Now the League One line-up has been completed for next season, who will the Reds be up against?
PETERBOROUGH UNITED 22ND in the Championship. Distance from Oakwell: 100 miles. Record against Reds: P:40. W:16. D:6. L:18.
Posh essentially finished Barnsley’s chances of survival with a win at Oakwell on Easter Monday but went down themselves the next week.
Having thrashed Blackpool 5-0 in their final game, and with a coaching team in place, they appear to be currently further along the road to an immediate return to the Championship than the Reds. Former Barnsley midfielder Grant McCann is their boss for the second time, with his old Oakwell team-mate Dale Tonge – who helped Barnsley out of League One in 2019 – on his coaching staff.
Experienced defender Mark Beevers, from Barnsley, has been made available for transfer.
DERBY COUNTY, 23RD in the Championship , 57 miles. P: 74. W:22. D:17. L:35.
American Chris Kirchner is reportedly close to purchasing the Rams and taking them out of administration.
The 21-point deduction meant they went down with the Reds, who still finished below them. They are in the third tier for the first time since 1985/86, when they got the first of back-to-back promotions to the top flight, and, if they find stability behind the scenes, will be among the favourites to do go up again.
Manager Wayne Rooney was in court last week to testify in his wife’s defamation defence against Rebekah Vardy.
MK DONS, 3RD in League 1, 130 miles. P: 8. W: 2. D: 3. L:3
The Dons missed out on top two to Rotherham on the final day then were beaten by Wycombe in the play-off semi-finals.
Manager Liam Manning – who has been linked with QPR – has them playing a specific brand of football as they made the most passes and had the best pass completion, as well as being the most fouled.
MK are facing a fight to keep Scott Twine who scored 20 goals and added 13 assists last season, while Dean Lewington, 38, has played 946 games for the club.
Both Callum Brittain and Carlton Morris played for MK before joining Barnsley.
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY, 4TH, 13 miles. P:77. W:23. D:17. L:37.
If the Owls had won the play-offs, Barnsley would not have had a local derby or an away trip shorter than 40 miles next season.
But they were beaten in the play-off semi-final by Sunderland.
Former Barnsley defender Darren Moore’s only game against the Reds as a manager was a win at Oakwell over Valerien Ismael’s side in March last year, but they were relegated on the final day.
Wednesday had the best home record in League One in 2021/22 but Barnsley will hope to repeat their victory at Hillsborough in December 2020 but in front of fans this time.
WYCOMBE WANDERERS, 6TH, 171 miles. P:8. W:4. D:3. L:1.
The Chairboys were denied an immediate return to the Championship when they lost 2-0 to Sunderland at Wembley in the play-off final.
A direct and physical side, they made the fewest tackles in the division last season but the most fouls, won the most headers and scored the most goals from outside the box.
Gareth Ainsworth is the longest serving manager in League One and second in the EFL.
Wycombe have ex-Reds Josh Scowen and Jason McCarthy.
Their legal challenge is ongoing after they were relegated a year ago with Derby, who stayed up at their expense, given points deductions for the following season.
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE, 7TH, 303 miles. P:67. W:18. D:19. L:30.
Barnsley will make their longest trip of the season to Devon, hoping for a similar experience to the last time they visited Home Park.
The 3-0 Easter Monday win in 2019 in front of a packed away end was a huge step towards promotion.
Plymouth were relegated into League Two that season but bounced back and collected 80 League One points then dropped out of the play-offs with a 5-0 final day loss to MK Dons last month.
Goalkeeper Michael Cooper was in the League One Team of the Season and is reportedly of interest to other clubs.
OXFORD UNITED, 8TH, 155 miles. P:25. W:12. D:6. L:7.
Karl Robinson’s Us were the joint top-scorers in the division, and in the play-off places for most of the season, but dropped out in the final weeks. Herbie Kane was a regular in their midfield but the Reds loanee suffered a groin injury near the end of the season which is likely to keep him out for most of the summer. They released former Barnsley star striker Sam Winnall, who started five league games in two years, but still have his old Oakwell club-mate Ryan Williams.
Matty Taylor was one of the top-scorers with 20 goals while Cameron Brannagan netted 14 from midfield.
BOLTON WANDERERS, 9TH, 60 miles. P:42. W:12. D:13. L:17
Barnsley have not beaten Bolton in 13 meetings since 1998, with six draws and seven losses including on penalties in the EFL Cup last August.
It will be one of the shortest trips of the season for Barnsley who have never won at the University of Bolton Stadium – previously known as the Reebok Stadium. Ian Evatt’s Trotters collected 73 points after coming up from League Two and will now target a promotion push.
Bolton have former Barnsley players Gethin Jones, Declan John and Lloyd Isgrove, while Reds goalkeeper Jack Walton started in their academy.
PORTSMOUTH, 10TH, 243 miles. P:54. W:18. D:14. L:22.
Pompey were one of the teams who slipped up on that Tuesday night in April 2019 to hand Barnsley automatic promotion with a game to spare. They then lost in the play-off semi-final to Sunderland and, a year later after finishing fifth on points-per-game due to Covid-19, lost a shoot-out to Oxford at the same stage with Reds loanee Cameron McGeehan missing a penalty.
Since then they have finished eighth and tenth under the Cowley brothers who were previously in charge of Lincoln and Huddersfield. The Reds have not won in their last seven trips to Fratton Park, losing five.
IPSWICH TOWN, 11TH, 185 miles. P:47. W:13. D:10. L:24.
The Tractor Boys dropped into the third tier for first time since the 1950s in 2019, swapping places with the Reds, and have finished 11th, ninth and 11th again.
Ipswich bought Conor Chaplin – who scored 11 goals – from Barnsley a year ago and have other ex-Reds Sam Morsy and Kayden Jackson. They had the most possession in League One this season, which saw Paul Cook sacked and replaced by Manchester United coach Kieran McKenna who took on his first management role.
Barnsley have not beaten the Suffolk club in 11 meetings since 2010.
ACCRINGTON STANLEY, 12TH, 60 miles. P:12. W:8. L:4.
Accy were nestled in mid-table among
Charlton, Ipswich and Portsmouth – so are massively punching above their weight when you consider that their average attendance is less than 3,000.
They had the most shots in League One last season but only the 14th most goals as almost half of their efforts were from outside the box.
They received the most red cards, with eight, won the second most headers and scored the most set piece goals after the top two with dead ball specialist Sean McConville contributing 17 assists. Manager John Coleman is the second longest serving in the division.
CHARLTON ATHLETIC, 13TH, 190 miles. P:52. W:17. D:15. L:20.
The Addicks sacked manager Johnnie Jackson earlier this month, and he then moved across London to AFC Wimbledon. They look likely to appoint Swindon’s Ben Garner.
The Addicks were one of the casualties of Barnsley’s ‘great escape’ under Gerhard Struber in July 2020, losing heavily on the last day at Leeds when the Reds were winning at Brentford. They collected the most bookings in League One in 2021/22. Former Barnsley forward Elliot Lee spent the campaign with the Addicks on loan and has now been released by Luton Town.
CAMBRIDGE UNITED, 14TH, 135 miles. P:21. W:9. D:7. L:5
The last time Barnsley and Cambridge were in the same division was in 1992/93 when the Us went from the second tier play-offs to relegation – just like the Reds this year. Since then, Cambridge have spent almost a decade in non-league football but returned to the EFL in 2014 and, under rookie manager Mark Bonnar, were promoted last year then consolidated in League One – with a famous FA Cup win at Newcastle.
They have former Barnsley players Paul Digby and George Williams as well as star striker Joe Ironside whose father Ian and grandfather Roy were both goalkeepers for the Reds.
CHELTENHAM TOWN, 15TH, 150 miles. P:2. W: 1. D:1.
The Reds’ only meetings with the Robins were in the 2002/03 season, when Cheltenham’s side included Michael Duff – who is one of the candidates for the Barnsley head coach job – and Martin Devaney who finished the season as caretaker at Oakwell.
Duff guided them to promotion from League One last year then their highest ever finish in the most recent season.
They signed left-back Ben Williams from Barnsley in January but have released goalkeeper Scott Flinders.
Striker Alfie May scored 23 goals last season and is reportedly being targeted by other clubs
BURTON ALBION, 16TH, 65 miles. P:9. W: 3. D:4. L:2.
The Brewers were promoted to the Championship alongside Barnsley in 2016 then relegated with them two years later. Since then, while the Reds spent three years in the Championship, Albion have finished ninth, 12th and 16th twice. Barnsley have been linked with Burton boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink this summer.
Current Barnsley players Brad Collins, Cauley Woodrow and Devante Cole used to play for Burton.
The Reds have won just one of their last seven meetings with the East Midlands club.
LINCOLN CITY, 17TH, 55 miles. P:70. W:33. D:14. L:23
Lincoln are one of the teams Barnsley have played most of next year’s line-up, but they haven’t met in the league since the 1970s. The most recent meetings were in the League Cup in 1999 and 2009, with the Reds winning both. The Imps lost in last year’s play-off final to Blackpool, under Michael Appleton who stayed another season before resigning and being replaced by former Liverpool and Manchester City defender Mark Kennedy.
Former Barnsley centre-back Adam Jackson has been with Lincoln for two seasons, making 50 league starts.
The second closest trip in terms of miles driven after Hillsborough.
SHREWSBURY, 18TH, 120 miles. P:42. W:20. D:9. L:13.
The Shrews are managed by veteran boss Steve Cotterill. He has never won at Oakwell in six visits – three draws and three losses – with Burnley, Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest, Bristol City and Birmingham. Cotterill is known for a direct style and Shrewsbury made the most tackles in the division last season and the second most clearances. Daniel Stendel’s Barnsley were bullied in a 3-1 loss there in 2018, with Kenny Dougall sustaining a broken leg. Since finishing third in 2017/18 then losing to Rotherham in the play-off final – when their loanee Carlton Morris suffered a serious knee injury – they have finished 18th, 15th, 17th and 18th.
MORECAMBE, 19TH, 100 miles. P:2. W: 1. L:1
The Shrimps conceded the most goals in the division last season with 88 in their first ever third tier campaign.
But they still managed to stay up, thanks largely to the 23 goals netted by striker Cole Stockton, 28, who is being linked with a move away.
Barnsley are due to make their first ever trip to the Mazuma Stadium – where the attendance record was broken three times last season.
But Morecambe – the most northern of next season’s League One clubs – have visited Oakwell twice in the EFL Cup, winning 2-0 in 2011 and losing 4-3 six years later.
FLEETWOOD TOWN, 20TH, 105 miles. P:8. W:4. D:2. L:2.
The Cod Army stayed up on the final day on goal difference, at the expense of Gillingham, despite winning just one of their last 21 league games. That meant they remain the current League One club who have been at that level the longest, having been promoted in 2014.
They continued their penchant for giving aggressive former midfielders their first job in management, following Joey Barton, with the appointment of Celtic legend Scott Brown. Former Barnsley youth player Harrison Biggins has left for Doncaster Rovers.
FOREST GREEN ROVERS, 1ST in League 2, 170 miles
The only club in the division who Barnsley have never played against.
The Gloucestershire outfit were promoted to their highest ever level by former Reds defender Rob Edwards, who has since left for Watford. They have also lost star midfielder Ebou Adams to Cardiff City.
Barnsley loanee Jack Aitchison played every game as Rovers won the fourth tier.
Reds fans making the trip to the New Lawn can sample a vegan menu at the environmentally-friendly club, which is carbon neutral and powered by solar panels.
Brad Collins and Liam Kitching both used to play for Forest Green.
EXETER CITY, 2ND in League 2, 260 miles. P:20. W:7. D:4. L:9
Barnsley will face the Grecians for the first time in more than 40 years, since Norman Hunter’s side did the double over them on the way to promotion from Division Three in 1980/81.
The Reds have made the long trip to the Devon club ten times, losing eight and winning two.
Exeter are managed by their former centre-back Matt Taylor, who took his first coaching job in 2018 following the exit of long-serving boss Paul Tisdale.
They earned automatic promotion this season and just missed out on the title on the final day.
They have never been above the third tier in their history.
BRISTOL ROVERS, 3RD IN LEAGUE 2, 187 miles. P:32. W:11. D:9. L:12.
The Gas got the 7-0 final day win they needed to pip Northampton Town to the final automatic promotion place, thrashing a last-placed Scunthorpe team whose manager Keith Hill played several untested youth teamers. Rovers had spent most of the first half of the season in the bottom half but won 13 of their last 18 games. Their manager Joey Barton is due to return to the Oakwell dugout for the first time since April 2019 when, as Fleetwood manager, he was accused of assaulting Daniel Stendel – for which he was acquitted in December. Barton has stated he would like to bring back Barnsley winger Luke Thomas, who started just one of the last 20 games on loan but made an impact off the bench.
PORT VALE
They beat Mansfield Town 3-0 in the League Two play-off final yesterday.
Port Vale’s director of football is former Reds manager David Flitcroft.
They ate the team in the division who Barnsley have played the most in their history with 111 meetings so far.
