Barnsley v Ipswich Town 
Saturday 11th March 2017– 15:00
Oakwell
Opening Thought – Jamma
The reaction of the supporters at the final whistle of Tuesday night’s match said it all. In another season, in another context, the 0-0 stalemate against Wolves would have been a creditable result, particularly on the back of a seven-game unbeaten run. But that only tells half the story, with the full-time boos ringing out around a barely third-full stadium a much truer endorsement of the state of play at Portman Road. The post-match phone-in on BBC Suffolk added to the sense of desperation amongst the fanbase, as supporter after supporter vented their frustration at the almost total lack of entertainment over the 90 minutes. Having been served up another turgid display, the last thing Ipswich fans will have wanted to hear was Mick McCarthy reel off his usual spiel about how ‘they’re a good side’. I must admit I thought for a moment that I’d fallen asleep and woken up again after we hadn’t in fact just played a team that had lost six on the bounce and was facing the very real prospect of relegation. McCarthy has come out with some strange things this season, but that has surely got to top the lot! It was such a bizarre choice of words that I felt sure it was motivated at least in part by a desire to provoke the fans. Maybe, Mick, as the table suggests, Wolves aren’t all that great, but we made them look half-decent with our lethargic performance… After a first half almost entirely devoid of event, the Blues to their credit started the second period well, pushing Wolves back with a succession of corners. But, in the end, we could count ourselves fortunate to escape with a point, as what looked like two good penalty shouts were waved away, before we had to again rely on Bartosz Bialkowski with a smart save onto the bar from Ben Marshall’s last-gasp free-kick.
In the Wolves preview, Mike touched upon how misleading statistics can be, particularly when it comes to Ipswich Town. At first glance, going seven games without defeat is an impressive achievement, especially in a league as competitive as the Championship. I maintain that it is a record we can be proud of considering some of the teams we have faced over that time. But, having drawn six of those seven, we have also been victorious just once in our last ten league outings. If we had won three of those tied matches – not inconceivable given the chances we had against Reading, Brighton and Leeds – we could have afforded to lose the other three and still found ourselves 3 points better off. It’s arguable whether us Town fans would be feeling any better about ourselves as a result, but we would at least be a step closer to the 50-point mark. Talk of the dreaded ‘R’ word had taken a back seat with the recent upturn in performances and results, but the fare on offer on Tuesday night could easily have been mistaken for a six-pointer between two teams scrapping it out at the bottom of the table. McCarthy was pretty adamant earlier in the week in saying that points would always take precedence over performances. While we obviously don’t want to sacrifice our hard-to-beat mentality for the sake of a more expansive style, it would be nice to see a return of the easier-on-the-eye football of a couple of weeks back. In what has otherwise been an exceptional campaign, Barnsley have tailed off a little, albeit with their own tough set of fixtures. I think we’d all take a repeat of the 4-2 win on the opening day, when hopes were high for an improved season. That seems a long time ago!
The Opposition – Barnsley
Barnsley have spent more seasons in the second tier of English football than any other club in history.
Barnsley FC was established in 1887 by a clergyman, Tiverton Preedy, and played in the Sheffield and District League from 1890 and then in the Midland League from 1895.
They joined the Football League in 1898, and struggled in the Second Division for the first decade, due in part to ongoing financial difficulties.
In 1910, the club reached the FA Cup final, where they lost out to Newcastle United in a replay match. However, they would then reach the 1912 FA Cup final, where they would defeat West Bromwich Albion 1–0 in a replay to win the trophy for the first and only time in their history.
When the league restarted after World War I, the 1919–20 season brought some significant changes to the league. The principal difference was that the First Division would be increased from 20 teams to 22. The bottom team from the previous season was Tottenham Hotspur and they were duly relegated. The first extra place in the First Division went to Chelsea, who retained their place despite finishing 2nd bottom and therefore in the relegation places. Derby County and Preston North End were rightly promoted from the Second Division, which left one place to be filled. Having finished the previous season's Second Division in 3rd place (1914–15), Barnsley expected to achieve First Division status for the first time, but the Football League instead chose to call a ballot of the clubs. Henry Norris, the then Arsenal chairman, had recently moved Woolwich Arsenal north of the River Thames to Highbury, and needed First Division football to attract fans to their new home. He was later to admit some underhand dealings, allegedly including the bribing of some member clubs to vote for Arsenal's inclusion. They duly won the vote and Barnsley were consigned to the second tier of English football for another 8 decades.
During the years preceding and following World War II, the club found themselves sliding between the Second and Third Division.
When the Northern and Southern sections of the Third Division were replaced by national Third and Fourth Divisions for the 1958–59 season, Barnsley were still in the Second Division, but went down to the Third Division at the end of that season.
In 1965, Barnsley were relegated to the Football League Fourth Division for the first time, winning promotion three years later. They went down to the Fourth Division again in 1972, and this time stayed down for seven seasons, finally returning to the Third Division in 1979.
Two years later, they went up again and quickly established themselves as a decent Second Division side throughout the 1980s, although they still failed to clinch that elusive First Division place.
At the time of the creation of the FA Premier League in 1992, Barnsley had been Football League members for 94 years, before finally clinching runners-up spot and automatic promotion and gaining the top flight place that they had spent 99 years trying to win.
Barnsley lasted just one season in the Premier League but did not go down without a brave fight.
In the following years, Barnsley were not as successful, with relegation to Division Two in 2002 and administration both threatening the existence of the club.
Barnsley had the distinction of playing in the last Play-Off final at Wembley before the stadium was closed for redevelopment. We don’t need to tell you that their opposition that day in May 2000 was Ipswich Town! In 2006, the Tykes won in a Play-Off final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, to earn promotion to the Championship.
The team struggled in their first season back in the Championship and in the 2013/14 season were relegated back to League 1.
On Sunday 3 April 2016, Barnsley won the Football League Trophy after a win over Oxford United at Wembley.
On 29 May, Barnsley gained promotion back to the Championship with a win over Millwall at Wembley Stadium in the League 1 Play-Off final.
The Manager – Paul Heckingbottom
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
Let us pray MM goes for an attacking line up and we score a few goals
Media Watch - K L Blue
MM on Watkins
http://www.sudburymercury.co.uk/sport/m ... _1_4924810
MM on return to Barnsley
http://www.itfc.co.uk/news/article/2016 ... 17242.aspx
MM says he's not walking away
http://www.sudburymercury.co.uk/sport/i ... _1_4924687
Tom Lawrence on Leicester's non contact
http://www.sudburymercury.co.uk/sport/i ... _1_4924622
Danny Rowe
http://www.twtd.co.uk/ipswich-town-news ... his-season
MM on Contract talks
http://www.sudburymercury.co.uk/sport/m ... _1_4924530
Form Guide
Barnsley Last 5 Matches – Currently in 11th place with 50 points
QPR 2-1 Barnsley
Derby County 2-1 Barnsley
Barnsley 1-1 Huddersfield
Barnsley 0-2 Brighton
Aston Villa 1-3 Barnsley
Ipswich Last 5 Matches – Currently in 16th place with 44 points
Ipswich Town 0-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Ipswich Town 1-1 Brentford FC
Norwich City 1-1 Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town 1-1 Leeds United
Brighton 1-1 Ipswich Town
Fixtures of Interest
ASTON VILLA VS SHEFF. WED.
CARDIFF VS BIRMINGHAM
LEEDS UTD. VS Q.P.R.
Marko's Caption Contest
THE DON CUP
Norwich City PIC ONE scores:
Tangfastic 5pts
Shed on Tour 4pts
Derickipsw 3pts
Number 9 & Blueblood 2pts
Norwich City PIC TWO Scores:
Tangfastic 5pts
DerickIpsw 4pts
Gold&Black 3pts
Blueblood 2pts
Brentford scores:
Ando 5pts
Frosty & Gold&Black 4pts
DerickIpsw 3pts
Blueblood & Bluemike 2pts
LEAGUE TABLE
Gold&Black 62
DerickIpsw 61
Blueblood 57
Nicscreamer 51
Herforder 50
Frosty 47
Ando 47
Bluemike 46
Tangtastic 46
Number 9 30
Watership Down 27
Quasar 27
Shed on Tour 26
Patthegimp 17
IpswichtownNo1 14
Ashfordblue 10
LoudNProud 6
Supershred 3
Barmy Billy 2
Longjohn 1
Foxy Lady 1
ItfcTrev76 1
Ok, tits....., let's hear some funnies!
Match referee – Stephen Martin
Final Thought – Bluemike
How quickly things can change. The Fab February with our improved performances and results suddenly seems like a distant memory thanks to two successive no-shows at home to Brentford & Wolverhampton and, while we still remain unbeaten in seven games, it kinda papers over some cracks that have reappeared all of a sudden. While I thought the reaction by some after the Brentford game was OTT, I can offer no defence for the pitiful showing we came up with on Tuesday night. It was that bad. I cannot for the life of me fathom out why Mick would even contemplate a do not lose mentality. Was that the case or were we in actual fact just bloody hopeless on the night? There are certainly some indicators that we have reverted to type. For a start, only three attack-minded players on the pitch and not a recognised striker to be seen, and a return to Jonas Knudsen at left wing-back when every man and his dog knows he is bloody useless there. All the good work by Jonas in recent games has been undone in one fell swoop. It is almost as if MM is pressing the self-destruct button. It was mentioned by someone on here that if you didn't know better you would think Mick was doing his best to get that big pay-off. Oh, the fun of a conspiracy theory, but it does make you wonder.
Something I often mull over in my head is the importance of Bart to the team. On his day, the guy is unbelievable, and to be fair he has many of those days. There are times when but for him we would have been thrashed. In a lot of Town fans’ eyes, the guy can do no wrong, which again is understandable. However, when you actually look at him in a closer light, there are definitely flaws for me. I stand by my belief that his kicking is as bad as I have ever seen. Rarely does it even stay on the pitch, never mind find a Town player. It did not go unnoticed that Ikeme on 2 or 3 occasions sent a super kick downfield when clearing his lines which set them off on an attack and put us under pressure. It is a vital tool which we do not have thanks to Bart's woeful feet. Add to that his inability to sometimes catch or punch the most basic of crosses and there are without question issues that may explain why he has never played at a higher level. Not having a pop at the guy but there is so much room for further improvement. That said, best shot stopper in the Championship.
The next challenge sees us making the trip to Barnsley for what promises to be another tough day. While the Tykes have faded a little in recent weeks, they have had a pretty decent season all things considered. Losing one or two of their star men in the January window hasn't helped them but they still come up with a decent result here and there, although a stat of only one win in their last eight outings is worrying form. I hope to God we see an improvement on Tuesday night, and being away from Portman Road we generally do so fingers crossed. Either way, I will be enjoying the delights of The Mount Inn prior to kick-off, where the locals were more than friendly last time. I think we may just come unstuck in this one.
BARNSLEY FC 1 IPSWICH TOWN 2
