We're on a 4 game unbeaten run

I meant that Reading are the only decent side we've played well against.

I don't envisage us getting anything at Brighton or Burnley. Might get a draw at Millwall.

 

Thas put a reight shift in this weekend CJ and after reading most of thi posts I tek it Tha dunt rate Jimbob since thas included him being not good enough in around 80% of them.

Just an observation fella cos I think it detracts from some of the good points made and I know tha probably dunt gi a toss what i think but it needed saying.

 

Re: Save your condescension for someone else

Fair enough.
I don't want to see McCourt working like the others in the team. I want to see him doing what he does best, dribbling, passing, creating chances for himself & team mates, exciting the fans and scoring goals. When the others who are running up & down covering every blade of grass are also doing what Paddy does, then Paddy must do the same. Until they do, I want to see Paddy entertaining us all and being our best chance of getting something out of a game.

 

Re: Save your condescension for someone else

Jimmy Cricket, I assume you are neglecting to mention the runs J'Ob made against ipswich beyond their back four? Fair enough he doesn't do it every week but to suggest he hasn't the ability to do it is incorrect in my opinion.

 

Re: Save your condescension for someone else

I get what your saying BigLil but when I watch other football on TV and see the others leagues I like to watch teams like Bayern or Barcelona. From the most talented player to the least talented player all work hard for the Team.

Now i've said this before on here.

But when pep guardiola he was talking about work rate of his team and one Journo asked him, what about if Messi didn't work hard would you drop him then? And pep said YES i would because every player works for the team.

I would almost be certain that hes told the players at Bayern the very same thing.

When i first heard that biglil i thought thats how it should be. TEAM before the individual

 

Good post, Jay.

Don't share your confidence/optimism, though.

I think the football played under Keith Hill from late September to January of his first season was the best I've seen in years. There were some cracking performances though last season, under Flitcroft. The Hull victory, the Leeds win for example. But a lot of those games were also backs to the wall stuff, and I think we rode our luck at times. Late deflected winner at Boro? How we didn't lose at Cardiff, Palace and Forest I'll never know. Well, I do, kind of. The likes of Steele, Foster and Hassell were key. As were Dagnall, Reuben and Harewood in the two victories I mentioned. And none of those players are now involved, for various reasons.

Jacob Mellis has gone from being our playmaker, one that the manager deemed "Premiership class", to a waste of a shirt winger.

Reuben Noble-Lazarus was talked up also, as the next 'John Stones' etc. He was deemed ready to start 40 games etc etc. He was then dropped after going a goal behind at Leicester, due to a Tom Kennedy error. He's now available for loan.

Chris Dagnall scored 10 goals last season, created many others. I'm not suggesting he's the best thing since sliced bread, but find it bizarre that he's now deemed surplus to requirements. It's not happening for Scotland this season, let's be honest. Pretty sure Daggers scored from 25 yards the last time he started. He's not even making the bench.

Peter Ramage is injured, but still here picking up a wage, and from the games I saw of him he looked no better than the likes of Hassell and McNulty, players we retained when it was clear the manager didn't rate them. Why ******* sign them then?

M'Voto has improved, I'll give you that. He could hardly have got any worse. And in these improving displays, he still could have cost us two penalties against Wednesday and Ipswich, and was the one playing Fryatt on.

Jack Butland looks to be a good recruit. As he should. He's an England international. But he's not much better than Steele, is he? Be honest.

I also find it strange that Digby has been recognised by the England setup, but Flitcroft chose to go public with criticism of him - as with Reuben - and then recruit David Fox who looks to be Flicker's version of Jon Greening.

The likes of O'Grady, Wiseman, Kennedy and Perkins (of Rochdale fame) are the constants. Never dropped, never rested. I have no issue with that when they're performing well, but the latter two have been piss poor so often this season.




We play our top scorer now as a left winger. Our left full back is woeful at passing. No pace, no skill. Yet he's got the ball more than any of our players. Why?
Our set-pieces are a joke. Seriously. We have no drive, no creativity, no goals in central midfield. Neither do they win headers/tackles. They play short passes, run about a lot. Well, one does.

The lads up top, when played next to each other are a great duo. We saw that against Huddersfield, Charlton and even the second half at Ipswich. And then there's Paddy. I think if he wasn't here now, the feelings of many of us would be even more negative. But even he said himself the other day "I'll track back and cover if the gaffer wants that, it'll take away my ability to hurt the opposition but I'll do it if I'm told" (not verbatim, but not far off his remarks). Why the **** are we asking him to do that? We've a side full of toil. It's the same with Mellis/Reuben/Cywka. Always badgered about their application etc. Well, sorry, but Craig Hignett was the best player I've had the pleasure of watching for us. He didn't have to do all the donkey work. There were others there to do that for him, which allowed him to do his own thing. And if it's fair to criticise Mellis/Paddy for their lack of graft etc, then is it not also fair to criticise Perkins, Kennedy or Fox for not contributing in assists/goals/dribbles etc?


I'm not blind, we've improved slightly of late. We're not conceding as many goals, not losing regularly etc. Standard of the opposition has declined, that's why.

We grabbed a fortunate win against Boro who had more chances to win that game than we've created in our last 2 home games. And they are ****. Trust me, I've seen their last 4 games. And since then, we've played two shocking sides at home. Failed to beat either. And Ipswich were just as bad. We've failed to win any of the last 3 'winnable' games. Yes, we're unbeaten in those games, but that's because they're **** as well.

Soon as we get back into the games against better teams, we'll get stuffed again. That's my feeling.


Flitcroft is lucky to still be in charge, when you consider our propensity for changing managers. He's been backed to the hilt. Over/beyond the hilt in fact, if that's possible. And he deserved that backing after the escape he masterminded last season. And it's that escape that has given me the patience to stick with him this season. But sorry, I'm not seeing the improvements that you (and others) are. Or maybe I am, but I'm not seeing them as big enough to see us retain our Championship status. And, after last season and the Summer buzz around Oakwell, merely scraping survival again was not what I had in my mind. I don't believe the board or management did, either.


I'm not calling for his head. But as I've said in the last 24 hours, I'm not arsed if he goes. If I learn of his departure tomorrow, or next week, next month, I will probably become more excited about the club again, because I'm bored shitless of Flicker.

Oh, and for the record, I did think he was a breath of fresh air last season, and I would love him to go back to that Flicker. The excitable, unflustered, energetic and inspiring bloke I fell in love with. The one that played 3-5-2 and went for it. The one who only needed 20 players in his squad. The one that I backed that much that after the 6-0 Charlton spanking I applauded off at Oakwell and praised on this forum.

You Reds etc.

 

When talking of players

Who are at the top of their profession, I can accept that. When talking of players further down the footballing pyramid, I don't. The reason they're not at the top in their industry is because they're lacking in some part of their game. Therefore, I expect to see players bringing their own particular strengths to the team. What one player can do for the side, his colleague probably won't be able to. For such a long time, we've had honest, committed players who are fit enough to cover every blade of grass on the pitch. Unfortunately, this type of player creates nothing along the lines of flair, entertainment and excitement for the fans. Now, for the first time in years, we have such a player in Paddy McCourt and I intend to enjoy and appreciate the utter joy he brings to our team whilst he's with us.
That is why I don't want to see him doing the same as Fox, Dawson, Perkins or Etuhu. I want to see him doing what he does best, I'm glad he's playing for Barnsley and not for anyone else.

 

Reading that makes me think we've got the worst team we've ever had. I know we're not the best team we've ever had, not by a long way, but what you've written is miles away from what I've seen this last month or so. I've seen a well organised unit that have been the better side for the majority of most games, who just need to commit more players forward, not be so conservative and get one of the central midfield players further up the pitch. Having Mellis at the side of Perkins (or Etuhu or Fox) is probably what we need. One adjustment would probably do it, it's not the omnishambles that you describe. Not in my opinion anyway.

 

Great post Jay. Personally I think its a minority who want Flicker out, and that minority are clueless about football and love nothing more than to moan. Its the same idiots who do things like boo when Paddy got announced MOTM. Paddy didnt have a bad game at all on Saturday, in fact on another day we could have won by 4 or 5 and he could have had a goal and 3 assists, yet these idiots decide to focus solely on the 2-3 times Paddy lost the ball when trying to do something positive.

Flicker is much closer to getting it right at the minute than getting it wrong. Those who want Wilson in, are yes I'll say it again, IDIOTS.

 

Omnishambles. Like it.

I'm just in that frame of mind of late. It doesn't helping watching another club who are **** and also ignoring the talents of an attacking midfielder.

You're probably closer to the truth/facts than I am. I hope so. Just a bit apathetic at the minute. Was hoping for a couple of victories over Wednesday and Donny. I came away from Oakwell with bossman, and we were gutted. One of the worst displays, second half, I've witnessed in ages. Then that was mirrored first half at Ipswich. Ok, it improved second half but even though I didn't make the Donny game I don't find much to be enthused about in a 0-0 home draw against a team I saw shitty Boro thrash 4-0 t'other week.

 

I don't 'want' Flicker out. I'm just not arsed if he left/stays.

As for Paddy, I love him. Like, proper love him. Same with Mellis or anybody else who dares to do, rather than scared to do (our other players).

And I'm not an idiot for wanting Danny Wilson in charge should the need arise. You tell me why it's idiotic to want that?

 

I dunt think Donny were as bad as some make out, they were in our faces and that caused a lot of hurried passes that went anywhere but their intended target and we caused the same for them, it were a scrappy game especially first half. Donny created very little, giving Butland an easy afternoon, for that they were poor, although maybe credit should be awarded to our defence for keeping them out, Mvoto kept their big lad quiet all game and Crainie mopped up the loose balls.

If O`Grady had converted the pen then we may have seen a completely different game either way.

 

It's not very exciting at the minute, I'll grant you that, but we've stopped getting hammered and that's a massive plus as far as I'm concerned. I don't buy that all these last few games have been easy either. Ipswich away and Reading at home are not easy games as far as I'm concerned and for me we were much the better side in both games.

The Donny and Wednesday games weren't great, but look at past results against these teams. We've played Wednesday 35 times since I started watching Barnsley. We've lost 19 of them and only won 8. It's the same **** every year, we out play the ******* and they beat us. This year they didn't and that will do for me. Even Donny beat us 5 times on the trot when we first started playing them again in the mid noughties. Our record against them in the last 35 years is played 14 won 5 drawn 2 and lost 7. Again, this season we didn't lose and again that will do for me. If you think we'll just turn up and beat our local rivals then you need an history lesson because Barnsley just don't do that, no matter who is the manager.

 

Not judging our ability to beat teams, or my expectation of beating teams on history or whether they're local or not. I just saw them as two winnable games.

I've been to Hillsborough every time we've played them, without fail, since my first time in 1990 (?) when we beat them on pens in the Zenith cup thing. I've seen us win once since then I think, JCR scored? So I know how **** we are at beating them.

But I saw them as beatable this time. Even at half time, I expected us to beat them, and soundly. As it was, Flicker tinkered away second half and we gave them an equalizer as well as other chances to win it. I left that day thinking "**** me we're *****".

I think that's my best way of coping right now as a supporter. Just accepting we're *****.

As for Reading, I was at work that night so only had the Player replay to go on, and it looked a good display, although they had numerous chances themselves. Butland was shocking that night. They got spanked by Wednesday t'other neet.

 

15 games 11 points -15 goal average with 31 against only Yeovil below us get it now

 

It doesn't look good when you see it written down and no matter how optimistic and positive people are its very difficult to argue against those stats.

 

Brilliant post Jay. I don't need to read the rest of the thread. I've consistently said (even last season when we were winning) that we're too direct but your post is spot on

 

Agree Dyson

 

that's my view on it too conan,may be a 4 game unbeaten run,but its also a 4 game winless run.Since the back end of February we have mustered 6 league wins and have hardly been out of the bottom three.

 

No it isn't. We've won 1 and drawn 3 of our last 4 games.