Barnsley RC Appoint Chief Executive.

[NerfHerder]

Read/heard quite a bit of positivity about him. Let’s hope he can deliver.

[SBRed48]

I’m not sure how long Jon Flatman has been an employee of BFC but it’s been a while as I recall.

It leaves me wondering why it has taken so long to appoint him as CEO.
Good luck to Jon anyway I hope he moves the club forward.

Flatman was appointed as Chief Revenue Officer at Barnsley FC in January 2023 from his rugby background.
He has been interim CEO during Ahmad's protracted leaving and is now permanent CEO.

Flatman says, "To be asked to be CEO of this historic football club is an incredible honour".

Go Well "Flatters".

[animallittle3]

Flatman was appointed as Chief Revenue Officer at Barnsley FC in January 2023 from his rugby background.
He has been interim CEO during Ahmad's protracted leaving and is now permanent CEO.

Flatman says, "To be asked to be CEO of this historic football club is an incredible honour".

Go Well "Flatters".

I think those of us on this board who have believed our best days are yet to come are going to be let's say disappointed SB .

This appointment is a massive change from the recent past coupled with Barnsley MBC taking full ownership of the stadium , how more community based is it possible to be when reality tells us we've sold our biggest asset to socialism ? .

I'm pretty cool if indeed this is the path we've chosen , at least we know where we are and what we are rather than the ambiguity of recent years .

That in itself is a step forward if I'm reading it right .

[Jules88]

Just a matter of time before Rugby League is played on Oakwell. All part of the plan.

[SBRed48]

Just a matter of time before Rugby League is played on Oakwell. All part of the plan.

Is there a reason Rugby League never became established in South Yorkshire towns and seems generally confined to the ex textile towns of Yorkshire and Lancashire (with exceptions like Hull) ?

Towns like Barnsley, Rotherham, Bolton, Blackburn, Burnley, Stockport all would have seemed natural rugby league territory to me. I just wondered if there was a historical reason or just chance individual decisions.

[SBRed48]

Just a matter of time before Rugby League is played on Oakwell. All part of the plan.

There were plenty of "up and unders" during the Ismael season.

[animallittle3]

Is there a reason Rugby League never became established in South Yorkshire towns and seems generally confined to the ex textile towns of Yorkshire and Lancashire (with exceptions like Hull) ?

Towns like Barnsley, Rotherham, Bolton, Blackburn, Burnley, Stockport all would have seemed natural rugby league territory to me. I just wondered if there was a historical reason or just chance individual decisions.

If you look at the Rugby League town's across West Yorkshire and Lancashire quite a few of them exist where professional football club's never emerged .

Wakefield , Castleford , Featherstone , Batley , Dewsbury , Leigh , St Helens , Wigan existed well before Wigan Athletic became a FL club , Salford , again before Salford FC became a FL club and Warrington .

There are exceptions of course , Rochdale , Oldham , Leeds , Hull , Bradford etc .

Also everyone played Rugby Union , League didn't exist until 1895 , what happened was that the Northern working class club's and players wanted to turn professional but the Southern upper and middle classes refused and wanted to remain amateur .

So the Northern club' s broke away and created Rugby League and turned professional .

[animallittle3]

Just a matter of time before Rugby League is played on Oakwell. All part of the plan.

I don't think that will happen Jules , there was talk of Wakefield Trinity sharing Oakwell at one time , they even played a couple of games here in the 90's but I think that got put to bed years ago .

As SB has alluded to there's no real appetite for RL in South Yorkshire , never really took off in Sheffield when the Eagles were formed , they even won the Challenge Cup in 1997 and it still didn't take off .