After four successive years of keeping the relegation wolves from the door, this really could be the year that the trapdoor opens wide enough for Barnsley to drop through.
Today will easily go down as one of the worst 90 minute performances in living memory, especially at home, against a Leicester City side who came into the match without a clean sheet on the road all season and having conceded more away goals than any other Championship team. There was absolutely no fear that The Foxes would claim that elusive clean sheet at Oakwell, such was the truly insipid performance from all the players wearing red. Not even Adam Hammill and the recalled Jacob Butterfield could come out of the game with any credit. Leicester shackled Hammill superbly and he hardly got into the game whilst Butterfield’s usual radar- accurate passing was sorely missing.
Because of The Reds shocking record away from home where they have gone 13 matches since the last success, it was a blessing that they had started at Oakwell in fine form this season, but now the nervous glances over the shoulder will become more frequent as this was the club’s second home defeat in four matches and they have won just one of the last five in front of their own supporters.
This afternoon, Leicester, who have a wonderful record at Oakwell anyway, looked sharper, more organised and simply overpowered The Reds who were second best in every department. The true scale of the Foxes dominance was demonstrated by the fact manager Mark Robins made a double substitution after half an hour. Unfortunately the personal chosen to come on and off was met with a mixed reaction by the Oakwell faithful. There was probably no complaints about the removal of Chris Wood, as the loanee West Brom man looks hopelessly off the pace and is leaving many scratching their heads as to why Robins pursued him so ferociously, but the decision to take off a striker in Paul Hayes for a midfielder in Nathan Doyle was baffling. Yes Leicester were overpowering the Reds midfield, but since when has Doyle ever been good at stemming such nosebleeds. It seems Robins cannot wait to play Doyle every week and if he does drop him, it is not long before he is dragging him off the bench. Regardless to move a striker for a midfielder when 1-0 down at home is a worrying decision and the Oakwell faithful made their feelings known…. As did Hammill who did not seem to know where he was supposed to be playing in this new formation. Eventually it seemed he was supposed to be playing just off Wood’s replacement Andy Gray. Hardly an inspiring change Mark….
There was a real feeling that Barnsley were only safe until Leicester scored and they had their first major warning after seven minutes. Martyn Waghorn left Jason Shackell on his backside after cutting inside in the area and forced a top drawer save from Luke Steele who somehow managed to tip his effort over the bar from point blank range. They finally broke the deadlock with 18 minutes played. The Reds struggled with set-pieces against Hull last weekend, with the Tigers scoring from one and having another goal disallowed from another. In the seven days since The Reds have not improved. Waghorn curled in a free kick, awarded for a silly foul by Hugo Colace and Foxes defender Angelo Miguel Vitor was left with a free header which he simply nodded past Steele.
From then on the game was practically over. Wood and Hayes failed to get any decent supply, and that did not change once Gray came on. Hammill was double marked whenever he got on the ball and this game just proved the theory that when the Liverpudlian is not on form, Barnsley cannot win. With January and a possible Premier League departure for the winger just under two months away it is an alarming thought to wonder how we will cope without him.
The Foxes were close to doubling their advantage right on half time when Waghorn again wriggled through the defence too easily but Steele was equal to his effort, beating it away before Stephen Foster cleared the rebound.
The second half offered marginal improvement but that is only because it could not have been any worse than the opening 45 minutes, but the only real chance arrived on 65 minutes when, 35 yards from goal Doyle hit a stunning effort that cracked off the underside of the crossbar and away. The fact Gray stumbled over as he went to attack the rebound probably summed up the afternoon. Well either that moment or the one where Luke Potter, in attempting to whip a cross into the box, kicked the floor instead and the ball just flew forward and out for a goal-kick.
All the game needed was for Leicester to finish it and put Barnsley out of their misery. They did this with five minutes remaining. Colace failed to pass to Hammill despite the two being within yards of each other and Leicester broke with Paul Gallagher who then squared the ball low across the area and Andy King slid in six yards out for a simple finish.
The result, which stretches Barnsley’s current run to one win in nine leaves them just two points off the drop zone. Not to worry though, it’s only two successive away games next……
Player Ratings:
Luke Steele – If it was not for some fine saves from the much maligned keeper the score line would have been worse. His best game for a while. 7
Bobby Hassell – One of very few to come out of the game with any credit. Showed the passion for the game that others sadly lacked. Booked. 7
Stephen Foster – Will know he has been in a match. The complete lack of a midfield meant him and Shackell were often over-run. 6
Jason Shackell – Even Mr. Dependable struggled. Had no protection from the midfield. Strong in the air though. 6
Luke Potter – Has not learned the lessons from Scunthorpe about backing off oncoming strikers. He is not the first person Darius Vassell has made look a mug, but he simply couldn’t contain the one time England striker. His afternoon was summed up when he scuffed the ball out of way whilst attempting a cross. Booked. Subbed. 4
Jim O’Brien – Still have not idea what his role in the side is. Cannot run, cannot cross, cannot beat a man, cannot tackle. Still that seems to be the prerequisite to get a spot in Robins teams these days. 5
Hugo Colace – Last season the only thing that saved him was that he discovered the knack of scoring crucial goals. Now he is not even doing that he plays a pointless role. 4
Jacob Butterfield – Robins does not need much ammo to drop the youngster but he got some yesterday. His passing was unusually sloppy and he was dominated by Richie Wellens. Still he cannot be perfect every week. 5
Adam Hammill – It does not take a genius to realise that these days if you stop Adam Hammill you stop Barnsley, so a manager who has been in charge of England, Lazio and Benfica was going to spot it straight away. Whenever Hammill got the ball- which was only slightly more frequent in the second half than the first- he had three men surrounding him. 5
Paul Hayes – Was not exactly setting the place alight but to replace him with a supposed defensive midfielder after just half an hour was scandalous. Subbed. 5
Chris Wood – Seven appearances and nearly two months and still does not look fully fit. You could probably count on one hand the number of shots on goal he has had during his time at the club. This may be one Kiwi import we choose to forget. Subbed. 5
Substitutions:
Nathan Doyle (for Hayes 30) It seems even if he drops Doyle Robins cannot wait to get him on the pitch. To take off a striker for him after just half an hour with the team 1-0 down maybe the most bizarre managerial decision I’ve seen at Oakwell- and I’ve seen a few. Robins may claim he needed to try to wrest control of the midfield from Leicester who were dominating it, but then if so, Doyle is the last person you should send for! To his credit came the closest to scoring with a rasping drive off the bar, but contributed nothing else and certainly didn’t turn the midfield battle around. 6
Andy Gray (for Wood 30) 1-0 down, half an hour gone, your main striker doing nothing, by all means change it. But if your going to bring Andy Gray on, then you might as well have just stuck with Wood. The closest he got to goal was when Doyle’s effort came back off the bar and Gray fell over backwards in seemingly slow motion as he attempted to get the rebound. 4
Jeronimo Neumann (for Potter 74) Well he got more than three seconds on the pitch this time but even in 16 I don’t think he ever touched the ball. Another bizarre summer acquit ion to go along with the likes of Liam Dickinson and Goran Lovre. 5
Unused: David Preece, Kieran Trippier, Diego Arismendi, Goran Lovre.
Sponsor’s Man of the Match: Jason Shackell.
BarnsleyBoy's Man of the Match: Luke Steele: Hard to pick anybody out from this shambles but if it had not been for Steele the scoreline would have been as embarrassing as the performance.
Leicester: Weale, Davies, Vitor, Naughton, Cunningham, King, Gallagher ( Moussa, 86 ) , Abe,Wellens, Vassell ( Dyer, 62 ) , Waghorn ( Howard, 81 )
Subs not used: Berner, Logan, Fryatt, Hobbs,
Most Impressed by Leicester’s: Darius Vassell: Even at 30 and having not played any competitive football this season he still had enough class and pace for Potter. Ran the show in the first half before tiring.
Ref Watch: Neil Swarbrick: Struggled to contain the game, and towards the end of the first half the game seemed to get a bit feisty. Was forever looking over at his assistants for advice. 4
Npower Championship results: Saturday 6th November 2010:
BARNSLEY 0-2 Leicester
Bristol City 1-1 Preston
Coventry 2-3 Leeds
Derby 2-0 Portsmouth
Doncaster 2-1 Millwall
Hull 0-1 Scunthorpe
Middlesbrough 2-1 Crystal Palace
Norwich 2-2 Burnley
QPR 3-1 Reading
Sheffield United 1-2 Ipswich
Watford 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Barnsley lie in 18th place in the Npower Championship with 16 points from 15games.
We are 8 points off the Play-Offs, 16 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 17 points off First place and 2 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 7.11.10.
Next Up:
On The Road:
Npower Championship Matchday Sixteen: Preston North End v Barnsley Tuesday 9th November 2010 Kick-Off 7:45pm.
Adults - £22.
Senior Citizens (Over 60) - £13.00
Young Adult (16 - 20) - £13.00
Juveniles (Under 16) - £5.00
Juveniles (Under 5) – Free with paying adult.
Disabled Supporters - Contact the Box Office For More Information
At Oakwell:
Npower Championship Matchday Eighteen: Barnsley v Portsmouth Saturday 20th November 2010 Kick-Off 3pm.
Tickets:
Adults - £22.00
Senior Citizens (Over 60) - £12.00
Juveniles (Under 18) - £12.00
Juveniles (Under 12) - £6.00