Exclusive: Don Goodman makes Louie Barry exit claim after Stockport County heartbreak | OneFootball

Don Goodman has told FLW his verdict on whether Stockport County could've been promoted if they'd kept Louie Barry

Don Goodman is unsure whether the departure of Louie Barry from Stockport County in the January transfer window cost the club promotion from League One.

The 21-year-old returned to the club on loan from Aston Villa in the summer after playing a key role in their promotion last year in the second half of the campaign.

He contributed 15 goals and three assists in League One before being recalled in the January market in order to facilitate another temporary switch, moving to Hull City.

Dave Challinor’s side ultimately finished third in the table, missing out on automatic promotion by five points, before being eliminated from the play-offs by Leyton Orient in the semi-finals.

Don Goodman makes Louie Barry Stockport claim

Goodman is unsure whether Barry’s departure made a difference to Stockport’s promotion hopes, praising how the team fared without him.

While he believes the player had a great impact on the team while he was there, he claimed we can’t know for sure what would’ve happened had he stayed.

“It has been a brilliant season for Stockport County,” Goodman exclusively told Football League World.

“And we’re talking about hypotheticals, aren’t we, where saying if Louie Barry hadn’t left would they have gone all the way.

“We’ll never know.

“I don’t like hypotheticals in reality because you can’t really predict, what I do know is they only finished five points behind Wrexham but would they have been in the play-offs still, and would they have won their semi-final and final if Louie Barry had been there?

“We’ll never know, but clearly what he did in the first half of the season was very, very impressive.

“But I still think what Stockport County did in the second half of the season was very, very impressive too, so we will never know.”

Barry made just four appearances for Hull after leaving Stockport, with injuries hampering his time with the Championship side.

Barry’s departure hurt Stockport

Stockport maintained strong form in the second half of the campaign, so supporters will be forgiven for wondering what could’ve been had Barry stayed.

His form was electric prior to being recalled by Aston Villa in January.

Had they been able to hold onto him, then there’s a very good chance his goal scoring makes up the five extra points needed to keep up with Wrexham.

But, as Goodman points out, there are no guarantees, and the club now has to move on from the disappointment of losing to Orient and refocus their efforts for next season so they can go again for another promotion push.