Welcome back to 'Tarn Review' where we'll be taking a look back at the last seven days, and previewing the big game tomorrow with visitors Ipswich Town.
It's been a week of joy, pride, excitement, and fear....
And it all began last Saturday evening, as we took on Birmingham City at St. Andrews, live on Sky.
| Craig Davies scores the first of his four goals |
It was probably the most one-sided game of football you're likely to see this season in the Championship.
Racing out of the blocks, we dominated the opposition in all areas. Carving out a number of opportunities in the first half that were brilliantly thwarted by Blues keeper Jack Butland.
It was a similar story in the previous game at Blackburn Rovers, where despite our possession and chances created we went into the half-time break level. And so of course at 6.10pm last Saturday I was fearing the worst, and expecting us to again be made to pay for our profligacy in front of goal.
I mean, Birmingham were bound to improve in the second half, weren't they?
For them, unfortunately not. They were never at the races in either period. But that doesn't take anything away from our own team and their fantastic display in the Midlands.
It took some comical defending from Blues to get us going though, as they first gifted us a corner, before then failing to clear Jacob Mellis' poor low delivery which ran kindly into the path of the onrushing Stephen Foster who couldn't miss from just a yard or two out.
It was 2-0 just three minutes later, as more schoolboy defending led to Darren Ambrose being mugged of possession by Mellis, who slipped in Craig Davies to neatly slide past the advancing Butland.
Cue the boos from the home support, and the end of the game as a contest.
Another three minutes passed, before Scott Golbourne charged 70 yards unopposed through the centre, before finding Chris Dagnall on the edge of the box, who held off two challenges brilliantly, kept his feet, and planted a vicious curling strike off the far post, via the fingertips of Butland.
I nearly wet myself at that point.
One way traffic would be an understatement.
| 'Daggers' lets fly at St. Andrews |
Another three minutes went by, before Martin Cranie picked out Mellis in the centre circle, whose defence-splitting pass sent Davies away wide left, and the big man twisted and turned into the box, left the centre halves eating turf, before rifling the ball home for 3-0.
By now, Blues gaffer Lee Clark had brought on the highly-rated Nathan Redmond, and £6m striker Nikola Zigic.
They didn't get near the Tarn goal however, as we attacked with purpose minute by minute. It was breathtaking stuff.
There was still 25 minutes to play when we added a fourth.
Tomasz Cywka's deft flick again sent Davies clear down the left, and the Birmingham local surged unchallenged into the box before slotting through Butland's legs and into the net, to complete a memorable hat-trick.
4-0, and memories of the Playoff Semi-Final against the same club and at the same ground, came flooding back.
The thumping was completed in the 72nd minute, as Dagnall's lofted cross from the byline was headed in by Davies, whose fourth goal of this extraordinary game doubled his seasons tally, making him the Championship's leading goalscorer in the process.
The Reds then saw out the final stages, playing keep-ball.
Our lack of away goals, our lack of away clean sheets, our poor goal difference - all wiped out in one foul swoop.
Happy days.
However, just 24 hours or so after the joy of such an emphatic victory, the mood of our supporters was soon dampened, as rumours of a foreign takeover were reported in the press.
There were apparently two interested parties. An Italian consortium, and interest from the middle east.
The overall feeling I noticed upon this news was that of caution, fear and trepidation.
The amount of supporters who seemed delighted with the news I could have counted on one hand. And for good reason.
You only have to look at fellow second tier outfits Watford, Birmingham and Blackburn to understand why.
Proud clubs, who have been taken over by random foreign owners, whose promises often turn out to be false.
At two of those clubs, the new owners sacked their previously successful managers, and brought in comparative novices.
So when SkySports "understood" that Keith Hill would be replaced should a takeover go ahead, that supporter fear and trepidation increased further still.
The vast majority of Tarn supporters are right behind Keith and his assistant David Flitcroft.
The fanbase, after initial worries about the direction the club were heading, have really bought into the strategies implemented by Keith and 'Flicker' and to quote Keith - "even a blind man" can see the progress we've made in their 16 months at the helm.
I don't think people will fully appreciate 'Hillcroft' and their work here at Oakwell until they've left.
We just have to hope that current owner Patrick Cryne continues to do his best, to do the right thing for his/our club, and if and when he hands over the reins, he does so knowing that Barnsley Football Club will be in safe hands.
| Patrick Cryne |
I could continue to discuss this subject, but so much has been said already, and frankly I'm finding it quite tedious.
It's not only deflecting attention away from what counts - the team, but as of now it's pure speculation. And so until we hear something more substantial on the matter, I'll say no more about it.
Instead, it's time to focus on the weekend, and to preview our next fixture - Ipswich Town, who visit Oakwell tomorrow....
THE OPPOSITION
Ipswich Town, of Suffolk, were formed in 1878, but didn't turn professional until 1936.
As a nod to the agricultural nature of their town, they are affectionately nicknamed 'The Tractor Boys' these days, although 'The Blues' and simply 'Town' are more common nicknames amongst their own supporters.
They were elected to the Football League in 1938, and play their home fixtures at Portman Road.
As the only professional club in Suffolk, they have a fierce rivalry with Norfolk club Norwich City, with whom they contest the East Anglian Derby.
They have spent the last 56 years in the top two tiers of English football, the longest spell of any Championship club.
Ipswich were Football League Champions in 1962, under the stewardship of future England manager and World Cup Winner Sir Alf Ramsey, and were also runners-up in both 1981 and 1982.
They were FA Cup winners in 1978, defeating Arsenal 1-0 at Wembley, in front of 100,000 supporters.
Goalscorer Roger Osborne, after netting the winning goal in that Cup Final, promptly fainted, and was soon substituted, once he'd come around via smelling salts!
Ipswich won the UEFA Cup in 1981, defeating AZ Alkmaar on aggregate over two legs.
Another former England manager, Sir Bobby Robson, was in charge during their FA and UEFA Cup triumphs.
Both Robson and Ramsey have had statues erected in their honour at Portman Road.
The club are owned by businessman Marcus Evans.
THE GAFFER
After a playing career in the lower reaches of the Football League at both Wigan Athletic and Bradford City, 34 year old Paul Jewell took over the managerial reins at the latter, appointed by big spending chairman Geoffrey Richmond in January 1998.
He broke the Bradford transfer record twice in one week, in the summer of 1998, first signing Lee Mills for £1m, before recruiting Arsenal starlet Isaiah Rankin for £1.3m.
He also brought former 'Bantams' favourite Stuart McCall back to the club, as well as spending another million pounds on Dean Windass.
They finished runners-up in the second tier that season, and reached the top flight for the first time in 77 years.
Despite steering the club to Premier League safety on the final day of the following season, Jewell handed in his notice, and eventually left for relegated Sheffield Wednesday.
After claiming they were favourites to be promoted, Jewell endured a torrid time in charge at Hillsborough, and was sacked after just 8 months, in February 2001, with the debt-ridden Owls hovering above the relegation places.
In June of 2001, Jewell was appointed manager at another former club - Wigan Athletic.
In his second season as manager, the 'Latics' were crowned Champions of the third tier, and took their place in the top half of the league pyramid for the first time in their history.
After just missing out on a Playoff place in their debut season at the level, they then gained promotion the following year, to reach the top flight for the first time ever.
He guided the club to safety in 2006, as well as reaching the League Cup Final, where they were hammered 4-0 by Manchester United.
In the 2006/07 campaign, Jewell steered them again to safety, after defeating Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. However, he resigned a day later.
He was unveiled as Derby County boss in November of 2007.
'The Rams' suffered a disastrous season in the Premier League, ending with a record low of 11 points, and just one win, which was gained by Jewell's predecessor Billy Davies, equalling a 108 year Football League record.
After a terrible first half of the next season in the second tier, and with Derby 18th in the division, he was dismissed.
He took over at current club Ipswich Town in January last year, replacing Roy Keane.
Last season, Jewell had overseen 7 consecutive defeats before they beat us 5-3 at Oakwell, in front of the Sky TV cameras.
I couldn't do a blog article on Ipswich without mentioning the Playoff Final at the old Wembley stadium in 2000.
Despite the result, and the fallout afterwards which culminated in administration, the day itself I'll always cherish.
I was just 18 years old, and went down on the train with my dad, my cousin and a few mates.
We'd had a fair amount of alcohol by the time we reached Kings Cross Station, but I'll never forget seeing an army of Tarn supporters upon our arrival.
It was the same wherever we went - Tarn supporters on Nelson's Column, Tarn supporters hanging off the gates of Buckingham Palace.... Tarn supporters everywhere.
We'd invaded the capital.
However, there was no rivalry that day. In fact, a friendlier day out at a game I'm yet to experience.
We even bought a group of Ipswich fans a pint, and they duly reciprocated.
Walking down Wembley Way was as mind-blowingly surreal as I'd expected. I'd grown up watching the build-up to FA Cup Final day, and never once thought I'd get to do that walk, as a Reds supporter.
One half was red, the other blue, and the atmosphere was wonderful. A real advert for real supporters.
Of course, the minute we took the lead thanks to a rocket from Craig Hignett (via Richard Wright) I thought we were going to pummel them. I was wrong.
Makeshift left-back Keith Brown had a nightmare that day, and Tony Mowbray beat him all too easily in the air to equalise.
Then, the defining moment (perhaps) and Darren Barnard's penalty.
Here he was, penalty expert, never missed one in a Red shirt, and he fluffed it.
If that had gone in...........?
As it was, Ipswich battered us from then on in, and deserved their 3-1 lead.
Hignett put away our second penalty of the afternoon to give us some hope, but when Georgi Hristov's header was kept out point-blank by Wright, I knew it wasn't going to be our day.
The breakaway fourth goal for Ipswich, killed off the tie, and then all our thoughts were on which players we'd probably never see in a Tarn shirt again...
I was gutted myself, as was my dad. But I saw many a Reds fan after the game acting like we'd won. Perhaps it was the beer, or just the nature of our fanbase, but we'd experienced a lifelong dream, and now wasn't the time for moaning or worrying about the future.
Instead, we wished the Ipswich fans well, as they made their way home and to the promised land...
| Richard Wright |
Moving on, and as regular readers will be aware, I like to get the views of the opposing set of supporters before a game, and this time around I popped down to the popular Ipswich Town forum www.twtd.co.uk to gather their thoughts and opinions.
Here's what they had to say about their current plight, their current (for now) manager, and of course, us....
How would you assess your start to the campaign?
"Our start to this campaign has been thoroughly disappointing due to a bit of bad luck, a collection of stupid defensive errors and a vast lack of decisive finishing in front of goal."
"The signs at first weren't too bad, we played some half decent football, drew against Blackburn then finally broke our bogey at Watford with a last minute winner. Since then it's been all downhill with a heavy loss at Blackpool, a comprehensive loss at Middlesbrough and two poor home defeats in the last week, last Saturday being the worst performance so far."
What were your hopes for this season, and have they altered at all?
"My hope for this season was to challenge/be in the play-offs and I still hope to be in that situation come the end of the season."
"Upper mid-table, maybe about 10th probably now more mid-table obscurity and another wasted season."
"Playoffs - now too tedious to care much really. Same crap year after year. We'll finish about 15th.. AGAIN. TEDIOUS."
"Originally I was hoping for mid-table, but now I fear a relegation battle."
Paul Jewell - the right man?
"No, no, no. An absolute waste of space and the sooner he is gone the better."
"Sadly, it seems he is not."
"No. It's his last season barring a miracle."
"Right man? I'd hate to see the wrong one."
Who do you consider to be your key players?
"I consider our key players to be Luke Chambers, Lee Martin and Michael Chopra. I feel that when these players are all performing well, we are a hard team to beat."
"Chopra injured, Taylor injured, JET wildly out of form, Luongo (on loan) EDIT: Martin if he plays behind the front man."
"Chopra & JET (one injured and other out of form)."
What are your thoughts on us?
"I like Barnsley, great day out at Wembley in 2000."
"How the hell did you beat Brum 5-0 last week?!?"
"When I heard that Barnsley had signed Mido, in the summer i thought you would be this years Doncaster and ultimately get relegated. But you've proved everyone wrong so far, who knows what you can achieve, we know this league is so unpredictable."
"I like Barnsley a lot. A huge amount of respect after the 2000 Play-off final and the gracious manner in which your fans took the defeat. Was very impressed by you last weekend."
"Brilliant fans, ripped Brum apart!!"
"Team on the up. Great fans. Special 'bond' because of playoff final and the reaction of your superb fans."
"I have always had a soft spot for Barnsley ever since we beat you in the play-off final in 2000. I also highly rate your manager."
Who do you see as our key players?
"I have always rated your keeper, Luke Steele."
"Craig Davies, I couldn't name the rest of your players..."
"Craig Davies..... but there aren't any gems in the lower leagues???!"
"Craig Davies looked a huge threat last weekend, but I was impressed with your whole team performance."
"Craig Davies looks a player, as does Jacob Mellis."
Your favourite Oakwell away day?
"Last season was the first time I've been to Oakwell, and it was a hell of a game."
"Haven't been but Wembley was enjoyable."
"3-3 when we came back in five minutes - it was like a good trip to Poundland."
"Only ever been once and that was on a Tuesday night in January a few years ago. It rained, it hailed, it thundered, it blew a gale, and we lost 4-1."
"Can't go any further than last year, 2-0 down and won 5-3 (doesn't happen very often), although I remember a game in the 90's when we were 3-0 down with 5 minutes to go and ended up drawing 3-3."
What score are you predicting?
"Barnsley 0 - 14 Ipswich"
"Sadly, a home win for Barnsley, 2-1"
"2-1 Barnsley"
"Should be a comfortable home win, by at least two goals."
"I'll take a draw, anything!"
"A cricket one."
"A bullish 3-2 to Town, highly unlikely I know."
I'll take this opportunity to thank the Ipswich lot who answered my questions yesterday. And also to wish those travelling up from Suffolk a safe journey, and a good day out.
| Key Man - Jason Scotland |
I've never particularly rated Jason Scotland, yet I'm singling him out in this preview as their key man tomorrow afternoon.
And why?
Well, he's one of those strikers that always seems to score against us.
Whilst it's rare these days, when he's on form, he's a real handful for defenders, and can score from allsorts of angles. I certainly remember him bullying our defence in the second half of that horror show on Sky last season.
WHITEY'S FINAL THOUGHTS
It's nice to be back at Oakwell this week, and quickly following this match with Ipswich, is another home game against bottom of the table Peterborough United.
So without being over-confident, it's a chance for us to really kick on before we go to Elland Road next month for our usual 3 points....
Keith has already said we'll be going with the same squad, so I'm not sure if that means Sir Bobby Hassell is going to be involved or not, having now served his suspension.
In an ideal world, you'd stick Bobby at right-back. But they do say you should never change a winning side, and so perhaps Tom Kennedy will continue there..?
Either way, it's a good dilemma to have I suppose.
The fact that our bench can now contain the likes of Luke Steele, David Perkins, Matty Done and Marlon Harewood, shows how well the so-called squad players have done so far.
The likes of Stephen Dawson (immense at St. Andrews), Chris Dagnall and Ben Alnwick have really impressed me.
In fact, I never thought I'd be happy to see a Tarn team without both Perkins and Hassell, when available. But again, it shows the strength we now have in terms of squad depth.
As King Keith says - LAYERING.
It's become a weekly statement of mine, but Scott Golbourne was outstanding against Birmingham.
He reminds me of Ashley Cole, but without the wage, the adultery, or the rifle....
It wouldn't surprise me if there is serious interest in him come January. It's not like there's a plethora of talented left-backs in the country.
So I'm going to enjoy watching his talents while I can.
Same applies to the likes of Davies, Cywka and Cranie.
I hope we can get them on an extended contract, as we really don't want another January jinx.
I'm not having a go at them personally, but it's about time these sort of players realised the grass isn't always greener, and showed some modicum of loyalty.
| Cywka - Sign him up |
For the first time this season, I'm going into a game expecting us to win.
I thought we might get something against Bristol City a few weeks ago, but at that point it was hard to be sure.
This time I'm pretty convinced that we're too good for this current Ipswich setup.
I've never liked Paul Jewell, and think he was helped to his achievements by finance - especially at Wigan.
I think the Ipswich players may feel similarly, and whilst it's a case of deja-vu somewhat, considering this seasons run of form and last seasons, I can't see them getting a result to keep him in a job this time around.
To be perfectly honest though, I'd happily take a point tomorrow, so long as we then beat Peterborough on Tuesday night.
I think four points would be a decent return, as the season begins to really gather pace, and the league table takes shape.
One piece of news on the transfer front - the only player we spent any money on this summer, Lee Collins, has joined League One outfit Shrewsbury Town on loan.
I don't know if this is the end for him at Oakwell, but I would hope not as I was quite impressed with him during the latter stages of last term.
Good luck to him at New Meadow, and here's hoping he comes back a better player for it.
| Collins - Loaned out |
Anyway, I'll finish by thanking you all for reading this preview, and fingers crossed we pick up back-to-back victories for the first time this season, by defeating The Tractor Boys.
It's unlikely that I'll have the time to cobble a Peterborough preview together, but if I do, I'll be sure to keep you informed 'HERE' via my twitter account, where you are all more than welcome to interact with me at any time.
Also, be sure to check out the other Barnsley FC related sites I've listed to the left of my page.
I'll now bid you farewell, and remember, it's all about the ENDEAVOUR....
Up The Tarn!
