Barnsleys best ever goal

I was only a kid at the time

 

Jacob Butterfield against Bristol City.

 

Which were you? The arse or the tit?

 

Don't worry about it, there are plenty who were adults at the time that talk about Aylott hitting it from the halfway line. It's a hell of a goal, but it's much closer to the 18 yarder than the halfway line.

I don't remember that Aylott goal. I've seen it since, but I don't remember it from the time. The goal I remember from that night, the one that has stayed with me all these years, was McCarthy's header. Most powerful header I've ever seen. I guess Banks took the corner, but I can't really remember. What I do remember is that it was hit like a bullet and McCarthy met the ball with the force of a train. It's a good job the Brighton 'keeper didn't get his hand to it as he'd have broken his wrists.

I know why I remember the McCarthy goal and not Aylott's. I was in the Ponty, on the front wall, right between the posts. Aylott's goal was miles away, up the other end, while McCarthy's amazing header was right in front of me. It was an awesome sight and if I close my eyes I'm right back there, over 30 years later. I can even smell the pipe tobacco.

It may not have been as spectacular as Barnard's or nearly as skilful as McCourt's or many of Glavin's and Currie's, but that McCarthy header is my favourite ever Barnsley goal.

Brighton were a half decent 1st division side, they finished the season in 13th position, no team ever played a weakened side in the League Cup in those days, but we murdered them.

[video=youtube;9kBq91lwEeU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kBq91lwEeU[/video]



PS Check out Barnsley's results from the 1981-82 season on Soccerbase. We had a terribly busy day on Saturday 30th January 1982.

 

Darren Barnard's

Very closely followed by Paddy McCourt's.

 

Rubbish, he was stood in the Ponty End when he chipped it, that video is a fake

 

I agree

.

 

It's not far off that to be fair.

Our current team and manager should be made to watch that video. On a loop. For a full week. It may then eventually sink in. For many, many reasons, how to cross a ball for a start, but mainly because a central midfield player scores with a tap-in from a rebound. Glavin picks it up, runs forward, plays it out to the wing for Banks who produces a peach of a cross on to Aylott's head, who in turn gets in a cracking header, but their 'keeper makes a smart save. However, Glavin has continued his run and he's there to poke the ball home from the rebound.

We'll produce moves very similar to that on a weekly basis with the current team. They won't be as good as that, they won't be as fast, the passes won't be as crisp and incisive and the crosses will be a long way short of what Banks was capable, but we'll still do very similar. The difference is, the central midfield player driving forward, most likely Perkins, will play the ball out to the wing and then stop, thinking his job is done. YOUR JOB ISN'T DONE! Keep going in to the box, get beyond the strikers and there's all sorts of bits and pieces you'll pick it up. You'll get half a dozen goals a season at least.

Glavin scored some amazing individual goals. Lots of them. I don't expect Pekins to be able to replicate them, to do so is completely unfair. But a decent number of Glavin's goals were tap ins or shots from inside the box when the ball had run free (so were Redfearn's, so are many of Frank Lampard's). Glavin didn't have a sixth sense about where the ball would end up, quite often his run would end with nothing, but he made sure he was in there every time meaning that sometimes it did fall to him. The defenders are marking the strikers, it's much easier for a midfield player in there, you've just got to make the effort to make the bloody run. There's no reason at all why Perkins can't do that. He's got all the attributes, he's actually got a better engine than Glavin, so should be able to do it more often, he simply chooses or is instructed not to.

Please Flicker, make 'em do it, make them run beyond the strikers, it'll save you your job, because apart from that there's nowt wrong with how we're playing.

 

It's either instruction or lack of ability/nous that stops our midfield pushing on.

However, given Flicker's audioboo yesterday I'm genuinely concerned that he believes we are pressing/pushing forwards.

 

I agree

I also watched the Willard video, note our first goal. Bullock crosses, and who's stood on the edge of the 6 yard box? Neil Redfearn of course, who turns and puts it in. The defenders were busy marking our strikers. With today's team the cross would have just gone into an empty space.

 

We all remember Glavin and Redfearn for the great goals they scored: Redfearn cracking them in from 30 yards, Glavin breaking free of the defence, skipping around the keeper and rolling it home, but they both scored just as many scruffy goals as they did wonder goals. The scruffy goals they got weren't because they were brilliant players, it's because they made the effort to be in the box every time we attacked. You do that and you get chances. Glavin had McHale covering his back, Redfearn had Sheridan, but Perkins has got Fox or Etuhu. Perkins isn't as good as Glavin or Redfearn, so he'll not score as many scruffy goals as either of them, but he'll get some. Some is a hell of a lot better than the none he's scoring at the moment. Some can add 10 or 12 points to your tally at the end of the season, which can make the difference between relegation and a mid-table finish.

 

I'm not sure it takes all that much ability to just keep running once you've made the pass. Brendan O'Connell wasn't blessed with ability, great bloke and an absolute star, but I don't think he'd claim to be the best footballer there's ever been. He used to get about 8 goals every season though from making sure he got in the box when we attacked. Won the player of the year on the back of it too. He ran about like Perkins, got stuck in like Perkins, but also made sure he was in a position to score some goals.

 

I agree, Jay.

However, it ought to be Mellis in that position, as he was for much of last season. Then stick Perkins alongside Kelvin/Digby. And send Fox back.

People knocked Mellis for that 'miss' last weekend. I thought it was refreshing to see a midfielder making a run into the box and shooting.

 

More nous - I genuinely think some of our midfielders don't get it, or are that hung up by their defensive duties that they daren't venture into the opposition's area.

Just watch us if we go 1-0 up in the first half - give it 10 minutes of the 2nd half and then we concede territory - Flitcroft admitted as much in his post Wednesday interview - we tried for a 2nd goal, it didn't come and then we went defensive - of course by accident rather than design - I'd believe that if ir didn't happen every time.

If we were setting up tomorrow with Glavin and Banks in the team (the 80's version not the old men of today) thenin the 2nd half you'd maybe see glavin on the edge of their box cos I reckon he used to please himself he was that far ahead of everyone else, but Banks, McHale etc would be on the halfway line at best.

It all stems from the manager imho.