It's the big South Yorkshire derby this Saturday as high-flying Barnsley take on early strugglers Doncaster Rovers.
Last season Barnsley were thumped 3-1 and 4-0 respectively by the men from Belle Vue, so we got the views of Doncaster Rovers Madman David Shanks to see what he thought of Barnsley, Doncaster and this weekend's match.
Q. Pretty disappointing start to the season so far for you Donny fans, are you confident of pulling away from the bottom or are there early signs of a relegation scrap?
A. I'm pretty confident that we'll pull away from the ‘relegation four‘, as we did the season we went up as Division 3 champions but somehow I don't think we will win the league this year.
Q. Our two games last season were lets say pretty good for you is there belief among fans that you will get similar results against us this time around or are you expecting closer games?
A. I think that last season was beginners luck if you like, teams like Barnsley and Stockport didn't know what to expect from us, and we played them out of the park. This season I'm still expecting plenty of goals but not just in one net, I also expect red cards, vicious tackles and fights like in most local derbies.
Q. Who do you see as the dangermen in the Barnsley team this Saturday?
A. Paul Hayes has got to be one of the dangermen, 3 goals this season and he'll be hunting around for more against The Rovers; most Rovers fans wondered why Nardiello hardly played for The Tykes in our clashes last season.
Q. Who are Doncaster's dangermen. John Doolan didn't exactly endear himself to the Oakwell faithful last season but he's moved to pastures new so who should we be most wary on this time around?
A. Michael McIndoe has banged in 3 goals for us this season, he’s very tricky to handle, quick and looks like he is starting to find his form again. Also Forte, he is brilliant, he scored a screamer in our 3-1 win over Scunthorpe and made their defence look like idiots. There’s a few more players but I’ll let you find them out for yourself on Saturday.
Q. What is your prediction on Barnsley's final league position, do you see us as promotion chasers or league also-rans?
A. I think this year they will make the play-offs comfortably winning a few of the title chasers on the way, because their performances have improved greatly since Andy Ritchie has taken over.
Q. And finally a score for Saturday?
A. I’m obviously going to be in Rovers favour, but I think that 3-2 to the Rovers sounds about right.
3-2 Rovers he says??? After the midweek cup defeat of Premiership side Manchester City, Rovers should be up for it, whilst Barnsley under the leadership of Andy Ritchie have a fantastic home record. It won't be for the faint hearted!
Visit http://www.doncasterrovers-mad.co.uk/ for more on Rovers progress this season