Top scorer Craig Davies is set to seal his £300,000 switch to Championship rivals Bolton Wanderers in the next 24 hours to leave The Reds desperately short of firepower for the Championship run-in.
Barnsley, under the stewardship of caretakers David Flitcroft, Micky Mellon and Martin Scott until the derby with Leeds on the 12th January are bottom of the Championship, four points from safety. The team bottom at this stage of the season has been relegated in ten of the last 11 seasons.
And now they are set to be left with just Chris Dagnall (no goals from 17 appearances) and Marlon Harewood (two goals from 19 appearances) as the club’s only recognised strikers with Bolton activating the release clause that was placed in Davies’ contract when he signed from Chesterfield in the summer of 2011.
Meanwhile thanks to the sales of players such as Davies and his former strike partner Ricardo Vaz Te, Barnsley’s holding company, Barnsley Football Club (2002) Ltd made a pre tax profit of £30,246 for the 12 months to the 31st May 2012.
All of this was generated through player sales and cutting the annual wage bill which fell from £7.5m in 2011 to £6.2m. However turnover which includes ticket and merchandise sales fell from £11m to £8.6m. The club also made an operating loss of £409,035.
A statement from the board of directors said:
“A number of players left the club during the season, either being released or transferred to other clubs.
“The club reduced the annual wage bill significantly compared to the previous season, and ensured the financial stability of the club despite a reduction in turnover derived from ticket sales and donations from the beneficial owner.
“The improved financial results should ensure that the club is prepared for the full implementation of the financial fair play regulations in the 2014/15 season.”