Romared Match Thoughts Barnsley v Luton Town

[animallittle3]

Looks another difficult game against much improved Luton Town , after a slow start they've picked up these last few weeks and I had them down for an instant return to the championship given some of the players they have .

We know all about Mads Andersen and Jacob Brown of course and hopefully they'll get a good reception from the fans tomorrow especially Mads who was always a class act both on and off the field for us .

[perkytyke]

Gonna be difficult to get anything from these today mate.
They are much better away from home atm and are on a roll, we know all about Brown's pace which will cause us problems if we are not on it from the start today!

[Shadrack the Red]

I am beginning to sound like a stuck record but this looks like being another tough fixture and to be honest I more or less have the same opinion at every home match, we have to attack more at home which leaves our weak defence even more exposed and a lot of teams play this low block when they come to Oakwell which often leads to swift counter attacks leaving us in trouble , history has proven that when teams just sit back in block we just do not have the guile to break them open which in turn leads to frustration on the pitch and on the terraces, hopefully Luton who have quite a lot of attacking flare with Wells and Brown might have a more open approach , we will see !!! I echo what Animal says that hopefully our fans are generous in the reception they give to our ex players who return today , they served us well and deserve respect , I wish they were playing for us today !!!!

[perkytyke]

Why oh why does Conor insist on over complicating things?
Earl at left back and Yoganathan right wing!!!!
Why wont he just play Cleary and Vickers on each wing?
Hope i'm wrong, but they are playing 433 and with Earls lack of pace, we are setting up to be attacked.
The lack of Earls pace is exactly the same as putting Rooney at left back at Donny, Ogbeta should be in there, but we will most likely be under the cosh until he changes it at half time!

[perkytyke]

Well what do I know!!!!
3-0 up at half time, hit the woodwork twice and DKD missed a sitter.
Best half of attacking football I've seen from us this season, ref is atrocious though, booked Cleary when he was clearly brought down when breaking down the wing, then doesn't give their man a second yellow for a cynical foul, but please god let us keep a clean sheet.

[animallittle3]

Well what do I know!!!!
3-0 up at half time, hit the woodwork twice and DKD missed a sitter.
Best half of attacking football I've seen from us this season, ref is atrocious though, booked Cleary when he was clearly brought down when breaking down the wing, then doesn't give their man a second yellow for a cynical foul, but please god let us keep a clean sheet.

Best 45 minutes I've seen for at least 2 years , really good to watch with some exciting players , Cleary really excites me along with Kelly .

Cracking first half .

[perkytyke]

What a performance that was 5-0!
WE KEPT A CLEAN SHEET..........
Brilliant from front to back, hope that provides the confidence to push on now!
Cleary absolutely outstanding, Bland, Connell and Yoganathan were excellent as well, the whole team played well though.
You Redsssssssss.

[animallittle3]

Really enjoyed that , superb performance and result , really enjoyed watching us play and that's something I haven't done for quite a while .

As Perky alluded to some cracking young players in that team who are a joy to watch , entertainment is back at Oakwell .

You might tempt me back yet .

[Shadrack the Red]

How wrong could I be predicting a tight affair , great team performance capped off with a clean sheet !!! The midfield were superb with Cleary playing a starring role with Captain Connel, Kelly, Yoga and Bland combining as a unit to provide the engine room that controlled the game , with support from all around the pitch , some good football with some well worked goals , it really was a pleasure . It really could have been more than 5 with Yoga hitting the woodwork twice and DKD missing a gobber plus Luton should have been reduced to 10 men just on half time but the ref bottled it however in hindsight that might have somehow taken the gloss off it with Luton down to 10 some might have seen that as the reason we won so comfortably but hey it was great and I enjoyed it that much I even stayed to watch Cleary deliver the fist pumps to the Ponty !!! Am now looking forward to an evening participating in a few cans and a drop ot two of single malt !!! Happy Days !!

[animallittle3]

How wrong could I be predicting a tight affair , great team performance capped off with a clean sheet !!! The midfield were superb with Cleary playing a starring role with Captain Connel, Kelly, Yoga and Bland combining as a unit to provide the engine room that controlled the game , with support from all around the pitch , some good football with some well worked goals , it really was a pleasure . It really could have been more than 5 with Yoga hitting the woodwork twice and DKD missing a gobber plus Luton should have been reduced to 10 men just on half time but the ref bottled it however in hindsight that might have somehow taken the gloss off it with Luton down to 10 some might have seen that as the reason we won so comfortably but hey it was great and I enjoyed it that much I even stayed to watch Cleary deliver the fist pumps to the Ponty !!! Am now looking forward to an evening participating in a few cans and a drop ot two of single malt !!! Happy Days !!

Very pleased for fans like yourself Shad that have stuck it out these last two seasons at least and watched some of the dross served up .

Enjoy your evening , you've earned it mate .

[Shadrack the Red]

Very pleased for fans like yourself Shad that have stuck it out these last two seasons at least and watched some of the dross served up .

Enjoy your evening , you've earned it mate .

Cheers Animal, enjoyed my evening of the old nectar and pleasant reflection , I have always been a rough with the smooth man and yesterday was indeed a smooth one, loved it ,more of the same would be welcome !!

[animallittle3]

Without wanting to take the gloss off such a fine win and performance , you still have to turn up and perform of course but i thought Luton were remarkably easy to play against none the less .

Their press was non existent and at no point did they try and low block us and deny us space , they were absolutely awful , naive and a tad arrogant i thought , why Jack Wilshere didn't at least introduce Jacob Brown who is quick and makes great runs I'll never know .

I wouldn't expect too many other teams to rock up at Oakwell for the rest of the season and play the same way which is the crux of this post .

The next stage of this renaissance is to be able to break down teams who won't be so charitable when they come to Oakwell , teams who make it difficult , put men behind the ball and won't let Clearly come inside .

Word gets around as it did under Daniel Stendel , the difference was the back four was solid as a rock and we weren't vulnerable back then whilst enjoying some serious firepower in Moore , Woodrow , Brown and Thiam .

One swallow and all that .

[Shadrack the Red]

Without wanting to take the gloss off such a fine win and performance , you still have to turn up and perform of course but i thought Luton were remarkably easy to play against none the less .

Their press was non existent and at no point did they try and low block us and deny us space , they were absolutely awful , naive and a tad arrogant i thought , why Jack Wilshere didn't at least introduce Jacob Brown who is quick and makes great runs I'll never know .

I wouldn't expect too many other teams to rock up at Oakwell for the rest of the season and play the same way which is the crux of this post .

The next stage of this renaissance is to be able to break down teams who won't be so charitable when they come to Oakwell , teams who make it difficult , put men behind the ball and won't let Clearly come inside .

Word gets around as it did under Daniel Stendel , the difference was the back four was solid as a rock and we weren't vulnerable back then whilst enjoying some serious firepower in Moore , Woodrow , Brown and Thiam .

One swallow and all that .

You are right the low block is difficult to break down and we struggle to break teams down with Rotherham being a prime example , although I did notice a subtle change of tactics yesterday , it was clear that we held back deeper than we had in previous home matches and with a young energetic midfield we actually pressed in the midfield and then played on the counter and despite having a lot less possession we produced a lot more attacks , as you point out Luton were poor but here was a side unbeaten in 6 with a recent 3 v 0 win at Stockport so it would be wrong to under value the win , the secret of course is to find some subtle change which helps us get round blanket defences , I suggest hunting in packs and moving the ball as quick as we can might bring us some joy but I am not a football coach and could be talking absolute Boll oc-s like I usually do , the one thing was clear though and that was that plenty of effort had gone on on the training ground and there was definitely more energy in our play , hopefully we take this tempo into the Stockport game, we will see .

[EthelRed]

Not seen the game yet, nor highlights.
5-0 not been seen for ages. Read Connell was tip top. Keep it there son along with yoga and blandy.

Phillips do we need him more than the money ?

On to Stocky!

[perkytyke]

Keeping the team together is key with a couple of additions in January! We need to have the strength off the bench which we had on Saturday!
What I noticed against Luton was the defending as a team and a desire to keep that clean sheet that has rarely been this season, players were throwing themselves in front of shots all over the place, a far cry from the injury time goal conceeded against Blackpool.