Barnsley F.C. Season Review 2012/13

Last updated : 09 May 2013 By Alastair Limb (tykesmad)

Entering the summer of 2012 after an appalling second half of the 2011/12 campaign, Reds fans knew a lot of "recruitment" to quote manager Keith Hill, had to be done.

Hill revealed his retained list, with Jacob Butterfield, Jim O'Brien and Stephen Foster all offered new contracts but Andy Gray, David Preece, Jay McEveley, Alistair Taylor, Nathan Doyle and David Cotterill were all told to find new clubs. Youngsters Brad Kilburn, Sam Patterson, Jake Scott and Matty Steade were all awarded their first professional contracts.

Lee Collins' loan move from Port Vale was made permanent.

Meanwhile, the transfer saga involving Jacob Butterfield rumbled on, with the midfielder turning down the new deal offered by Barnsley so whoever signed him, the transfer fee would be decided at a tribunal. Keith Hill said: 

"There's no fee guaranteed, so we'll probably have to take it to a tribunal. In my opinion he's worth £3m. Will we get that amount? Absolutely not."

Butterfield eventually joined Norwich on July 3rd, with the Canaries stumping up around the £1.5m mark for the 21-year-old.

Hill went about his summer recruitment, picking up ex-Man City winger Kelvin Etuhu from Portsmouth on a free transfer. Former loanee Jacob Mellis was next in at Oakwell after his sacking by Chelsea for letting off a smoke grenade at the club's Cobham training ground.,

Then came the news that sent shockwaves around English football. Barnsley signed former Tottenham, Roma, Ajax and Middlesbrough striker Mido on a free transfer from Egyptian side Zamalek. 

The next man on Hill's radar was Manchester United midfielder Oliver Norwood. After having a £400,000 offer accepted for the Northern Ireland man, the player opted to join Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town.

The signings continued, with former Spurs goalkeeper Ben Alnwick joining on a free transfer after his release from White Hart Lane. He would provide competition for number 1 Luke Steele after the release of David Preece.

Meanwhile, on the pitch the Reds got their pre-season off to a winning start after victories against St Mirren (1-0) and Alfreton Town (2-1) with Craig Davies getting each of the three goals scored in these games.

The first game at Rotherham United's £20million New York Stadium ended in defeat for the Reds, with former striker Kayode Odejayi netting for the Millers in a 2-1 win. Jacob Mellis netted for Barnsley.

On July 23rd came Hill's next signing. 18-year-old Portuguese winger Toni Silva joined on a free transfer from Liverpool. The youngster had spent much of the 2011/12 campaign on loan at Northampton Town.

0-0 draws with Stocksbridge Park Steels and Premier League side West Brom followed before a 2-2 draw with Doncaster Rovers. In the warm up for the game at the Keepmoat, new signing Mido tore a hamstring and was set to miss much of the first half of the season.

Former Derby and Reading winger Tomasz Cywka was next through the Oakwell door, signing on a free transfer following his release from the Madejski Stadium. 

This season's League Cup, now named the Capital One Cup, had their first round on Saturday 11th August this year. And the Reds faced a tough trip to Keith Hill's old side Rochdale. 

After Andrew Tutte gave Dale an early lead, John Stones responded for the Reds and Craig Davies gave them the lead. Jason Kennedy equalised with a last minute penalty but two goals from Chris Dagnall gave the Reds a 4-2 lead before another Kennedy penalty pegged them back. Ben Alnwick saw red for Barnsley for a headbutt.

Another former Mark Robins loanee was the next to sign for Barnsley, with Marlon Harewood rejoining the club. He scored four goals in ten loan appearances back in 2010. In the same day as Hill signed Harewood, he turned down a six figure bid from Crystal Palace for winger Matt Done.

With the season fast approaching and no goalkeeper available for the opening few games with Luke Steele out injured and Ben Alnwick suspended, Barnsley signed Colombian keeper David Gonzalez on non-contract terms

So that was it for pre-season and the madness of another football season was about to begin. Check back soon for the August to October season review.