The Real War of the Roses , the Play-Offs Part One, V Barnsley at home Sat 13th May 3-0 clock.

[BWFC_Insane]

I'm not sure the division we're in will have quite as much impact as you think it shall. I doubt we'd be able to "just unload" Vic, certainly, because everything we're hearing is money is tight. We can't afford, like in the days of Eddie, to have players that don't work. I also don't think we'd just go lets spend proper cash vs let's give it a go and pocket some cash to reinvest...

FWIW, I think he'll keep Bod and whatever we think about Kacha's likelihood of bagging goals, we've all seen, as you say, with our own eyes, that Evatt thinks he's often worth his place for something else - press and stretching the defence. Shortire obvs isn't ours anyhow. I thought we needed a 10 in Jan, Evatt thought Shortire might fill that gap, we still need a 10 for me. We need enough balls going into the right places from both WB's, the 8's when they transition to attack, and preferably across the 10, too.

Again we go up - we have Charles and Vic under contract (and Jerome who I'd suggest can be transitioned to the coaching side). That's still room to strengthen up top - and I don't know the resources we'd have but I'd suggest we'd need 1 better striker than Big Dan is now to give ourselves a chance. If we can afford to sign Dan and another then great.

I'm also not expecting a proven championship striker signing - we'd all love to get Yates from Blackpool but as you say financially won't happen. So it will be another option rather than a guaranteed first choice. But we need to have IMO another striker who hopefully has more immediate impact up there. We'd also if we went up have a wider pool of players to choose from.

[sonicthewhite]

Only just catching up with this as I've had an insanely busy weekend. Were we just sh1te, off the boil or outplayed by a better team? Or a combination of all three? Seems that in a way the return leg might wake us up and catch Barnsley out as I think they'll be patting themselves on the back thinking it will be a walk in the park on their own turf.

[Worthy4England]

I'm not suggesting I don't want us to strengthen, Insano! I mean we certainly have options with Bod and Kacha out of contract, N'lundulu not currently ours, and Jerome, as you suggest, at some point heading into the coaching team. Evatt does seem pretty loyal to players in general. They all speak very highly about the "set-up," how they feel welcome, how we're "improving them" etc. But I wouldn't be entirely surprised in this Div, if we stuck with what we have, and maybe be a bit more flexible should we manage to sneak up, which we don't need to worry about until after Friday at least.

[Worthy4England]

Only just catching up with this as I've had an insanely busy weekend. Were we just sh1te, off the boil or outplayed by a better team? Or a combination of all three? Seems that in a way the return leg might wake us up and catch Barnsley out as I think they'll be patting themselves on the back thinking it will be a walk in the park on their own turf.

For me Sonic, we weren't shite but can play better, they played well, well drilled, knew when to stick or twist on the press, put the ball in decent places and looked to stop us at the right moment. We can certainly play better than we did.

[BWFC_Insane]

I'm not suggesting I don't want us to strengthen, Insano! I mean we certainly have options with Bod and Kacha out of contract, N'lundulu not currently ours, and Jerome, as you suggest, at some point heading into the coaching team. Evatt does seem pretty loyal to players in general. They all speak very highly about the "set-up," how they feel welcome, how we're "improving them" etc. But I wouldn't be entirely surprised in this Div, if we stuck with what we have, and maybe be a bit more flexible should we manage to sneak up, which we don't need to worry about until after Friday at least.

I suspect we will strengthen down here too. I don't think either scenario involves jettisoning players but Evatt has of course done that when needed. I think he's Allardyce like in that he builds a family bond across the team but is ruthless enough to let players go and move on when the time is right. Obviously finance dictates a lot but Evatt will want a squad strong enough to go up or stay up next season and I suspect he knows what that will take. We have enough out of contract to be flexible either way I suspect.

[Prufrock]

Only just catching up with this as I've had an insanely busy weekend. Were we just sh1te, off the boil or outplayed by a better team? Or a combination of all three? Seems that in a way the return leg might wake us up and catch Barnsley out as I think they'll be patting themselves on the back thinking it will be a walk in the park on their own turf.

For me Sonic, we weren't shite but can play better, they played well, well drilled, knew when to stick or twist on the press, put the ball in decent places and looked to stop us at the right moment. We can certainly play better than we did.

I also personally disagree with a general proposition that we were "lucky". I think a draw was a fair result. If anyone edged it it was them but 1-1 fairer reflection to me than say 1-0 or 2-1 them.

Traf made two big saves but they were things that fell to them rather than they "created" and that can go either way (see our corner in the first minute plus the chance for Dion first half that was slightly behind him).

Being at home you'd have to make them slight favourites, but we can definitely still win it

I also suspect that Friday's result made both teams a little cagey (and they are a team who cagey suits a bit more).

[BWFC_Insane]

Only just catching up with this as I've had an insanely busy weekend. Were we just sh1te, off the boil or outplayed by a better team? Or a combination of all three? Seems that in a way the return leg might wake us up and catch Barnsley out as I think they'll be patting themselves on the back thinking it will be a walk in the park on their own turf.

For me Sonic, we weren't shite but can play better, they played well, well drilled, knew when to stick or twist on the press, put the ball in decent places and looked to stop us at the right moment. We can certainly play better than we did.

I also personally disagree with a general proposition that we were "lucky". I think a draw was a fair result. If anyone edged it it was them but 1-1 fairer reflection to me than say 1-0 or 2-1 them.

Traf made two big saves but they were things that fell to them rather than they "created" and that can go either way (see our corner in the first minute plus the chance for Dion first half that was slightly behind him).

Being at home you'd have to make them slight favourites, but we can definitely still win it

I also suspect that Friday's result made both teams a little cagey (and they are a team who cagey suits a bit more).

I mean they had much less of the ball but had 19 shots to our 7. 5 on target to our 1.

I'd say that 'lucky' is completely subjective a term. But those stats would be reflective of it being more likely they won than we did. Traff made two good saves - like really good ones and our goal was down to a keeper error.

If I was a Barnsley fan I'd absolutely be concerned that given our territorial dominance we didn't win the game by a goal or even two. They had a great chance to win that match. 1-0 up after an hour and we'd yet to have a shot on target, or really a meaningful period of pressure even.

[GhostoftheBok]

Getting through the semis was, to my mind, always going to the toughest part of the play-offs. If we can sneak past them at their place I'll trust us to do the job at Wembley.

I can't say I'm surprised to see Posh where they are. We'd beat them in the final, though.

[BWFC_Insane]

Getting through the semis was, to my mind, always going to the toughest part of the play-offs. If we can sneak past them at their place I'll trust us to do the job at Wembley.

I can't say I'm surprised to see Posh where they are. We'd beat them in the final, though.

Peterborough have momentum. And a team that could be dangerous at Wembley. I'd not rule them out to be honest be it against us or Barnsley.

Can honestly see it being penalties on Friday...Trafford to be the hero?

[GhostoftheBok]

Peterborough have momentum. And a team that could be dangerous at Wembley. I'd not rule them out to be honest be it against us or Barnsley.

Can honestly see it being penalties on Friday...Trafford to be the hero?

I think we can beat Barnsley on Friday. We'll see how it goes. The semis were always the test of character. We let nerves get the best of us in the first half, but hopefully we can play to our level at Oakwell.

I do think we'll win if we get to Wembley. However, I agree Posh are dangerous.

[Worthy4England]

We certainly can beat Barnsley on Friday. When must win's actually are "must wins," we've always stepped up. Crawley (a) in League 2, Accrington (a) in the PJT, Plymouth (a - but for both of us ) in the PJT at Wemberlee. That's not to say we will win, they're a decent side, but we're certainly not out of it.

[GhostoftheBok]

We certainly can beat Barnsley on Friday. When must win's actually are "must wins," we've always stepped up. Crawley (a) in League 2, Accrington (a) in the PJT, Plymouth (a - but for both of us ) in the PJT at Wemberlee. That's not to say we will win, they're a decent side, but we're certainly not out of it.

It's the play-offs. Play-off semi-finals are weird. Finals tend to be more predictable, but you get really odd results in the semis. I have no idea what will happen on Friday, I just wish I had tickets. So long as we have a proper go at them I'll be happy. They're really vulnerable on set pieces, so I'll be sad if we don't get at least one goal via that route over the two legs.

Posh are the same, by the way. There for the taking from free kicks and corners.

[Bertie Wooster]

We certainly can beat Barnsley on Friday. When must win's actually are "must wins," we've always stepped up. Crawley (a) in League 2, Accrington (a) in the PJT, Plymouth (a - but for both of us ) in the PJT at Wemberlee. That's not to say we will win, they're a decent side, but we're certainly not out of it.

It's the play-offs. Play-off semi-finals are weird. Finals tend to be more predictable, but you get really odd results in the semis. I have no idea what will happen on Friday, I just wish I had tickets. So long as we have a proper go at them I'll be happy. They're really vulnerable on set pieces, so I'll be sad if we don't get at least one goal via that route over the two legs.

Posh are the same, by the way. There for the taking from free kicks and corners.

There is a problem with this - we are absolutely shite at free kicks & corners.

[Prufrock]

Only just catching up with this as I've had an insanely busy weekend. Were we just sh1te, off the boil or outplayed by a better team? Or a combination of all three? Seems that in a way the return leg might wake us up and catch Barnsley out as I think they'll be patting themselves on the back thinking it will be a walk in the park on their own turf.

For me Sonic, we weren't shite but can play better, they played well, well drilled, knew when to stick or twist on the press, put the ball in decent places and looked to stop us at the right moment. We can certainly play better than we did.

I also personally disagree with a general proposition that we were "lucky". I think a draw was a fair result. If anyone edged it it was them but 1-1 fairer reflection to me than say 1-0 or 2-1 them.

Traf made two big saves but they were things that fell to them rather than they "created" and that can go either way (see our corner in the first minute plus the chance for Dion first half that was slightly behind him).

Being at home you'd have to make them slight favourites, but we can definitely still win it

I also suspect that Friday's result made both teams a little cagey (and they are a team who cagey suits a bit more).

I mean they had much less of the ball but had 19 shots to our 7. 5 on target to our 1.

I'd say that 'lucky' is completely subjective a term. But those stats would be reflective of it being more likely they won than we did. Traff made two good saves - like really good ones and our goal was down to a keeper error.

If I was a Barnsley fan I'd absolutely be concerned that given our territorial dominance we didn't win the game by a goal or even two. They had a great chance to win that match. 1-0 up after an hour and we'd yet to have a shot on target, or really a meaningful period of pressure even.

They had a lot of speculative efforts from a long way out though. Other than the goal the only two other moments I felt worried were the two big saves from Traf, both of which came from lucky ricochets (obviously a goal is still a goal but it's less a symptom of them opening us up). The first was pretty wide anyway and a tough chance, the second a genuinely top bit of keeping.

On the other side if Kacha's cross is a foot further forward to Dion that's a goal, Anderson made a goal saving challenge on Dan, and we had two queuing up for a free header a minute in who got in each other's way.

I'm not going to die in a ditch if others think they had done enough to deserve the win, as I say, if anyone edged it it was them, but a draw felt "fair" to me.

[BWFC_Insane]

Only just catching up with this as I've had an insanely busy weekend. Were we just sh1te, off the boil or outplayed by a better team? Or a combination of all three? Seems that in a way the return leg might wake us up and catch Barnsley out as I think they'll be patting themselves on the back thinking it will be a walk in the park on their own turf.

For me Sonic, we weren't shite but can play better, they played well, well drilled, knew when to stick or twist on the press, put the ball in decent places and looked to stop us at the right moment. We can certainly play better than we did.

I also personally disagree with a general proposition that we were "lucky". I think a draw was a fair result. If anyone edged it it was them but 1-1 fairer reflection to me than say 1-0 or 2-1 them.

Traf made two big saves but they were things that fell to them rather than they "created" and that can go either way (see our corner in the first minute plus the chance for Dion first half that was slightly behind him).

Being at home you'd have to make them slight favourites, but we can definitely still win it

I also suspect that Friday's result made both teams a little cagey (and they are a team who cagey suits a bit more).

I mean they had much less of the ball but had 19 shots to our 7. 5 on target to our 1.

I'd say that 'lucky' is completely subjective a term. But those stats would be reflective of it being more likely they won than we did. Traff made two good saves - like really good ones and our goal was down to a keeper error.

If I was a Barnsley fan I'd absolutely be concerned that given our territorial dominance we didn't win the game by a goal or even two. They had a great chance to win that match. 1-0 up after an hour and we'd yet to have a shot on target, or really a meaningful period of pressure even.

They had a lot of speculative efforts from a long way out though. Other than the goal the only two other moments I felt worried were the two big saves from Traf, both of which came from lucky ricochets (obviously a goal is still a goal but it's less a symptom of them opening us up). The first was pretty wide anyway and a tough chance, the second a genuinely top bit of keeping.

On the other side if Kacha's cross is a foot further forward to Dion that's a goal, Anderson made a goal saving challenge on Dan, and we had two queuing up for a free header a minute in who got in each other's way.

I'm not going to die in a ditch if others think they had done enough to deserve the win, as I say, if anyone edged it it was them, but a draw felt "fair" to me.

I think that the argument that their chances came from 'ricochets' doesn't mean much cos Barnsley are a pressure side - win set pieces - shoot etc...they are playing those percentages. They scored and had two very decent chances - plus clearly the most pressure in the game.

We didn't muster an awful lot - I think our goal (a keeper error) plus Dan's blocked shot is all I could really say were chances.

In the game it felt to me like though we had most of the ball I was more worried we'd concede than thinking we were going to score.

Personally whilst its not like Barnsley came and battered us they were for me the better side on the day, and on another day easily could have won that game. I think it would be a stretch to suggest the reverse given the overall balance.

We felt constrained and I do agree with those saying - Barnsley offered their best. Which means if we can hit our stride I think it will be a very tight second leg and we could nick it or they might. If we play like we did on Saturday though I suspect it'll be pretty comfortable for Barnsley.

[GhostoftheBok]

There is a problem with this - we are absolutely shite at free kicks & corners.

We were improving fairly dramatically at one stage.

We're just generally not very good at creating scoring opportunities. We are 13th for both shots and shots on target.

Last season we were 6th for shots per game, but nobody could hit a barn door and thus were were 12th for shots on target - but we still had more shots on target per game than we do this season, because we were getting more shots off.

We've improved our conversion rate, we're just not creative enough and that's the challenge for Evatt over the summer.

Set pieces are always an area you can look to improve, but we need to be better from open play too.

[irie Cee Bee]

We were competitive on Saturday, and will be on Friday. Will it be enough, I hope so. If this was boxing, we would have lost on points to Barnsley. Their midfield dominated ours. Their top 6 pressed us when we tried to play it out, and we had no answerers to it as Sheehan and Morely were rendered ineffective. Connor was targeted from the off , and was heavily clattered into twice early on without a card being given. it had its effect on his game. Randy took over that roll in the second half and he played his best game for us.

We need to strengthen our midfield in the summer. We will not be able to compete in the Championship or be top 2 in L1 unless we replace our out of contract midfielders - Lee, Sheehan and MJ with better, stronger players. A case for MJ who could now be seen as a CH. For me, that is more of a problem area for us than up-front.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Posh are the same, by the way. There for the taking from free kicks and corners.

There is a problem with this - we are absolutely shite at free kicks & corners.

Pity you missed the Pizza final, Bertie - we scored two from corners vs the eventual champions

(But yeah, we underachieve from them)

[TANGODANCER]

There's no one in this league we haven't/can't beat. Go out Friday to do that and we will. I'm a believer...

[officer_dibble]

Barnsley have been pretty free scoring since January - maybe we did well to limit them to shots outside the box and what they got from set pieces. I dunno. It’s down to one game, any result is possible and we have done well when it counts. Let’s see Friday!