There was plenty of frustration off the pitch today, as fans became increasingly disgruntled with the displays on offer on the field.

There was plenty of frustration off the pitch today, as fans became increasingly disgruntled with the displays on offer on the field. There were loud protests against manager Graham Barrow as the game was played out to a dire 0-0 draw in front of the lowest home crowd of the season so far.

Dale's lowest crowd of the season were at Spotland to see a dull match with poor displays by both Dale and the visitors. Barnet looked nothing like a side capable of putting three past leaders Cambridge, which they managed last week, and looked like a side ready to be torn to shreds at any moment. Unfortunately, this never happened as Dale suffered from poor finishing and wayward passing. Furthermore, visitors Barnet could well have snatched it on one of their rare attacks.

The first half was a very poor showing with little of any real quality on offer by either team. Dale came closest to scoring but a Holt shot was denied by a fine save by the highly rated keeper Harrison. Other than that incident, that was it. Perhaps Michael Holt could have won a penalty when he was flattened by a defender on the edge of the box, but it looked to be outside. Surprisingly the ref just waved play on.

The second half was marginally better, but it was Barnet who almost scored within the opening minute when a mix up in the defence let in veteran striker Ken Charlery. He had the beating of keeper Neil Edwards, but he saw his effort acrobatically kept out by Dave Bayliss on his return to the first team after suspension.

After that effort it was a dominant Dale performance, but one which lacked anything of real integrity. The midfield lacked creativity and passes went astray usually out of play. The two new boys Lydiate and Stoker were probably the most guilty when it came to this, as Jason Peake was left with everything to do on his own.
Dale came close with a couple of goalmouth scrambles, with Holty looking sharper than he has done in previous matches. He had a couple of efforts but they were no match for Lee Harrison in between the Barnet sticks. We had a succession of corners as we chased the game in the closing minutes, but to no avail.
The only other points of note was the WMG stand chanting for the manager's head after the hour-mark, which woke the Sandy Lane end from its previous slumber, urged on by Neil Edwards who was grateful for the encouragement.
Dale lacked the creativity shown by Paul Carden in recent games. He has been stifled by being moved to right back which has led to his dropping from the side. Robbie Painter was stuck on the bench when it had long been obvious that the game had nil-nil written all over it. Perhaps he could have changed that. Perhaps not, but I would have thought that it was worth the chance. Rumours circulating around the ground before hand suggested that Robbie Painter will be leaving the club at the end of the season when his contract expires. Another rumour suggested a similar fate to manager Barrow.

Dale: Edwards, Bailey (Carden), Barlow (Bryson), Lydiate, Monington, Farrell, Bayliss, Stoker, Morris, Peake, Holt 

Photo: Action Images

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