Barnsley’s big hope

Thursday, 09/09/2010

by Paul Stevenson, Shoot's Barnsley blogger

They always say you should never go back.

Don't give your beloved ex-girlfriend a second chance, no matter how cute she looks - it's going to end in acrimony, and you know it.

It's also a nailed-on disaster when footballers and managers return to their old clubs. It never works out, and the cherished memories of a once-prolific goalscorer or dominant centre-back are replaced by the harsh reality of a struggling has-been who must wish the ground could swallow him up.

I give you Alan Shearer's attempts at managing Newcastle, I give you Jamie Carragher's short-lived return to the England side, I give you Andrei Shevchenko's no goals in 18 games when he went back on loan to Milan.

No good can ever come of digging up the past.

Yet I can't help but be excited to see that Denis Souza played for Barnsley's reserves on Wednesday night, even though I know it's likely he'll be a shadow of his former self.

I loved Souza, the rugged Brazilian defender, when Simon Davey signed him - it was one of the best bits of business our old manager ever did.I remember seeing him flying into tackles in a pre-season friendly at Rotherham, and thinking that here perhaps was a legend in the making. For me, at least, it was love at first sight.

He was a mainstay in our side for the couple of years we had him, doing much to keep Barnsley's heads above water in the Championship, and playing his part in the FA Cup run of 2008, the memories of which still cause goosebumps.

Against my better judgement, then, part of me wishes for Souza to eat up reserve-team centre-forwards so effectively that Mark Robins has no choice but to offer him a first-team contract, and for him to nail down a place in the side and lead us to (relative) glory.

There have been few better defenders to represent us than Souza in the 15 years I've been watching us, and for him to roll up and strengthen us in a position where we're struggling for numbers would be like something out of Hollywood - and indeed, we could sign him permanently after he left Qatari club Al-Sailiya, making him a free agent.

So we'll ignore the fact that our Souza-powered reserves were thrashed 6-2, and we'll ignore the lessons of history - the great man is back, and I couldn't be more pleased!

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