Albion give up on promotion!

[Super Steve Earle]

By selling Ashley Barnes, I seriously believe we have given up on promotion this season. He is the heartbeat of the team and we will struggle now. We should have sacrificed the £750k, kept him and reviewed in the summer. I don't think we'll go down, but that's it for now. I well remember another time in another age when the club failed to realise the importance of Kit Napier and we never recovered that season with dramatic consequences.
I think this will be the same.

 

[theonesmith]

Don't feed the troll.

 

[Neecha]

By selling Ashley Barnes, I seriously believe we have given up on promotion this season. He is the heartbeat of the team and we will struggle now. We should have sacrificed the £750k, kept him and reviewed in the summer. I don't think we'll go down, but that's it for now. I well remember another time in another age when the club failed to realise the importance of Kit Napier and we never recovered that season with dramatic consequences.
I think this will be the same.

You haven't given TB a chance to replace him yet plus Barnes isn't that good. It's a great piece of business for us

 

[Icy Gull]

Gutted we have lost Barnes but have faith that Oscar has somebody else on the radar who will score more whilst already having the players to make up for Barnes midfield and defensive play.

I very much doubt that our promotion push is over although selling Barnes to a promotion rival may backfire on us.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Must be why we failed to get promoted last season as the beating heart excused himself for a quarter of the season.

I think you may be overstating the case somewhat.

 

[maltaseagull]

By selling Ashley Barnes, I seriously believe we have given up on promotion this season. He is the heartbeat of the team and we will struggle now. We should have sacrificed the £750k, kept him and reviewed in the summer. I don't think we'll go down, but that's it for now. I well remember another time in another age when the club failed to realise the importance of Kit Napier and we never recovered that season with dramatic consequences.
I think this will be the same.

 

[Super Steve Earle]

You haven't given TB a chance to replace him yet plus Barnes isn't that good. It's a great piece of business for us

Ignore the silly troll comment. My point is exactly that Barnes is that good.

 

[dougdeep]

How could we have reviewed him in the Summer? He wouldn't have been our player.

 

[Albion_Dave]

I think you are massively under estimating Tony Bloom's ambition & drive. And whilst I'm unhappy Barnes is going we cannot afford to let him go for nothing in the Summer.

 

[Super Steve Earle]

How could we have reviewed him in the Summer? He wouldn't have been our player.

Or anyone elses.

 

[Codner's Wallop]

He'd already turned down a contract extension at the Albion. So this is a pointless thread - what did we expect, TB and PB to bring in the heavies to 'persuade' him otherwise? It's absurd to suggest the loss of one player, despite being a solid and ever improving player, will scupper our chances of promotion.

 

[Hyperion]

By selling Ashley Barnes, I seriously believe we have given up on promotion this season. He is the heartbeat of the team and we will struggle now. We should have sacrificed the £750k, kept him and reviewed in the summer. I don't think we'll go down, but that's it for now. I well remember another time in another age when the club failed to realise the importance of Kit Napier and we never recovered that season with dramatic consequences.
I think this will be the same.

Did you think Ashley Barnes gave up any hope of promotion last season when he decided to get a 7 match ban leaving the club with just one striker at a key part of the season?

 

[Mo Gosfield]

If Oscar and his team had rated him that highly, they would have kept him.
Ashley gets a lot of plaudits on here for his work-rate and defensive qualities but ultimately, Oscar is looking for a little bit more. That little touch of class that can turn a game. His first touch has always let him down and at the upper end of the Championship, that is a prerequisite. He gets in good positions and has converted well at the near post but this season has seen too many straight-forward chances squandered. He is better at attacking the ball ( in the air ) in a defensive position than in a forward role. On the plus side, he has curbed his hot-headedness and calmed down a lot this season.
IMO he has reached his peak level. Coming off the bench, he can do a job at this level and drop down a division and he will get you 15-20 goals, as proved. £750k is good business for a player running down his contract.
His loss will not wreck our season. Oscar and his team are clearly working on different striking options. We will make the play-offs and we will get stronger.

 

[modulate]

Slightly over dramatic. See what business is done come the end of the month and then make sweepinh judgements. playing 1 up front chances are barnees would've been in and out of the starting libe up. hardly a sign of th3 beating heart

 

[Guinness Boy]

I rate Barnes but the OP is forgetting that Ulloa will be leading the line, we have Obika in, CMS to come back and play one up top. It's hardly a disaster to claim some cash for him rather than let him go for nothing. Presumably the cash will go towards the squad strengthening that Burke and Oscar have already identified IS required to take us up AND keep us up. Surely the OP doesn't think Barnes is Premier League standard

 

[Bladders]

I think if the whole squad was fit and in form Barnes wouldn't even start, you'd think we'd just sold the second coming of Zidane the way the OP is panicking about this deal

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Did you think Ashley Barnes gave up any hope of promotion last season when he decided to get a 7 match ban leaving the club with just one striker at a key part of the season?

Those of us that were at the game saw him catch the back of the ref's heel which made him stumble slightly, but decided to make the most of it because Barnes had been whinging at him a few minutes earlier whilst getting an elbow in the throat. The Barnes haters have made a meal of it ever since. As for giving up on promotion, Barnes was the one who almost gave us two goals in the second leg, hitting the bar and only Moxey to head off the line with Speroni beaten.

I do have a bit of sympathy with the OP as I think we will miss Barnes defensive qualities as well as his work rate and 1 in 3 scoring ability.

 

[wellquickwoody]

Yawn.

 

[Bozza]

In Bloom we trust. We'll be ok.

 

[super-seagulls]

In Bloom we trust. We'll be ok.

Sounds like a BIG signing looms.......