the club. Goalkeeping coach Andy Rhodes resigned after fighting broke out at the annual Christmas party and team spirit has been hard to forge among players earning hugely disparate amounts of money. Glyn Hodges, the caretaker manager, is unable to sign players because of a transfer embargo.

Doyle’s latest announcement is that he is willing to bankroll the club until the end of the month but is open to offers and claims he has interest from an unnamed overseas investor with £10 million to spend.

He appears to have won over fans with passion and bluntness (“His management style is more stick than carrot”, wrote one fan on the club’s bulletin board) and has constantly said that he has the club’s interests at heart and cannot understand why he has received criticism. Unfortunately, his charm offensive received a setback recently. His son and fellow director, also called Peter, was arrested after a fight in the town. He was released without charge and collected from the police station in the mayorial limousine. Some feel this was a liberty.

Barnsley’s anxious fans know the feeling.