Barnsley FC Since their return to the nPower Championship via the League 1 Play-Offs in the 2005/06 season, Barnsley have been tipped season after season to fight against relegation, and yet, they have proved the pundits wrong time and time again, establishing themselves in the lower-reaches of the league table. In their 5-year stay prior to the current campaign, the highest position recorded was 17th last season, with 56 points. Currently under the management of Keith Hill, Barnsley occupy the spot above Watford in the league table after six games, on six points, but above the Hornets on goal difference. After a goalless draw with Steve McLaren’s Nottingham Forest on the opening day, Carling Cup defeat to Morecambe, and back-to-back league defeats at home to Southampton and Middlesbrough respectively followed. However, Barnsley, like Watford on Saturday 10th September, picked up their first win of the season in the following game away at Reading, Barnsley beating the Royals 2-1, Watford coming away with a cleansheet with a 2-0 scoreline. Barnsley come into this fixture with two draws on the bounce against Millwall and Leicester. Averaging a home attendance of 10,700 this campaign, Barnsley have only picked up 1 point at Oakwell in three league games, scoring twice in front of their home fans. This potentially bodes well for Watford, who haven’t exactly found this ground an easy place to come in recent times, on the back of the confidence boosting shut-out of the Royals at the Madejski Stadium. Watford were amongst the ‘big movers’ last weekend following Sean Dyche’s first win in charge, lifting them from 22nd to 16th. Both sides are unbeaten in their last 3 league games, and have picked up 5 of their 6 points ‘on the road’. Barnsley had a busy summer in the transfer window. The two notable departures were those of Jason Shackell to Derby County, and also Garry O’Connor on a free to Hibernian, with Kern Miller going out on loan to Accrington Stanley. However, like Watford, a few outgoing players, were replaced by larger number coming into the club; Craig Davies (Chesterfield), David Perkins (Colchester), Rob Edwards (Blackpool), Matt Done & Scott Wiseman (Rochdale), Jim McNulty (Brighton), as well as the loan signings of Cameron Park (Middlesborough), Miles Addison (Derby), and also ex-Watford loanee Danny Drinkwater (Man Utd) – the latter of whom spent the 2nd half of last season on loan at Vicarage Road without really making any significant impact for the ‘Orns. Four of Barnsley’s six permanent signings were free-transfers. The Tyke’s last game, at home to Leicester ended 1-1. The Reds took the lead towards the end of the first half after Andy Gray’s header was tipped onto the bar by Schmeichel, with Butterfield nodding home the rebound from 3 yards out. Their quest for their first home win didn’t last long, as Leicester came back out after the break, and scored through substitute Andy King’s first touch. Despite only picking up 1 point, it was a strong display from the home side. In the past six meetings between the two sides, both Barnsley and Watford have claimed 2 wins, and there have been 2 draws. Goals are few and far between, with only 3 goals being scored in the last 4 meetings. Watford will be hoping that they can claim their 2nd win of the season on the back of the strong performance at Reading, and bring 3 points back to Vicarage Road. Recent League Form: DLLWDD Luke Steele (Goalkeeper) The 26 year old Goalkeeper has been at Barnsley since 2008, when he joined the Reds on loan, before making the move permanent in the summer transfer window at the end of the season. With spells throughout his career at Peterborough, on the books at Manchester United, Coventry and West Bromwich Albion, he has turned out for England at the U18, U19, and U20 levels. During his loan, eye-catching performances at Anfield, other performances saw Barnsley reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup. He has been fined various times by the FA in the past for wearing an undergarment with a logo that appeared above the collar line of the goalkeeping shirt. He has turned in several good performances so far for Barnsley this campaign, and is seen by fans as the key player in the team at the moment. Watford have no fresh injury concerns; Stephen McGinn is still absent with his knee injury sustained last season. Sean Dyche may look to name an un-changed side following the 2-0 win over Reading last Saturday, meaning Troy Deeney, and new faces such as Joe Garner, David Mirfin, and Chris Iwelumo may have to be content with a place on the bench. Watford Starting XI vs Reading (W 2-0): Loach Doyley – Mariappa – Taylor – ****inson Yeates – Hogg – Eustace – Forsyth Weimann – Sordell Subs: Gilmartin, Mirfin, Deeney, Iwelumo, Garner Barnsley seem to have a relatively clean bill of health, though full-back Jay McEverley, midfielder Nathan Doyle, and Striker Craig Davies were not named in the squad to face Leicester. Barnsley starting XI vs Leicester (D 1-1): Steele Hassell – Edwards – Foster – McNulty O’Brien – Drinkwater – Done – Perkins Butterfield Gray Subs: Preece, Park, Doyle, Wiseman, Haynes 23/04/11 Watford 1-0 Barnsley 27/11/10 Barnsley 0-0 Watford 06/02/10 Barnsley 1-0 Watford 12/09/09 Watford 1-0 Barnsley 11/04/09 Watford 1-1 Barnsley 15/11/08 Barnsley 2-1 Watford Thanks to bfc_truelove (BTL), dandvelys (DV), ireland_tyke (IT), MiserableEastStander (MES), & ChiefWiggum (CW), over at www.barnsley-mad.co.uk for taking some time to answer a few questions ahead of Saturday’s game: What do you make of Barnsley’s start to the 2011/12 nPower Championship campaign? BTL: I think we are improving as the games go on. The opening day draw at Forest was followed by three awful home performances including getting out played by League Two side Morecambe in the League Cup. The 3 - 1 home defeat to Middlesbrough sent alarm bells ringing but the 3 matches since then against Reading, Millwall and Leicester have all been good and we are much more positive now DV: It’s been a mixture of ups and downs already and we're only a few games into the season, a good solid point away at Nottingham Forest got us off to a positive start but then we we're embarrassed by 2 strong Saints and ‘Boro teams, we've got off to a good start away from home, with 2 hard earned draws and a win at reading which we're pleased with and a point against Leicester at home on Saturday really should have been three, the fans are finally starting to come around to Keith Hills’ idea of playing football and are finally getting off his back. IT: Steady. Given the new manager, new style of play, large influx of new players and the teams we have played then I would be happy with the results so far. Great to see the away form improving but would like to see a return to the home form of previous seasons. MES: A little slow, but considering how competitive the league is and some of the teams we have played already, I'm pleased with it. We look a lot better away from home than we have for a few years. Just need to improve our home form. CW: Slow, but progressing well. Things will be better when key players are fully fit. Who do you consider to be Barnsley’s Key player this season, and (briefly), for what reason? BTL: Luke Steele - in the form of his life at the moment! DV: I don’t think we have a key play in our side this season as Keith Hill likes to think of us as a team and there are no individuals, although Jacob Butterfield on his day can be superb in the middle of the park, but on other days can be very poor, but i see him as key most of the time has he pulls the strings in midfield for us. IT: The improved team ethic has meant less standout performers but Luke Steele would definitely have to get praise as a high achiever; has kept us in the hunt on a number of occasions. MES: I wouldn't say we had a "stand out player." Jacob Butterfield is probably the most productive, but very erratic. CW: Luke Steele. In which areas do you believe the strengths and weaknesses lie in the Barnsley team at the moment? BTL: We aren't conceding nowhere near as many goals (‘Boro game aside) as last season and surprisingly actually look quite good at the back even with the loss of Jason Shackell. We are at the bottom of the Championship 'number of shots' table so you'd have to say that was our weak point. DV: At the moment our strike force doesn’t look to great on paper, having not scored many goals at all this season, and except from winning away at reading and our point against Leicester on Saturday we haven’t looked like scoring at all! Our defence doesn’t look like it will give away too many goals this season, we tend to keep the ball a lot and have a lot of possession, i think we have strong in midfield and have lots of options there. IT: The defensive unit is performing well [after some shaky outings against Boro and Southampton]. We are still light on the goals front but this may be a result of our style of play rather than a lack of firepower. MES: We are a little lightweight up front. Think once Craig Davies finds his feet we may be a bit more productive. The defence has been good (especially away) this year. CW: We need a new Brian Howard. What are your realistic ambitions and expectations for the season? Do you see yourselves improving upon the 17th place last season – your highest league finish since your return to the Championship? BTL: Hard to say - as ever with Barnsley, you never know! DV: We hope we can improve and i think we can, things are slowly starting to improve and we have to give Keith Hill time to do his stuff, we could have finished above 17th position in the past few years but as soon as our teams hit the 54 point mark and look safe they seem to stop playing and aren’t bothered anymore, hopefully not the case this season. IT: This season the league is tougher than ever and there are a lot of big spending teams vying for promotion thus pushing previously stronger teams further down the pyramid. I don't believe there will be a massive improvement in our final league position but I think 15th is achievable and not too unrealistic. MES: Realistically we could finish anywhere from the bottom 3 to mid-table. There are a lot of team throwing money around, but a few struggling as well. I honestly believe we'll be safe this season if the performances continue to improve as they have done. CW: Hard to say, but I’d be happy if we avoided relegation. If there was a current Watford player you would like to see wearing the Barnsley red, who would it be, and why? BTL: Sordell - scored a cracker for the England U21s at Oakwell earlier this month. DV: It would have to be John Eustace for me, he always seems to be the one making the headlines for you, chips in with a few goals and with what I’ve seen of him before is a pretty handy player. IT: Probably Mark Yeates. MES: Marvin Sordell - He looked a very good prospect against Israel in the U21's the other night. Their defence were scared to death of him in the second half. CW: Carl ****inson And finally, what’s your match prediction for this Saturday? BTL: Barnsley 2 - 0 Watford, but the Hornets are due a win at Oakwell aren't they? DV: I think it will be 1-0 to the reds. IT: 1-0 to the Reds. MES: Think we might nick it by the odd goal. 1-0 or 2-1. CW: One-Nil, To the Barnsley. As both sides have had relatively tough starts to the season, and find themselves with the exact same number of points, games won, drawn and lost, I can’t see this being anything but another cagey affair between the two sides. However, I expect Watford to edge this one with a 2-1 win. Hopefully Marvin can produce another ‘Oakwell special’ for the travelling ‘Orns. At The Bookies Barnsley Win @ 5/4 Draw @ 11/5 Watford Win @ 7/4 (Odds courtesy of Williamhill.com) There will be a vBookie event for the game open on Saturday morning, on the new-style forum, where you can throw some of your newly acquired vCredits at this game if they are burning a hole in this thread.
Great review Ashdon, thanks. Barnsley tough to grind down but 'orns confidence higher, and with well organised defence, their lack of fire power, our positive attitude and team spirit , WFC to nick it 1-0. Hogg debut goal.
Good write up. Steele the goalkeeper is a funny one always getting fined for the logo ,probably get a bonus everytime he is fined, good advertising for the manufacturer
Cheers guys. Don't have a clue why I wrote that it was 2-1 twice... I went to the game as well! Writing most of that at 2am clearly took its toll! Thanks for pointing it out simms. :biggrin:
Probably because it's so unthinkable we got a clean sheet, you're unconscious mind is just not used to it.:biggrin:
Very good thread Ashton well done! Which one of you degenerates voted for Barnsley!? Come on! Own up!
We usually take a decent lot up to Oakwell as its becoming something of a cult ground, as we haven't won there since 1755.
Garner on the bench again, i thought he was after first team football. Not warming the bench ? Can maybe see him starting at some point. In regards to the game, we should win this. But nothing is set in stone. A uncomfatable 1-0 win for us.
Hogg's already played 2 matches, so it won't be his debut at Barnsley! Although it would be his first goal for us. I hope that the win at Reading is the start of a streak, it'll certainly give us the confidence that we seem to have been missing when it comes to converting chances. It'd be good to get the strikers scoring freely too.
Debut goal/First goal - don't care what it's called, as long as it hits the back of the net! Thanks for the corresction, this is a grate sight four geting spelling and gramar corectid!!
Will be a tough game,but show the same as we did at Reading then we have a great chance of winning the game.It's not an easy place and has not always been that lucky for us.
A win would be awesome but 1-1 for me, I'd probably be happy with that unless their goal is a late equalizer
Won't be an easy game, but with another assured performance such as saturdays and with Marv hopefully fully fit, i've got a good feeling we can pick up a win. We need to!
Barnsley fan ere.. Hey there 'Orns. I thought Id register ere and give an opposing perspective. First off, Id like to say how impressed I am with Ashdons efforts at a preview, with help from a few Reds off TykesMad. Its refreshing to see such an in-depth piece on your next opponents. Its something that TykesMad, and our most popular board 'The BBS' are both lacking in. And seeing your effort Ashdon has inspired me to try getting a similar thing going on our boards in the future. Just to clear up one or two things though. This is our 6th season in the 2nd tier after our return in 2006. Its a common mistake for some reason. Wikipedia and many other sources have got that wrong. Strange really as its not difficult for them to check. And the Luke Steele thing with logo was way back during our FA Cup run of 2007/08. And back then the rules on such things were quite obscure. Im not saying you were wrong to mention it. Just that it was a one-off thing that season. My final bit of nit-picking (;D) refers to the formation against Leicester last weekend. Ashdon had it spot on APART from Butterfield actually played in a free role ahead of Perkins and Drinkwater, just behind Gray. But those discrepancies aside, it was a fine preview matey.. . . . . . . But here is my take on the Reds thus far: Our self-made Barnsley born millionaire owner Patrick Cryne made it clear when taking control nearly 10 years ago that he wanted our club to be self-sufficient. But over the subsequent seasons he has personally topped up the clubs finances, and funded transfers and player wages out of his own pocket. This changed recently. There are a few reasons why. The man is a diabetic, and his health has suffered lately. The stress of a much-publicised court case involving the multi-million pound company he founded must also be taken into consideration. Do a google search on it if you want to realise the severity of his alleged financial wrong-doing. And after backing managers such as Simon Davey and Mark Robins to the tune of a fair few million - with little reward - he (and the majority of fans) feel its time we DID become self-sufficient. To adhere to the new rules being brought in and only spend/live within your means. Unfortunately (or not IMO) Robins didnt fancy working under those conditions and this summer left Oakwell. As did many underperforming high-earners including recent NEWS maker Garry O'Connor. And on June 1st Keith Hill was appointed as the new man in charge, with the remit being to work on probably the lowest budget in the division. He had done this with enormous success at previous club Rochdale. I for one wanted him appointed, and he appears to be a breath of fresh air after the cliche spouting dullard Robins. Keith and Flicker (Dave Flitcroft) - nicknamed 'Hillcroft' - definitely come as a pair. And they have certainly been brave with many of their low cost acquisitions from the lower leagues. . . . . . Im running out of characters here so ill have to reply below.
Continued from my 1st post... We lost Jason Shackell this summer too. Despite signing a 3 year deal just 12 month ago, and being both the captain and POTY, the guy saw pound signs at Pride Park and left for under a million pounds. Which angered us greatly. Not the fact he went, but the fact that yet another talent had left for a bargain price due to a clause in his contract. The same clause that saw us lose Adam Hammill for just 500k in January to Wolves. The same Adam Hammill that ran riot in the division, and the same Adam Hammill that cant get a look in at Molineux. Whenever these STAR players leave Oakwell, theres a 90% chance that their career will go downhill. For example - Daniel Bogdanovic, Brian Howard, Craig Hignett, Jamal Campbell-Ryce, Jacob Burns, Daniel Nardiello etc etc. The list is endless really. And so Keith delved into the lower leagues to bring two of his old players from Dale with him for a combined fee of 250k - Winger Matty Done (pronounced as in Phone) and right-back Scott Wiseman. Another former player of Hill's (and teammate actually) David Perkins signed on a free from Colchester. You cant miss the busy midfield terrier - he's albino with shocking white hair. Chesterfields 25 goal top scorer Craig Davies also came in on a free, as did Blackpool center-half Rob Edwards. Brighton left-back Jimmy McNulty arrived for a nominal fee, followed by the out of contract winger Ricardo Vaz Te. We also have 3 loanees. Derby cripple Miles Addison who hasnt gone down well so far with fans. Young Middlesbro winger Cameron Park. And of course former 'Orns loanee Danny Drinkwater. We hear he was a let-down at Vicarage Rd. But he must be a different player then because in his 2 starts so far he has arguably been MOM. In fact, he played SO good against Leicester that it amazes me that Man Utd dont pick him instead of Michael 'God-Awful' Carrick. . . . And so far this season its been steady, after a difficult start fixture-wise. . . 0-0 at Forest 0-1 home defeat to Soton 1-3 home defeat to Boro 2-1 away win at Reading 0-0 draw at Millwall and a 1-1 draw at Oakwell against Leicester last time out. The new team has got better with each display. Yes we lost back to back home games, but we nearly nicked a point against Saints. And tbh, I agree with our manager that both Boro and Soton will probably finish top six. Boro in particular ripped us apart. Pretty similar to the way we took Svens boys apart last week. But unfortunately, our weakness is goals. Kasper Schmeichel and our woodwork stopped our 60% possession from counting. Oakwell was rocking too for the 1st time in ages. Reading away was a great day out too. It would have deservedly been 2-0 if the ref hadnt given them 3 penalties in 10 minutes. 2 of which Superman Steele saved brilliantly.. . . . Anyway, good luck and I hope you turn up in force and take advantage of the £16 prices. Its usually £30! How bad is that?! So please get up to Barnsley and enjoy your day out. Speak soon perhaps..
Cheers for your comments WhiteyBFC, and welcome to wfcforums! I greatly appreciate your comments with regards to my preview, and will make the necessary ammendments based on what you have informed me of here. I don't know how I managed to get your current stint in the Championship wrong - I counted myself using the watford official site league tables - however, that was at 1am, so I was probably wrong! As for the formation and team, i'm familar with the positions of the vast majority of the players in the Championship and Premiership, but obviously the formation is quite fluid and changes a lot! I try and get a fairly accurate representation of what it is though, and when I saw there were 5 midfielders who started against Leicester, I assumed one would be in an attacking midfielder-esque position, just didn't know who! And finally, as for Luke Steele - I saw that the undergarment thing was a few years back - I just thought it was quite amusing and a little unique thing to put in to seperate him from most standard keepers. A keeper I rate very highly! But yes, thanks very much for your feedback, and i'm glad that this kind of thing is inspiring you to get a similar thing going on Barnsley sites. It is a lot of work though, so it's maybe worth getting a few people who can chip in and share the load, like we do on here. This is only my 3rd Preview, but there are two other members in Prentice and alip01, who have been doing them for a while, and have come up with a good structure and format for the previews. Any questions for us which you may have for yours in the return fixture, I, and i'm sure many other, Watford fans on here will be happy to answer! Cheers, and good luck Saturday - but obviously not too much! :drinking:
I would be happy with a draw here considering our record at Deepdale. There are bound to be goals in this game, hopefully...
I'm up already, going to Barnsley to play against their "IFA" supporters club this morning, then popping over to the game this afternoon, shall keep you posted. :sign15:
:doh: Oakwell it is indeed, don't have a clue why I thought it was Deepdale. Apologies for my mistake.
Excellent thread. I get fed up with some of the nonsense written on some threads, so to read a really constructive and informed debate is great, especially as I live in Spain and rely the forums to keep up to date.
