TEN YEARS ago, a Barnsley team captained by Conor Hourihane were on the charge from last in December to promotion from League One in May.

Five years ago, another remarkable Reds side were on the long winning run that took them into the Championship play-offs in which Hourihane defeated them with Swansea.

At this time in both 2023 and 2024, Hourihane played in Derby sides beaten at Oakwell by Barnsley teams who would make the League One play-offs.

Now, as head coach, his team appear to be marooned in mid-table in the third tier – their attacking talent and improved home form stymied by awful defending and away results.

Their start to the season, in which they collected 16 points from seven games, might seem a long time ago but it is the main reason they are not currently in serious jeopardy of dropping into League Two.

Since then, they have taken 25 points from 23 games – half a season’s worth of relegation form.

Both the top six and bottom four feel highly unlikely right now. The most realistic outcome is that they continue to pick up roughly a point per game and finish on somewhere between 55 and 60, so lower mid-table.

The aim should still be to finish higher than last season’s 12th place with 61 points, keep developing youngsters, stop conceding so often and make fans excited going into next season.

But first they need to get above 50 points quickly then see how far up the table they can climb.

Defensive issues destroying season

The Reds have let in 52 goals in the league and 78 in all competitions this season, keeping no clean sheets in 16.

Although they could finish as one of top-scorers in their division, which would be a major positive, they are currently tracking to concede more than 100 goals in all competitions.

In the top seven divisions in England, no side has kept fewer league clean sheets than Barnsley’s two while only National League strugglers Gateshead have kept as few.

The players deserve blame, as do the recruiters over a number of years, but ultimately the coaches should be building a more solid defensive unit out of what they have available.

There must be sides in League One with similar or less quality in their defensive options but who don’t concede close to the same number of goals or make as many mistakes collectively or individually as Barnsley.

The Reds will say they play an attacking style which leaves them vulnerable in defence some times and are developing effective attackers.

But the entertainment provided comes alongside plenty of frustration for supporters at the frequency and often ludicrous nature of the goals conceded.

Their goalkeepers Murphy Cooper and his replacement Owen Goodman – including his spell at Huddersfield – have the 24th and 25th best save percentages in the division.

That reflects poorly on them but also on the team for conceding too many good chances.

What else do the statistics tell us?

Hourihane has made Barnsley much more possession-based than in recent seasons.

They are in the division’s top five for possession and passing accuracy while being involved in the second fewest aerial challenges.

They have won the ball in the final third the 21st most out of the 24 sides in the third tier – hinting at a move away from the high-pressing ‘DNA’ the owners have previously spoken about.

Barnsley are in the bottom four in the league for tackles, interceptions and clearances while they have blocked the second fewest crosses and the fewest passes.

They have had the fewest shots from set pieces and the fewest headed shots.

Busy spell, possible break, busy end

The remainder of this season looks likely to be split into two very busy sets of fixtures – assuming the match at Northampton in late March is called off due to international call-ups, which is expected but not confirmed.

That would mean that, starting from Saturday’s trip to Leyton Orient after a rare week with no Tuesday game, Barnsley play seven times in 21 days – including five at home.

Then, after the two-week international break, they complete the season with nine games in 29 days including six away.

Both will be very demanding sequences for an inconsistent squad which is thin in some areas – with Hourihane not being supplied with the extra striker he wanted in the transfer window.

Injuries to Reyes Cleary or the remarkable David McGoldrick could be catastrophic.

Given their far better home form than on their travels, and to avoid the pressure getting too much for a fragile squad, they must look to get past 50 points in that first set of games before the break.

The home matches against Wigan, Exeter and Doncaster stand out as winnable but, despite their fine run at home, they only drew at home with Northampton and Wimbledon.

It will be strange if they must play their final nine games in less than a month and they are all pretty much dead rubbers for a Reds team stranded in mid-table. But it might be a fitting conclusion to a baffling campaign.