First half we outplayed them at a canter. Decent football and 1-0 appeared scant reward for our dominance. Shuker it the bar, Hayes turned beautifully but was denied, other chances came and went. It looked a penalty from where I was sat, the incident 10 minutes later even more so. Everyone was so confident of a Barnsley victory that at half time the team tucked in to a full Christmas dinner followed by Christmas pudding, mince pies and a bottle of champagne. Not surprisingly then we were a bit sluggish after the interval and Hartlepool could and should have scored two before they equalised with 5 minutes gone. The rest of the half we were a shambles. Not good enough I reckon we need at least one more forward and a left back if we’re serious about this promotion thing. Not sure how we’re going to fare at Bournemouth after the knocks we picked up today. A word or two on a couple of players: Rightly or wrongly Hayes will not chase lost causes, he’ll not challenge if he doesn’t think he can win the ball and he’ll not put his foot in where it might hurt. This can make him look very lazy. If you don’t like a player that is not willing to do those things then you’re not going to like Paul Hayes. On the other hand he can do things with the ball the majority of other players in this division can only dream about. The biggest indicator I’ve ever seen that a player is simply not up to the standard is that they foul the opposition without making any attempt to play the ball. They do this ‘cos it’s the only option open to them as they just don’t have the skill to compete. Not little knocks and pushes, but great big blatant fouls that the ref can spot a mile away. In his brief appearance on the field Jarman made quite a few of these. I hope I’m wrong about him.
what did you think about richards? I thought he was absolute garbage today, looked off the pace, uninterested and generally out of it. </p> I agree about Hayes, he is certainly not a work horse but has got skill in the right situation, our problem is can we allow him to be lazy just for that one moment of skill which might not come for 4 or 5 games? </p> If we are going to put up with hayes then he needs the correct partner up front. Somebody who will run after everything and chase the lost causes, a striker version of shuker but what we certainly cant do is play Richards alongside him or we will end up winning nothing. </p> If hayes is to stay then richards needs to be dropped and if richards is to stay then we hayes needs to be dropped.</p>
Starts to explain things about Hayes, and Jarman - well lets just hope eh?? I missed the scunny game and the Bradford replay so I think there's a conspiracy and I really can't believe Hayes has had two brilliant games. There's nothing I've seen so far that suggests he's a decent striker. Chopra and Devaney made slow starts but you can see they had something just needed match fitness, half a season in and Hayes has yet to impress.
RE: what did you think about richards? don't ask me about Richards - it would be less complementary that Hayes!
I disagree re the Shuker type. For me, we (still) need a Shipperley type player. When the wingers are putting low balls across the box we look OK but I don't remember seeing a Barnsley player winning a solitary header in the opposition's half all game. Folk can wax lyrical all they want about keeping it on the floor and playing "proper football". End of the day, winning headers is a big part of the game at all levels. And it is an aspect we are desperately poor at, often in defence and with monotonous regularity on the attack.
I agree with that I think we need someone big and strong but we also need someone quick and tricky up front. Unfortunatly richards and hayes dont fill any of those roles. They are your average players that are average in every sense of the word and we need to replace them if we are serious about promotion</p>
RE: go right ahead I don't like to criticise players but I do expect them to be able to do the job they're in the side for: Richards - a striker, not sure about that. Apart from needing to have better control on his first touch, making a nuisance of himself and giving their defence not ours a few problems he could do with winning a few headers. I've been dead chuffed that Hayes has been scoring goals but sometimes he looks like he couldn't tackle a paper bag and I'm not sure we can cope with another sheron! Oh and Burns you're a midfielder - play the ball to a red shirt and stop the panic play
Makes you think Tommy Wright... would be a good foil for Hayes. Someone who will take the knocks and from whom Hayes can feed - should be a good option if it happens. With Conlon and Nardiello out, a loanee forward would be a good option, regardless of the form of Richards (good or bad). 10 goals in six Blackpool games makes him look ok for this division and we know he can give and take the stick, as he broke Reid's nose.
Good to see you yesterday , mate Tend to agree with you about Jarman , as well . As yet , I've not seen anything about the young lad that sets him apart as someone special . In fact , he's been a very lucky boy not to get more severly punished on a number of occasions when he's put in very nasty challenges after coming on as substitute . He's certainly nowhere near as good as Andy Liddell and Chris Jackson at the same age . Having said all that , I'll give him the benefit of doubt and say he's desperately trying to impress the gaffer when he gets the opportunity . Perhaps a run in the side may give a clearer picture of his true ability and attitude .
what I like about him is........ he's one of those rarities from the barnsley boys/academy set up, he's a big strong lad who is not intimidated by the older professionals and doesn't mind mixing it with them. Whether he'll make it with us is another matter, we'll probably do the usual, get fed up of waiting for him to mature, flog him to another club and then see him banging in goals left right and centre, AKA Beckett, fallon, parkin
RE: what I like about him is........ He is a gifted youngster. Seen him play enough to know about his potential. Trying to hard though to make his mark.Not good when you get a red mist very easily
