Some bits and bobs from Barnsley

Ryan from Tykes TV on a disappointing campaign at Oakwell

May 23, 2025

Friday 23 May 2025

If you’d like to write an article for The Scarf My Father Wore, share a few snippets or photos, or advertise your business, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com.

DESMOND’S COMEDY CLUB: Friday 30 May at The Fingerpost. Show starts at 7.30pm. Tickets £15. Line-up includes Freddy Quinne, Kie Carson, Will Smith (pictured below) and Eddie Fortune. Drop me an email if you’d like to join us!

Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Barnsley supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Friday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.

Our great big review of the season continues with Barnsley today. Ryan from Tykes TV shares his thoughts.

As you can see from the photos above, I was at Oakwell in September – my final County game before my 40th birthday! I was also at Edgeley Park in February to see our 2-1 victory over the Tykes. In fact, for the first time in my life, I’ve been to every single County game this season – all 56 of them! I’ve written a book about my adventures this season. If you’d like to support the publication by having your name printed in the book (along with a signed copy and a ticket to the book launch) drop me an email.

Today’s edition is sponsored by Not Just Travel. A big thank you to Paul and Tracy.

Finally, I’m currently walking every street in Stockport to raise money for mental health charity Mentell. If you’d like to make a donation to help me reach my target, please click here.

Total distance so far: 253.75 miles

Total steps so far: 418,084

Total raised so far: £2,312

Total completed streets so far: 474 (Click here for the full list, which includes reports and photos from every day of the walk.)

Further information on the walk can be found by clicking here.

Des Junior

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Best moment of 2024-25?

Beating Wrexham on New Year’s Day.

Worst moment of 2024-25?

Our losing run from mid-January (five defeats in six) after the club failed to back Darrell Clarke.

Losing 2-1 to already-relegated Shrewsbury in our final home game of the season was also a low point.

Funniest moment of 2024-25?

Bolton fans fighting with each other and sending the stewards skittling down the steps.

The Birmingham Boasters and the Wrexham Wazzocks seem to have annoyed a lot of fans in League One this season. Which one are you most glad to see the back of?

The majority of Brum and Wrexham fans are massive bellends. Fuck knows where Wrexham fans grew a pair from? They were getting gates of 2,000 before the Disney brass. I would say I’m most glad to see the back of Birmingham though. Completely screwed the competition with ridiculous money spent for the league.

Reform have been making a lot of noise recently. Based on this season, what’s in most need of reform at Barnsley, on or off the pitch?

We need to reform quite a bit at the club: a lot of fresh faces in the squad, a new approach (which is already being implemented), a complete change of coaching staff, and no more purchases from the French Second Division please.

Four Four Two had you down to finish 10th, EFL pundit Gabriel Sutton thought you’d finish 17th, while the Opta supercomputer predicted you’d be 10th. You finished 12th. Discuss.

We finished 12th because we had a mid-table squad. Finished exactly where we should have.

One of County’s best moments this season was Louie Barry’s stoppage time equaliser at Oakwell (Photo credit: Mike Petch)

Barnsley 1 County 1 in September. County 2 Barnsley 1 in February. Thoughts?

We should have won the game at our place, but you played us off the park at yours.

Best and worst away days of 2024-25?

The best was seeing our 92nd minute winner at Blackpool in October.

Worst: Mansfield. Now that was shite.

Which Barnsley player is most deserving of his couple of weeks on the beach this summer?

Davis Keillor-Dunn.

Never mind Welcome to Wrexham on Disney+, a TV production company have just made Barnsley: The Story of 2024-25. Which channel would it be most suited for?

Comedy Central.

And finally, apologies for darkening the mood, but you’ve only got 30 seconds to live. Putin’s pressed the red button and we’re all about to die. You can have one last moment of pleasure, watching a single Barnsley goal from this season. What you sticking on?

Adam Phillips against Wrexham.

➡️ Any Barnsley fans joining us today? As stated above, I’ve written a book having watched every County game home and away this season. There’s obviously two big chapters on Barnsley included (home and away). Also, as I celebrated my 40th birthday this season, I’ve written about my four decades as a County fan as well, which I’m hoping will be an enjoyable read for anyone who supports a lower league club. There’s memories of beating four Premier League clubs as County reached the Coca-Cola Cup semi-finals in 1996-97, the club’s rise from the National League North to the brink of the Championship over the last few years, and the tale of a trip to Blackpool 20 years ago when me and my mates had a run-in with armed police after a day on the ale…

If you’d like to support the book, click on the link below to become a paid subscriber and I’ll post you a signed copy with your name printed inside once it’s published.

Sail away this summer 🇧🇪🇩🇪🇳🇱

As you were watching the Europa League final between Tottenham and Man United in Bilbao on Wednesday night, were you thinking you’d quite fancy a European adventure yourself? Well, look no further!

Paul and Tracy from Not Just Travel have a number of exciting short sailings coming up this summer, onboard the Independence of the Seas. Sailing from Southampton, you can choose to visit Bruges, Hamburg or Rotterdam.

➡️ Visit paulandtracyfranklin.notjusttravel.com for further details.

Photo of the day

Oakwell, Barnsley

A bunch of County fans enjoying the atmosphere (and the food) at Barnsley back in September.

Today in SK

🎶 DJ

Friday Night Disco at The Nelson Tavern (SK1). 8pm.

🍺 Food and drink

Happy Hour at Covent Garden Café (SK1) between 1.30pm and 2.30pm. If you spend £20 or more you get to roll the dice, and if you roll a 6 your bill is half price!

Enjoy a coffee and a cake for just £6 at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). The perfect excuse for a catch-up! 12pm - 4pm.

Bitter £2.30 a pint all day at The Cross Keys (SK8). Plus, discounts on certain lagers between 12pm and 6pm.

A number of venues are featured on The Scarf My Father Wore such as The Crown (SK2), The Steelworks (SK6), The Three Tunnes (SK7), Flute & Firkin (SK12) and The Ram’s Head (SK12). Support them this month by popping in for a few drinks and a bite to eat.

🎤 Karaoke

The Alexandra (SK3).

🎸 Live music

The Imperials at The Crown Inn (SK6). 9pm.

Random snippets from old County programmes

#42 – County v Leyton Orient, 14 May 2025

If you were too nervous to buy a programme last week, or you’d spent all your money painting your house/garden/cat blue, here’s Dave Challinor’s final paragraph of the season.

If we’d have been offered a game here at Edgeley Park at the start of the season to progress to a play-off final, we would absolutely have taken it but in my eyes, this is still a 50/50 game. We only need to look back at the result here earlier in the season to understand what we’re up against. Despite that, our home advantage can come from the stands. There have been some special evenings at Edgeley Park over the last three years and we must do everything we can to make this another one. One huge effort from everyone inside the stadium.