Watched the game today

Probably going over old ground but simply Man City were better than us in everything. They turned up so we lost. I've heard rumblings about lack of effort, not trying and being embarrassed but I didn't feel that watching it back. The amount of times we pressed Man City into a decent position only for Toure to play a one touch 30 yard pass was amazing - that's not a lack of closing down, it's just quality from him. And the same for the majority of what they did.

Have we had Flitcroft out yet?

You reds.

 

It was as inept a performance against a top team as I've seen by a Barnsley side in my 50 years of watching the Reds.....Flitcroft shoulders the blame for that because his fawning sycophantic behaviour towards the Manchester coaching glitterati pervaded the whole build up to the match and performance by the team in a way that only the staunchest happy clapping Hillist acolyte could appreciate......step forward Dyson

 

Have we ever played the Champions while we were in the bottom 3 of the Championship? Unlikely.

I didn't see the build up to the game so can't comment but being embarrassed at losing 5-0 to a side like City away from home is, well, a bit f.cking mental. We worked hard, we weren't good enough to compete. So what?

 

It wasn't that we weren't good enough to compete we just didn't compete, the result was irrelevant as I've said elsewhere. I'm happy for Flitcroft, he got to swan about mix with the big mesters in Manchester all week,a great experience for him and his coaching staff,and a nice red carpet jolly for the players. After all no one expected us to do anything against the likes of Man City......except a few thousand,not all obviously, deluded Barnsley fans who thought we might just put a fight up , like we have done in the past. But like you and the new era 'realist' Barnsley fans would say ,thats just a bit f.ucking mental...........by the way I'd just like to point out that Oakwell,home of Barnsley Football Club,with training facilities many think comparible if not better than many Premiership clubs, is less than an hours drive from Manchester

 

Never has such a crock of ***** been spouted on this board before. Are you on crack? Was it just possible that a session at Carrington, and the players rubbing shoulders with a few of the United team around the place, might have negated any match-day 'big club/star players' nerves they might have had? You have completely lost the plot. I dearly hope David reads this board and that he singles you out for a good shoeing, because your comment borders on a personal attack on him. You're a disgrace.

 

This.

There was talk of us being 'embarassing'.

I didn't feel embarrassed after that result. I wouldn't say that we played bad, just that the quality City have all over the field was unreal compared to us.

They did the exact same to Watford (a good side) and Leeds (sh.it) when they didn't get out of first gear.

They're second in the Prem and the reighning champions. We're bottom on the Championship and the disparity in quality showed.

 

So you've got the monk on because they stayed in a hotel? Is that it?

Tha more than mental, mate. Genuinely.

 

I didn't read one single Flicker out comment on here so not sure where you read that one. I read lots of very balanced opinions stating that they were very disappointed, not with the result but the performance of some players. Nothing wrong with that at all, some of our players just didn’t turn up and that did feel like a kick in the gut to a lot of fans.

 

We broke with tradition Liam, and decided not to battle.

 

tomfun does like to exaggerate the criticism. Worse than the critics IMO.

 

I see why people are upset about it mate, honestly do. But there's a massive difference between not battling and putting the effort in against just not being able to get close to players because they're movement/passing is so much better. I reckon it was the latter.

 

Ok ,reading that back did at first seem a tad overeaction to what was another defeatist post , but I think he got the build up to the game wrong. My comment about Manchester glitterati was more aimed at Flitcrofts coments about Mancini on Friday I think,almost giving him demi god status. I just don't understand this constant bigging up of the opposition before a game, did Man City need it . If you are playing say a non league side ,maybe ,to avoid complacancy but surely Flitcroft should have been playing the opposition down, not making them sound invinsible. I don't know if David, behind closed doors , was saying different things but my perception of his public interviews were that he was making the mountain look like Everest instead of Harborough Hill and again in my opinion the team played like it. Obviously this is a forum for fans to express opinions and counter opinions I'm not a 'professional' footballer my opinions are based on 50 years of watching the odd game on TV and alot of Barnsley games . Did I think we would win,no, did I think we could be in for a thrashing,yes, did I think we'd go down without a fight, no . Do I care that that we lost to the Premiership Champions and a £270 million squad.....yes I do,irrational maybe, f.ucking mental , absolutely.....do I , an irrational f.ucking mental Barnsley fan with no professional football experience think Flitcroft got the build up,the tactics the team choice wrong .....you bet I do and if Flitcroft thinks I need a good shoeing for expressing that opinion on a forum to other Barnsley fans with totally opposing views to mine I've already saved him the leather by giving myself large bruise when I headbutted the wall after the third goal went in.........we were rabbits in the headlights .....its emotional...it hurts.... Tuesday will be different.

 

Well I actually agree with Durkar. The whole impression given was that we were fortunate to be even given the chance to be on the same pitch as the City 'stars'. Just hope our lads got all their autographs. Battling Barnsley?!!

 

You're probably right mate, I'm still in the denial phase. Strachan said it best, if there is such a gulf in quality you either have to beat them for aggression or pace and Barnsley did none of that. Least that's what I think he said, no subtitles. I'm still waiting for the first kick Perkins promised to get in on YaYa.

Man City have the best players money can buy, Barnsley sell their best players for whatever they can get. It's the hard facts of life that are painful, not the result so much. We've had some bad results this season but usually you have the consolation of knowing we played crap and failed defend the old set pieces etc.

Often in life I ask myself, what would Neil Redfearn do in this situation? On Saturday I was having flashbacks to Highbury 97, without the lovely sunshine. Then I realised Neil was on the end of a fair few tonkings himself and sometimes you just don't have the answer to it.

Are you going tomorrow?

 

I'm not. Booked to take mi fatha to see Status Quo for his birthday before the game was rearranged. Which means we'll lose.

 

Agree completely with that - not once was the words "Flicker Out" mentioned on Saturday night and throughout Sunday. Instead, there were lots of people, including me, who said, quite rightly, that he got the team selection wrong, he got the tactics wrong, that it is becoming a worrying trend, and that if he doesn't sort it out and go back to the winning line up that built him up into god like status in January then we are fecked. I can't see any reason for anyone to get upset at those comments - they strike me as being very valid.

I think some people have taken the criticism of Saturday's performance and completely misinterpreted it. Not one person would expect us, rationally, to win on Saturday and no-one went to the game with that expectation. What I would have hoped for, along with lots of others, is that we at least made City work for their win and come off the pitch knowing they had been in a game. I suspect though that most of the City players routinely have harder training sessions.

Anyway, it's gone now, I am not bothered about it any more, the important games come this week. So lets move on.

 

In the Premier season we had a fair few tonkings, but what set that team apart was the ability to forget about a thrashing and battle back the next week. We will find out in the next game if this team has that same ability to recover from such misery...

 

what like they came back after the bristol mauling