A view from the Dale side of the fence

Deserved win for Barnsley, proper away performance. Got the early goal and set up very well to defend it.

Hill got it wrong sticking Lund back in the starting XI after injury, his display mirrored the team; bit off the pace with much huffing and puffing. Don't understand that one at all, Hery has done well and puts the opposition on the back foot and he combines really well with Allen. Talking of which, I hope those there today can put away all negativity towards Hill/Rochdale/planet football and appreciated what a special player Jamie Allen really is. There was one strange miss-kick in the first half which I'm sure he did on purpose just to make everybody else on the pitch feel better about themselves. The likes of Henderson and Dawson were way off their recent standards, eg. Dawson's error led to the corner for the goal. Done did ok I thought, and but for some excellent blocks might have got the equaliser. But in the main it was a 6/10 performance from Dale.

Your lot? Few comments on some that you may/may not be interested in:
Ramage made all the difference at the back. Cranie always seems more comfortable alongside him rather than an accident waiting to happen like M'Voto. Ramage is a proper defender who will kick it into the stand without thinking. Nothing wrong with that.
Winnall was the Winnall I saw last season, just don't see the fuss about him: bog standard lower league striker.
Hourihane, got forward ok but didn't effect the game. Maybe not his type of game.
Berry was your MOTM by a country mile. He broke up our passing game when it started to look dangerous and used the ball effectively. He's a clever footballer who obviously knows his role in he team and can play it in his sleep. If you don't rate a player like him, you should.

It was a very mundane game really, but all too predictable. You warranted the three points.

 

Thank you. Objective and fair.

 

Two very poor sides

 

Honest question. Who's Jamie Allen? I genuinely didnt notice one player in the Dale team who looked quality. We arent great either mind. But we won.

 

I picked Allen out after 15 minutes. Looked a cracking player. Very classy in the middle of the park.

 

If you didn't, I'm not sure why you like football.

 

Really appreciate you taking the time to post your views on our forum after the result. To be honest I didn't expect to see much of the few Rochdale fans who have posted this week but credit where it's due.

Very interesting to hear your comments about Berry. He's a player who seems to massively divide opinion. Some think the same as you, the others think he's terrible and there seems to be no middle ground. In honesty, I've seen him play 3 times I think and I agree with you, he looks like he has the makings to be a very special player, so long as he's played in his natural position of central midfield, he just doesn't cut it as a winger for me.

As for the negativity towards Hill and some of our ex players. Whilst I don't partake in it (i'd prefer to let sleeping dogs lie), they have been part of a pretty dark time down at Oakwell, and several of them have contributed to us being in this division. I see this league as a breath of fresh air so to speak; after years of treading water in the championship, I fully expect us to be competitive in this division. Okay this might not be the case at present, but I feel Danny Wilson has laid the foundations for a solid platform going forwards, and it will be good to see players such as Hourihane and Berry develop.

Must admit, I slightly agree over Sam Winnall. Although you can't knock his work rate, you just feel that he's pretty wasteful in front of goal when he does get himself into a good position, which is very frustrating. He reminds me very much of Chris Dagnall.

Ramage is going to be a big player for us. I feel by the time we play each other again, we'll be 2 teams who have endured a long hard season, yet go into the last game with nothing to play for. Best of luck for the rest of the season.

 

Thanks for that mate, also thanks for the parking info.
I parked on Edenfield Road and came home via junction 19 as suggested and I was back at junction 37 at 6 oclock.

 

No problem. I'm a know-it-all tw&t, but it's with good reason.

 

A fair, accurate and balanced assessment.

 

Agreed, the kind of player that would compliment our central midfield area.

 

A good fair summary. I have to say I was surprised at how one dimensional you were.

 

We're not. But it all hinged on Lund's inclusion, something that was commented on before the game.

 

Today was poorest I've seen (didn't go to Chesterfield but I believe that wasn't great), all the others I've enjoyed as entertainment events and not so much for scorelines. Our defeat at Sheff U for example, it was almost obvious they'd get a late goal but it was an interesting contest.

 

On today's showing that is how I found you. And it wasn't what I expected from Hill's side.

Pass along the back then hit it long to the left flank for your number 7.

I expected more passing football to be honest

 

We've used Vincenti as an out ball since he arrived. Allen-Hery-Henderson link up has been vital so far. One didn't play, another was on the periphery, you could sense Allen's frustration.

 

Vincenti wasn't just an out ball he was the always ball.

 

Let's not get silly. "always" means always. I've explained why we did it more than usual.

We used COG in a similar role in L1. You'll know about it as Flitcroft and Wilson employed a similar tactic with him. Let's not try to have a point scoring argument, I've summed up why you won and where we fell short.

 

Rochdale's aimlessness reminded me of later period Barnsley Keef. Tippy tappy tippy tappy hoof.