Barnsley v Huddersfield match thoughts

[animallittle3]

I'm in the company of a couple of Town fans tomorrow from my former place of work pre match and hopefully a jar or two afterwards .

I'm looking forward to catching up with them again but that's about all tomorrow as I'm dreading the bit between 3pm and 5 .

Whether we can up our game tomorrow and claim the 3 points is highly debatable but we live in hope .

Telephone conversations with my two Town friends have them asking me " what the feck has happened to you lot this season " .

They can't believe how bad we are either from last season or indeed the one before .

Town seem to be transformed this season from their struggles of the last two with some smart recruitment on players who were out of contract including our former defender Matty Pearson .

A point tomorrow may be as good as we are likely to get based on our current form .

[Doggydo]

I’ve just watch the 7-1 goals what I’d give for that team tomorrow

[pass_and_move]

Wiss get turned ova ageeun. Obviously am hoping forra win but just can't see it. Poya has addressed the defensive aspect and got us defending more as a unit but due to implementing those tactics, it's left us with a serious lack of threat going forward, even worse than under Schopp. We've scored 13 goals in 21 games this season. That is shocking and I don't expect it will change very soon.

The key is obviously making us difficult to beat, I totally understand that. However, we must still possess a threat in the attacking third and that hasn't been the case in his first two games. It needs a change in formation and that front 3 should be changed into a front 2 putting an extra body in the midfield. Hopefully the penny will drop soon with Poya and we'll start to get the wins we desperately need cos it is pretty hopeless as it stands. Narrow defeat for me tomorrow.

[Acido]

I can see us holding on in the end again, for another 0-0. And thats not good enough of course, it certainly won't keep us up.
I wish he'd show some grit and drop Woodrow, but we know thats never going to happen.
Isn't that appalling, in a relegation struggle like this, we're actually carrying some lazy passengers. 😠

[animallittle3]

I can see us holding on in the end again, for another 0-0. And thats not good enough of course, it certainly won't keep us up.
I wish he'd show some grit and drop Woodrow, but we know thats never going to happen.
Isn't that appalling, in a relegation struggle like this, we're actually carrying some lazy passengers. 😠

I wouldn't go as far as to lazy acido but badly out of form would be more accurate .

[Acido]

I wouldn't go as far as to lazy acido but badly out of form would be more accurate .

Yeah ok lazy is maybe unfair, but it really angers me when some players are apparently undroppable.
Especially at a time like now when we need all hands to the pumps. And what does this do to the confidence and the mindset of the other players, who really do want to play but don't get a fair chance.

[animallittle3]

Yeah ok lazy is maybe unfair, but it really angers me when some players are apparently undroppable.
Especially at a time like now when we need all hands to the pumps. And what does this do to the confidence and the mindset of the other players, who really do want to play but don't get a fair chance.

Put Woodrow up top with Morris in a two instead of the role he's played since Kieffer left and you'll see a player who will score goals at this level .

Woodrow isn't without credible criticism but what about the form of Helik , Styles , Brittain and Palmer from last season ?

[Acido]

I suggested that about Brittain a few weeks ago actually, saying how disappointing I think hes been since last season. And yes even one of our current Intl players Helik, hes now letting himself down as well.
In fact its probably only Brad in goal who can hold his head up above the rest.

[pass_and_move]

Put Woodrow up top with Morris in a two instead of the role he's played since Kieffer left and you'll see a player who will score goals at this level .

Woodrow isn't without credible criticism but what about the form of Helik , Styles , Brittain and Palmer from last season ?

Bang on that for me. Helik got international recognition for his efforts last season. He's not been nowhere near those levels this season. However, he's not been terrible either in all fairness. Brittain has been too inconsistent and Styles has never settled in a position. Woodrow needs to be in a pair as you quite rightly say. Palmer obviously misses Mowatt as the entire team does.

[Jules88]

Dreading it. …….. Absolutely dreading it.

[pass_and_move]

Dreading it. …….. Absolutely dreading it.

Straight ooam and curtains shut a reckon Jules mate :blue: few ales to numb the pain too a dare say.

[Romared]

Dreading it. …….. Absolutely dreading it.
geeor thi worrying , wissel beart these today ,

[Barnsley Chop]

geeor thi worrying , wissel beart these today ,

Hope your right Mr Roma, me spending another £10 watching from my family home in Jakarta on iFollow :?

[Romared]

Hope your right Mr Roma, me spending another £10 watching from my family home in Jakarta on iFollow :? Jakarta Chops , tha gets abart thee ! Is that near shuttleye pit crossrooards !! Have a great time ,

[Romared]

Team Selection today ? I'm hoping Hondermark starts and gets a run of games , to replace Benson or Palmer , both good technical players but lightweights , Benson recently has been easily dispossessed , needs that early season form back ,Palmer still not a 90 min player and always looks a favourite for a booking,

[animallittle3]

Hearing this morning Town fans aren't allowed to drink pre match in town or have any designated pubs available to them .

SYP once again doing their best to upset the Apple cart at every opportunity given I've never known any bother when the Terriers are in town .

Just rang my two Town buddies and told em no colours allowed as it's just not worth the risk and could potentially spoil our day .

Makes you wonder why you even bother and I'd like to see where two law abiding middle aged fans who aren't allowed to drink in a public house just because they come from a different town stands up in a court of human rights .

[Nozzer1953]

It is a load of *******s Animal. The Dove, East Dene WMC, Old Number 7 have always been away friendly. Never seen any bother in those establishments

[Barnsley Chop]

Jakarta Chops , tha gets abart thee ! Is that near shuttleye pit crossrooards !! Have a great time ,

Cheers Boss!! Only travel since Covid back to me second home in Jakarta for annual holiday.

Am close to some action :?

[Romared]

It is a load of *******s Animal. The Dove, East Dene WMC, Old Number 7 have always been away friendly. Never seen any bother in those establishments some are in Darton /Bark Green already , Didn't they smash the Bar's up in the North Stand a few season's ago , I'm surprised it's still a 3 o'clock KO to be honest ,

[Romared]

Our Millers mate Frank Casper is in attendance at Oakwell today , An unbiased report may follow from him later ? Could be interesting !!

[EthelRed]

Good luck to all you faithful attending in this weather.

[Arblasterfromthepast]

Good luck to all you faithful attending in this weather.

Not looking pleasant is it Ethel? Can't imagine we're going to see much entertainment today.

[EthelRed]

Not looking pleasant is it Ethel? Can't imagine we're going to see much entertainment today.

Better suited to hoofball than football. Bring back Vals tactics!

[Romared]

Get Sprinklers On !

[Arblasterfromthepast]

Get Sprinklers On !
I'd love to know why they put them on when it's been leathering it darn Roma.

[Romared]

I'd love to know why they put them on when it's been leathering it darn Roma. mite be to get game called Off Arby ! To keep unbeaten run going !!

[POGGYWELL]

20488

[EthelRed]

No place in the squad for our marquee signing.

[Romared]

No place in the squad for our marquee signing. he's playing Fatha Christmas someweer Eths !

[Barnsley Chop]

Glad to see Morris fit to start after looking in the woes last week - probably the best X1 available

[EthelRed]

he's playing Fatha Christmas someweer Eths !

Appen hes better at that than he is at football.

Another Dud??

[Barnsley Chop]

Funny in ifollow line ups no name next to the Barnsley manager section just - :D

[GRASS SOD]

no place in the squad for our marquee signing.

he's got headache /😫😫😫

[Arblasterfromthepast]

Appen hes better at that than he is at football.

Another Dud??

Hope he doesn't hurt his back carrying the sack. Can't need too careful with backs SB says.

[Doggydo]

We’ll I’ve got to say this is the best performance I’ve seen this season but Brittain still can’t defend.

[Acido]

Well done to Morris for his goal. And hey we might actually nick something here, if we keep concentrating and don't drop the heads.

[Doggydo]

Morris got m.o.t.m. Match and there no complaints with that but I though Andersen was good and Gomes had a great game and by far the best game he’s had for the reds.

[Jules88]

A draw a fair result. Two teams poor at passing to their own men … could have gone either way .

[SBRed48]

Local pride and bragging rights preserved but. at the end of the day, draws at ooam are not good enough for divisional retention.

[animallittle3]

First of all I've never been so cold in my life , I probably have but at 59 years of age it feels like it .

Had a great afternoon pre match with the two Town lads but we decided to postpone the post match couple of pints on account of not wanting to die of hypothermia .

Much improved display today and at least some structure to our play but unfortunately we weren't quite good enough to take the three points .

Neither were Town and a draw was possibly about right .

Draws aren't going to keep us up and I suspect today was about as good as we can be which will see us comfortably falling short .

Glad not to be beaten against a very average Town side is a particularly low bar when all is said and done .

If we were a couple of points from safety I'd be in the something to build on corner .

Given ourselves far too much to do in my opinion and I suspect January won't see the necessary quality added given the finances and the toxic nature of the club right now .

Plenty of fight , determination and pride but ultimately falling short is as good as we can attain in my opinion .

[Acido]

Yeah we said it last week as well at Peterbrough. They were there for the taking and just two draws against average opposition is four points dropped in the long run.

I do try to look for and listen for consolation though, and admittedly we were hoping Poya could at least make us more hard to beat, while also hopefully making us more determined and competitive. Its going to be a long hard season but, we've dropped that losing mentality even if it was against two average teams.

[animallittle3]

Without wanting to dig out the new HC so early in to his tenure and I respectively acknowledge he's improved us since he took over although that wouldn't be difficult when all is said and done .

But please why are you taking Styles off for Jordan Williams with five minutes to go in a home game drawing 1-1 ? .

Ffs Williams ain't going to get you a goal but Styles possibly could .

I take the point Styles may have had a knock but that didn't look the case to me .

Me neither .

[Acido]

I was a bit worried with more changes to begin with, Cole and Benson this time were dropped to the bench.

And speaking of Benson, I think Luke G made a good comment about him recently on Tykes tv. Saying hes still an inexperienced lad who was loaned out to a struggling Lg Two team recently, and hes not a Premier league quality player. Even though we did of course get him from Burnley.

[animallittle3]

I was a bit worried with more changes to begin with, Cole and Benson this time were dropped to the bench.

And speaking of Benson, I think Luke G made a good comment about him recently on Tykes tv. Saying hes still an inexperienced lad who was loaned out to a struggling Lg Two team recently, and hes not a Premier league quality player. Even though we did of course get him from Burnley.

That's the whole ethos of the club Acido isn't it ?

Young talent who they can sell on for a profit but not necessarily what's required to sustain championship football .

[Acido]

Yeah I know that their aim is to bring in kids like that, and sell them on for profit. It seems like they have little or no interest what long term effect and lack of stability it has on the team though!.

I had hopes that Benson and Gomes could be a good match up for the season. But obviously if either of them were better Premier league quality, then neither of them would be coming here.

[animallittle3]

Yeah I know that their aim is to bring in kids like that, and sell them on for profit. It seems like they have little or no interest what long term effect and lack of stability it has on the team though!.

I had hopes that Benson and Gomes could be a good match up for the season. But obviously if either of them were better Premier league quality, then neither of them would be coming here.

There's only one man to blame for this debacle and that's the tw@t who was running the club in the summer .

Namely Conway .

I know of no other club in the championship whose staff would have bolted for the door at the first opportunity having seen the team achieve its 4th best ever season .

That is purely down to the culture at the club in my opinion .

The culture at a football club is created by the ownership .

If you have an above average amount of people leaving any place of work rapidly then it doesn't take a genius to work out something isn't right .

That's even factoring the money side of the game .

The CEO chose the car crash of a club that is Nottingham Forest rather than believe in building on last season .

That said it all for me , privately he couldn't get away quick enough because he knew it was total bull shyte here .

Our first signing was Devante Cole ffs .

Who the feck finished 5th in the championship with 78 points and signs Devante Cole if you are serious about kicking on ? .

It's even more two bob than its ever been .

The club fully deserves where it sits tonight but the fans don't deserve this shyte show who have consistently backed this club with ST's despite seeing every bit of progress cut short almost instantly .

That goes back to Cryne too , the Mark Robins tenure and the infamous January window of 2017 through to Stendel on to something and last season under Val .

Just how many kicks in the b@llax do you absorb before you chalk feck it on the thing .

We aren't a massive championship club but neither are we the smallest either .

But we are run like we are .

[CASPER-64-FRANK]

An enjoyable match for the neutral. A fair result although it could have gone either way that second half.Good finish from Morris to get back level.
Goalkeeper is fine, Anderson is good, Callum Styles is quality.
Was it Palmer and Gomes in midfield ? If so it didn't work, two similar players and not strong enough in the tackle.
Never seen the ball given away so many times.
He needs to ditch the three up front, it's not working, try playing 3-5-2 with a couple of attacking midfielders may just bring a few more goals.
Correct me if I'm wrong because I don't watch them every week there doesn't seem to be too much out and out pace especially out wide both sides.
He needs a midfield general, a gaffer, a Glavin, Redfearn. The difficulty will be finding someone like that that's prepared for a relegation battle.
You're not doomed yet although there's some difficult games shortly. Need to keep in touch with the fourth and fifth from bottom and hope he can do some wheeling and dealing in January.

Saying the obvious....home draws against teams like Huddersfield are not good enough.

[animallittle3]

An enjoyable match for the neutral. A fair result although it could have gone either way that second half.Good finish from Morris to get back level.
Goalkeeper is fine, Anderson is good, Callum Styles is quality.
Was it Palmer and Gomes in midfield ? If so it didn't work, two similar players and not strong enough in the tackle.
Never seen the ball given away so many times.
He needs to ditch the three up front, it's not working, try playing 3-5-2 with a couple of attacking midfielders may just bring a few more goals.
Correct me if I'm wrong because I don't watch them every week there doesn't seem to be too much out and out pace especially out wide both sides.
He needs a midfield general, a gaffer, a Glavin, Redfearn. The difficulty will be finding someone like that that's prepared for a relegation battle.
You're not doomed yet although there's some difficult games shortly. Need to keep in touch with the fourth and fifth from bottom and hope he can do some wheeling and dealing in January.

Saying the obvious....home draws against teams like Huddersfield are not good enough.

Frank we've been saying it since September that we need the five in midfield and go with the two up top .

I've given it up this season to be honest and looking for signs we can be super competitive next season in league one .

That could go either way to be honest with the problems we are likely to face financially .

The club won't be able to rely on a 10k ST takeup next season by any means which we've relied on previously to be a decent player at league one level .

My gut instinct is that it will get worse before it gets better .

Stability is a massive ingredient in football which is something you have at Rotherham and we don't .

[Acido]

That sounds like a good accurate assessment there uncle Frank lol, do you fancy a job doing match reviews like that on here on a regular basis. 😉

Yeah we could do with a Glavin, Gray, Agnew, Redfearn, Hignett, Hourihane type midfield general and goalscorer. But they are hard to find of course.

Its looking inevitable that we are heading back to Lg One, and ok yes we've been there before. But things are getting harder now under these appalling owners and like Animal suggested, it could get a lot worse.

[animallittle3]

An enjoyable match for the neutral. A fair result although it could have gone either way that second half.Good finish from Morris to get back level.
Goalkeeper is fine, Anderson is good, Callum Styles is quality.
Was it Palmer and Gomes in midfield ? If so it didn't work, two similar players and not strong enough in the tackle.
Never seen the ball given away so many times.
He needs to ditch the three up front, it's not working, try playing 3-5-2 with a couple of attacking midfielders may just bring a few more goals.
Correct me if I'm wrong because I don't watch them every week there doesn't seem to be too much out and out pace especially out wide both sides.
He needs a midfield general, a gaffer, a Glavin, Redfearn. The difficulty will be finding someone like that that's prepared for a relegation battle.
You're not doomed yet although there's some difficult games shortly. Need to keep in touch with the fourth and fifth from bottom and hope he can do some wheeling and dealing in January.

Saying the obvious....home draws against teams like Huddersfield are not good enough.

Genuine question for you Frank as a football and a fair man .

Does our club on impression give you any kind of thoughts that it's owned by a consortium of owners who are worth collectively £9bn ?

The state of the stadium , the match day experience or the quality on the field ?

[CASPER-64-FRANK]

That sounds like a good accurate assessment there uncle Frank lol, do you fancy a job doing match reviews like that on here on a regular basis. 

Yeah we could do with a Glavin, Gray, Agnew, Redfearn, Hignett, Hourihane type midfield general and goalscorer. But they are hard to find of course.

Its looking inevitable that we are heading back to Lg One, and ok yes we've been there before. But things are getting harder now under these appalling owners and like Animal suggested, it could get a lot worse.


Too bloody cold at Oakwell.....
Not been that cold since doing a streak round Nottingham City centre on a stag party January 1971...

The owners will have to make a decision at the end of the season Acido.
If the worst comes to the worst and relegation happens that's a big hit financially and they may choose to offload the club.
If they don't offload and are not prepared to invest in team rebuilding it could end up with stagnating in League 1.

Animal is right about us having stability, unfortunately if / when we get back to the Championship we know it's going to be difficult to compete. Our Chairman won't take us into unsustainable debt. A lot of our fans don't agree with that and want us to spend money we don't have.

[Acido]

Animal, I was also critical of us signing Devante Cole, and this was largely based on how disappointing he was here the first time. And obviously it was also based on how our expectations had risen from last seasons 5th place finish.
But I feel sorry for him now actually because of how hes been messed about, and hes not the only one.

I was disappointed of course at losing Val & Mowatt, but I had no idea things would turn out this bad.
And the ultimate knife in the back was them saying they were let down at not making enough if any profit at all on player sales, possibly because of our unpopular style of footy.
Isn't that the last thing you would expect to hear when the team have just made it to the Play offs!. 😡

[animallittle3]

Too bloody cold at Oakwell.....
Not been that cold since doing a streak round Nottingham City centre on a stag party January 1971...

The owners will have to make a decision at the end of the season Acido.
If the worst comes to the worst and relegation happens that's a big hit financially and they may choose to offload the club.
If they don't offload and are not prepared to invest in team rebuilding it could end up with stagnating in League 1.

Animal is right about us having stability, unfortunately if / when we get back to the Championship we know it's going to be difficult to compete. Our Chairman won't take us into unsustainable debt. A lot of our fans don't agree with that and want us to spend money we don't have.

Frank we don't even spend the money we do have .

This lot took £750k out of the club's bank account to pay an instalment for the purchase of the club and they still owe £3m to this day four years on .

Tony Stewart delivers football to the public of Rotherham somewhere between the championship and league one without I suspect wanting much out of it than possibly a bit of money back if he sold the club on .

Our lot seek profit irrespective of anything else .

We aren't big enough to deliver a substantial profit under our own steam that requires investment to grow the club and make it the serious championship competitor it's capable of .

If you are a punter in football then risk and reward is the only show in town .

If you are a custodian as Tony Stewart is then that's different in my opinion .

[Jules88]

That's the whole ethos of the club Acido isn't it ?

Young talent who they can sell on for a profit but not necessarily what's required to sustain championship football .

From what I’ve seen of him ….. he doesn’t like to get his head in to a challenge, and doesn’t particularly like a tackle either. Poor for me so far. Twice today, ( even in the small minutes he played) he ducked headers he could easily have won, to allow the ball down which he eventually lost.. We won’t make much on him.

[Acido]

Jules, do you mean Benson who I was on about ?.
Even Frank the neutral Millers fan could pick out some of our problems in midfield, where we have limited options.
Maybe Honda should be given a run of games because it sounds like he has an engine and is willing to make the effort. It won't work if both Gomes and Palmer are too similar, and at times too soft and lightweight as well. :s

[SBRed48]

It's what tha gets when playing kids.

Up against big, hairy-arsed opposition who ev a few years experience they soon get a sly "heavy" tackle to put them off their game. Youngsters are inconsistent and they have one decent game mixed in with two poor ones.

They are "hungry" to play however, like Oulare.

[Young_Nudger]

Hudders.

Went int new real ale boozer up Castlereagh Street.
Had a chat with Nigel the owner.
Great selection of beer.
Yes it is more expensive - but if you have say 3 pints of good stuff and it’s costs £5 or £6 more then I’d rather do that.

First time in the East Stand in my new ST seat.
Great view.
More ferocious supporters than the West Stand.
Plus at half time I looked around for individuals I used to talk to in the West Stand - and couldn’t find a single person I knew.
So makes me wonder if many have actually moved across.

As for the match:
I thought we knocked it about much better than Hudders - but we have a glaring gap in midfield.
As some have already said on here - we are lacking bite, aggression - that bit of experienced nastiness to win.
It needs sorting in January.

Front line also needs sorting.
I’d go with - Frieser - Morris - Cole.

[pass_and_move]

Having had time to reflect, I felt we did OK on Saturday. First half we were the better side. Disappointed with the goal we let in and it was against the run of play but the lads dug in and got a deserved equaliser before aif time. The passing was much quicker and the tempo of the game was decent. Much better to what I'd previously seen.

Second aif was a tad disappointing if I'm honest. I felt the game was there to be won but our lads didn't seem to have the stamina to keep up that first half intensity and the game petered art. Gomez was excellent in midfield trying to be inventive and always trying to get us on the front foot. He used his body well and showed some good skill and intelligence. OK he gave the ball away a few times but I can hack that if people show some ballax and try things rather than being safe or punting it aimlessly into the channels.

Encouraging performance and a quite enjoyable game. 1-1 was the right result.

[Acido]

Id still rather pick Woodrow than Frieser lol.

Pass, it does sound better and more encouraging what most of our fans are saying. That the team looked more up for it and more organised and even more attacking as well, as Morris gets his sharpness and fitness back.
Im still convinced that we're going down this time, but all I ask is that the lads keep making the effort that they have shown since Poya took over.
It just pees me off though thinking what might have been this season, with better coaching back in August. :s