A look back at the Reds’ up and down 2024.
JANUARY
Barnsley started the year in seventh and unbeaten in seven league games.
On New Year’s Day, they moved into the play-off places with a 1-1 home draw against Wigan who levelled in the 87th minute. In attendance was US international defender Donovan Pines who would sign later in the month then take weeks to get up to full fitness.
They won 2-1 at home to both Bristol Rovers and Carlisle United with winners from Corey O’Keeffe and a Herbie Kane penalty after in-form striker Devante Cole got their first goal both times.
In the Rovers game, many fans’ views in the first few rows were obscured by the new LED advertising boards which were then moved for the next matches.
Barnsley were due to play at Stevenage but the game was controversially called off after 1pm due to an allegedly frozen pitch.
They won 1-0 at Oxford but their ten-game unbeaten run ended with a 2-1 home defeat to Exeter City, with ex-Red Jack Aitchison opening the scoring then celebrating wildly in front of the Ponty End. It was also a first home loss in nine league games.
In the transfer window, Aaron Leya Iseka’s torrid Oakwell spell finally came to an end as he was sold to Crete while several fringe players were loaned out.
Fabio Jalo signed a new long-term deal while loanees John McAtee and Jamie McCart committed to the club despite having chances to leave, but Owen Dodgson was recalled by Burnley after barely playing.
The Reds window was being overseen by Bobby Hassell, then interim sporting director, and acting chief executive Jon Flatman whose role was made permanent later in the season.
Barnsley also announced in January that the Cryne family had sold their half of Oakwell to Barnsley Council and the club had agreed a 30-year lease.
That put to an end long-term speculation about the club’s future after previous chairman Paul Conway had threatened to move them out of the town.
FEBRUARY
The first day of February was actually the January window deadline day.
Barnsley loaned out Callum Styles to Sunderland – a move delayed by the player being ill in January – and bought defender Josh Earl from Fleetwood while loaning in midfielder Conor Grant from MK Dons. They tried to bring in a striker on deadline day but missed out.
Chairman Neerav Parekh has since claimed that, in January, the Reds turned down bids for several players including those out of contract in the summer in order to keep the promotion push on track.
On the pitch, Barnsley went unbeaten throughout the month.
They drew at promotion rivals Bolton then came from 1-0 down at home to Leyton Orient on 87 minutes to win 2-1 thanks to an Adam Phillips brace either side of a Luca Connell red card.
After Kane’s injury-time penalty rescued a penalty at Shrewsbury, he got the winner in a 2-1 success at Fleetwood.
Phillips then netted another brace as the Reds defeated fellow high-flyers Derby County 2-1 at Oakwell.
Off the pitch, Mladen Sormaz was appointed as the club’s first ever permanent sporting director.
MARCH
The month when Barnsley’s promotion challenge began to fall apart actually started well – with a 4-2 win at Wycombe Wanderers.
They came from behind twice with goals by Sam Cosgrove, Pines, O’Keeffe and Grant. At that point, the Reds were 11 points clear in the top six.
They then went 2-0 up at home to Bolton Wanderers in a huge promotion showdown and looked set to move into second place. But the visitors came back to draw, the equaliser arriving in the 98th minute after Earl conceded a penalty which Liam Roberts – who had been phenomenal in goal – saved but Randell Williams turned in the rebound.
Pines scored Barnsley’s second goal but had already picked up an injury which needed surgery and he did not play again that season.
The Reds were then crushed 5-1 by Lincoln City, their heaviest ever home defeat in the third tier.
They won 3-2 at bottom club Carlisle with Jordan Williams scoring a long-range strike before McAtee and Jon Russell netted. But they were held 0-0 at home to Darrell Clarke’s Cheltenham then, after a two-week break, hosted another relegation-battler and lost 2-0 at home to Cambridge United on Good Friday. Mael de Gevigney opened the scoring by passing the ball past goalkeeper Roberts into his net.
APRIL
Barnsley’s April Fool’s Day and Easter Monday win at Burton Albion was a bizarre spectacle. Despite setting records that day with 42 away points in a season and 11 matches unbeaten on the road, the away end chanted for Collins to be sacked. The Reds came from behind to win 3-1 thanks to a McAtee brace and Luca Connell’s first goal of the season. The away run came to an end as Barnsley were beaten 2-1 at both Charlton and Stevenage, with Phillips scoring in both. He netted again in a 2-2 home draw with Reading who led twice before Jalo’s first league goal secured a point.
Barnsley then produced one of their best performances for weeks as they went 2-1 up at leaders Portsmouth.
But McAtee, who had scored earlier, conceded an 83rd-minute penalty then was replaced by McCart who was at fault for Pompey’s winner which secured them the title and led to a pitch invasion.
Barnsley then slumped to a 3-0 deficit at Blackpool and, although they pulled two goals back, many fans in the away end were furious with Collins.
With Blackpool and others now able to overtake the Reds in top six on the final day, and the Reds winless in five, Collins was sacked with his side fifth and one league game left.
Barnsley attempted to bring in Dominik Thalhammer but he could not get a work permit and Martin Devaney was caretaker for the final home game with Northampton.
Kane’s goal looked set to secure the win that would guarantee a play-off place, but Northampton levelled in the 96th minute. The Reds got away with it because neither Blackpool or Lincoln won, with the Imps missing a penalty at 0-0 before losing to Portsmouth. They fell down to sixth and finished with 76 points, having won just two of their final 12 league games and none of their last six at home.
MAY
The Reds faced Bolton Wanderers for the second successive season in the play-off semi-final.
They fell behind in the first leg then Jordan Williams’ disastrous back header led to Roberts conceding a penalty for 2-0. Cosgrove pulled one back but the visitors netted direct from a corner in injury-time.
Barnsley then travelled to Bolton as serious underdogs but almost pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in their history.
Cosgrove put the Reds in front on the night but Bolton went 2-1 up at half-time, and 5-2 on aggregate, again exploiting Barnsley’s clear weakness from set pieces. The Reds were on top for much of the second half with Phillips and Cosgrove again scoring and they came close to making it 5-5. But the hosts just held on.
It was immediately clear that many of those players would leave and the retained list confirmed that, with 16 released in total.
The four players who had played the most throughout the season Nicky Cadden, Cole – the 18-goal top-scorer who had only netted once in his last 19 games – Kane and captain Williams were all released, after some initial contract discussions showed an agreement was unlikely. Also let go was Robbie Cundy, who had been injured all season, and a series of youngsters.
Matty Wolfe was given a short-term deal but it was revealed later in the year that he was no longer on the books but using the Oakwell facilities to recover from a long-term injury.
Barnsley also appointed a new head coach on May 23.
Having made contact with former bosses Daniel Stendel and Michael Duff, they eventually brought in Darrell Clarke from Cheltenham who had just missed out on a remarkable survival in League One.
JUNE
June was a very quiet month as the players spent most of it on their summer break while Clarke and the recruitment team began what he called ‘a big rebuild’.
But the Reds did bring back legendary midfielder Conor Hourihane, who captained them to promotion in 2016 before playing in the Premier League.
Styles became the first player on the books at Barnsley to play at the European Championships, when he made an appearance for Hungary.
JULY
July saw Barnsley re-sign another of their 2016 promotion team in Penistone man Marc Roberts. The 34-year-old defender came back after seven years with Birmingham City.
Later in the month, the Reds signed goalkeeper Jackson Smith and loaned in midfielder Matty Craig from Tottenham.
They played friendlies at Alfreton and Accrington then spent a week at Loughborough University which included a match against Spanish Cup finalists Mallorca before beating Derby 4-3 at Oakwell.
Andy Dallas was loaned to Barrow for the season and Oli Shaw joined Hamilton Academical permanently.
AUGUST
Barnsley’s 2024/25 season began against Clarke’s hometown club Mansfield Town who went 2-0 up inside 18 minutes and, although Connell pulled one back, the Reds were beaten by the newly-promoted Stags.
In the transfer window, Styles was sold to West Bromwich having returned to training at Oakwell in the summer and played in friendlies but was deemed not mentally ready to play in league games due to speculation about his future.
Barnsley brought in left-back Georgie Gent from Blackburn, goalkeeper Gaga Slonina – whose loan from Chelsea was announced minutes before the first game – and midfielder Kelechi Nwakali from Portuguese club Chaves who would not play in the opening months due to a lack of fitness.
Slonina saved two penalties on his debut in an EFL Cup win at Wigan, after Pines scored in the 1-1 draw.
The Reds won 2-1 at Lincoln with goals by Cosgrove and Roberts but Clarke was furious with his side’s performance.
They then went 2-0 up twice but allowed EFL Trophy visitors Manchester United under 21s to score three goals between 82 and 87 minutes then drew 2-2 at home to Northampton in the league.
Vimal Yoganathan, who played up front with Kyran Lofthouse, got both goals in the trophy defeat.
Max Watters scored his first goal of 2024 against Northampton then netted the only goal in the EFL Cup against local rivals Sheffield United, which earned a draw at Manchester United.
On deadline day, they brought in Stephen Humphrys and Davis Keillor-Dunn, who had been a target all summer and played against them for Mansfield on the opening day.
Barnsley had looked almost certain to sign Swedish striker Victor Edvardsen who had agreed terms and done a medical, but he pulled out at the last minute due to personal reasons.
They completed the month with a 3-0 win at Crawley Town, thanks to a Pines opener and a Phillips brace.
SEPTEMBER
Barnsley won 2-1 at home to Clarke’s old club Bristol Rovers, with debutant Keillor-Dunn and Phillips netting.
It was a first home league win for more than six months.
They then lost 3-0 at Stevenage, with Clarke admitting he made mistakes with half-time changes after Pines suffered a concussion before all three goals arrived in the second half.
A 7-0 thrashing at Old Trafford followed – with Clarke again furious with his players after they gifted a number of sloppy goals to the Premier League giants.
They bounced back with a win at lowly Burton Albion as, after Connell’s superb free-kick was cancelled out by an 88th-minute leveller, Humphrys headed home a 90th-minute winner with thunder and lightning in the air.
Phillips scored an early penalty at home to Stockport but the Reds were poor, conceded an injury-time leveller, and were heavily criticised by their head coach.
OCTOBER
October started very poorly for the Reds. They needed a late Roberts leveller to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Wycombe, with Clarke again scathing in his assessment of the performance.
They were then deeply disappointing in two 2-0 losses at former coach’s Michael Duff’s Huddersfield – first in the league then in the EFL Trophy.
Clarke admitted he was ‘searching for answers’ often switching systems and personnel while they were badly struggling to create chances, with fans frustrated at both the coach and team.
They had a two-week break from league action due to their game with Reading being called off for international call-ups, and cancelled days off to focus on double training sessions. The hard work appeared to pay off as the performances and results were much improved after the break.
They won 2-1 at Blackpool – who were without manager Steve Bruce due to the tragic death of his young grandson – thanks to an injury-time goal off Roberts’ shoulder.
They played well against Charlton for 75 minutes and led 1-0 but ex-Red Luke Berry scored twice then Watters rescued a point late on.
Barnsley won 2-0 at Shrewsbury with goals by Watters and Russell, who had been brought back into the side during the international break along with Gent.
A much-changed team then lost 3-1 at home to Doncaster Rovers in a trophy dead rubber, having already been knocked out, with just over 1,000 home fans in the stands.
Goalkeeper Jackson Smith spent time on emergency loan at League Two Grimsby Town.
NOVEMBER
The Reds won 3-1 at Clarke’s old club Port Vale in the first round of the FA Cup then easily defeated local rivals Rotherham United 2-0 with goals by Russell and substitute Humphrys.
They drew 1-1 against lowly Cambridge United thanks to a Humphrys wondergoal after picking up the ball inside his own half.
The month was completed with three home games in seven days, in which they had 70 shots but scored two goals and conceded three of the five shots on their goal. A five-game unbeaten run ended with a 1-0 defeat to Wigan then they drew 2-2 with Reading before going out of the FA Cup to Bristol Rovers on penalties after 0-0 draw.
DECEMBER
The final month of the year began with defeat to two apparent title contenders as they went down 1-0 at Wrexham, who netted in injury-time, then took the lead at home to Birmingham but lost 2-1 with Phillips sent off.
Injuries began to mount up with Earl, Marc Roberts and Jalo all out for at least a month.
The Reds then came from behind to win for the first time this season with a 2-1 success at Exeter. Full debutant Nwakali scored a superb long-range equaliser.
Their final home game of the year saw them lose 4-0 against Leyton Orient, meaning they had won just six league games at Oakwell in 2024. They responded superbly with a 2-1 win at Bolton, who were winning on 79 minutes, and a 3-1 success at Peterborough.
