CRUNCH TIME. Away at Baaaarnsley. Saturday Apr14th 3pm

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Once again, I'll be there. This time though in with the Barnsley mob keeping my gob shut sitting next to a season ticket holder work acquaintance whose wife has given me her seat whilst she will be in hospital undergoing chemo. I don't think there has ever,and I mean EVER, been a more depressing date I've not looked forward to, whilst simultaneously really wanting to be there.

Anyway. We need to win.

One observation: Bolton - Lancashire, Red Rose county. Play in and known as the Whites. Barnsley - Yorkshire, White Rose county. Play in and known as the Reds.
How fxcking contradictory can we get?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I'll be there too, Spotty, but thankfully in the away section. Meeting up with The Legendary Flanners; we're unbeaten in five trips together this season (and we buddied up for six away wins last term). Time to step it up again.

Would love us to win. We need not to lose. A win would be much better.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

I'll be there too, Spotty, but thankfully in the away section. Meeting up with The Legendary Flanners; we're unbeaten in five trips together this season (and we buddied up for six away wins last term). Time to step it up again.

Would love us to win. We need not to lose. A win would be much better.

Are you and the Legendary going for a drink beforehand perchance, and if so where?

[Bijou Bob]

The line up will be interesting. Play the usual defensive line up that can't score a goal or even create much of a chance and I fear we'll get tanked. I'd like to see 2 up top. I can't see PP breaking the habit of a lifetime, but I don't see why not. You can't do worse than create nothing, score none and get beaten. It's go for broke time. They'll be cagey and if we go out with a "Just make sure we don't lose" message and mentality, it has the potential to be one of the worst matches we've featured in of late, a grim war of attrition. Yes, even worse than Oxford at home last year.

[Prufrock]

I think we go for the same. In that other thread I did the maths on how much better the bottom six are against each other away than at home. They're the yeah who are expected to go for it, to break us down but thankfully, unlike say Derby, they aren't very good.

First goal is Jupiterian.

[Harry Genshaw]

Got a bad feeling about this one. They've been scoring and playing well at home lately. We don't know our best line up, best formation and we're hopeless away from home

0-3 loss. The first couple of nails are hammered in

[Spartan2]

We currently cross it to no-one, then hoof it to no-one, then concede, then impotently press forward, then concede again. This is our current tactic, we're beating ourselves. Whoever it is we need a presence up front.

Wheater managed 9 last season from defence, 0 this, compared to 12 for our "goalscorer" Alf in the last two seasons.

The only change we can make that could work is this.

Morais crossing to wheater is dangerous, if we have bodies around him as well, looking for knock downs it will bring chances for Alf/ameobi/Clough its more dangerous than anything else we can do.

He won't be skinning defenders, or curling 30 yarders in, but he can back in, hold it up, head it, and cause havok. Let's not forget while the situation we are in is caused by not having madine, he is still an absolute shite footballer, he just had what we need.

For the last four games we are going to hoof it, we need to win some of those hoofs.


----------Wheater
Ameobi--Clough--morais
-------Henry--pratley
Robin-beeve-burke-little

Clough is nothing defensively so don't expect him to, but we've all seen him score at this level, that formation is weak in the middle but it's not like derik does anything anyway. Our strength if we have one is out wide, IMO this is our only chance.

Not that parky has the balls to do it mind, if he does and we lose it will look bad for him, if we don't and we lose he can blame (with absolute credibility) the sale of madine.

Still he's the manager, and I'm just a goon on the internet.

[Harry Genshaw]

If we're sticking a big lump up front it may as well be Wilbraham. As limited as he undoubtedly is he'd be a darn sight more effective than Wheater!

[Spartan2]

If we're sticking a big lump up front it may as well be Wilbraham. As limited as he undoubtedly is he'd be a darn sight more effective than Wheater!

Personally I think wheater would be better, but I'd be okay with that, also ALF for Clough is fine too.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

There is a big difference between timing runs through relatively static defences at set pieces and playing the role of a centre forward. Wheater is fine if you're chasing a game in the last 5 minutes, but he hasn't got the movement, guile or ability to create anything or necessarily be in the right place at the right time.

[BWFC_Insane]

2-0 Barnsley.

[Peter Thompson]

2-1 Bolton (ALF & Pratley)

[TANGODANCER]

If(when) we win tomorrow and Brum lose we'll be away and running. Game in hand or no, Barnsley will be five points behind us and Brum 2. If Reading also lose we'll be on level points with them. A lot of ifs, granted, but a win is an absolute must to change quite few things. So the only thing to do is......WIN. It's Barnsley, not Barcelona we're talking and we need to go out there to hunt them from the off. One goal and who knows....COME ON YOU WHITES......

[Lost Leopard Spot]

..... First goal is Jupiterian.

Depending on who scores that first goal it may well be. Also potentially Hadean, Cosmological, Abyssal, Promethean, Volcanic, Unbelievable, Chthonic, Satanic, Juggernautical, Mephistophelean, Saturnine, Seraphic, or Chaotic.
What it certainly won't be is ordinary, mundane, boring, run-of-the-millish.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Draw would be status quo

I know what you mean, but I'd have to disagree. At the moment, our destiny is in our hands. If we draw, it isn't. (Well, unless Birmingham lose by 2+ goals to go below us on GD and thus have their ass on the line if Barnsley were to get 2+ more points from their remaining four games than the Blues got from their three.)

Personally, I think a draw is the most likely result. Barnsley have drawn six of their 10 post-Xmas home league games, and it might have been nine: there's a habit of late goals at Oakwell – usually not to their benefit:

• their winner v Blades (their only home winner since they beat Birmingham on 4 Nov; the only other home wins, against Forest and Sunderland, came in August) came in the 88th minute
• in the previous home game they were beating Bristol City but conceded on 90+1'
• in late January they were drawing with Fulham but conceded on 90+2' – and then again on 90+5'
• had they drawn that Fulham game, it would have been in a run of five consecutive home draws

Forced to scramble for a new gaffer in mid-February when Paul Heckingbottom flitted to Leeds mid-February, chief exec Gauthier Ganaye said Jose Morais “instilled the full board with the belief that he is the right man to lead us up the table, bringing excitement back to the Club with an attacking style and goals for the fans to enjoy.” It was an intriguing way to sell the guy (had the fans been unhappy under Heckingbottom?) and suggested they were going to shoot their way out of trouble; indeed, their league goals-per-game has gone up from 0.93 pre-Morais to 1.3 since, although their concession rate has also sneaked up very slightly from 1.48 to 1.5. More importantly, their PPG has only marginally snuck up from 0.87 to 0.9 – and would’ve been down to 0.7 but for that late winner against the Blades.

[GhostoftheBok]

A draw isn't enough, given our home fixtures. 3 points or bust.

[TANGODANCER]

A draw isn't enough, given our home fixtures. 3 points or bust.

I 'm betting Barnsley will have exactly the same mind-set. They have an added edge of being at home and knowing we're not the Bolton of old. Their manager will have done his homework and I'm thinking they'll tear at us right from the off. I just hope, if they do, that we don't go all defensive. Haslling and hounding them is the only way forward and I just hope we have the legs to do it for the whole ninety. Get the points and we nullify their game in hand some. If we should lose ( unthinkable) the sale of brown underpants will go through the roof.

[GhostoftheBok]

A draw isn't enough, given our home fixtures. 3 points or bust.

I 'm betting Barnsley will have exactly the same mind-set. They have an added edge of being at home and knowing we're not the Bolton of old. Their manager will have done his homework and I'm thinking they'll tear at us right from the off. I just hope, if they do, that we don't go all defensive. Haslling and hounding them is the only way forward and I just hope we have the legs to do it for the whole ninety. Get the points and we nullify their game in hand some. If we should lose ( unthinkable) the sale of brown underpants will go through the roof.

No need to buy brown pants when we're all making our own every Saturday.

[TANGODANCER]

It's Grand National Day, but my head, like a lot more, won't be at Aintree. As Van Morrison had it:

When you don't need an answer there'll be days like this
When you don't meet a chancer there'll be days like this
When all the parts of the puzzle start to look like they fit
Then I must remember there'll be days like this....

Just hoping come 4-45 that it'll be a day to remember for the right reasons...COME ON YOU WHITES...

[HMX]

So nervous and I'm not even going.