Derby County attempt another recovery after two defeats; in midweek the Rams fell 2-0 at Hull City, whilst Barnsley gave their season a boost by thrashing DirtyLeeds 5-2.
Barnsley v Derby – Historical:
P 26 W 9 D 5 L 12 F 25 A 38
Last game at Oakwell:
10 April 2010 Barnsley 0 – 0 Derby County
Barnsley 7/24 P 6 W 3 D 1 L 2 F 12 A 11
Leading scorers: Adam Hammill (3)
Derby 22/24 P 6 W 1 D 1 L 4 F 6 A 10
Leading scorers: Kris Commons (2)
The Rams:
Reports suggest that the Rams were considerably better against Hull than they were against the Blunts. Some even suggest we were unlucky to lose - but lose we did and the season is beginning to take on a familiar pattern.
Shaun Barker is clearly carrying an injury and Dean Leacock is taking time to recover the form we know he's capable of. Couple that with the rest of the team learning a new system and we're bound to get punished.
What's the answer? I like the football being played under the new system. It's far more attractive than the lump it and hope we've had in the past. The problem is that it's currently not creating many chances - and worse we've had nobody capable of taking what chances we have.
There's such a thing as trying to force square pegs into round holes. Some of the players we have aren't capable of playing in the roles that the management is trying to get them to play - okay when players are fit they should be able to slot into the roles - but in the meantime we need to play to the strengths of the players we have.
It,s early season and points are not that important yet - but, plenty of teams have been relegated because they've lost all of their confidence trying to be pretty.
Mick's Team:
Bywater
Brayford Leacock Barker Moxey
Bailey Green
Cywka Bueno Commons
Kuqi
Subs – Deeney, Roberts, Buxton, Savage, Martin, Doyle, Pearson
Current Squad:
No. Position Player
1 Keeper Stephen Bywater
2 Defender John Brayford
3 Defender Gareth Roberts LFT
4 Midfield Paul Green
5 Defender Shaun Barker (vice-captain)
6 Defender Dean Leacock
7 Striker Steve Davies Injured
8 Midfield Robbie Savage (captain)
9 Striker Shefki Kuqi (on loan from Swansea City)
10 Midfield Kris Commons
11 Midfield Stephen Pearson Injured
12 Striker Chris Porter Injured
13 Keeper Saul Deeney
14 Defender Russell Anderson Injured
15 Midfield David Martin
16 Midfield James Bailey
17 Defender Jake Buxton
18 Midfield Ben Pringle
19 Striker Tomasz Cywka
20 Defender Miles Addison Injured
21 Defender Dean Moxey
23 Striker Conor Doyle
25 Defender Mark O'Brien
26 Striker Callum Ball
27 Striker Alberto Bueno (on loan from Real Valladolid)
32 Keeper James Severn
35 Midfield Jeff Hendrick
36 Defender Kallum Keane
37 Midfield Ryan Connolly
38 Midfield Medi Abalimba
39 Defender Mitchell Hanson
Barnsley FC:
Not a good time to be taking on the Tykes. Fresh from a 5-2 win over Leeds and unbeaten at home. Only QPR have scored more goals than them.
One crumb of comfort for travelling Rams is that they are also conceding goals. Only Preston and Hull have conceded as many. Mark Robins is aware of this and has warned against complacency. Speaking to the Barnsley Chronicle he said;
“I don’t want the situation where a great performance isn’t followed up and we let ourselves and the supporters down,”
“We want to put on another good show and get another three points.”
Hugo Colace may return to the squad otherwise it will be unchanged. That means Nathan Doyle may be on the bench but Jay McEveley should start.
Current Squad:
No. Position Player
1 Keeper Luke Steele
2 Defender Bobby Hassell (vice-captain)
3 Defender James McEveley
4 Defender Jason Shackell (club captain)
5 Midfield Nathan Doyle
6 Defender Stephen Foster
8 Midfield Jim O'Brien
9 Striker Garry O'Connor (on loan from Birmingham)
10 Midfield Goran Lovre
11 Midfield Martin Devaney
12 Keeper David Preece
14 Midfield Adam Hammill
15 Defender Kieran Trippier (on loan from Man City)
16 Striker Liam Dickinson
17 Striker Jamil Adam
18 Striker Jerónimo Morales Neumann
19 Midfield Jacob Butterfield
20 Midfield Hugo Colace
21 Striker Michael Boulding
22 Defender Luke Potter
23 Midfield Diego Arismendi (on loan from Stoke City)
24 Striker Reuben Noble-Lazarus
26 Defender Conor Branson
27 Striker Andy Gray
28 Midfield Danny Fearnehough
29 Midfield Alistair Taylor
30 Striker Steven Bennett
What the bookies think:
The Tykes are 6/5 favourites while the Rams are rank outsiders at 12/5. The draw is at 11/5. Gary O’Conner is the favourite to score at 5/1 while Jay McEveley is at 12/1.
Kris Commons is our favourite at 13/2 while Shefki Kuqi is 7/1. Long odds. Clearly the bookies don't think we'll be troubling the scorers.
Information for travelling fans:
Driving:
It’s about 60 miles to Barnsley. Take the M1 north to J37 and then take the A628 towards Barnsley. You can’t miss the ground on the right. The train station is around ten minutes walk from the ground however and I would take the train.
Parking:
If you get there early enough there’s plenty of street parking otherwise park at the Metrodome Leisure centre - you can also get a drink there.
Drinking:
Footballgroundguide.com recommends the Hollywell Inn on Oakwell Rd near the old Barnsley brewery. The Outpost on Sheffield Rd is also popular. Another option is to get a drink at the Metrodome which has a bar - although the last post may sound before you get served.
Drinking in the town is not recommended especially if you are wearing colours although I've never had a problem there before. If the away end is split between home and away fans the bar is on the home side however for the visit of the Rams the full end should be allocated - having said that however last time I went to Oakwell the bar was closed
Mick's prediction:
Are we going to have another relegation-threatened season or are we finally going to click into gear and get the results our football deserves? We often pull out a performance when the fans least expect it. I'm not hopeful but I wouldn't be surprised if we got something at Oakwell.
Barnsley 0 - 0 Derby County
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http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/derbycounty/fb_mb.php?m=v&t=7357#0