Romared Match Thoughts Wigan Athletic v Barnsley

[animallittle3]

There was a time back in the day when after a shaky few games and facing a tough away game we'd pull a rabbit out of the hat and come away with three points .

After an early burst of Wigan pressure the Barnsley defence held firm and were superbly marshalled by Larry May and Paul Futcher , goalkeeper Clive Baker was forced in to a couple of smart saves but the visitors went in at halftime level .

In the second half the Wigan faithful began to show their frustration when it became clear the home side were running out of ideas .

In the 60th minute the home crowd became even more agitated when the Barnsley midfielder Gwyn Thomas won the ball in the middle of the park and released Gordon Owen who ran at the backtracking Wigan defence before unleashing a ferocious shot from 20 yards in to the top corner .

Wigan were now a spent force with the Yorkshire side in complete control and made the game safe on 85 minutes after a neat exchange of passes between Billy Ronson and Winston Campbell set up substitute Calvin Plummer who fired home from 6 yards .

The Wigan faithful headed for the exits whilst the delirious Barnsley fans sang " there's only one Bobby Collins " with the little Scottish Tykes manager punching the air in delight as the final whistle blew .

We can only reminisce of what was once and what is now .

Could be a long afternoon .

[Dingle council]

They were also in premier league not so long ago and winning fa cup, no one can ever take that away from them
I remember the hecky season when we wellied them on the last day to creep into the playoffs
Our defence is keeping me up at night tb honest
It could be a thrashing or can we sort ourselves out?

[Acido]

Not looking forward to this, although the so called rivalry between us now isn't really an issue. Im guessing its just a few fans on both sides.
They've started very well and will surely win promotion this season, which is amazing really when you see they were on -8 points to begin with!!.

[pass_and_move]

This defence is all over the place. We're putting extra pressure on them by playing out from the back at times too. 13/10 is good, good value for a home win tomorrow

[SBRed48]

Today could be pivotal in the season.

The full hearted cries of "Jocky Collins Red and White Army" could be ringing around the DW Stadium as McAtee scores his second and Barnsley's third to seal an outstanding performance with a 0-3 win. The players milk the adulation of the fans, a total contrast the silence and sporadic abuse descending from those that remained at Oakwell at the final whistle last Saturday. From 5-00pm tomorrow the feel good factor could be back with talk of, "Al tell thi wot, this lot are up automatic this time".

On the other hand Wigan could overtake the Reds in the table after only five games, overturning an eight point deduction, taking advantage of an unorganised shambles of a defence to score a number of goals.

Ahmad has not got the £million plus deals over the line yet and Collins could get frustrated at broken promises given at his appointment interview but there are six days to go and Ahmad is known for doing his business under the radar, often late on. The lack of clubs clamouring to buy Styles or increasing the £2.5 mill offer for Kitching may be forcing him to look further into the Division Four/ Non League market and looking at what loans may be available.

I can recall standing on the grass bank at Springfield Park in the late 70's, p1ssing into a communal hole which was the Gents Toilet. Can't remember who scored but a repeat of the 1-1 Division Four classic that day would be a good result today.

# Go Well Barnsley

[animallittle3]

Today could be pivotal in the season.

The full hearted cries of "Jocky Collins Red and White Army" could be ringing around the DW Stadium as McAtee scores his second and Barnsley's third to seal an outstanding performance with a 0-3 win. The players milk the adulation of the fans, a total contrast the silence and sporadic abuse descending from those that remained at Oakwell at the final whistle last Saturday. From 5-00pm tomorrow the feel good factor could be back with talk of, "Al tell thi wot, this lot are up automatic this time".

On the other hand Wigan could overtake the Reds in the table after only five games, overturning an eight point deduction, taking advantage of an unorganised shambles of a defence to score a number of goals.

Ahmad has not got the £million plus deals over the line yet and Collins could get frustrated at broken promises give at his appointment interview but there are six days to go and Ahmad is known for doing his business under the radar, often late on. The lack of clubs clamouring to buy Styles or increasing the £2.5 mill offer for Kitching may be forcing him to look further into the Division Four/ Non League market and looking at what loans may be available.

I can recall standing on the grass bank at Springfield Park in the late 70's, p1ssing into a communal hole which was the Gents Toilet. Can't remember who scored but a repeat of the 1-1 Division Four classic that day would be a good result today.

# Go Well Barnsley

March 1979 SB , Allan Clarke last minute penalty to equalise .

[SBRed48]

March 1979 SB , Allan Clarke last minute penalty to equalise .

Thanks Animal.

The days of England internationals such as Clarke and Hunter playing for us and, little did I know, the wonder team of the early 80's-Glavin, Banks, Macca etc was just round the corner.

I suppose we are bristling with full internationals in the side now with Russell (Jamaica) and Styles (Hungary).

[BarnsleyWhites]

Keep believing guys Wiggin ain’t that good that you can’t go there and get something. I can’t even begin to describe how poor we were last week with not one player performing and it wasn’t because Wigan bullied us it was genuinely a case of so many players having an off day together and the ball always seeming to fall right for them but not for us. Some days are just like that, you’ve had them, we’ve had them but they don’t define a season. Obviously Wyke is class at this level and Humphrey’s down the right a handful but a strong referee will sort him which we didn’t have last week and he got away with some more than bookable tackles. Their defence isn’t much, pretty young and from lower levels so if you can keep Wyke quiet you’ve more than a chance. I have a feeling Wigan might be a bit over confident after last week so if you put the pressure on them and maybe pinch an early goal who knows? I’m going for a 1-1 draw because I really can see your boys turning up today but I’m hoping you stuff the pie eating shysters. ��

[animallittle3]

Keep believing guys Wiggin ain’t that good that you can’t go there and get something. I can’t even begin to describe how poor we were last week with not one player performing and it wasn’t because Wigan bullied us it was genuinely a case of so many players having an off day together and the ball always seeming to fall right for them but not for us. Some days are just like that, you’ve had them, we’ve had them but they don’t define a season. Obviously Wyke is class at this level and Humphrey’s down the right a handful but a strong referee will sort him which we didn’t have last week and he got away with some more than bookable tackles. Their defence isn’t much, pretty young and from lower levels so if you can keep Wyke quiet you’ve more than a chance. I have a feeling Wigan might be a bit over confident after last week so if you put the pressure on them and maybe pinch an early goal who knows? I’m going for a 1-1 draw because I really can see your boys turning up today but I’m hoping you stuff the pie eating shysters. ��

Wyke can be devastating at this level with a record to prove it .

There's a real soft centre to this Barnsley team that we didn't see at all last season , nobody bullied us under Duff and on many occasions it was ourselves who did the bullying .

A repeat of the last three league games and we will be well beaten today because I just don't see any characters emerging who can deal with Wyke .

Andersen , Bobby Thomas and last season's Kitching would have relished it .

[POGGYWELL]

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REDS XI:*Roberts (GK), Cotter, Williams (C), Łopata, Shepherd, Cadden, Kane, Russell, Phillips, Cole, Watters.

Subs: Killip (GK), O'Keeffe, de Gevigney, Styles, McAtee, Marsh, Dallas.

WIGAN XI: Tickle (GK), Watts, Pearce, Hughes, Clare, M Smith, Wyke, Humphrys, Lang (C), McManaman, Adeeko.

Subs: Amos (GK), Morrison, Jones, S Smith, Sze, Balagizi, Magennis.

Liam Kitching drops out of the squad, we understand he is injured, Callum Styles and Andy Dallas are benched. Jack Shepherd comes in for his league debut with Jon Russell and Max Watters also in.
Corey O’Keeffe and John McAtee on bench.