Miracle Achieved

What a game, what an atmosphere, what a rollercoaster.

Never before have I personally experienced such emotions at a game of football. It certainly went full swing until the joy and relief at the end. I had tears in my eyes at several points during that 90 minutes as everything seemed to takes its toll on me. Even coming close to crying at football match is not something I ever considered possible and I`m pretty sure the feelings experienced during that match will never so strong at a game of football ever again.

The job that Flicker has done to keep Barnsley a championship club is nothing short of a miracle.

When Keith Hill was sacked we were certainties to go down. Even someone with the calibre of Alex Ferguson or Jose Mourinho would have struggled.

We all know that Flicker was probably not even on the list of candidates to take over and only ended up with the job by default.

Barnsley had their targets but they looked at the budget and a squad full of lower league footballers and chose not to have a guaranteed relegation on their CV. Sean O`Driscoll even felt that Bristol City was a more attractive proposition and just look what has happened to them.

Flicker clearly is a man who can get the best out of what he has got and who works hard to achieve it. Everyone wants to give their all for this man and I can see why.

I think that is why my emotions were running so high during this match. I knew that this man and this group of players did not deserve to be relegated and I worried what would happen to my beloved club going forward if the trap door did open.

The last time we were in the third tier it wasn`t pleasant viewing and although I was obviously far from pleased to be there, I didn`t feel too upset about it as I felt the players, managers and the board deserved to be there at that time.

What Flicker has done is nothing short of a miracle and he deserves a long contract and backing with whatever he asks for. His record speaks for itself with 21 games played, 9 wins, 7 draws and 5 defeats.

I saw a league table of the entire league if it had started from Flickers first game in charge on the 1st January. Here are the standings from that date until the end of the season.



1. Brighton

2. Bolton

3. Watford

4. Charlton

5. Cardiff

6. Barnsley

7. Sheff Wed

8. Peterborough

9. Birmingham

10. Hull

11. Ipswich

12. Nottingham Forest

13. Burnley

14. Crystal Palace

15. Leicester

16. Derby

17. Leeds

18. Blackpool

19. Huddersfield

20. Blackburn

21. Wolves

22. Millwall

23. Bristol City

24. Middlesbrough



This to me highlights the job he has done even more.

So play-off push next season? I`m not going to get carried away with talk like that but I do believe that if we keep this manager, this squad and 3 or 4 additions and we will certainly be closer to the top six than the bottom three.

For now it is a time to celebrate this remarkable achievement.

I will never forget this game and especially the end of it with Luke Steele stood with the ball at his feet for what seemed for like 5 minutes than 80 seconds as we anxiously awaited the full time whistle in the Palace v Peterborough match.

It was all worth it in the end and it`s fair to say I have spent the weekend celebrating more than I did any play-off final, promotion or FA cup run. The head is still a little sore today but I have never been more proud of my team than I was this weekend.