After the game on Tuesday Duff kept the same team , he can’t have for one minute they would put a display as that second half today imo. It’s early days but I’m thinking he’s not confident of the club getting what he wants in the remaining transfer window and he’s trying to get players on his side . As I say I’m clutching at straws for reasons and reactions of that second half because we just didn’t compete in any shape or form and I’m wasn’t sure what he thought of his bench .
If you clutched at straws you'd still drown. We need a lifeboat with at least one decent forward, and maybe a central midfielder who can hold and spray it. I wish.
I’m offering my Straws to Duff I think he’ll need them more than me as I’m half drowned already . If I see another game with the same attitudes as the second half of todays I’ll just slowly slip into the abyss and accept my fate but Duff on the other should kick some asses hard .
I too am sinking - just seen that the Jaipur cans I got from Lidl are 5.9%!! 2 already gone (not through a straw thankfully), on top of a couple of others already sunk. Best stagger the dog around el pronto. Before the anchor drops.
I didn't think there was a lack of application.. Thomas was getting booted all over second half. Wycombe were just better organised than us, and we gifted then the second goal which effectively ended any chance of a positive result.
The stout I got also from Lidl is 7.4%. But plenty left it’s just knowing when to give up I lack . Fortunately no dog to stagger around with so no chance of it or me sniffing around lampposts , although other embarrassing things could happen if I exceed my cut off point. Not sure I’ll make it for the highlights though .
Disagree with that. I think he offers energy, good running and balls into the box. If we had some good runners from deep and clinical finishers he'd get quite a few assists. Think you're being harsh.
There was a huge lack of application in the second half Helen. First half I was frustrated as we kept playing ok, not great but ok, getting into the final third - and promptly getting a nosebleed. Constantly looking for an easy pass rather than take a risk with trying a positive ball through or first time cross, or dare I request it, having a bloody shot… I wasn’t frustrated second half. I was furious. Jordan Williams potentially had one of his worst halves for us first half - but then blew that record out of the water second. He was woeful. Clueless. Nobody else put a proper shift in second half, and that’s a prerequisite,especially when your team lacks quality. Luke Thomas traps a ball further than I can kick it, Aitchison looks every inch a very average league two squad player, Cole isn’t good enough - in fact I excuse nobody second half. Connell was poor, Styles looks like he’s playing within himself so he doesn’t get injured. It was dire. And I haven’t even mentioned the competition winner who wears number 5… The second was ‘gifted’ not by Collins, as seems to be a view taken by many - he does have a high starting position but I hope one goal in three seasons from the half way line doesn’t change that, he’s cleaned up a lot of things over the top that might otherwise have led to goals and his high starting position has helped us a heck of a lot in the past. It was gifted by lazy, couldn’t be arsed players allowing an opposition player have the freedom of Oakwell in the middle of the park. He should never in a million years have gained possession of the ball and had as much space and time to look up and have a ping as he was allowed. (It was absolutely perfect execution by the way, any harder it would have hit the bar or gone over, any softer Collins would have got it. Saw it all the way from the east upper. It was poor from us but it was absolutely excellent from their lad to be fair.) All this said, had we not been so clueless and shot shy in the final third for the first half hour, the game could well have gone differently. We still need a proper centre forward - we’ve learnt nothing new.
Disagree with this. He’s way out of his depth, doesn’t have any pace, can’t hold the ball up, can’t pass and was rightly subbed off
Tend to agree on the application point but the gulf in guile displayed between the two sides in the 2nd half was huge. I think we were trying but as someone has already posted, we were out-schooled by a team of older heads that were more incisive going forward and determined off the ball
I honestly think Duff got it wrong at half time. Looked ok in the first half playing 352 Changed it to 4132 with Kitching at left back. He’s about ok as a left centre back but a left back he isn’t. Williams gave the worst wingback performance I’ve seen at Oakwell since Reece Brown. Styles coasted through the game until righty subbed, he should have gone earlier instead of Connell. Yes they scored some good goals but all 3 were avoided with a little more defensive concentration Scowen, Gape and Wing bullied our midfield. Alfie Mawson rolled back the the years and looked class. On that display I’d expect Wycombe to be top 6 and Barnsley with the current squad should finish anywhere between 12th and 18th We are probably 3 or 4 players short of being a top 6 side.
I thought before they scored, we looked okay and was feeling quite confident. However, once they scored it was like the stuffing got knocked out of us and we really struggled from then on.
He only scored 7 in 53 games last season despite playing at a weaker level for the best team in the league. He's now on a run of 19 games without a goal. He was never going to be our answer this season.
Its weird but had we taken the lead when we could have done, it might have turned into another comfortable win for us. But thats all ifs and buts and maybes of course!. It still bugs me though why they are allowed to get away with their sort of crap and at times dirty football, I wun't cross the road to watch it.
