SEPTEMBER could be the month in which Barnsley show that they can do more this season than just make a promising start in the summer sunshine.
They had an excellent August, flying along at more than two points per game and building a platform to challenge in the top six even if this was supposed to be a transitional season.
They played some very good football, showed great character at times such as when twice down to ten men, were gradually improving defensively and, perhaps most crucially, are unbeaten in five at Oakwell with four wins and the backing of the supporters.
It was simply an enjoyable month to be a Barnsley fan and inevitably started them dreaming of what could be achieved under Conor Hourihane who has now been in charge for exactly six months.
The final days of the transfer window, with no prominent exits and the arrival of Jake Rooney, means they have a strong and deep squad in all areas other than lacking back-up up front.
They must hope that Davis Keillor-Dunn and David McGoldrick stay fit and firing throughout autumn.
The attack in general is thriving as the Reds had scored the joint most goals in the division going into the weekend, from the 14th most shots.
Their possession and pass completion stats are well up on previous seasons.
August was hectic, with eight games in all competitions as well as a transfer window. It is followed by a more sedate September although, after playing just once in the first 19 days of the month due to the international break, there are four games in the last 11 including two cup ties.
There is an opportunity to get some good work done on the training ground which was not always possible in those frantic first weeks with regular midweek games.
All of the league opponents in September have had poor results at the start of the season. Reading, Blackpool and Port Vale have won three of 19 games combined and are currently in the bottom five.
In theory that is a major opportunity to build on Barnsley’s excellent start and be very high in the table in October – generating huge momentum and belief going into a series of Yorkshire derbies.
READING, H, tomorrow
The last time Barnsley beat Reading at Oakwell, Conor Hourihane was seven years old and most of his squad were not born.
Since that 3-0 win in a League Cup game in September 1998 – following the same scoreline in the league in the previous meeting two years earlier – the Royals have visited 12 times without defeat.
Barnsley may not have a better chance of ending that retched run, having made an excellent start – especially at Oakwell where they play for a third straight game – while Reading are 20th with one win from six games so far despite being tipped by many for success when hated owner Dai Yongge was forced to sell the club.
The two teams seem to have gone in opposite directions since Barnsley won in Berkshire on the final day of last season, denying a place in the top six to Noel Hunt’s side.
A seventh straight draw at home to Reading will not be a disaster but Barnsley will fancy themselves to beat anyone at the moment.
BLACKPOOL, A, SEPTEMBER 20
This match will be live on Sky TV and has been moved to 12.30pm, which is not ideal for away fans – many of whom will have hoped for a few hours in the lively seaside resort before the game.
Blackpool, like Reading, will be disappointed with their start to the season having only won one of six matches so far – leaving them 22nd in the table.
They made 13 new signings this summer, but lost star men Rob Apter and Sonny Carey to Charlton.
Hourihane’s two immediate predecessors were sacked after losses to Blackpool in the last two seasons but he will simply be looking continue a fine start to his first full campaign in charge.
There will be plenty of connections between the two dugouts as Steve Bruce was Hourihane’s manager at Aston Villa while Reds assistant coach Richard Keogh worked last season for Bruce and his ex-Red assistant Steve Agnew.
BRIGHTON, H, SEPTEMBER 23
The Reds will be major underdogs for this EFL Cup third round game against Premier League opponents.
Brighton were the biggest net-spenders in European football in the summer of 2024, shelling out roughly a quarter of a billion pounds. They have been in the top flight for eight years and have sold a series of stars for more than £50million, with the latest being Brazil striker Joao Pedro to Chelsea.
It is a remarkable rise for a club who were in the fourth division in 2001 and Championship rivals of Barnsley for much of the 2010s. They have used a similar ‘buy talent, develop it, sell it on for huge profit’ strategy to the Reds but much more successfully and always with far greater sums thanks to the backing of billionaire Tony Bloom who made his fortune in sports betting.
Brighton beat Manchester City before the international break and will travel to Oakwell in-between games against Tottenham and Chelsea.
Reds star Caylan Vickers cannot play against his parent club.
PORT VALE, H, SEPTEMBER 27
There are likely to be plenty of familiar faces in the away dugout and on the pitch when the Staffordshire club visit Oakwell.
Vale’s manager is Darren Moore – the former Barnsley centre-back – who is now assisted by his old Reds team-mate Martin Devaney who spent almost two decades at Oakwell as a player and coach before leaving this year following a reshuffle under Hourihane.
They have also signed Devante Cole – a former Reds team-mate of Hourihane’s who scored on his debut this week – who netted 43 goals for Barnsley before leaving last year for West Brom but never starting a league game for the Championship club.
Newly-promoted Vale have not won any of their seven league games this season, losing five, and are second-bottom in the table but their ‘expected goals’ statistics suggest they are due an uptick.
Vale – who sold star man Lorent Tolaj to Plymouth for a reported £1.2million in late August – are due to host Arsenal in the cup three days before this game.
Barnsley’s next home league game after this one – because Cardiff City’s visit on October 11 is likely to be called off due to international call-ups – could be against neighbours Rotherham United on the final weekend of next month.
NOTTS COUNTY, A, SEPTEMBER 30
Barnsley will begin their EFL Trophy campaign with their first trip to Meadow Lane for a decade.
They lost every game in the competition last season.
League Two County’s manager is Martin Paterson, who was Michael Duff’s assistant at Barnsley in 2022/23.
This match comes towards the end of a busy spell including some big league matches so there are likely to be plenty of changes. But they have a deep squad, especially in defence and midfield, so it will be a mix of fringe players and youngsters as usual.
Barry Cotter will not be able to play against his parent club while David McGoldrick, who left County for Oakwell this summer, is likely to be rested.
Barnsley’s trophy game with Manchester United under 21s at Oakwell is on October 21 then they host Lincoln City on November 11.
The Reds are due to visit Wycombe Wanderers on October 4, for another lunchtime kick-off, while their only other scheduled away game in October is at neighbours Bradford City on the 18th.
