Clarke Gone

[NerfHerder]

Darrell Clarke has been sacked with Hourihane in charge until the end of the season.

Feel sorry for Clarke as the January transfer window was a proper shocker. When we needed to strengthen, we somehow got worse.

Although there were times when he didn?t help himself and I never thought of the players ?running through walls? for him as he promised at the start of the season.

[POGGYWELL]

Barnsley Football Club can confirm that Darrell Clarke has been relieved of his duties as Mens First Team Head Coach.
Appointed in May 2024, Darrell has overseen 44 games in charge of the Reds. He leaves the Club currently positioned tenth in League One, eight points outside the play-off places.

Conor Hourihane will take charge of the Mens First Team until the end of the season. He will be assisted by Jon Stead and Martin Devaney alongside Tom Harban, who will step up from the Under-21s setup.

Chairman, Neerav Parekh said, We would like to thank Darrell for his efforts in a season which has been difficult for various reasons. Darrell has worked extremely hard to try and get the team competitive and pushing for promotion, unfortunately, we find ourselves eight points away from the play-offs and feel that a change is needed.

Sporting Director, Mladen Sormaz said, "Darrell is someone I respect and have enjoyed working with and Id like to thank him for his efforts this season. Whilst a list of replacements has been identified, we will take some time to ensure the next appointment is the right one with a focus on playing identity, returning to high pressing and attacking football. We believe that Conor can help to create enough bounce to keep us fighting for the top six until the end of the season. We will also be working in parallel to have a new Head Coach in place over the summer.


Well well BFC you and kid some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time .
I reckon 95% of the supporters expected that.

Quote: We would like to thank Darrell for his efforts in a season which has been difficult for various reasons. You need to expand on that comment Neerav !

[Young_Nudger]

Well I said he?d be gone before end of March - and he has.
But Hourihane FGS !!!
What the hell can he bring to the table !?!?!
Then again I was wrong about Wilson and Hecky when they were promoted from within - so I hope I?m wrong now.

[Young_Nudger]

Again the club through Sormaz referring to the club?s IDENTITY.
High press etc.
In other words referring to:
The Barnsley Way.
The Game Model.

These are terms the club uses - not me, the club.
And yet we still have some supporters who refuse to hear that.

Collins got the sack because he couldn?t apply that identity.
And DC said in an interview recently he does things his own way - he signed his fate when he said that.

[Shadrack the Red]

As I said the other day that they would sack Clarke to deflect the blame for their incompetence , I did not have to possess Mystic Meg type qualities to be on the button, they will try and put some spin on it about how he has not done this or he has not done that , he didn"t play this way or he didn"t play that way and the gullible on here will swallow it hook line and sinker when the truth is Clarke like his predecessor have been sold down the river by our clueless owners , they standard of recruitment has been laughable , the communication and pr with the fans has been laughable etc etc etc. I hope the poor sole who ends up with the gig realises that he will be expected to work miracles and when this fails he will be made a scapegoat and used to deflect the blame again , I felt sorry for Collins, I feel sorry for Clarke and the next sacrificial lamb has already got my sympathy , until we get rid of the root of the problem then the decline will only get worse .

[NerfHerder]

Again the club through Sormaz referring to the club?s IDENTITY.
High press etc.
In other words referring to:
The Barnsley Way.
The Game Model.

These are terms the club uses - not me, the club.
And yet we still have some supporters who refuse to hear that.

Collins got the sack because he couldn?t apply that identity.
And DC said in an interview recently he does things his own way - he signed his fate when he said that.

None of us fans really know what Hourihane is like as a coach. Only the players can judge I guess. He was an excellent captain for us and is very clearly driven so hopefully some of that can translate into a head coach role. If he?s a success this season then maybe we will all be feeling optimistic going into next and if he?s rubbish, then we?ll be on the lookout for another coach. Probably from the conference or somewhere in Europe.

Regarding Sormaz and his quotes, he can say anything he likes about style and identity, his words mean nothing. He could say the sky is blue and I?d look out of the window to check myself. Probably doesn?t make sense so get rid of him at this stage but early summer he needs to be moved on in my opinion as he?s clearly out of his depth. If he?s here recruiting players and in charge of picking a new head coach, I fear for us.

[Jules88]

This club is fecked. Sormaz Stead, Devaney.should go too.
Putting hourihane in charge to sell the. Season tickets in April.!

Seriously????????? Jean Cryne and the Board should SELL.

Their fault, not DC

[Acido]

This club is fecked. Sormaz, Stead, and Devaney, should go too.
Putting hourihane in charge to sell the. Season tickets in April.!
Seriously????????? Jean Cryne and the Board should SELL.
Their fault, not DC

It's an absolute f*ing disgrace Jules isn't it, and I'm getting more disgusted with this lot, every day. 😠
Maybe Daz Clarke had made his position sort of untenable, because it seemed more and more disappointing what he was doing and saying.
But he was shafted in the transfer windows, and especially as we were just on a run of four straight wins in January!. 😧

[animallittle3]

As predictable as a Spurs trophyless season , Clarke wasn't ever going to get away with that home performance against Blackpool on the back of where we are at in the season .

The players had clearly down tools in my opinion which to be honest says more about them than it does Clarke .

You can sack as many HC's as you want just as you could have rearranged the deck chairs on the Titanic but it was still heading towards a disaster the same as we are .

The club's rotten to the core , pathetic bunch of inept c**p artists who couldn't so much as sell ice cream in Locke Park on the hottest day of the year .

[pass_and_move]

I feel for Clarke after not being given a squad that is top 6 quality. He's an honest blowk, he speaks the fans working class language. The jury was always out on some of his decision making during games, which at times, was strange to say the least. Unfortunately, Clarke was unable to establish an understanding and clear, or organised way of playing with the players (who should also take some responsibility for their lack of drive at times) at his disposal, hence the inconsistency we've witnessed this season.

The top and bottom of it is that this all comes from the boardroom. My gripe is really with them rather than the HC or players.

At the end of the day, it's yet another HC gone. It has now become really embarrassing and it's high time the fans were spoken to and treated in an honest and forthright way by the Chairman because the club has perpetually taken the supporters for mugs whilst insulting their intelligence with this annual charade.


The job of HC is a poisoned challis. My utmost sympathy goes to whoever the next permanent appointment is. They're on a hiding to nothing