Barnsley FC 2026-27 season preview: Numbers game is cause for concern as Reds venture into unknown

If a steady stream of goals arrive at one end and you consistently keep them out at the other, you are onto something.

Which brings us to Barnsley, where there are significant worries when talk turns to both ends of the pitch ahead of the start of a new season. A season venturing into the realms of the unknown.

It is never a good situation to be in and explains why there is justified concern among an angst fanbase ahead of the Reds' fifth successive campaign in the lower divisions.

You have to go back to the Seventies and early Eighties for their longest previous run outside the top-two divisions.

While observers reference the incremental growth of certain clubs - in EFL circles, think the likes of Lincoln and Coventry of late - momentum can also be downward.

In the past five seasons, Barnsley have finished in a lower position than the year before with the last two years being particularly flat and dispiriting by way of mid-table finishes, 12th and 15th in 24-25 and 25-26 respectively. It points to a club going the wrong way.

It helps to explain why Daniel Stendel, the last person to precede over a promotion at the club, was summoned in May.

His intense, gegenpressing style went down exceedingly well among the Oakwell faithful in that 2018-19 season and his personality around the town was another tick.

Rediscovering the club's mojo will be a harder task, second time around, than when he arrived eight summers ago.

Back in 2018, he inherited talented League One ready footballers of the ilk of Alex Mowatt, Jacob Brown, Ethan Pinnock and Kieffer Moore to name but four.

In the present, he has less to play with, although his acumen in terms of developing young players has been a noticeable feature of his coaching career, particularly in Germany.

He will need several to hit the ground running to energise Reds punters from an early juncture.

First time around, Stendel could hang his hat on the likes of Moore, Brown and Woodrow to provide the goals. Now, it's far less straightforward with players young and new to the club in Makenzie Kirk and Amani Richards seemingly entrusted with that.

No pressure then and how Barnsley could do with the aforesaid duo and others such as Clayton Taylor and Tyrese Noslin getting up to speed quickly in their first forays in England.

The three players who scored over half of Barnsley's total of 73 league goals last season in David McGoldrick, Davis Keillor-Dunn and Adam Phillips are no longer around.

Perish the thought what would have happened if they hadn't been in 25-26 and is hard to say with any degree of certainty who will score the goals and provide the couple of double-figure hauls required to keep the Reds out of trouble this time around, after fleeting worries in that regard earlier this year.

Hopefully, the picture will be brighter by the end of the summer. It has to be.

And if that's not enough to contend with, there's the case for the defence.

In the past two seasons, Barnsley have conceded 73 goals. It was the second worst League One record last term and the joint fifth-worst in 24-25. Last year, the defence also kept a divisional low of just four clean sheets.

For the fourth successive year, a loan goalkeeper will be entrusted with number one duties. Cieran Slicker’s impressive record at Barnet last season at least suggests he is ready for the step up.

At the back, there’s plenty on the shoulders of Mael de Gevigney and Jack Shepherd, who should know what League One is about by now.

Barnsley’s issues were not venue-specific last year. There were problems at home - one win in their last eight matches at Oakwell. On the road, there was not much succour either. They won once between August 19 and late February.

So it's fair to say Stendel has plenty on his plate and it is to be hoped that Barnsley hit gold with some new arrivals in what will be a pretty unproven line-up amid a style makeover. Early wins would help.

While not picture-perfect, Barnsley's record in developing young players, principally for sell-on value remains a strong one in EFL circles.

The next cab off the rank in that regard is likely to be Reyes Cleary, who enjoyed a breakthrough 25-26 and has been on the radar of a clutch of Championship clubs.

Building a serious team to compete in third-tier circles again is looking a different matter.

Should Cleary and Luca Connell follow Phillips in departing Oakwell this summer, then Barnsley - not for the first time - must avoid being timed out in their quest to bring in quality replacements.

If that transpires, the mood music among exasperated sections of the Reds’ support would darken further. After playing with fire in recent seasons, there is the danger that this season could be one in which the club are burnt if they are not careful.

Let's hope not. If Stendel rewinds the clock to happier times, it will be up there with the most eye-catching stories of the EFL season.