Barnsley Ban Vuvuzelas

Barnsley are the latest football club to prohibit Vuvuzelas at their ground.

The Reds have followed the likes of Ipswich Town and Leicester City issuing a ban on the instrument that could be heard constantly at every single match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

General Manager Don Rowing told the official site: ‘We have taken this decision following requests from fans and we do not want the very unusual noise from the vuvuzela spoiling people’s enjoyment of the football at Oakwell.’

Firstly, it’s great that the General Manager is confident we’ll be playing football next season. Or maybe he’s talking about the visiting sides?

Secondly, it hardly comes as a surprise from the club that banned the band from the ground after the Premier League season in 1997/98, as misery began to rule at Oakwell.

Whilst the noise made by thousands of vuvuzelas is annoying, something is needed to generate more atmosphere at Oakwell on matchdays. Usually we make more noise at away matches, with five times less supporters. Since the ban on the band and air horns, it’s been like a morgue more often than not at Oakwell but the party spirit of the Premier League season was long since dead and buried.

Granted, vuvuzelas are definitely not the solution, but something needs to be done to lift spirits at Oakwell. There’s nothing like the good old fashioned chants and songs, but we need heroes and goals to chant and sing about. Step forward ‘new signing number seven’.

On a lighter note, no pun intended, I can’t wait for someone to blow a vuvuzela at our first home game next season, get a big cheer from the crowd and then an even bigger cheer when the stewards confiscate it.