The Tykes Thread

[bobo the clown]

Oh, & though, yes we appear to be better organised and I trust this guys tactics more than before this includes reverting to no-one being left up when defending corners (grrrrr) and very, very scarily, no-one on either post !!!

[BL3]

BL3 in making a complete cock out of himself shocker.

I'm not the one who thinks we were 'set up well' with N'gog on the right wing and a player who offers 'little movement' up front. Talk us through that tactical master class then. Better still, don't.

[William the White]

A very disappointing day...

I'm puzzled by the manager's choices today... The initial set up of the team was puzzling - Ngog out wide when we have genuine wide players in Lee and Petrov (not even on the bench)??? He was poor in that position.

Butterfield straight in? Well, he was ok, but only got 60 mins. His replacement was Andrews - who was dreadful. Why wait to bring on Lee? Ngog off rather than Davies? Yes, he'd taken a knock, but was running freely when subbed.

We had some very good moments in the first half, about 20 mins of domination. We were close to dreadful in the second, but still wasted several decent chances.

There is no outstanding player in this team. Zat Knight is the nearest to it. That speaks volumes. Freedman has a massive job on.

[Ianmooreslovechild]

A very disappointing day...

I'm puzzled by the manager's choices today... The initial set up of the team was puzzling - Ngog out wide when we have genuine wide players in Lee and Petrov (not even on the bench)??? He was poor in that position.

Butterfield straight in? Well, he was ok, but only got 60 mins. His replacement was Andrews - who was dreadful. Why wait to bring on Lee? Ngog off rather than Davies? Yes, he'd taken a knock, but was running freely when subbed.

We had some very good moments in the first half, about 20 mins of domination. We were close to dreadful in the second, but still wasted several decent chances.

There is no outstanding player in this team. Zat Knight is the nearest to it. That speaks volumes. Freedman has a massive job on.

Oh cmon cheer up we're only 4 wins off an automatic promotion slot.

[Mar]

Last season for Kevin Davies i'd imagine. I'd put David N'Gog, Benik Afobe and Marvin Sordell in the same category seeing as they will all be surplus to requirements (N'Gog due to wages and cost with us wanting to recoup some of his transfer by flogging him), which would leave us with yet again another set of strikers to replace. Who would come in without us splashing a very large sum of cash? Can't think of many to be honest.

We're struggling for forwards that are on a hot run of scoring. N'Gog playing out wide won't help that but i'd imagine something has to be wrong with Petrov should he be nowhere near the team today.

I won't say we should be doing better against Barnsley. Our team really doesn't strike me as particularly troubling despite being a threat for the majority of the match. It just seems that we're hopeful, as opposed to clinical. Klasnic was the only really clinical player in the squad and Coyle saw about getting rid of him.

We're not a million miles away from stringing together a winning run but at the same time as soon as we start playing the more clinical teams in the league we're going to fall short.

[Gail Platz]

A very disappointing day...

I'm puzzled by the manager's choices today... The initial set up of the team was puzzling - Ngog out wide when we have genuine wide players in Lee and Petrov (not even on the bench)??? He was poor in that position.

Butterfield straight in? Well, he was ok, but only got 60 mins. His replacement was Andrews - who was dreadful. Why wait to bring on Lee? Ngog off rather than Davies? Yes, he'd taken a knock, but was running freely when subbed.

We had some very good moments in the first half, about 20 mins of domination. We were close to dreadful in the second, but still wasted several decent chances.

There is no outstanding player in this team. Zat Knight is the nearest to it. That speaks volumes. Freedman has a massive job on.

Agree with all of this. Despite in my opinion KD having a decent game, doing the best he could against a shit referee and no midfield support, I did think it was time he came off to put Ngog up there and let him have a go. Andrews is a shocking footballer, am I right in saying he's actually scored goals in his career? Recently as well?

[bobo the clown]

Andrews is a shocking footballer, am I right in saying he's actually scored goals in his career? Recently as well?

Andrews was so poor that I actually feel Pratley would have been a bette ootion.

Yes ... THAT poor.

[Athers]

Hugely frustrating in front of goal - almost everything straight at the keeper. Mark Davies and Eagles two or three times each, Kevin Davies at least once.

Struck me as just hugely apparant that DF is naturally still working things out - an unfit debutant playing, Spearing now plays despite being instantly dropped on his arrival, and the strange move of N'gog playing wide - I don't expect that one again...

Barnsley to watch were a fairly tidy team but without much cutting edge, and when you think about it they gave up a lot of chances to us too so it's no wonder they aren't getting a lot of results.

I thought we were going to get beat with about 15 minutes to go but we managed to finish the end strongest rather than just wait for the goal like very almost came against Cardiff. But it's not much of a positive!

My move instead of the hapless Andrews would have been to put a winger on for Butters and move Eagles inside - I like M.Davies being able to carry the ball from slightly deeper - he got several chances from doing that.

A win would have put us effectively joint 11th, so it's a shame.

[Nicko58]

BL3 in making a complete cock out of himself shocker.

I'm not the one who thinks we were 'set up well' with N'gog on the right wing and a player who offers 'little movement' up front. Talk us through that tactical master class then. Better still, don't.

No issues with the set-up today, it created a lot of chances. We didn't win the game because we lacked the composure to put enough of those chances away.

No-one seems to have said that it was good enough to draw at home to Barnsley.

[wonka]

I was at the match, came away disappointed, but still see definite signs of improvement. In the last 20 mins of the 1st half we definitely played with a confidence that I've not seen for 18 months. I put a lot of that down to being more organised now.

God knows why NGog was played wide, he contributed nothing from there. Two weeks ago he was on fire against Cardiff, so why didn't we try to replicate that? Despite KD's goal, I think he should be used sparingly as a sub these days.

Butterfield is a class player, the midfield looked quality when he was on the pitch, but turned to dross when Andrews replaced him. Mark Davies seems like he's becoming more and more influential too.

All that was missing today was someone to finish all the chances - we had umpteen. Maybe if NGog had played up front instead...

A lot of our problems I think stem from wasteful distribution from the centre-backs. I know Knight is on form, but him & Mills have a nasty habit of giving the ball back to the opposition, whether it's passes, or hoofing up front. There were periods where we didn't seem able to win the ball back from Barnsley, would have helped if we didn't keep giving it to them. Barnsley are nowt special. Rugged and resilient, but they never looked like scoring until we switched off.

Referee was bloody awful.

[Owen_Coyle]

Not good enought, that, in my opinion. I'm sorry but it just isn't.

No urgency. No ambition to win the game. No gile or creativity. Poor.

I agree Bowtun. I know we had many shots today on target that went straight at or near the goalkeeper. and that is encouraging that we are in fact creating chances. On another day some of these may not have been at the goalkeeper and would have gone in, and we wouldnt be holding yet another "inquest" !!

But we WERE playing Barnsley, a worse recent record than ourselves, at home, and lower than us in the league. If that means that I have to accept this as reality, as others in this thread have indicated, then all I can say is we have fallen a long way in a short time.

We started off the game conceding the bulk of the possession yet again, but Barnsley didnt really threaten seriously, But the last 20 mins of the half were very encouraging and at half time I genuinely thought we had "turned a corner" and we would win by 2 or 3 goals easily.

But the 2nd half was back to the same old same old. We surrendered possession again, Barnsley kept it seemingly effortlessly, and when we got it back we gave it away cheaply. But Barnsley were a bit more "menacing" now and you just knew they would eventually score. THe rest of the match we were left to try and scramble a win that, at half time, appeared to be "in the bag"

My verdict; Slightly better and promising for the 20 minutes before half-time, but the rest of it was no different from what went before in Coyle's (my!!) era. But with a dismal defensive record like ours, you don't need to be a professor to see that "possession is everything" and again it wasn't good enough today.

[YtarmyYtarmy]

BL3 in making a complete cock out of himself shocker.

I'm not the one who thinks we were 'set up well' with N'gog on the right wing and a player who offers 'little movement' up front. Talk us through that tactical master class then. Better still, don't.

No issues with the set-up today, it created a lot of chances. We didn't win the game because we lacked the composure to put enough of those chances away.

No-one seems to have said that it was good enough to draw at home to Barnsley.

Thats cos its not !! At times we gave them too much time/space and therefore respect on the ball. I suppose this is Dougies way of playing, they opposition have possession all drop back into formation and let them go sideways, unfortunately they will occasionally go forward and against better teams i fear we will get royally ripped to pieces with through Balls.

The Butterfield Substitution puzzles me, we where in the ascendancy and it felt as though the 2nd goal was coming, hes taken off we go all defensive, stop creating and hey presto we ship another goal. Ngog playing out of position and still persisting with Cart Horse Davies up front, I'm sure we've just got shut of a manager who consistently did this kind of stuff

[Wandering Willy]

Poor result.

Kevin Davies scored, but was just doesn't offer enough movement.

Isn't N'gog supposed to do that role? Not sure why the man who did score (and who isn't supposed to be any use anyway) consistently gets the flack. But for his goal we'd have lost. Mark Davies, and Chugy, and Eagles, all hit the keeper with shots. The real problem is that we need to stop thinking we're better than the other sides in here, we aren't, at least not right now, and that there is such a thing as an easy game. We get in front and then, time after time, concede softish goals and either draw or lose. It's a fact, and that's what needs addressing. I'm sure Douggie knows it, but he must be feeling pretty fed up right now.

Let's clear this up for you once again.

A team that starts Kevin Davies is going nowhere. He's always man of the match on the radio.

Until we play with eleven, we are fecked .

[bobo the clown]

Poor result.Kevin Davies scored, but was just doesn't offer enough movement.

Isn't N'gog supposed to do that role? Not sure why the man who did score (and who isn't supposed to be any use anyway) consistently gets the flack. But for his goal we'd have lost. Mark Davies, and Chugy, and Eagles, all hit the keeper with shots. The real problem is that we need to stop thinking we're better than the other sides in here, we aren't, at least not right now, and that there is such a thing as an easy game. We get in front and then, time after time, concede softish goals and either draw or lose. It's a fact, and that's what needs addressing. I'm sure Douggie knows it, but he must be feeling pretty fed up right now.

Let's clear this up for you once again.

A team that starts Kevin Davies is going nowhere. He's always man of the match on the radio.

Until we play with eleven, we are fecked .

Tango, I admire your loyalty, but really KD is, as a starter ... as a 90min player ... a liability these days.

OK, he scored .... but my mum could have got that one in. It was all a result of Eagles great work.

He's previously let another good piece of approach work hit his shin and roll to the keeper.

But it's not that .... it's his immobility. His failure to link-up. His need for the big boot. The number of times he has fouls given against him & so breaks up play and hands the possession over. The number of times today he was offside. His place meant that N'Gog was shoved out wide .... a pointless place for him to be.

Him starting is a sure fire certainty to have us not achieve what we would without him there. Really.

This isn't to decry his near 10 year history with us, his 600 games at the top. But they are yesterday. Today, he's not worth his place.

[Harry Genshaw]

Cant agree.

Whilst we're playing 4-5-1 SKD is not only the best option, he's the only option.

When/if we get a solid enough back line to start playing 2 up top, then I'd be happy to see him used sparingly as a sub but until then, or until we sign Bobos mum, he can just keep scoring.

[Wandering Willy]

Cant agree.

Whilst we're playing 4-5-1 SKD is not only the best option, he's the only option.

When/if we get a solid enough back line to start playing 2 up top, then I'd be happy to see him used sparingly as a sub but until then, or until we sign Bobos mum, he can just keep scoring.

See - that's where you are wrong.

I am a better option, unless your Auntie Alice wants to play wobble around aimlessly for 5 minutes.

[Worthy4England]

ok - those who went...

there are two quite different opinions by people who sound like they went and watched the game..

1. we were dicked-on and rubbish and looked like a 1-man Eagles team

2. there are signs of organisation and cause for optimism

I didn't go and only heard the radio - so i have no idea... can they both be right??

I went.

My opinion....decent first half, second half was shite.

Should've been 3 points, I thought Barnsley were awful....

Think Grunto calls it spot on.

We were ok first half - without too much to show in the final third, couple of decent back to front moves. Don't think Boggers was really seriously troubled.

Davo scored, but got penalised for farting for 90 mins.

Second half - not good (even though we probably had more attacks.)

I did, twice, in the first half, see space between the pitch and the bottom of Zat Knight's boots - stunning.

[bobo the clown]

Cant agree.

Whilst we're playing 4-5-1 SKD is not only the best option, he's the only option.

When/if we get a solid enough back line to start playing 2 up top, then I'd be happy to see him used sparingly as a sub but until then, or until we sign Bobos mum, he can just keep scoring.

She'd be offside less often than he was today.


N'gog can cover the '1' AND give is more speed, mobility and flexibility.

[bobo the clown]

Cant agree.

Whilst we're playing 4-5-1 SKD is not only the best option, he's the only option.

When/if we get a solid enough back line to start playing 2 up top, then I'd be happy to see him used sparingly as a sub but until then, or until we sign Bobos mum, he can just keep scoring.

See - that's where you are wrong.

I am a better option, unless your Auntie Alice wants to play wobble around aimlessly for 5 minutes.

.... & my mum IS called Alice.

[Wandering Willy]

I know that.