Claim made on future of Barnsley FC's owners at Oakwell amid "scattergun" transfer approach | OneFootball

FLW's Barnsley fan pundit has given his view on whether the club's owners are committed for the long haul.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

After falling away from the play-off places, it looks as though Barnsley are set for a fourth consecutive season in League One next term, and the club's ownership has come under scrutiny in recent months.

There have been plenty of changes in the Barnsley hierarchy since the club was taken over by a consortium including Chinese billionaire Chien Lee in December 2017, and they are currently owned by BFC Investment Company Limited, with Neerav Parekh, Matthew Edmonds, Julie Ann Quay and the Cryne family all having a seat on the board.

There have been some successful moments over the past seven years, including automatic promotion from League One in the 2018-19 season and a fifth-placed finish in the Championship in the 2020-21 campaign, but the Tykes have also suffered relegation from the second tier on two occasions during that time.

Barnsley reached the League One play-offs in each of the last two seasons, but they look set to miss out on the top six this time around, and the club's hierarchy have come in for significant criticism of late for poor managerial appointments and a lack of investment in the transfer market.

The Reds made the decision to part company with Darrell Clarke last month after a run of seven defeats in 11 games, replacing him with former captain and coach Conor Hourihane on an interim basis until the end of the season, but the managerial change has not had the desired effect so far, and the South Yorkshire outfit are heading towards an underwhelming mid-table finish.

Barnsley board told to change transfer strategy

When asked if he believes the club's owners are committed to the club for the long haul, FLW's Barnsley fan pundit Andy Symcox said that he does not believe they will be looking to sell any time soon, but he urged them to address the mistakes made in the transfer market this season.

"Regarding the owners of the football club, there is nothing to suggest that they intend to leave in the near future," Andy said.

"The accounts have just been released for 2023-24, and again, it shows that the owners have had to inject money to keep the club sustainable.

"Whether that can continue for a few more years is yet to be seen.

"Whether the owners feel that they wish to continue funding the football club again is not known at this stage.

"There are fans who wish that the owners would leave, but sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.

"It has not been a particularly great season, specifically after January where we have dropped from fifth place down to 11th and are not playing attractive football.

"The transfer window in January did not bring the desired players that the club needed.

"We seem to have gone for a scattergun approach rather than targeting players that would improve the squad, and that needs to change.

"If the owners don't wish to change that, then I don't understand why they wish to continue."

Barnsley hierarchy facing big managerial call as frustration builds

It has certainly been a mixed tenure for Barnsley's owners over the past seven years, and after two consecutive failed managerial appointments in Neill Collins and Clarke, they are under pressure to find the right man this time around.

Chairman Parekh refused to rule out the possibility of handing Hourihane the permanent job in the summer, but while the 34-year-old is a popular figure among Tykes supporters, he has not done enough during his interim spell so far to earn the full-time role.

With the play-offs now seemingly out of reach and an external appointment looking the most likely outcome, the Barnsley hierarchy must use the next month wisely to put a plan in place ahead of the summer, and the club's increasingly frustrated fan base will expect to see significant improvements next season.