‘When’s Christmas?’
You can’t beat a double header, so as the fixtures were kind, why not go and watch Barnsley’s premier non-league team (Shaw Lane) in the FA Cup 1st round, before legging it out early (after Mansfield bagged a 3rd) to catch a bus back into town? Perfect timing as well, as I was in Oakwell in time to see us take the lead, a sweet sweet move begun with Barnes, who laid it off to Potts, who delayed the pass, allowing Barnes to run past the fullback and whip a ball across for Bradshaw to tap in. 1-0 up, barely 3 mins in.
Bradshaw! On the train up, Selwood tempted me into my annual crazy bet. How many would he bag by Xmas? I said he wouldn’t get 12 and folk were tripping over themselves to put a tenner on with me. Except Selwood, funnily enough. (You don’t get to where he is by gambling the odd tenner). So you can imagine my relief late on in the match when Bradshaw missed another tap-in. Course, if he keeps getting supply like he has off Barnes, he shouldn’t fail. By my reckoning he has 8 matches to bag another 3 goals…
As for the match, Christ, how awful are Birmingham City? What is it about these ‘big’ teams, come nicking our players then have no clue how to utilise them? (Hourihane, Bree, Winnall…Marley Watkins). Where the hell was Roberts meant to be playing for them? For £3.75m, I’d expect him to be played in his best position. But what was he? Right side of a back 3? He was verging on right back at some points. I’d have felt bad for him were we not running rings around their sorry arses. They really were terrible. A big, big week for us, with wins over Burton and Brum and a draw at Washday…honestly, whisper it, but I think we’re going to stay up!
Isgrove missed another chance on the far post, going for placement over power (great save tho) and the opening half was one-way traffic. We should have been out of sight, but there was the nagging feeling that surely Brum would up their game 2nd half…. |
| Nevermind Dortmund's yellow wall... |
You can’t beat a double header, so as the fixtures were kind, why not go and watch Barnsley’s premier non-league team (Shaw Lane) in the FA Cup 1st round, before legging it out early (after Mansfield bagged a 3rd) to catch a bus back into town? Perfect timing as well, as I was in Oakwell in time to see us take the lead, a sweet sweet move begun with Barnes, who laid it off to Potts, who delayed the pass, allowing Barnes to run past the fullback and whip a ball across for Bradshaw to tap in. 1-0 up, barely 3 mins in.
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| 1st half action. |
Bradshaw! On the train up, Selwood tempted me into my annual crazy bet. How many would he bag by Xmas? I said he wouldn’t get 12 and folk were tripping over themselves to put a tenner on with me. Except Selwood, funnily enough. (You don’t get to where he is by gambling the odd tenner). So you can imagine my relief late on in the match when Bradshaw missed another tap-in. Course, if he keeps getting supply like he has off Barnes, he shouldn’t fail. By my reckoning he has 8 matches to bag another 3 goals…
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| The Brummies. Sounds like a comedy show. Probably is. |
As for the match, Christ, how awful are Birmingham City? What is it about these ‘big’ teams, come nicking our players then have no clue how to utilise them? (Hourihane, Bree, Winnall…Marley Watkins). Where the hell was Roberts meant to be playing for them? For £3.75m, I’d expect him to be played in his best position. But what was he? Right side of a back 3? He was verging on right back at some points. I’d have felt bad for him were we not running rings around their sorry arses. They really were terrible. A big, big week for us, with wins over Burton and Brum and a draw at Washday…honestly, whisper it, but I think we’re going to stay up!
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| The Big Nobs in the Corner Stand. |
I’m not sure if Brum did up their game..or whether we just took our foot off the pedal. Either way, City never looked threatening and we sealed the game with an inswinging free kick from Fryers which their defender swung and missed at. As soon as he missed it, I knew it was in, the keeper having moved across. They really are a poor team, devoid of confidence and anything else which is the sign of a good side. I hope they keep it up. Us? We're not safe yet, but things are looking good.
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| The Ponty v Brum |
*** Yiadom. A thoroughbred. If you watched him closely, what a game. Glided past players with the ball, tackled when without. A late aberration had him heading back towards the penalty spot for Brum’s only chance, but Davies was quick out to save the day. Otherwise, majestic. Will probably be nicked in January a la Hourihane et al.
** Barnes. Barnes will, indeed, 'tear you apart again'. Unplayable 1st half. I wish he was ours. Will probably be nicked in January a la Drinkwater, when he was on loan with us. Just think, he’s done more in half a dozen games (creating goals) than Ryan Kent all last season.
* Williams. Won everything…then gave it away again. If this guy could learn how to pass a ball 10 yards square to a teammate, he’d be the new David Batty.
Londontykes' MOTM: 1. Yiadom 2. Fryers 3. Moncur
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| The pre-match stroll to Oakwell. |
Despatches:
I enjoyed the fans ‘bantz’. Inevitably we were told Barnsley’s a sh*thole and the good burghers of Cotswold village Brumingham would like to go home, but fair play to them, when we were singing how sh*t their team is…they sang how sh*t their team is, with an encore of ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt'. You know you’re onto something when the opposition are singing that, nevermind getting us back (sort of) with 'It's only one nil. How shit must you be, its only one nil'. But I do like ‘You’re just a sh*t Aston Villa.’ Imagine. Aston Villa are sh*t. You’re a sh*t version of sh*t. Enjoy relegation, lads.
Running through the team, Fryers looks better and better and his speed helps make us look more like the lightning counter-offensive side we were last season. Well, him and Yiadom on the other flank. Nevermind the wingers. No wonder McCarthy can’t get a game, despite his own excellent start. Davies had a perfect game, though had little to do save for saving Yiadom late on. The centre halves were competent, without having owt to do. It was good to see Potts and Isgrove back, I thought the midfield linked well. Isgrove even took players on. And who’s this other fella, flitting about the pitch, setting up attack after attack? My God, it’s Moncur. Tracking back too. Renaissance Man himself. Can he keep it up? And Bradshaw was alright really. Must have got a call about a certain bet…
Drink du jour: A couple of Franziskaner on the way up (no time for a pre-match pub) and a rare and enjoyable excursion to the Sheffield Tap afterwards. Some unfiltered lager or other. Yum. Washed down by JD and Coke and Vodka and orange on the homeward bound. Party on! Or do I blame the triple Camden Pale Ale pintage for my Sunday hangover?Onwards and upwards!
Away: c1,300.
The Damage:
£26 train
= £26
The Tunes:
Blue Lines (Massive Attack)
Fabric 84 (Mathew Jonson)
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| Oakwell at dusk. |
(Finally, a word from our Londontykes' researcher - yes, he is 'inbetween jobs' - on the comparison of our wingers over the past two seasons)
Film I'm watching is formulaic crap (always makes Jules laugh when I say this, as a big James Bond fan!), but after your comparison of Barnes and Kent, I just had a look at the stats for all our wingers over the past two seasons. Based on minutes on pitch (league games only)...
Barnes - 740 minutes, 8 goals (4 scored, 4 assisted) = a goal every 92.5 minutes (just over 1 match)
Hedges (this season) - 513 minutes, 3 goals (2 scored, 1 assisted) = every 171 minutes (just under 2 matches)
Isgrove - 175 minutes, 1 goal (1 scored, 0 assisted) = every, er, 175 minutes (just under 2 matches)
Hammill (last season) - 2139 minutes, 5 goals (3 scored, 2 assisted) = every 427 minutes (nearly 5 matches)
Kent - 3141 minutes, 4 goals (3 scored, 1 assisted) = every 785 minutes (nearly 9 matches)
Hedges (last season) - 171 minutes, 0 goals = computer says no
Hammill (this season) - 1112 minutes, 0 goals = computer says no
So Barnes, in the equivalent of just over 8 games, has the same amount of assists as all the others for all of last season and a third of this, or it's taken him 740 minutes to do what the others needed 7251 minutes to do! But he needs to buck his ideas up with his goals, as he is losing that one 9-4, although if Barnes continues at the rate he is scoring, by the time he's played 7251 minutes he should be 39-9 up!
Similarly, whilst he's 13-8 down overall, had he played 7251 minutes he'd be 78-13 up. Safe to say he's our best goal threat from the wings for quite some time. Be lucky if he's still with us by the end of January if he scores any more.
Should he score or assist one more, however, he will have been responsible for the same amount of goals that Kent, Hedges and Hammill got all last season (and you can include Hammill's stats for this season too, I suppose).
Barnes - 740 minutes, 8 goals (4 scored, 4 assisted) = a goal every 92.5 minutes (just over 1 match)
Hedges (this season) - 513 minutes, 3 goals (2 scored, 1 assisted) = every 171 minutes (just under 2 matches)
Isgrove - 175 minutes, 1 goal (1 scored, 0 assisted) = every, er, 175 minutes (just under 2 matches)
Hammill (last season) - 2139 minutes, 5 goals (3 scored, 2 assisted) = every 427 minutes (nearly 5 matches)
Kent - 3141 minutes, 4 goals (3 scored, 1 assisted) = every 785 minutes (nearly 9 matches)
Hedges (last season) - 171 minutes, 0 goals = computer says no
Hammill (this season) - 1112 minutes, 0 goals = computer says no
So Barnes, in the equivalent of just over 8 games, has the same amount of assists as all the others for all of last season and a third of this, or it's taken him 740 minutes to do what the others needed 7251 minutes to do! But he needs to buck his ideas up with his goals, as he is losing that one 9-4, although if Barnes continues at the rate he is scoring, by the time he's played 7251 minutes he should be 39-9 up!
Similarly, whilst he's 13-8 down overall, had he played 7251 minutes he'd be 78-13 up. Safe to say he's our best goal threat from the wings for quite some time. Be lucky if he's still with us by the end of January if he scores any more.
Should he score or assist one more, however, he will have been responsible for the same amount of goals that Kent, Hedges and Hammill got all last season (and you can include Hammill's stats for this season too, I suppose).
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| Oakwell panorama v Brum. |
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