Brief Report and Player Ratings

So I set off at 11.15 today feeling ever so slightly optimistic. The abject display from last week would be well behind us, we'd have Pearson and Scowen anchoring the midfield, and maybe Danny would try something different to lumping the ball up to a 20 year old lone forward with less than a handful of professional appearances under his belt. Maybe we could catch MK Dons off guard, who would probably be expecting an easy game.

By 5pm though I was as frustrated as I was at 5pm the previous week. A performance devoid of energy, attacking nous and only one shot on target again. Third time in the last four games that's been the case.

It was unfortunate that MK scored during by far our best spell of the game, where we perhaps should have scored when Lalkovic delayed putting a ball across for Waring until a defender had got back to block it, but they should have had a couple in the first half and should have had a hatful by FT. Turnbull made some superb saves to keep the score down. Dele Alli tore us apart and George Smith was ran ragged by 32 year old Carl Baker. All in all, not a good performance.

So the ratings:

Turnbull: 8 - Made two great saves in the first half and several in the second half, would've been another battering if not for him

Smith: 5 - Opposite of last week. Did alright going forward (with little support again), but at the expense of defending. Having to go off with cramp after being up against a 32 year old won't be the highlight of his career.

M'voto: 5 - Was heading and tackling everything until two mistakes led to MK's goals. Not glaring errors, but his headed clearance went straight to Alli for the first and he was beaten way too easily for the second.

Nyatanga: 6 - Same as M'voto but without the goal-costing errors, though he was part of a defense which should have conceded more

Williams: 5 - Beaten by Alli too often in the first half and offered little going forward

Pearson: 6 - Worked hard, put himself about and had a solid enough game

Berry: 4 - Tried as he usually does, but had probably his poorest game in a red shirt. Gave the ball away too much, beaten to every second ball and looked lost.

Hourihane: 3 - Utterly useless again. Absolutely no effect on the game, just pinged hollywood balls out of play or to the opposition full-back. Really starting to piss me off now and I wouldn't mind seeing him dropped next game as other than the odd penalty and assist from a corner, he's been a total passenger for a long time now.

Kiwomya: 5 - Didn't have a great deal of the ball but, again, didn't do a lot with it when he did. Should have made himself available in the box more.

Lalkovic: 6 - Like last week, our only player looking to run into the box and look up for players. Except there was usually no-one there to pass to. The two times there were, he delayed his pass and the chance went.

Waring: 6 - Did his best up front on his own, often with little support. Must be wondering why he's there to win headers when no-one is willing to run on to them.


Scowen, Oates and Phenix weren't on long enough to have an impact.

Manager, Wilson: 4 - Did try something different in the middle with Pearson and Berry in centre, but went with 1 up front again and 1 shot on target sums that decision up. He's now overseen 5 away games since beating Sheffield United at Brammall Lane where we've had next to nothing to get out of our seats for. It's not fair on the fans that travel all that way to see us lose by the odd goal without even having the courtesy to have more than 1 shot on target per game. Literally the only reason I don't want to see him sacked is because we've done the same with loads of managers previously and suffered for it in the long term. But my patience is wearing thinner by the week.

 

Thank you for making the effort, both to support and post.

It's obvious that you have no agenda when posting. You, and all the travelling fans, deserve more of a return for the devotion you show.

I find it hard to believe that anyone considers that there has been progress since the start of the season.

And there is no logic in submitting that we somehow need to get this poor, in order to be better at some time in the future.

As it stands we are gambling with the club's present league status and fan base.

Let's hope we get away with it.

 

It sounds poor again

But don't worry patience is the order of the day

I'll cross my fingers and toes and it will all be ok

No Honestly it will.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny7vW6dgnUY

PS: The song is better than the football

 

Agree with every part of that. Hourihane's body language of late has been awful. He looks like a player who, seeing himself as the star of the side which he thought would be top 6, is now aghast at having to play with such a young team. I can half understand that frustration, but it doesn't excuse his performances. I'm with you on Wilson as well. I think he's fortunate that such is the lack of appetite for yet another managerial change, he'll probably ride out this terrible run for a while longer than he perhaps otherwise would.

 

I am a rare attender this season, but I see the same thing every time with number 4, Berry I believe, giving the ball away so many times.... his passing is appalling.
We definitely need a hard man in midfield not a wimp who can't hack it.
Get it sorted Wilson.

 

Thanks for the post

 

Thanks for the comments. I realise now that I forgot to add my man of the match.

A lad sat near me, not your typical looking shouty football fan, who had everyone around him in stitches most of the game gets it. He spent the entire match shouting at the linesman, referee, MK Dons players, even the photographer at one point, the standout insult being "That's a terrible decision referee, your mother should have swallowed you!" He wasn't being serious, thankfully, and even had the linesman chuckling away at times. The photographer on the other hand, after being called a "disgrace", flicked him the Vs!

I doubt that lad posts on here as I think he said he wasn't a Barnsley fan, but if any of the guys who were with him are on here, let him know he made my day a hell of lot better with his shouting!

 

Did he have long hair, well, for a lad anyway? Near the front? Heard him shouting but couldn't hear the words. Some funny chants from the back as well, need humour on days like this!

 

M'voto mistakes! the midfield was missing on the second ball. I thought he was one of our better players today

 

Yep that was him. Kept shouting "That's a terrible decision linesman, you're a disgrace, I've got my eye on you!" and then when he gave a decision our way "Good decision linesman, you've earned your money today, your family can eat this week!" Literally every decision the linesman had to make he was shouting one of these two, with the odd variation. Targeted MK Don's corner taker as well, "You're rubbish number 9, we're all laughing at you, you're not going to beat the first man!" You could tell he wasn't being serious but it was still hilarious.

 

I agree that our midfield didn't exactly help. MK's midfield were first to every loose ball, especially outside our box. But still, the first clearance went straight to Alli and he scored. The second goal he was left one on one so that's swings and roundabouts. Midfield didn't provide adequate cover, but he was beaten very easily. I thought he'd done well until then.

 

Just back from MK - 'kinell I only popped out to Asda for some bread and milk at 12-ish. Saw the ticket on the passenger seat and summat possessed me to go to plastic-town. As I've now endured PNE, Donny and MK I'm beginning to question my own sanity. Still, Danny must be on the verge of making us a fortune - get it patented and put Jason Mansford on Dragon's Den tomorrow neet with DW's 100% guaranteed insomnia cure.

Seriously, I've been behind Danny - all but two away games this season proves that - but whilst the heart's still saying yes, what's left of the head's brain cells are having some doubt about him, not helped by his fantasy island post-match comments. Facts are that we aren't making progress, we don't have a defined way of playing, our players don't seem to be bothered and we are home for young loanees who we are more use to than they are to us.

I think a lot of the OP's report is accurate, with the exception of everybody being a mark or two too high, with the possible exception of Turnbull and Pearson. I thought Scowen did a couple of tidy things when he came on but he is yet another (smaller) midget and at least Oates put himself about a bit.

Our team contained only one player who could be definitively said to be a proven success at this level or above and that is the keeper. The rest are youngsters or lower end championship players, Mvoto, Lalkovic etc (I know Nyatanga has played at a higher level but usually in relegation battles). It isn't clear who's actually doing the recruiting, Danny or "the spreadsheet", but surely somebody can work out that 99% of all successful teams are a blend of youth and experience, with particular reference to leadership - we have none of the latter (Ramage excepted).

I don't have the answer - obviously, Ramage, Winnall, somebody like Darren Sheridan or Bobby Hassell in midfield, a couple of full backs, and literally a pair of rockets up the respectively fat and lazy backsides of Jennings and Hourihane would help. The emerging worry is whether Danny has the answer.

Some last observations:-

Their first goal comes from a badly defended free kick. However, the free-kick came about via Hourihane pee-ing about with the ball with nobody around him then selling Pearson woefully short with a pathetic pass, leading to an unavoidable foul by the latter. I'd have had Hourihane straight off after that as it sums up his recent performances.

Alex Kiwomya is very quick - he should have stuck to sprinting 'cos he has no idea what to do with the round thing once he catches it.

George Waring is tall - however anyone who thinks he is a one-man target man in a football team is delusional.

Nana and Oates can't be any worse than the above two and would cost nowt.

MK got Carl Baker, we got Keith Treacy - quite how our scouting could get that wrong, lord only knows.

Best 'Barnsley' outfield player today - Anthony Kay.

Should've gone to Asda........

 

Some good points. My favourite was this one

Because I'm exactly the same. Been to every away game bar Peterborough and Coventry this season and it's been pretty abject in all of them except our 3 wins. Going to Swindon on the 7th as my mate is meeting family there, was going to go to Crawley and Gillingham but don't think I will unless things improve. A 270 mile trip to see us lose today was bad enough, those two are at least another hour further away. ******** to that.

 

As I posted earlier, the real worry for me is Wilson's post-match comments. I read the official site before posting last time. I have now heard the Audio boo version. It is really worrying that the manager seems to see a totally different game. I understand he may not want to tell the press what people who have attended the game pots on here, but he sounds delusional.