 He went on trial with League One club Barnsley in January 2006 and the following month manager Andy Ritchie expressed his desire to sign Coulson in the summer.Despite this, Coulson decided against extending his trial at Barnsley, opting to return to the Scarborough team to help their fight against relegation.He finished the season seven goals from 33 appearances as Scarborough were relegated to the Conference North and was awarded the club's annual Players' Player of the Year and Fans' Player of the Year awards.