Davey job prospects hinge on victory at Leeds BARNSLEY By Simon Meeks SIMON Davey hasn't written a job application. Results so far have done that for him. Two games, two wins have at least confirmed to the Oakwell power-brokers that in Davey they have a manager who can put points on the board. Three points from tomorrow's trip to Leeds will bring a huge temptation to the directors and owner Patrick Cryne to drop the 'caretaker' part of Davey's job description. Of course, the coach, whose proper job is Academy manager, has been lucky so far in that the games he has overseen were against lowly opposition and at home. Ipswich Town had little ambition above wanting a draw and Southend had the look and the luck of a relegation-doomed club. Credit, though, to Davey, he picked the teams that did the business -both times. Having beaten Ipswich, however uninspiringly, Davey might well have thought about selecting the same team for Southend. Football is rarely that straightforward. Grant McCann and Paul Reid's fitness broke down. Davey's solution wasn't rocket science. To cover for skipper and centre-back Reid, he switched right-back Bobby Hassell into the middle and called up understudy full-back Neil Austin. McCann's replacement was a simple one for one with Brian Howard ending his brief exile on the bench. It was a mystery why Howard was dropped for Ipswich. The midfielder has weighed in with priceless goals. He struck again on Tuesday and now tops the Barnsley scoring chart with six. Davey is unlikely to leave him out again, although Howard will face competition from McCann sooner or later for one of the midfield places. Options against Leeds are limited for the first time for the young manager. Ronnie Wallwork and Kyel Reid are both serving bans tomorrow so McCann and Howard could be teammates for the day. Davey opted for a Leon Knight-Daniel Nardiello strikeforce for his first game as boss. He changed that during the match with Marc Richards taking over from Nardiello. Richards was in the starting 11 on Tuesday and is likely to stay there. Barnsley have already beaten Leeds this season. The last victory of Andy Ritchie's management was over Dennis Wise's team a month ago at Oakwell. Since then Wise has overseen two wins and two defeats. Southampton were the last team to take on Leeds at Elland Road and they left with a 3-0 triumph. Leeds then won at Plymouth but were beaten at Burnley on Tuesday. Looking forward to tomorrow, Wise said: "It's a big game for us and we're looking forward to it. The way the back four played against Burnley was solid, and we looked compact as a team." Wise may be short of numbers this weekend, however, after Hayden Foxe's dismissal earned him a one-match ban. The Australian has been operating out of position at right-back in the absence of the injured Gary Kelly, but Wise will be forced to reorganise his defence with Foxe preparing to sit out the clash tomorrow. Centre-back Matthew Kilgallon was absent at Burnley with an ankle injury.
Should we lose on Saturday the following week and the WBA game will tell us more about Davey. Nardiello scared the Leeds defence to death, if he's left on the bench for most of the game whilst we watch Marc Richards toil for another 80 minutes, I will remain unconvinced.
The way the back four played against Burnley was solid? I hope they are just as solid tomorrow and let us take a 2 goal lead
Team : Cos tha noz he'll not laik Nardy <p align="center">Colgan.</p><p align="center" /><p align="center">Austin. Hassell. Reid. Heckingbottom.</p><p align="center" /><p align="center">Hayes. Togwell. McCann. Howard.</p><p align="center" /><p align="center">Richards. Knight.</p><p align="center"> </p>
He probably will, its a 'safe' team selection but when after an hour and we havent scored, will he be bold enough to change it, or will he do a Ritchie and give Nardiello 10 minutes to work a miracle? with Ehiogugo, Killganon and HEATH at the back, we should be aiming to play the ball on the deck into the strikers. Richards leaves us limited up front.
Spring? Matt Spring? The central midfielder who left them over a year ago for Watford? Foxe, Heath, Kilgallon, Ehiogu etc at the back. You know nothing about association football.
Yes. Crainey, Kilgallon, Ehiogu, Heath. Have that. Spring will be playing for a different team. In a different league. On a different part of the field. Oh aye.
