We've Come A Long Long Way Together

With just one point gained from our last three outings, the doomsayers (often situated on the M1 slightly north and south of Barnsley) would have you believe our promising start was simply a fluke, our bubble has burst and the Championship has now 'found us out'. Don't believe them!

As we arrive at the international break, it's hard to believe that we're nearly a quarter of a way in to the 2016/17 season already. Barnsley sit in tenth spot, having accrued an impressive 16 points from their first eleven games back in the EFL Championship.

There's still a long way to go for Hecky's boys. The travelling faithful will be jamming in to football hotels up and down the country, on the way to completing well over 5,000 miles on the road following the Reds, before this season's full journey comes to a close.

By the time the international break returns, our next block of fixtures will have featured Barnsley at home over four of those games, with the only exceptions being Brentford and Buton away on Saturday, 22 October and Saturday, 5 November respectively. Perhaps therefore, it's our home form that will count most as we play host to Fulham, Newcastle, Bristol City and Wigan over this influential series of matches.

If 'Fortress Oakwell' is to retain it's reputation, fans need to be mindful that we are currently averaging a healthy two points per game on home soil. A couple of wins and at least a couple of draws are needed to maintain this return. The question is, can we improve on our average of just one point per game away from home? Barnsley head coach Paul Heckingbottom certainly feels the Reds are adequately equipped for this division.

“We’re playing against some really good quality at the minute and we’re holding our own.” ~ Paul Heckingbottom, 27, September 2016

With just one point gained from our last three outings, the doomsayers (often situated on the M1 slightly north and south of Barnsley) would have you believe our promising start was simply a fluke, our bubble has burst and the Championship has now 'found us out'. Don't believe them!

If this is where we are today, with a team that is just beginning to taste football at this level, just think of where we can be with more game time under our belts.

And as Camille Yarbrough (featured later by Fatboy Slim) famously sang, “We've come a long long way together, Through the hard times and the good, I have to celebrate you baby, I have to praise you like I should.”


What's your take on the season so far? We would love to gain your thoughts and opinions in the comments below. Please share this post far and wide, and thanks for reading.